Child and Family Outcomes in New York and Tel AVIV: Using Social Indicators in a City Level Comparative Analysis

This article presents a comparative study in which social indicators were employed as a means to examine differences in living conditions and family and children outcomes on a local level. The study obtained household-level data on the well-being of children and families in two cities: New York (NYC) and Tel Aviv (TLV). Data were collected using computer assisted telephone interview (CATI) technology and random digit dialing (RDD). Telephone interviews were conducted with the randomly selected adults in English, Spanish and Chinese in NYC and in Hebrew in TLV. The study reported here documented differences in family and child well-being between the two cities. It further documented that family size and caregiver level of education play a similar role in both cities and their importance in regard to child and family outcomes. The significant differences found in adults’ and especially children’s outcomes were analyzed by the caregiver’s level of education and further support the need for policies that alleviate the burden of less educated caregivers and aim to improve the well-being of them and their families. The study demonstrates the relevance of social indicators at the local level, not only for measuring outcomes among specific populations, but also in regard to their possible implications for social policies, a most timely task in an era of social services devolution.     

Indicators and Indices of Child Well-being: A Brief American History

This paper traces the history of indicators and indices of child well-being from its origins in the social indicator movement of the 1970s through recent developments in the field. Initial work calling for comprehensive sets of indicators of child well-being and later recommendations for indicator improvement are detailed. Products that resulted from these recommendations, such as comprehensive indicator reports and online resources are described. The development of child well-being indices is shown to parallel the history of indicators. The contributions of state and international indicator and index projects are included as well. Important aspects of child well-being indicator development are uncovered through documenting its history, including the need to focus on subjective as well as objective measures of well-being, and the need to develop indicators for the multiple ecological contexts of children’s lives, but to separate measures of context from measures of child outcomes. A rough consensus emerges across the history of indicator efforts on the critical domains of child well-being: physical, psychological, cognitive, social, and economic well-being. Recent recognition of the importance of indicators of positive development is noted. This paper was funded by the KIDS COUNT project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.     

西藏农牧民进城务工的价值引领与法律制度保障

西藏农牧民进城务工有增长之势.职业选择范围窄、劳务工资较低、生活素质较差等问题,折射出西藏农牧民工在劳动技能、职业素质、竞争能力等方面与当下市场经济要求存在一定距离.对此,既要引领农牧民工重视自身素质提高、增强竞争意识,自觉参与劳动技能教育与培训,更要敦促政府完善地方法规,从法律制度上保障各地县的农牧民接受劳动技能培训,建立提升农牧民参与现代化城市建设能力、提高农牧民物质生活的长效机制.     

中国素质教育的着眼点与实质

人的本质性特点就是无论在哪方面都可以具有无限创造性,历经漫长岁月创造了璀璨的人类文明。创造的价值在于其独特性,这种独特性根植于人的个性化心智结构。大众的个性张扬构成了富有创造性活力的多元化、多样化社会。创造出合适的教育模式和能让孩子们身心健康自由成长的环境,并将其无限可能的潜质转变为现实的创造性能力,这就是我们素质教育的着眼点与实质。     

Observed Infant Reactions During Live Interparental Conflict

Associations between interparental conflict and infant reactions were examined. Infants' history of exposure to interparental conflict and infant reactive temperament were examined as moderators. A community sample of 74 infants, aged 6–14 months, participated with their parents. Behavioral observations were made of parents' marital conflict and their infants' reactions. Parents reported on their emotional states during conflict, infants' history of exposure to interparental conflict, and infant temperament. Multilevel modeling indicated that infants showed differential responses to marital conflict; destructive and depressive conflict were associated with increased infant discussion attending and negative reactions, whereas constructive conflict was associated with decreased discussion attending and negative reactions. Infants' history of exposure to marital conflict and infant reactive temperament emerged as moderators.     

The early home environment and developmental outcomes for young children in the child welfare system

The quality of the early home environment is predictive of young children's subsequent cognitive, academic, and behavioral functioning. Limited research has focused on the effects of the early caregiving environment on the functioning of young children involved with the child welfare system. This study investigated the influence of children's home environments (i.e., number of children in the home, number of moves the child experienced, level of cognitive stimulation, and level of emotional support) during the first 2 years of life on their preschool developmental outcomes (i.e., cognition, language, social skills, and behavior problems).As anticipated, a high-quality early home environment promoted the well-being of preschool children who had entered the child welfare system as infants. Children who lived with greater numbers of children incurred more compromised cognitive, language, behavioral, and social outcomes. No significant associations emerged between the total number of placements and developmental outcomes; children who remained in the same home during infancy (typically the birth family home) had more compromised developmental outcomes in every domain except behavioral problems.Both cognitive stimulation and emotional support in the home predicted higher cognitive and language scores, decreased behavioral problems, and increased social skills. Early out-of-home placement and lack of emotional support interacted to predict children's behavioral problems. These findings are considered in the context of extant research and policy relevant to young children in the child welfare system.     

Successful adoption and implementation of a comprehensive casework practice model in a public child welfare agency: Application of the Getting to Outcomes (GTO) model

In recent years, several states have been developing or adopting casework practice models in an effort to shape the thinking and behavior of front line child welfare workers with a commitment to improving the safety, permanency and well-being outcomes of vulnerable children in their care (Antle, Christensen, Barbee & Martin, 2008; Christensen, Todahl & Barrett, 1999; Courtney, 2009; Folaron, 2009). This article presents one framework for approaching the organizational changes that need to be made in order to support a practice model. The Getting to Outcomes” Framework (Wandersman, 2009) is a useful approach for ensuring that all areas to support practice change are addressed.     

Foster children placed with or separated from siblings: Outcomes based on a national sample

This study examines a range of outcomes for children in foster care who have siblings, using a large, national U.S. database. Three types of sibling placements are defined: split (child has no siblings in the home), splintered (at least one sibling in the home), and together (all siblings in the home). The study analyzes records (n = 1701) from the National Study of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing, including Child Protective Services (CPS) and Long-term Foster Care (LTFC) samples. It contributes to the literature in its inclusive definition of siblings, use of three categories for sibling placement status, and use of outcome measures that include the perceptions of foster children. The study reports limited significant findings. Neither foster parents' nor youths' reports of behavioral problems differ by sibling placement status. As rated by teachers, academic performance in the group placed together exceeds that in both of the other groups. For children in kinship homes, teachers also reported less problematic internalizing and externalizing behavior for the splintered and together groups than for the split group. Children in the splintered group also responded more favorably than those in the split group to questions of closeness to the primary caregiver and liking the people in the foster family.     

系统功能语法:大学英语写作教学的新视角

写作是一种输出性的语言应用能力,它在大学英语教学中的地位日渐重要.因此,如何提高大学生的写作水平是新世纪大学英语教师不可回避的重要课题.立足于国外系统功能语法理论,探讨其对大学英语写作教学的指导意义.     

农田土壤水分的研究

农田土壤水分变化规律对提高农业干旱防御能力、制定节水灌溉计划、提高水分利用效率具有重要意义.归纳了农田土壤水分的测定方法,阐述了反应土壤水分能量的土壤水势的概念及其测定方法,并分析了土壤水势与土壤含水量之间的关系.探讨了土壤？植物？大气动态水分连续体的关系,分析了土壤水分的有效性,指明了农田土壤水分的研究方向.