Foster parenting: A developmental model

This paper proposes a developmental framework for foster parents and outlines four distinct growth stages. Such a framework can be of value to program administrators who are required to assess foster parent development during the crucial matching process. To draw a distinction between each developmental stage, specific instrumental tasks and indicators are outlined.     

Characteristics and practices of home-based workers

Using data collected by a nine-state regional research project, cluster analysis generates nine clusters of home-based workers from 853 usable cases. The clusters are named for their distinguishing characteristics as follows: Employed Outside the Home; Low Intrusion; Female Wage Workers; See Clients at Home; Lack of Health Insurance; Female Business Owners; Isolated; Two-earner Households; and Male One-earner Households. Ninety percent of the home-based workers are covered by health insurance, 44% are covered through another job. Female home-based workers comprise 41% of the total sample and earn net home-based work incomes below the sample mean. The clusters with the highest net income are predominately male and in marketing/sales, mechanical/transportation, and contractor occupational categories. Recommendations for prospective home-based workers are made.This article reports results from the Cooperative Regional Research Project, NE-167, entitled, At-Home Income Generation: Impact on Management, Productivity and Stability in Rural/Urban Families, partially supported by the Cooperative States Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Experiment Stations at the University of Hawaii, Iowa State University, Lincoln University (Missouri), Michigan State University, Cornell University (New York), The Ohio State University, The Pennsylvania State University, Utah State University, and the University of Vermont. Authors are listed alphabetically and have contributed equally to this publication.Her research interests include home-based work, social aspects of clothing, and consumer purchase behavior.Her research interests include farm family financial management, home-based work, and housing expenditures.     

AN ALTERNATIVE TO MANAGED CARE: A GUILD MODEL FOR THE INDEPENDENT PRACTICE OF PSYCHOTHERAPY

As health care is reconfigured by HMOs and managed care organizations, family therapists often have to decide whether or not to cooperate with the new power structures and their ways of doing things. The chief concern of many therapists is the ehtical bind created when the managed care orgranization demands breaches of confidentiality or makes decisions about the course of treatment that may not, in the therapist's opinion, be in the best interest of the family. Associations of independent, nonmanaged care psychotherapists are springing up in response to these dilemmas. This paper describes the philosophical evolution and organizational development of one such association.     

The wealth of nations revisited: Income and quality of life

Does economic prosperity enhance the quality of human life? Across 101 nations, 32 indices were analyzed that reflect a representative sample of universal human values (e.g., happiness, social order, and social justice). Wealth correlated significantly with 26 of the 32 indices, indicating a higher QOL in wealthier nations. Only suicide and CO₂ emissions were worse in wealthier societies. Basic physical needs were met early in economic development, whereas advanced scientific work occurred only when basic physical needs were fulfilled for almost all people in the society. Limitations of the conclusions are discussed.     

The unique nature of textile and craft home-based workers: A comparison

Using data collected by a nine-state regional research project, textile and craft home-based workers are compared with the rest of the home-based workers in the sample on several selected variables: home-based work and worker characteristics, income, adaptive behaviors to hectic work times, and advantages and disadvantages of home-based work. Significantly more females than males are engaged in textile and craft home-based work. The findings are related to gender; compared with other workers, textile and craft workers spend fewer hours on home-based work, have lower gross business incomes but greater gross family incomes, have more spouses employed outside the home, and are more likely to use personal time than to hire help during hectic work times. Additional research should investigate gender effects and their relationship to the choice and context of home-based work as well as their impact on the household.This article reports results from the Cooperative Regional Research Project, NE-167, entitled,At-Home Income Generation: Impact on Management, Productivity and Stability in Rural and Urban Families, partially supported by Cooperative States Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Experiment Stations at the University of Hawaii, Iowa State University, Lincoln University (Missouri), Michigan State University, Cornell University (New York), The Ohio State University, The Pennsylvania State University, Utah State University, and University of Vermont. The authors are listed alphabetically and have contributed equally to this publication.Her research interests include home-based work, social aspects of clothing, and consumer purchase behavior.Her research interests include farm family financial management, home-based work, and housing expenditures.     

Towards the prevention of abuse allegations in foster care: Exploring interpersonal dynamics

The purpose of this paper is to identify and examine interpersonal dynamics within the foster family-foster child system which are considered precursors to allegations of abuse against the foster family. Using key concepts from Family Systems Theory (Kerr & Bowen, 1988), the ulimate objective of this examination is to contribute to the ongoing effort to reduce the potential for allegations and placement deterioration.     

A Structural Analysis of the Effectiveness of Buying Firms' Strategies to Improve Supplier Performance

Many manufacturing firms have increased the amount of component parts and services they outsource, while refocusing on their core capabilities. Outsourcing parts and services to independent, external suppliers means that suppliers' performance is increasingly critical to the long‐term success of these buying firms. Buying firms are increasingly using disparate supplier development strategies to improve supplier performance including supplier assessment, providing incentives for improved performance, instigating competition among suppliers, and direct involvement of the buying firm's personnel with suppliers through activities such as training of suppliers' personnel. Using resource‐based theory, internalization theory, and structural equation modeling, we examine the impact of these supplier development strategies on performance. We conclude that direct involvement activities, where the buying firm internalizes a significant amount of the supplier development effort, play a critical role in performance improvement.     

World City Networks and Global Commodity Chains: towards a world-systems' integration

There are two literatures that explicitly describe the spaces of flows that constitute contemporary globalization – World City Network analysis and Global Commodity Chain analysis. We explore the possibilities of their integration by returning to their common origins in world-systems analysis. Each model is described and critiqued and it is argued that each can be used to address some of the other's limitations. This is illustrated through world city process additions to understanding the coffee commodity chain and commodity chain additions to understanding Mexico City and Santiago's positioning in the World City Network. This complementarity is just a first step towards a more complete integration; the conclusion describes the next steps towards just such a research agenda.     

Question Threat and Response Bias

Perceived normative threat influences responses to questionsin surveys. Respondents who report that questions about an activitywould make most people very uneasy are less likely to reportever engaging in that activity than are persons who report lessuneasiness. If respondents do not admit to participating inan activity, perceived threat appears to have acted as a gatekeeperto prevent further questions. Since perceived threat is associatedwith underreporting, some simple adjustment methods may be usedto improve behavioral estimates.