Infant behaviour, development and interactions: Relevance and provision of metaphors

As well as being basic to theory construction, metaphors offer a practical means for sorting out confusion and guiding future actions through their sheer communicative power. In the present paper a brief overview of the significance of metaphor is offered and the need for creating them to comprehend infant behaviour, development and interaction raised. A water-based metaphor emphasizing flow within and between successive depths is offered with a figure and illustrative examples indicating changes which occur within an “effective-affective pool”.     

Non-individual approaches to understanding human development

There have been many attempts to nudge the study of human development out of a familiar “science” rut and place it within a wider social context. These approaches refocus the lens through which we look. Instead of seeing an individual standing against an indistinct and blurred background, the depth of field is increased. However, whilst such approaches may broaden the perspective, they often still fall back onto an essentially individualist notion of being human. It is as if the body boundaries are also the boundaries of our minds, our emotions, our thoughts and our selves. At both the levels of common sense and of refined knowledge there are intuitive and evidential examples that lead us to suggest that these individualistic (albeit socially placed) pictures are inadequate for enabling us to make sense of who we are. In short, they fail to capture the dynamic nature of the interactive events which characterise our participation in human life. In the present paper we provide a framework within which a non-individual approach for understanding development can be discussed. In doing so, it may be necessary to discard some of the categorical and “taken for granted” concepts associated with developmental studies.     

One story amongst many

This study makes use of an autobiographical account to draw attention to some of the traditions, histories and cultures that position women primary teachers and their work. The writer begins with a rationale for autobiographical writing, with reference to readings of autobiographical writing and discussions of the relationship between the individual and society. There follows an autobiographical account of the writer's own formation as a primary teacher, which highlights pertinent issues in relation to perceptions of primary teachers, namely, career choice, child-centred pedagogy and the metaphor “teacher as mother”. A case is then made for engaging teachers, in particular student teachers, in detailed autobiographical reflection to help them to make sense of their professional lives and to further their professional development.     

Conditions, provisions and decisions in the study of human development

We begin by assuming there are real events in the world, like the speed of light, spirals, symmetry and instincts. Developmental conditions establish for a species those events which enhance reproductive potential, and thereby transform universal invariants into common affordances. Through the medium of language and particularly of metaphor humans negotiate which common affordances provide social worlds. Within these social worlds individuals may become active agents establishing their own private realities. These are derived from opportunities made available from both common and local affordances. Our primary aim is to identify areas of ambiguity, and to enhance productive debate in the study of human development.     

Clinical psychologists in general practice:Data and observations

With the increasing awareness of mental health care problems and needs at the primary care level, there has come about a gradual movement of mental health professionals into the general practice setting. In this paper the work of clinical psychologists in a general practice in northern England is described. Altogether 97 patients of varied presentations were seen in consultation over a 2-year period. The consultation method was eclectic, emphasizing the analysis and re-formulation of issues, ventilation of affect, encouragement of capacity for self-direction and development of competent behaviours. A policy of minimum intervention was pursued throughout. Assessment of outcome indicated that 75% of the patients were “improved” or “much improved” following an average of three consultations. Best results were obtained with over-achieving clients, people with relationship problems and those who were responding primarily to life events. The service proved popular, convenient and valuable to both patients and practitioners.Other roles and functions of psychologists in this setting are discussed, together withsome data on the extent of this liaison and the doctors' responses to it. It is suggested that psychological services have, potentially, an important role to play in primary care and in the reduction and prevention of psychiatric disorder. The urgent need at this stage, however, is for focused and controlled investigations of the range and limitations of this collaboration.     

An Academic Clinician’s Perspective on the Care of the Geriatric Patient

This paper discusses the role that the personal history plays in a patient’s perception of his or her own illness in the light of the patient’s own personal history. It demonstrates the regrettable modern tendency to regards the patient as the “bearer of a disease” rather than as a human being with personal values and experiences into which their current illness needs to be integrated. I illustrate my point by an exchange between a student and an “attending” and the “attending” and the patient. It represents only one out of unfortunately many such instances in which the pressures of “managed care” and “efficiency” have made truly knowing the patient as an individual with life experiences and personal values much more difficult.     

Human capital development: A family objective

Human capital contributes to economic development just as does physical capital or natural resources. Human capital begins developing in the family. Human capital includes nutritional levels, life expectancy, skills, knowledge, abilities and attitudes. Human capital development contributes to the individual's future economic output. The generalization - “If you educate a mother you educate a family”; - is given supportive evidence from an analysis by T. Paul Schultz of research on measures which contribute to human capital. Schultz (1994) shows that “subsidizing schooling for females may be justified in terms of (1) efficiency (high individual private market returns); (2) social externalities (reduced child mortality and fertility; (3) intergenerational redistribution (better health and education of children and a slower growth in population; and (4) equity (an increase in the productive capability of poorer individuals relative to richer individuals.”

Thinking of human capital as an economic construct may prove useful for human service professionals because funding agencies may appreciate the objective, substantive, or measureable evidence that the concept presents when compared to more subjective evidence from the fields of education, human development, and family studies     

Parent-professional partnership: A review and discussion of issues

This paper looks at issues which affect partnership between parents and professionals in Education. Such issues relate both to the variety of terminology used, which relates to the clarity with which “partnership” is conceived, and to the different professional groups who may see themselves as stakeholders in “partnership.”     

The Early Childhood Curriculum from a Sociocultural Perspective

This paper presents a theoretical base for building an early childhood curriculum. An “educare” approach says that it is impossible to separate the nurturing and educational aspects of early childhood environments. Educare means promoting children's social and intellectual development in responsive social contexts. The educare concept fits better within a sociocultural theoretical framework, based on Vygotsky and more recent work such as that of Rogoff and Fleer, than within the “developmentally appropriate practice” model. Five principles are explained which incorporate a sociocultural perspective. First that all development begins with social interaction and that it consists of the internalisation of social processes. Second that learning drives development rather than development drives learning. Third that close interpersonal relationships and mutual understanding are crucial for optimal development. Fourth that the goals of development are determined by cultural rather than individual development. Finally that children have a unique goal in constructing their own understanding within their cultural context. The paper concludes that teachers can have a powerful role in development, that they need a conscious pedagogy and that a carefully considered early childhood curriculum, relevant to the cultural context, is essential.     

Review of What Youth Programs Do to Increase the Connectedness of Youth with Adults

Common sense and psychological research tell us that connections to adults—parents and others—are integral to the process of normal human development. A substantial research literature exists on the role of the parent-child relationship in development, and there is a smaller, but growing body of research that explores the effects of nonparental relationships. Adolescents, in particular, are open to nonparental adults as they strive to create for themselves lives more independent from their parents while still valuing advice from those more experienced than they. The most commonly examined nonparental relationship is that of a teacher and a student. One of the less explored areas of investigation is the importance of relationships youth have with adults they find in their weekend and after-school activities. This article examines field research that has been conducted over the past 15 years on youth programs, to address what has been learned about “connectedness” as it manifests itself in the field. By connectedness, we mean primarily the attachment youth have to the adults in the programs.     

The organisational and professional context of the first acpc conference

The theme of today's conference “Partnership in a Changing Environment” is highly significant and could be adopted for almost any major conference in the health and personal social services field. “Partnership” is an “in” word, and like quality and other euphemisms it has become part of our rhetoric. Its definition and translation into practice at different points in our organisations, is however more problematic. For example in the area of child protection there has been a tendency to think of partnership as based around case conferences, but that is too far into the process to be of value to families or professionals. Partnership starts at policy making and today's conference is an attempt at bringing together the principal partners who should influence policy, as well as what happens further into the system when parents and children become engaged. The second part of today's theme “a changing environment” also applies throughout the public service. In recent years we have become accustomed to rolling organisational change. The most recent manifestations of this in Northern Ireland have been the introduction of general management throughout the services, the separation and redefinition of purchaser and provider functions, and more recently, the establishment of HPSS trusts. But change to the environment within which partnership in child protection takes place is influenced by forces other than organisational development. Research in child care over the last 15 years, the introduction of the Children Act 1989 in Great Britain and the prospect of similar legislation here within the next year or two, the impact of major reports, sometimes focusing on tragic events and the publication by the Inspectorate of the investigation into the case of Martin Huston have served to perpetuate change.     

Problems in interpreting HIV sentinel seroprevalence studies

Estimating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence from sentinel seroprevalence studies is difficult. We characterize these studies and show that most are investigations of incompletely defined (hypothetical) cohorts and are usually based on nonprobability samples. Prevalence in HIV sentinel serosurveys is also time-averaged and vulnerable to several time-dependent sources of bias (e.g., migration, deaths, and changes in incidence). Assumptions must be made that these time-dependent biases did not meaningfully affect the data, and this can be helped by reducing the period of investigation. Furthermore, we show that “reliability” can not be adequately measured by standard error, that “internal validity” is vulnerable to self-selection bias and laboratory problems, and that “generalizability” is limited. We propose that what is needed is a procedure (like formal metaanalysis methods) incorporating information from several separate HIV sentinel seroprevalence studies, in a manner that is reproducible and can take into consideration the differences between studies.     

Rethinking “Harmonious Parenting” Using a Three-factor Discipline Model

Diana Baumrind's typology of parenting is based on a two-factor model of “control” and “warmth”. Her recommended discipline style, labeled “authoritative parenting”, was constructed by taking high scores on these two factors. A problem with authoritative parenting is that it does not allow for flexible and differentiated responses to discipline situations. It is argued that a simpler, and more adequate, approach would be to switch to a model of discipline with a third factor, labeled “tolerance”. Parents of the most socially competent children are adept at knowing when they have a problem and when they do not. An example of the latter would be when a child expresses negative affect while complying fully with a request. Baumrind's notion of authoritative parenting was a useful “dialectic”, demonstrating that control and warmth are independent and equally necessary behaviors, but it did not go far enough. Baumrind's category of harmonious parenting (high warmth, moderate control, high tolerance), which she sees as an anomaly, should be substituted for authoritative parenting as the preferred discipline pattern.     

Art development and play

There exists a considerable international body of research and theory into children's art development. Art education is generally considered to proceed through a sequential series of stages beginning with the earliest scribbles. This paper seeks to link alternative sources of knowledge deriving from the theory and research into the studies of the development of perceptual awareness. These are modes by which children take in sensory impressions and come to know the world around them. The content of these sensory impressions is culturally linked and becomes the raw material for the symbols and images that the children know and make.

There is also a significant body of recent research into levels of children's play which should be evaluated in relation to what it can tell teachers and parents about optimal ways to ensure the circumstances that enhance children's long term development. The case for play as we now know it says that it is not valid to believe that any play will do. Qualitatively different levels of play have been shown to have different values for children. “Guided play” or “stretching play” has been shown to be positively associated with play with adults as partners or companions. Play with art materials has also been associated with higher levels of stretching play. The adult partner's role has been found to provide the “scaffolding” to which these higher levels of play are linked.

These findings on play, together with the social patterns whereby more young children are in group play programs raises the curriculum implications for teachers and care givers. These adults moderate the sensory and social experiences and the curriculum materials provided for children during the day. Teachers need to be aware of providing the partnerships in play with art materials, the need to encourage children's interest in sensory experiences and the processes whereby children learn through their hands as well as their eyes. The environment of play program is also important. The quality of the visual environment, the quality of design of play materials and all equipment with which young children have daily contact have their aesthetic influence. Program factors also include the conscious provision of an art curriculum, with regular visits to Art Galleries and Art Museums, as well as opportunities for free play in parks and gardens.     

The Education Welfare Service -A Naswe Perspective

NASWE members have a professional Code of Principles and Practice and work to protect the rights of children and young people in education. This is more simply expressed by the NASWE motto “For every child a chance”. In this submission “The Education Welfare Service” we, as members of Executive Committee of NASWE have presented an overview of the EWS giving its historical background and ongoing development including adapting to changes in Child Care legislation. The submission provides a policy statement containing aims and objectives and examines the role of die EWS and the duties undertaken by it. It gives the legal framework from which die service operates. The impact of die recent implementation of the Children (M) Order 1995 has been reviewed under the headings of legislation, partnership and initiatives.

It is hoped that this submission will help in some way to promote the EWS and raise awareness of its function in die wider field of Child Care practice generally     

Importance of events per independent variable in proportional hazards analysis I. Background, goals, and general strategy

Multivariable methods of analysis can yield problematic results if methodological guidelines and mathematical assumptions are ignored. A problem arising from a too-small ratio of events per variable (EPV) can affect the accuracy and precision of regression coefficients and their tests of statistical significance. The problem occurs when a proportional hazards analysis contains too few “failure” events (e.g., deaths) in relation to the number of included independent variables. In the current research, the impact of EPV was assessed for results of proportional hazards analysis done with Monte Carlo simulations in an empirical data set of 673 subjects enrolled in a multicenter trial of coronary artery bypass surgery.

The research is presented in two parts: Part I describes the data set and strategy used for the analyses, including the Monte Carlo simulation studies done to determine and compare the impact of various values of EPV in proportional hazards analytical results. Part II compares the output of regression models obtained from the simulations, and discusses the implication of the findings.     

The Contextuality of Children's Communication Difficulties in Specialist Practice: A Sociological Account

This paper reports findings from fieldwork in situations that brought young children and child welfare practitioners together with the aim of diagnosing and treating children's communication difficulties. The findings suggest that communication difficulties tend to be treated as a property of the individual child rather than as an emergent, contextual property of interaction. The attention will be steered from clinical definitions of “impairment” and “disability” to dynamics of social interaction, where understandings of “good” and “normal” communication play a central role. The findings have implications for current recommendations for good practice, which derive from needs-led, rights-led and skills-led approaches.     

Consumer perception of bread quality

Bread contains a wide range of important nutritional components which provide a positive effect on human health. However, the consumption of bread is declining during the last decades. This is due to factors such as changing eating patterns and an increasing choice of substitutes like breakfast cereals and fast foods. The aim of this study is to investigate consumer's quality perception of bread towards sensory, health and nutrition attributes. Four consumer segments are identified based on these attributes. The different consumer segments comprise consumers being positive to all three quality aspects of bread (“enthusiastic”) as wells as consumers perceiving bread strongly as “tasteless”, “non-nutritious” or “unhealthy”. Moreover, factors are identified which influence the consumers’ quality perception of bread. The results of our study may help health professionals and policy makers to systematically inform consumers about the positive effects of bread based on its components. Furthermore, firms can use the results to build up tailor-made marketing strategies.