Parental Contact with Children Fostered and in Residential Care after the Children Act 1989

Correspondence to Andy Bilson, Department of Social Work and Social Policy, University of Northumbria, Newcastle NE7 7XA. E-mail Andy_Bilson{at}Unn.AC.UK Summary Research carried out since the implementation of the ChildrenAct 1989 based on a sample of 848 children looked after by localauthorities indicates that previous estimates of the numberswho have no contact with parents may have underestimated theextent of the problem, and that despite the emphasis placedon contact by the Children Act there is still much work to bedone to improve practice. The research not only confirms earlierfindings about the instability of placements in care but alsoshows differences in face to face contact which depend on thelength of time in care or accommodation and the reason for entry,as well as differences between children placed in residentialand foster care. Finally it was found that where children havespent long periods in care they tend to have little contactwith fieldworkers, and it is suggested that there is a needto redefine the social work agenda for this vulnerable groupof children.     

Trade union pedagogy and cross‐border action

In this article, we examine the potential of global union pedagogy to address the structural and political challenges of cross‐border trade‐union action. We do so by proposing an analytical framework that draws on labour relations, political sociology and education to explain educational processes and outcomes as responses to the pitfalls of global labour campaigns and the inadequacy of global and local labour institutions. We proceed to assess the value of our framework by elaborating on its different dimensions – framing, synthesizing, connecting and regenerating – in relation to the educational work of a global union federation, namely the International Transport Workers' Federation. We find that an actor‐centred approach that combines top–down, bottom–up as and horizontal processes of collecting knowledge from different contexts and making links between different countries, industries and parts of supply chains can help actors realize that their seemingly diverse concerns are essentially different manifestations of the same problem.     

THE USEFULNESS OF CONSUMER CONFIDENCE IN FORECASTING HOUSEHOLD SPENDING IN CANADA: A NATIONAL AND REGIONAL ANALYSIS

We examine the ability of the Conference Board of Canada's Index of Consumer Attitudes (ICA) to forecast Canadian household spending both nationally and regionally. Our results indicate that at the national level, the ICA is able to predict total personal consumption expenditures and various subcategories of consumer spending, even when controlling for other macroeconomic variables. We find, however, that the forecasting ability of the regional indices is somewhat weaker when compared to that of the national ICA. Overall, our results reconfirm that consumer confidence is a reliable predictor of household spending in Canada. (JEL C53 , E21 )     

Staff Attitudes and Caring Practices in Homes for the Elderly

Correspondence to Tim Booth, Joint Unit for Social Services Research, The University, Sheffield S10 2TN. Summary This article presents the findings from a major survey of staffattitudes and caring practices in homes for the elderly in Fife.The survey was carried out in the wake of the Wagner Reportto examine the diffusion of good practice ideas among residentialstaff and to see how far these ideas are reflected in actualcaring routines. The study points to the existence of a ‘coolingeffect’ whereby adherence to good practice lessens thecloser one gets to operational reality. Finally, the implicationsof these findings for staff training are discussed.     

Issues of Risk Practice and Welfare in Learning Disability Services

This article focuses on risk management in services for people with learning disabilities. It identifies the issue of risk as central to many historical and current care practices. It illustrates this through three examples that raise questions of risk in relationship to people with learning disabilities: on community care, alcohol and sexuality. It concludes that risk has often been negatively associated with danger, but that sensitive risk management has the potential to improve or maintain the quality of care services.     

MULTI‐VENDOR SOURCING IN A RETAIL SUPPLY CHAIN*

This paper describes a methodology for managing capacity, inventory, and shipments for an assortment of retail products produced by multiple vendors. The vendors differ in lead times, costs, and production flexibility. Product demand is uncertain and fluctuates over time. We develop an optimization model to choose the production commitments that maximize the retailers expected gross profit, given demand forecasts and vendors capacity and flexibility constraints. The model has been incorporated into a decision support system, developed in collaboration with supply chain planners at a global retailer of seasonal and fashion merchandise. The software has been tested by two major retailers.