bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Past Childhood Experiences and Current Parent-Infant Interactions
Authors: Onyskiw Judee E. , Harrison Margaret J. , Magill-Evans Joyce E.
Published: March 2007

To examine the relationships between adults' childhood experiences in their family of origin, current level of marital support, and quality of parenting interactions, 66 mothers and fathers were observed individually interacting with their infants during home visits using a standardized observational measure (Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale). Parents completed questionnaires on marital support (Dyadic Adjustment Scale) and on childhood experiences in the family of origin (Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire). For mothers, there was no relationship between childhood experiences and the quality of parenting interactions. For fathers, the relationship varied as a function of marital support. Fathers who perceived less positive childhood experiences but who had more optimal levels of marital support were predicted to have more responsive parenting interactions.
Historiography
Authors: MacKinnon Marian
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to contribute to the understanding of the nursing profession and the role of the nurse today by illuminating a small portion of nursing history. The historical biography method was used to study the practice of one nurse in rural Saskatchewan during the periodfrom 1929 to 1963. Open-ended and nonstructured interviews were conducted with the respondent and six former patients. This article addresses only the maternity portion of the respondent's practice during the period from 1933 to 1944. The maternity portion of the respondent's practice was analyzed using the constant comparative method to identify themes. Findings indicate that caring, "presencing, " and "expert practice " are important themes in this nurse s practice. These themes are analyzed and compared to the work of other researchers in this area.
Establishing the Nurse-Family Relationship in the Intensive Care Unit
Authors: Hupcey Judith E.
Published: March 2007

The nurse-family relationship in the intensive care unit (ICU) may replace the traditional nurse-patient relationship due to the patient's compromised state. As a result, the nurse-family relationship becomes extremely important. Nurses and families may develop a relationship in which they work together to benefit the patient, or an inadequate relationship may develop. In this study, strategies used by nurses andfamilies to either develop or inhibit the development of the nurse-family relationship were identified. Using unstructured interviews with ICU nurses and family members of ICU patients, categories of strategies were identified and behaviors described. Nurses and families perceived that they each displayed only positive behaviors yet identified inhibiting behaviors of the other Once the behaviors were shown to nurses as secondary informants, they were able to identify with theirnegative behaviors. An understanding of these strategies will help nurses to reevaluate theirpractice and enhance their understanding of the behaviors offamily members.
Expert Nursing Assistant Care Activities
Authors: Hartig Margaret Thornan
Published: March 2007

Expert nursing assistants (NAs) described a broad range of care activities providedfor nursing home residents. Datafrom in-depth interviews were analyzed using a naturalistic inquiry approach. Functional care activities addressed activities of daily living. Seven types ofpsychosocial care activities promoted emotional and mental health. NAs also described activities beyond the scope of their training, yet delegated by licensed nurses. Identification of expert NA contributions to resident care, proposed as the highest level of NA care possible, can guide development of educational programs and evaluation instruments. Awareness of delegated activities can direct research regarding their safety and legality.
Perceived Impediments to Prenatal Care among Low-Income Women
Authors: Mikhail Blanche I. , Curry Mary Ann
Published: March 2007

The study describes women’s experience with prenatal care, their perceived impediments to care, and compares the impediments cited by the women with levels of care utilization. The sample consisted of 126 African American women. A structured interview and questionnaire were used. The results showed that pregnancy was unplanned in 78.6% of the women, and no one encouraged the women to obtain care in half the cases. Only 50.8% of the women made adequate utilization of prenatal care. The main impediments to care were transportation, long waiting time, having too many other problems, and fear of staff finding out about the women’s use of substances. Five of the reported impediments significantly influenced the women’s utilization of care. These were: substance abuse, fear of medical examination, the belief that prenatal care is not necessary, already knew of pregnancy, and no babysitter for other children.
Comic Effects: Postcolonial Political Mythologies in The World of Lily Wong
Authors: Kluver Randy
Published: March 2007

The World of Lily Wong, a long-running comic strip in Hong Kong, documented the final 100 days of British colonial rule leading up to the transition to Chinese sovereignty. For an anxious audience, the strip defined the nature of Hong Kong's transition by simplifying a highly complex event, relying heavily on mythical images of communists, capitalists, and bureaucrats to portray the transition to Chinese sovereignty as the end of the world of Lily Wong, or Hong Kong's society. This article explores the role of comic strips as a political and propagandistic medium in the People's Republic of China, analyzes the political mythology portrayed in the strip toward both British colonial and Chinese rule, and demonstrates the way in which Lily Wong articulated attitudes and fears toward the Chinese transition. Drawing on Roland Barthes's understanding of mythology, the article then illustrates the ways in which political mythologies are communicated through the use of images in comic strips to demonstrate how comic strips, calling on hidden reserves of meaning, serve as a perfect vehicle for political myth-making, hiding political agendas behind a mask of humor.
Plague of Pariahs: AIDS 'Zines and the Rhetoric of Transgression
Authors: Long Thomas L.
Published: March 2007

Mainstream AIDS activists in the 1980s responded to demonizing and stigmatizing representations of the HIV infected by attempting to “normalize” people living with AIDS. However, some gay men in the 1980s and early 1990s, catalyzed by antigay politics since the late 1970s and overwhelmed by the excessively apocalyptic and overdetermined representations of AIDS in popular media, deliberately embraced the role of sexual and medical pariah, celebrated social anxieties about their public danger as vectors of infection, and repudiated the sympathetically sentimentalizing images of “AIDS victims.” Adopting the rhetoric of punk culture and its forms of self-representation—particularly the punk rock-derived “fanzine” or “'zine”—these “infected faggots” and “diseased pariahs” exposed and celebrated their HIV status and erotic adventurism. However, the writers, editors, and publishers of AIDS 'zines contended with the competing claims of performative self-representation, on one hand, and of a readership, on the other. The result in such 'zines as Infected Faggot Perspectives and Diseased Pariah News was a continuous crisis of self-representation evident even in the format and technology of the 'zines print publication and circulation.
Conspiracy or Consensus? Reconsidering the Moral Panic
Authors: Stabile Carol A.
Published: March 2007

This article considers Policing the Crisis' continued significance some three decades into the crime wave that began in the United States. Specifically, this article uses Policing the Crisis as a springboard for examining the moral panic and crisis as frameworks for understanding media coverage of crime and social responses to that coverage. Policing the Crisis was published at a transitional moment in the development of cultural studies, after which what Gramsci described as a necessary balance between economism and ideologism shifted perceptibly toward the latter or what Gramsci described as “an exaggeration of the voluntarist and individual element.” The text thus offers insight into the relationship between cultural studies and political economy of the media, at the same time illustrating a trajectory not pursued within cultural studies. To get at these issues, the article examines two overlapping areas of concern: the role of public opinion in gauging consent and the role of institutions and coercion.
Framing Life and Death: Physician-Assisted Suicide and the New York Times from 1991 to 1996
Authors: Kalwinsky Robert K.
Published: March 2007

This article represents a first step toward contextualizing the study of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) within the framework of mass communications. An impassioned topic among certain groups, the incidence of PAS is apparently more prevalent than one would suspect. Save for accounts of Jack Kevorkian's activities and a few contested cases, the media were initially silent in this regard. After defining terms and detailing relevant background material, a research proposal is set forth that uses textual analysis to trace the threads of developing accounts. Specifically, coverage of PAS in The New York Times over the past six years is analyzed to glean organizing principles that create cultural meanings for the practice.
Fictional Scotland: A “Realm of the Imagination” in Film Drama and Literature
Authors: Bicket Douglas
Published: March 2007

This article examines the issues of media representation and cultural distinctiveness within Scotland, one of many national entities currently denied political and cultural expression at the sub-nation state level. Current output of Scotland's television and film industries is compared with traditional and modern Scottish literature to see which themes and subjects have been preserved, how representative these themes are of Scotland, and whether they remain distinct from dominant English and American trends. The author argues that Scottish media output remains culturally and nationally distinctive in terms of recurring patterns in the selection of various themes and discourses. However, in the absence of a modern Scottish polity that could give political and cultural expression to the country, these themes, discourses, and patterns of use remain inherently regressive and mythic, placing Scottish cultural identity squarely in Scotland's past rather than its present or its expectations of the future.
Labour's Social Policy 1974-79
Authors: Kerr Hugh
Published: March 2007

This article reviews the record of the Labour Government in social policy 1974-79. It points out that many of the cutbacks in public expenditure and restructuring of welfare services now being pursued by the Tories began under the last Labour Government. It also offers a critique of the Fabian analysis of welfare by critically reviewing Labour and Equality by Peter Townsend and Nicholas Bosanquet. It points out the naive idealism of the Fabian approach to social policy under Labour and indicates an alternative socialist conception of welfare.
Constitutionalising Racism: The British Nationality Bill 1981
Authors: Dixon David
Published: March 2007

It is the aim of this section to include summaries and comments on recent developments in law and policy in the social welfare area. This covers short notes on changes in the law or in administrative practice, as well as discussion and criticism of future plans or political strategies. In this issue we look at the government's proposed new nationality legislation, and at the operation ofthe Manpower Services Commission's Youth Opportunities Programme. In future issues we hope to discuss recent developments in health, education and social services policies; and we would welcome contributions of 2000 to 3000 words in these or other areas. Contributions to this section should be sent to Pete Alcock, Dept. E.B.S., Sheffield City Polytechnic, Pond Street, Sheffield, S1 1WB.
The myth of meeting needs in adult education and community development
Authors: Armstrong Paul F.
Published: March 2007

The phrase 'meeting needs' is commonly used in social and educational policy-making. But what does it mean? In this article, it is suggested that it should be understood as an 'objective factity': 'meeting needs' is merely a defensive slogan, propagated to protect areas of work and expertise, and in particular to justify the claim for increasingly scarce resources. Such an analysis of 'meeting needs' is obviously less concerned with the inherent logic or philosophy of the concept, and more with its ideological nature as a political and professional strategy, contributing both directly and indirectly to the maintenance of the status quo, as part of the cultural hegemony.
The Left and the welfare state: a critical analysis
Authors: Mishra Ramesh , McMaster
Published: March 2007

This paper takes to task two theses which are often canvassed on the left; firstly that the welfare state is indefensible and secondly that it is irrever sible and cannot be undone. It is argued that socialists and fentinists must defend the principle of collective provision embodied in the welfare state sible and cannot be undone. It is argued that socialists and fentinists must defend the principale of collective provision embodied in the welfare state attacked as overoptimistic and akistorical. It is suggested that the social democratic welfare state may be feasibly formed into a warfare, welfare state underpinning permanent mass unemployment and poverty.
The Asian Mother and Baby Campaign: the construction of ethnic minorities' health needs
Authors: Rocheron Yvette
Published: March 2007

This paper discusses the Asian Mother and Baby Campaign, an initiative in health promotion which aims to promote better maternity services for Asian women. The Campaign has been sponsored by the DHSS and the Save the Children Fund since in launch in September 1984. What is under consideration here is the medical, social and political background to the Campaign. How the Campaign relates to such issues as the interpretation of perinatal mortality rates, women's rights in obstetric care and racism in the NHS will be examined. The overall argument is that the Campaign, in its initial conception and objectives, represents an attempt by health authorities, to create a consensus among health professionals on how to meet the health needs of Asian mothers. Its reformist intentions tend to col lude, at the ideological level, with an image of a 'Black pathology' although they represent a genuine attempt to challenge personal racism. It is this core tension in the Campaign which will be discussed.
Section 28: law, myth and paradox
Authors: Evans David T.
Published: March 2007

Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, which states that local authorities may not 'intentionally promote homosexuality' , enjoyed a rela tively quiet first anniversary at the end of May this year which was in marked contrast to the intense political debate and heightened media inter est which attended its birth. This article seeks to explain why, through an examination of Section 28 as law, by an assessment of its ideological locus within neo-conservatism, and by an evaluation of its somewhat ambiguous effects on gay politics and representations of homosexuality.
Empowerment and oppression: An indissoluble pairing for contemporary social work
Authors: Ward David , Mullender Audrey
Published: March 2007

The term 'empowerment' has taken on a cachet in social work practice paper links it firmly with the need to tackle oppression and shows that this which is not matched either by precision or clanty of definition. This value base stressing user-led action is present.
Charging elders: perverse incentives and poverty
Authors: French John
Published: March 2007

This paper argues that the two thematic constructions in the Fowler and Griffiths reports have combined to create financial diswelfares for elder customers of community care. It is argued that decentralised systems of charging have to date created territorial inequalities es pecially for elders in receipt of means-tested benefits. The paper reviews the incidence of reliance on, and evidence of, underclaim in welfare benefit entitlements in relation to community care. In order to reduce regional inequities, the case for an equitable charging policy is presented, reflecting a central principle, hitherto ignored, in the Griffiths Report. The rationale for such a policy, it is argued, con forms to the second principle of a Rawlsian theory of justice.
Paying the penalty: the impact of the Child Support Act
Authors: Smith Roger
Published: March 2007

This article briefly summarizes the history and impact of the Child Support legislation, noting that it has failed to achieve any real im provement in the circumstances of children and the parents (usually mothers) caring for them. It further argues that the Conservative Government's 1996 measures to intensify the effect of the penalties im posed for non-cooperation will compound the hardship already caused. The article stresses the fact that this additional measure will impact dis proportionately on particular groups, and concludes that the legislation is not merely mean-spirited, but is also directly discriminatory.
Citizenship and gender: theoretical approaches and historical legacies
Authors: Bussemaker Jet , Voet Rian
Published: March 2007

Recently, citizenship has become a popular concept in different coun tries. This article explores the reasons why citizenship has become such a 'catch-all' concept, and analyses the relation between gender and citizen ship. Throughout history, we distinguish three vocabularies of citizenship: civic-republican, liberal and communitarian. As we show, they each have advantages and disadvantages from a gender perspective, some of which crop up in current debates on citizenship, as the brief cross-national analysis of the other articles in this issue shows.
Name Your Favorite Musician
Authors: Stahlberg Dagmar , Sczesny Sabine , Braun Friederike
Published: March 2007

This article reports on two experiments waith native speakers of German that were conducted to determine the influence of different types of German generics on the cognitive inclusion of women. The results of these studies show that masculine versus other types of generics influence the retrieval of male and female exemplars from memory. This is the first piece of empirical evidence for this kind of effect with regard to the German language.
Facework & Politeness: Multiple Goals in Courtroom Discourse
Authors: Penman Robyn
Published: March 2007

This paper places recent work on politeness and facework into a broader framework concerned with the analysis of multiple goals in courtroom discourse. Problems with Brown & Levinson's (1978) theory as applied to ongoing discourse are addressed. A schema is developed that can be used to interpret major strategic options available for the conducting of facework. A methodology for employing this interpretative approach is described and illustrated with case studies of courtroom discourse. Preliminary analyses provide support for the approach: it is applicable to ongoing discourse and has a coherent internal logic. Directions for future research are indicated.
Second-Language Fluency and Person Perception in China and the United States
Authors: White Michael J. , Li Yan
Published: March 2007

The hypothesis that fluency of non-native speakers would affect how they were perceived by native speakers was examined. Speech samples were first collected from non-native speakers of Chinese and from non-native speakers of English. Each language sample was then rated for fluency, after which 110 native Chinese speakers and 114 native American English speakers rated the non-native speakers of the respective languages on seven personality scales. A multivariate analysis showed that more fluent non-native speakers of either language were perceived more positively by native speaking raters than less fluent speakers. Ratings were influenced by the order in which raters heard speakers. This was manifested by a main effect for order among American raters, and an interaction effect with fluency for both groups. The fluency of initially heard speakers appeared to establish a standard against which subsequently heard speakers were judged. These findings were observed using personality descriptors which have similar connotative and denotative meaning across the two languages, allowing comparability of results. Although findings were very similar for both groups, increases in fluency affected ratings more uniformly for Chinese than for American raters. Implications for contextual influences on person perception and social cognition are discussed.
Gender-Preferential Language Use in Spouse and Stranger Interaction
Authors: Fitzpatrick Mary Anne , Mulac Anthony , Dindia Kathryn
Published: March 2007

Research on sex differences in the communication practices of men and women often ignores the contexts in which communication takes place. By comparing women and men as they interact with both strangers and spouses, the authors present a more nuanced view of gender differences in social interaction. The authors discuss gender-preferential language and present data on social interaction in same-sex, mixed-sex and marital dialogues. Results of a round-robin analysis of variance indicate that same-sex dyadic conversations, but not mixed-sex dyadic conversations, are marked by a strong display of stereotypical gender-preferential linguistic use. Husbands tend to adopt a female-preferential linguistic style when speaking to their wives.
The Meaning of Management
Authors: Glover Derek , Gleeson Denis , Gough Gerry , Johnson Michael
Published: March 2007

This paper summarizes an investigation of perceptions of the roles and responsibilities of middle managers in seven secondary schools. It considers the various interpretations of the term and the way in which the work of the traditional head of department is changing. It outlines the expectations of middle managers on the part of both senior and managed staff and shows how, through an analysis of leadership, administration and evaluation roles, a tension is developing between the mechanistic and professional approaches. The implications of this for the development of future middle managers are considered together with the view that a balance is needed between competence and professional focuses in development and training.
E-Topia as Cosmopolis or Citadel
Authors: Hand Martin , Sandywell Barry
Published: March 2007

We present a critical appraisal of the impact of the Internet (and related information technologies) upon processes of democratization and de-democratization in contemporary society. We review accounts of `the information revolution' as these have become polarized into mutually exclusive rhetorics of future cosmopolitan or citadellian e-topias. We question the Manichean assumptions common to both rhetorics: particularly the fetishism of information technology as an intrinsically democratizing or de-democratizing force on societies. In opposition to this new technological fetishism we focus upon (1) Internet historicity; (2) the human/machine nexus; (3) Internet policing and appropriation presenting a different story of the Net, emphasizing contingent, indeterminate and negotiable characteristics of sociotechnical systems, preparing for a more radical critique of existing theories of `global technological citizenship'. Refiguring `culture' as technopoiesis, we argue that an alternative approach to global civil society minimally presupposes a cultural sociology of the Internet: approaching information technologies as the product of specific sociocultural practices and as historical sites of ethico-political transformation and reflexive self-figuration.
Bet You Can'T Win
Authors: Bellringer Paul
Published: March 2007

Gambling can be as destructive and damaging an addiction as alcoholism. The author draws our attention to this under-reported problem and describes a unique hostel project for compulsive gamblers.
Crime Prevention and the Future of the Probation Service
Authors: Shaw Stephen
Published: March 2007

Recent expansion in the conventional work-load of the Probation Service has not removed the basic empirical and theoretical objections to present probation practice. However, there are few signs of the Service embracing crime prevention as its central objective. Crime prevention and community work are vague and problematic concepts. However, they do presuppose a 'bias towards the poor' which has characterised the Probation Service's traditional concerns.
Crime Prevention Within the Probation Service
Authors: Laycock Gloria , Pease Ken
Published: March 2007

Preventive strategies have only belatedly been recognised in tackling the crime problem. The authors argue their merits, not as a last resort, but as part of a balanced approach, and suggest that the Probation Service is essential to the development of new initiatives. They admit these are controversial proposals but believe that a preventive perspective would aid the task of helping offenders.
A View from the Bridge
Authors: Thomas Howard , Wilbourne Ron
Published: March 2007

Home Office guidelines suggest that probation staff seconded to Young Offender establishments should act as a bridge between the institution and outside social work agencies. The authors attempt to provide that link, based on a study of SERs on 683 juveniles entering Whatton Detention Centre and discharged during 1984. They conclude that a major re-examination of both SER practice and dual agency responsibility for juveniles is required.
Probation Attitudes to Battered Women: Apathy, Error and Avoidance?
Authors: Swain Kay
Published: March 2007

A survey of probation officers' work with marital violence suggests insufficient attention, sexist assumptions and inappropriate action prevail. The author considers alternative ways of confronting male aggression being developed in the United States.
Supervision in a Changing Organisation
Authors: Boswell Gwyneth
Published: March 2007

The role of the Senior has never been properly defined, but requires clearer definition and identity at a time of new demands and greater accountability. The author analyses the demanding and conflicting set of expectations facing supervisors if they are to offer a useful and coherent service to their teams.
An Experimental Alcohol Programme for Prisoners
Authors: McGill Pauline , Williamson Pip , Roberts Joan , Frith Ruth
Published: March 2007

The continuing rise of alcohol-related crime in Britain has been documented in a series of reports, papers and policy recommendations and has generated some urgency in devising a variety of experimental measures to meet this social problem. The authors describe a pilot project undertaken by Aquarius, a voluntary organisation, together with the Probation team at Winson Green Prison.
Running a Dispersed Statutory Probation Hostel: 'Those Bad Lads Next Door'
Authors: Burgin Katy , Celnick Anne , Whyms Martin
Published: March 2007

The 'dispersed' concept in residential provision has existed for decades in the voluntary sector but has only recently been adopted by the Probation Service, often as a 'halfway house' facility. Speirhead in Sheffield has uniquely offered a completely dispersed hostel regime since 1984 and offers an encouraging contrast to traditional hostel practice.
Audio-description: An option, not an answer
Authors: O'Carroll Liam
Published: March 2007

The introduction into theatres and cinemas of audio-descriptions of the scenes and events has been hailed as a boon for blind audiences. This personal evaluation of the system looks at the advantages and disadvantages as judged by one visually impaired, regular theatre-goer.
The employment of the visually handicapped in Suffolk
Authors: Bradshaw James S
Published: March 2007

The following is a summary of a symposium organised by the West Suffolk Voluntary Association for the Blind, held at Hengrave Hall, Bury St Edumunds in September 1982. Its aim was to identify ways in which the local voluntary association could help in the training and employment of the visually handicapped in the county.
Handwriting as a motor activity
Authors: Lally Mike , Macleod lain
Published: March 2007

Computer-based handwriting exercises were developed for students with handwriting difficulties, but normal vision, in 1976. These exercises were subsequently adapted for blind students by using the computer to translate visual information concerning pen movements and letter shapes into tactile and auditory form. The computer can also transform this information into a magnified visual display suitable for visually impaired students. Good results from the computer exercises have been obtained with both visually impaired and blind students, who after a period of training with computer guidance have been able to write fluently in freehand. These successes provide further evidence for the extent to which handwriting is a motor activity.
Fifteen years of work at the Research Centre for the Education of the Visually Handicapped, University of Birmingham
Authors: Tobin M.J.
Published: March 2007

The background to the establishment of the Research Centre for the Education of the Visually Handicapped is described, and this is followed by summaries of the major projects that have been carried out since 1970. Much of the work is undertaken as a result of discussions with teachers and social workers, with the result that there is a very strong practical bias to the Centre's investigations. These projects are set against a broader framework of more theoretical investigations, and the Centre's commitment to dissemination of information is also made clear.
Why low vision rehabilitation should be given higher priorities: the complexity of the problem
Authors: Inde Krister
Published: March 2007

A summary of a talk given at the Scottish National Federation for the Welfare of the Blind General Council Meeting on 24 September 1987, in Edinburgh. The conclusions reached are based on the personal experiences o f the author during his twenty years as a partially sighted low vision teacher and professional copywriter in Sweden.
A look back at changes in services for deaf-blind people
Authors: Shields Joan
Published: March 2007

The author has worked with deaf-blind people for many years. From 1952 until 1980 she was the teacher in charge of the deaf-blind unit at Condover Hall School for Blind Children with Other Handicaps. In 1980 she was appointed by the RNIB as one of their team of Education Advisors to work with those children who had hearing impairment in addition to visual handicap. Almost at the same time she was asked to take the post of RNIB Services Officer for Deaf-Blind Adults. These two jobs covered the UK and any requests from the Republic of Ireland. Last Summer she retired from both posts, but may still be consulted or asked to speak about matters concerning this most diverse collection of people.
The National Curriculum and the visually impaired: some interviews
Authors: Raffray Monique
Published: March 2007

This article brings together points discussed during three interviews about the setting up of the National Curriculum, its implications for teachers and pupils in schools for the visually handicapped, and some of the practical problems involved - with particular reference to the teaching of English.
No hiding place: how facts should shape philosophy
Authors: Lomas Graham M.
Published: March 2007

This article ranges over the wealth of data provided by the RNIB Needs Survey just published, and looks specifically at their significance for the future work of voluntary agencies The survey shows that the character and scale of visual Impairment have been understated In the past The twenty or so national organisations and the two hundred or so agencies working at a more local level, are addressed The output of the Needs Survey so far published (Volume /) will challenge all agencies working on behalf of blind and partially sighted people, practically and philosophically
Art and touch: a conceptual approach
Authors: Everett John , Gilbert Wally
Published: March 2007

This article concentrates on the work of three students, all of whom were born blind. It raises issues which may pose problems for those whose ideas on art are relatively conventional, and highlights the difficulties we have in applying conventional terminology to the art of blind people. Addressing these difficulties provides insights into aspects of art which have universal application in a century in which traditional visual conventions have been continually and effectively challenged, the work of those who have never seen has special significance. Like the work of many modern artists, it is often as much conceptual as perceptual in its origins. In a time obsessed with future directions it is surely appropriate to drop preconceptions and begin viewing the work of blind people in its own right
Perception and adjustment: self and social
Authors: Stockley Jennifer , Brooks Bernard
Published: March 2007

This article describes a study (1994) which focuses on the ways in which a group of students at RNIB Redhill College view themselves in terms of self-adjustment. The findings are compared with ratings made by a tutor at the college, using a profile of adaptive skills. The main aim of the study was to determine whether students' self-perceptions vary greatly from the tutor's perceptions of their social adjustment. It was expected that there would be a number of 'mismatched' perceptions. This could have implications for evaluating both teaching programmes and individual development. The results of this small-scale study suggest that most students have problems related to self-esteem and self- efficacy. Such students should be identified at an early stage and supported appropriately.
How non-visual modalities can help the young visually impaired child to succeed in visual and other tasks
Authors: Tobin Michael , Bozic Nicholas , Douglas Graeme , Greaney John
Published: March 2007

In this Paper, an account is given of some observational studies of young visually impaired children interacting with micro computer programs designed to encourage their 'looking' behaviour and their language skills. The use of control devices such as touch screens and concept keyboards is illustrated and discussed. The role of the teacher/parent in this interaction is examined with the intention of demonstrating that the software should not be seen as totally self- sufficient but should be regarded, rather, as a flexible and open-ended means of optimising the teaching/learning situation, providing immediate feedback and 'knowledge of results' to the child and presenting opportunities for the teacher/ parent to explore and capitalise upon unexpected responses by the child.
Friendship Patterns among African American, Asian American, and Latino Adolescents from Low-Income Families
Authors: Way Niobe , Cowal Kirsten , Gingold Rachel , Pahl Kerstin , Bissessar Nirvani
Published: March 2007

Using quantitative and qualitative methods, the present study sought to explore: the patterns or types of closest, same-sex friendships among ethnic minority, low-income adolescents; the psychological and familial correlates of these patterns; and the adolescents' subjective experiences of each type of closest, same-sex friendships. Two hundred and thirteen African American, Latino, and Asian American high school students participated in the study. Results of cluster analyses suggested four types of closest, same-sex friendships: (i) `ideal'; (ii) `engaged'; (iii) `average'; and (iv) `disengaged.' Girls and Latinos were most likely to have `ideal' friendships, while boys and Asian Americans were most likely to have `disengaged' friendships. In addition, the `disengaged' adolescents reported significantly lower self-esteem, higher levels of depressive symptoms, and lower levels of family support than the adolescents in the other cluster groups. The qualitative data suggested across and within group variability in the subjective experiences of closest, same-sex friendships. Findings suggest new directions for friendship research as well as new ways of conceptualizing the integration of quantitative and qualitative data.
Causal Relationships between Perceived Social Skills and Day-To-Day Social Interaction: Extending the Sociometer Hypothesis
Authors: Neziek John B.
Published: March 2007

Twice over two years, participants described their day-to-day social interactions for two weeks, and they described their social skills. Within each phase of the study, self-perceived social skills and the quality of social interaction were positively related. Moreover, the results of cross-lagged panel analyses suggested that changes in the quality of day-to-day interaction led to changes in perceived social skills, whereas changes in social skills did not lead to changes in the quality of interaction. In contrast, quantity of interaction and social skills were not related either within or across time. Consistent with some aspects of the sociometer hypothesis, improvements in the quality of people's social interactions led to increases in self-perceived social skills, and declines in the quality of social interactions led to decreases in self-perceived social skills.
On Being Insecure about the Assessment of Attachment Styles
Authors: Kurdek Lawrence A.
Published: March 2007

The psychometric properties of subscores from Collins and Read's (1990) Adult Attachment Scale (AAS, Ns = 61 gay, 42 lesbian, and 155 heterosexual couples) and Griffin and Bartholomew's (1994b) Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ, N = 33 gay, 52 lesbian, and 79 heterosexual couples) were examined. Type of couple did not moderate any findings. Dependency and Closeness emerged as reliable factors from the AAS, but, with controls for the Big Five personality factors, neither attachment style accounted for unique variability in relationship satisfaction, and only Closeness accounted for unique variability in relationship commitment. Closeness exerted an indirect effect on commitment through both expressiveness and dysfunctional beliefs regarding relationship standards. Avoidance and Anxiety emerged as reliable factors from the RSQ, but, with controls for the six facets of Neuroticism, only Anxiety accounted for variability in satisfaction and commitment. Anxiety exerted an indirect effect on satisfaction and commitment through positive models of the self and positive models of the other in the current relationship. It is concluded that, although closeness and anxiety may be distinct individual differences variables of relevance to close relationships that exert their indirect effects on relationship outcomes through relationship schemas, additional work is needed to develop a single measure that reliably assesses them.
Spontaneous Attributions in Happy and Unhappy Dating Relationships
Authors: Grigg Faye , Fletcher Garth J. O. , Fitness Julie
Published: March 2007

This study examined the relation between causal attributions and happiness in dating relationships. Forty subjects (20 men and 20 women) in long-term relationships were asked to imagine 20 hypothetical relationship behaviours that varied in terms of valency and self or partner initiation. Subjects then completed a spontaneous attribution probe by stating what they would think and feel in response to each behaviour, and these verbal protocols were taped. Causal attributions that were produced as part of these protocols were later coded as relationship enhancementor distress-maintenance attributions. Causal judgements were also later directly elicited for each behaviour on eight causal dimensions. Replicating previous research with married couples, results from both the spontaneous attribution probe and the causal scales suggested that happy partners produce attributions that enhance relationship quality whereas unhappy partners produce attributions that maintain their current levels of distress. Several implications for our findings are discussed.
Mine, Yours and Ours: A Configural Analysis of the Networks of Married Couples in Relation to Marital Satisfaction and Individual Well-Being
Authors: Stein Catherine H. , Bush Ellen G. , Ross Ronald R. , Ward Marcia
Published: March 2007

The present study examined different ways that a sample of 49 working- and middle-class married couples structured their shared and separate relationships with family and friends. The research focused on the married couple as the unit of analysis, and used information from both members of the dyad to construct descriptions of couples' conjoint networks. Couples were empirically classified according to network structural variables considered simultaneously. Four different types of conjoint networks were found to characterize the sample. Couples with different types of conjoint networks were found to differ in their self-reports of marital satisfaction. Conjoint network type was also differentially related to self-reports of depression and psychological symptoms for husbands and wives.
Mothers' Receipt of Social Support and their Psychological Well-Being Following Marital Separation
Authors: Buehler Cheryl , Legg Bobbie H.
Published: March 2007

A sample of 144 separated women with children was used to examine the direct and buffering effects of social support on the relationship between stressful life change and their psychological well-being approximately 6 months following marital separation. The results indicated that the relationship between life change and psychological well-being was buffered by various aspects of social support. These aspects were the number of sources from which support was received, support from family and friends, and support that functioned to enhance self-esteem and provide social companionship. In addition, there was a direct, positive relationship between receipt of technical support and psychoemotional well-being.
On Being Supportive: The Emotional Consequences of Listening to Another's Distress
Authors: Perrine Rose M.
Published: March 2007

The present research explored supporters' feelings about giving emotional support to a person in distress. In a laboratory setting subjects talked with a confederate enacting a distressed role. The response of the confederate was manipulated, either `improvement' or `no improvement'. Responses of the subject were categorized as either supportive, i.e. primarily listening or providing encouragement, or `active', i.e. primarily problem solving. Subjects' affect, goal accomplishment and feelings of responsibility were assessed. Three factors were significantly related to an increase in the subject's anger and sadness: (1) when the confederate did not improve, (2) when the subject relied on `supportive' responses and (3) when subjects perceived that they had not accomplished their goal. In addition, the more responsible subjects felt for solving the problem the more negative affect they experienced after talking with a confederate who did not improve. Whether or not the confederate improved, subjects who relied on problem-solving felt that they had helped more then did subjects who relied on listening. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Cohabitation and Marriage: Retrospective and Predictive Comparisons
Authors: Cunningham John D. , Antill John K.
Published: March 2007

A nationwide Australian survey was conducted in order (1) to distinguish between married couples who either had or had not cohabited prior to marriage and (2) to distinguish between cohabiting couples who either did or did not marry subsequently. A total of 96 cohabiting couples and 117 married couples completed an omnibus 16-page questionnaire covering a variety of demographic, attitudinal, behavioral and personality domains. Couples were recontacted after an interval of 1 1/2 years to identify the kind and extent of changes during the intervening period. In general, as predicted, marrieds with cohabiting experience and cohabitors who avoided marriage revealed a less traditional pattern of responses (e.g. higher feminism scores, wider sexual experience, less stereotyped division of chores, etc.) than their respective counterparts. It was predicted, and found, that the former couples showed greater evidence of autonomy needs and less evidence of attachment needs than the latter.
Social Organization in Preschool Classrooms: Social Sets as Social Units
Authors: Vespo Jo Ellen , Kerns Kathryn A. , O'Connor Elizabeth M.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to examine age-related changes in preschoolers' affiliative groups. In this study, the peer group rather than the individual child was treated as the unit of analysis. Forty-seven 3-year-olds in four classes and 50 4-year-olds in four other classes were observed during free play. Observers recorded the person with whom each child interacted. McQuitty's (1957) cluster analysis was performed on the children's interaction scores to derive the affiliative groups in each classroom, which were called social sets. Social sets depict the peer interactive networks within each classroom. The social sets of 4-year-olds were both larger and higher in density than the social sets of the 3-year-olds. The findings are consistent with expectations that older preschoolers are better able to maintain several peer relationships simultaneously than are younger preschoolers. We discussed ways in which identification of social sets helps to understand the dynamics of individuals, relationships and groups.
Who's the Boss? Parents' Failed Attempts to Influence the Outcomes of Conflicts between their Children
Authors: Perlman Michal , Ross Hildy S.
Published: March 2007

Using home observations of 40 families with two preschoolaged children, we examined sibling conflicts in which parents intervened and yet the outcomes were discordant with their positions. Our specific interest was to discover the processes by which young children influenced the outcome of these conflicts. We found that in 30 percent of conflicts in which parents became involved, the outcome of the conflict was discordant with the parents' position. In such conflicts children were more engaged (such conflicts were nearly twice as long) and justified their positions more often while ignoring their opponents less often than in conflicts that ended in accord with their parents' positions. Three patterns by which parents failed in their attempts to influence the outcome of sibling conflicts were identified: cases where parents Persevered (48%), Abandoned (29%), or Changed (24%) their initial position. We argue that conflicts in which parents Changed positions provide the clearest example of sophisticated bidirectional processes of conflict resolution by all family members.
How to find information on 1992: the European Single Market
Authors: Foster Pamela
Published: March 2007

Reviews the major sources of information on the European Single Market. Covers books, pamphlets, directories, magazines/journals, newsletters/looseleaf services, current awareness services, EC official publications, market reports, information packs, seminars, information services, consultancy and seminars, card services, videos and online databases.
Media Commercialization and Journalism in Greece
Authors: Papathanassopoulos Stylianos
Published: March 2007

This article analyses the effects of media commercialization and market expansion on Greek journalism and argues that although journalism appears to be a profession which plays a more active social and political role in Greece, giving the impression that it sets the agenda and represents the ordinary citizen, it is heavily influenced by the constraints imposed by news organizations. The article first discusses to what extent the `professional model' of journalism can be applied to all countries. Second, it provides a brief account of the contemporary media landscape. It then discusses the implications of media commercialization on Greek journalism drawing from original and other research.