Widening our knowledge concerning young looked after children: the case for research using sociological models of childhood

The Assessment and Action framework for looked after children, designed to improve outcomes for all children in public care and those at home on care orders, is now well established in the UK. This paper offers a critical evaluation of the framework by examining the model of childhood upon which it is premised and by exploring its relationship to children's rights as conceptualized in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). It will be argued that the particular child development model which underpins the framework addresses the rights of looked after children to protection and provision but does not allow for their participation rights to be sufficiently addressed. A critical review of the research concerning the education and health of looked after children is used to illustrate these points. It will be argued that what are missing are the detailed accounts of looked after children themselves. It is concluded that there is a need for the development of additional research approaches premised upon sociological models of childhood. These would allow for a greater engagement with the participation rights of this group of children and complement the pre-existing research agenda

The Growth, Learning and Development Study: Summary of Research, Findings and Recommendations.

The Growth, Learning and Development (GLAD) study aimed to examine how a broad range of factors influence child weight during the first year of life. Assessments were undertaken within a multidisciplinary team framework. The sample was drawn from the community and data collection was undertaken in the four Greater Belfast Trusts. Twohundred and thirty-four families took part, each receiving a total of five home visits during which physical growth, oral-motor skills and development were assessed. Psychosocial evaluation examined parent-child interaction, feeding and other parental and child characteristics using quantitative and observational techniques. This paper outlines the main findings and recommendations from the GLAD study.

Structure and Change: Douglass North's Economics

Douglass North is a pivotal figure in the development of the 'new' economic history as well as the 'new' institutional economics. However, the relationship between these two aspects of his thinking remains undeveloped in previous critical assessments of North's work. The relationship is clarified here. The evidence presented indicates that three distinct phases can be distinguished in his writings between the 1950s and the 2000s. The paper relates these changing views to the shifting mainstream within economics and the effects that this shift has in turn had on economic history research. Economic history has adapted to economic research by abandoning some practices associated with the earlier cliometric literature. Furthermore, North is unique to the extent that his recent writings represent something of a convergence with 'old' institutionalism. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.

‘Doing it with men’: feminist research practice and patriarchal inheritance practices in Welsh family farming

Internationally, the gender relations of the family farming ‘way of life’ have beenshown to be stubbornly persistent in their adherence to patriarchal inheritancepractices. This article demonstrates how such ‘agri-cultural’ practices are situated bothwithin the subjective sphere of farming individuals’ and within global agri-economics,bringing new challenges to patrilineal farm survival. It is suggested here that the recenttendency for post-structuralist theorisation in rural studies has underestimated theexistence and impact of patrilineal patterns in family farming. Such patterns mean thatwomen are shown to largely occupy relational gender identities as the ‘helper’, whilstmen are strongly identified as the ‘farmer’. Drawing on repeated life-history interviewsconducted with farming men and women from Powys, Mid Wales, the aim of thisarticle is to generate debate as to the extent to which men can be brought into feministresearch practice in order to reveal patriarchy to a greater degree. The article begins bysituating the near-exclusion of men from feminist research practice within theoreticaldevelopments in feminist geography. This discussion also assists in deriving issues ofresearch methods, positionality and interpretive power which focus the integration ofempirical material in the methodological reflections provided in section three. In sectiontwo, the rationale for the epistemological stance taken in the research is provided. Thearticle provides an example of the successful integration of men into a feminist researchframe, suggests avenues for theoretical development and identifies future researchdirections which can be informed by ‘doing it with men’.

Keywords: epistemology; family farming; feminist res

Home curation versus teenage photography: Photo displays in the family home

In this paper we report an empirical study of the photographic portrayal of family members at home. Adopting a social psychological approach and focusing oil intergenerational power dynamics, our research explores the use of domestic photo displays in family representation. Parents and their teenagers from eight families in the south of England were interviewed at home about their interpretations of both stored and displayed photos within the home. Discussions centred on particular photographs found by the participants to portray self and family in different ways. The findings show that public displays of digital photos are still curated by mothers of the households, but with more difficulty and less control all with analogue photos. In addition, teenagers both contribute and comply with this curation within the home, whilst at the same time developing additional ways of presenting their families and themselves online that are 'unsupervised' by the curator. We highlight the conflict of interest that is at play within teen and parent practices and consider the challenges that this presents for supporting the representation of family through the design of photo display technology. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teaching family carers about home based palliative care: Final results from a group education program

Without the considerable support provided by family carers, many patients receiving palliative care would be unable to remain at home. However, family carers typically lack the required information and skills to prepare them for such a role. Pilot work has demonstrated that group education programs for family carers can be readily developed; they are feasible, accessible, and useful. This project sought to build on our pilot research to further examine the effectiveness of a group education program by evaluating the outcomes with a larger number of participants. The program aimed to prepare primary family carers for the role of supporting a relative with advanced, noncurative cancer at home. The psycho-educational program consisted of three consecutive weekly sessions presented in a group format, conducted at six home-based palliative care services across metropolitan and regional Victoria, Australia. The following dependent variables were measured at three time points: carer competence, preparedness, rewards, and information needs. The three time points were: commencement of the program (Time 1), upon completion (Time 2), and two weeks later (Time 3). A total of 156 participants (including the pilot phase) completed Time 1 questionnaires and 96 completed all three time periods (62%). Between Time 1 and Time 2, the intervention had a statistically significant positive effect on preparedness, competence, rewards, and having informational needs met. Outcomes were maintained at Time 3. There was no difference in the effectiveness of the intervention for participants in regional areas compared to participants in metropolitan areas.

This study demonstrated that a group education program to prepare family carers for the role of supporting a dying relative at home was effective. Implications for further research and practice are outlined.

Autopoiesis and the Home Confined Consumer: The Role of Personal Communities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the consumption of a personal community and its role in the everyday life of the home-confined consumer. Design/methodology/approach – Using a Radical Constructivist approach, three cases of home confinement were explored in depth over a period of two years. Ongoing “conversations” captured the consumption experiences with personal communities. Findings – In relation to the home-confined context, the ability to attain individuality, empowerment and creativity are all heightened as a result of personal community construction. An underlying concern for home-confined consumers is their removal from independent living to institutionalized living, and, as a result the need to construct, manage and maintain a personal community is of major concern. Research limitations/implications – Although the study addresses a home-confined context, it is nevertheless reflective of concerns that are significant to all consumers, namely the attainment of individuality and independence irrespective of marginalization or not. Practical implications – The importance of a personal community in terms of both self-empowerment and self-identity with respect to marginalized groups and vulnerable individuals should not be underestimated. The supporting role of a personal community provides, in times of uncertainty, a framework to maintain self-identity and independence. Originality/value – This paper provides a better understanding of the role of a personal community in the consumption experiences of those consumers marginalized and vulnerable as a consequence of context. Home-confined consumers are “invisible” in the marketplace and the personal community is a means of redressing this imbalance by empowering such individuals.

Home Confined Consumers: Identity Continuities and Discontinuities

Consumers confined to the home through disability or long term illness are unable to access the marketplace directly and consume through the socialization process. The consumption situation of home bound individuals is the concern of this study, specifically, issues of consumer (re) socialization and consumer identity post home confinement. The research focuses on possessions, with respect to meanings, role and the process of socialization in relation to identity. Findings indicate that the nostalgic consumption of possessions offers the ability to (re)construct the self- identity after confinement. Additionally, possessions afford opportunities to maintain continuity with former ableist identities after the discontinuity of enforced marketplace withdrawal. An individual case study illustrates this point.

Why is housing tenure associated with a lower risk of admission to a nursing or residential home? Wealth, health and the incentive to keep 'my home'

Background Previous research has shown that home ownership is associated with a reduced risk of admission to institutional care. The extent to which this reflects associations between wealth and health, between wealth and ability to buy in care or increased motivation to avoid admission related to policies on charging is unclear. Taking account of the value of the home, as well as housing tenure, may provide some clarification as to the relative importance of these factors.
Aims To analyse the probability of admission to residential and nursing home care according to housing tenure and house value.
Methods Cox regression was used to examine the association between home ownership, house value and risk of care home admissions over 6 years of follow-up among a cohort of 51 619 people aged 65 years or older drawn from the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study, a representative sample of approximate to 28% of the population of Northern Ireland.
Results 4% of the cohort (2138) was admitted during follow-up. Homeowners were less likely than those who rented to be admitted to care homes (HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.85, after adjusting for age, sex, health, living arrangement and urban/rural differences). There was a strong association between house value/tenure and health with those in the highest valued houses having the lowest odds of less than good health or limiting long-term illness. However, there was no difference in probability of admission according to house value; HRs of 0.78 (95% CI 0.67 to 0.90) and 0.81 (95% CI 0.70 to 0.95), respectively, for the lowest and highest value houses compared with renters.
Conclusions The requirement for people in the UK with capital resources to contribute to their care is a significant disincentive to institutional admission. This may place an additional burden on carers.