Family Matters articles from September 2003

Family Matters archives from September 2003

Acting director's report.(Australian Institute of Family Studies)
September 22, 2003... Following the resignation of David Stanton, I have been appointed as Acting Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies by the Minister for Family and Community Services, Senator the Hon. Amanda Vanstone, pending the appointment of a...

Social competence in young adulthood, its nature and antecedents: despite the challenges and problems that confront young people today, many find their lives to be satisfying, rich and full. This article discusses the nature and antecedents of a key attribute which fosters wellbeing and interpersonal relationships--social competence.
September 22, 2003... Social competence has been defined as "the ability to act wisely in human relations" (Thorndike 1920). More specifically, it has been described as "socially acceptable, learned ways of behaving that enable a person to interact effectively with...

Changing patterns of partnering: there have been important changes over the last 25 years in the way in which men and women form partnered relationships. However, a longer-term perspective provides a better understanding of these trends. (Family Trends).
September 22, 2003... Within the last quarter century family structures and relationships have changed in significant ways. One of the most striking changes is in the area of partnering, perhaps the most obvious being the increasing tendency for people to live...

Polarisation of families according to work status: where does part-time employment fit in?
September 22, 2003... Over the last two decades there has been much discussion about changing employment patterns in Australia, and the effect such changes have on families. This article examines how the rapid growth in part-time employment has contributed to the...

Multiple and severe disadvantage among lone mothers receiving income support: efforts to improve the social and economic participation of lone mothers receiving welfare should be mindful of the obstacles experienced by many of these women, and recognise the need for appropriate support and services for those who require assistance.
September 22, 2003... Since 1999, reform of the income support or welfare system has been a priority of the Australian Government. One of the key client groups targeted by the reforms and policy initiatives is lone parents, particularly lone mothers who comprise the...

Continuity of care in the early years? Multiple and changeable child care arrangements in Australia.
September 22, 2003... Continuity of care as an important aspect of quality child care for children in the early years of life. Yet previous studies suggest that up to a third of Australian children their first years attend two or more care settings a week. A new...

Expectations of marriage among cohabiting couples: in the past, living together was often a stepping stone to marriage. As cohabitation has become commonplace, do people who are cohabiting these days expect to marry their partner? What are the marriage intentions of cohabiting men and women? (Family Trends).
September 22, 2003... As in other developed countries, dramatic changes in family formation patterns have occurred in Australia during the last few decades. While the vast majority of people still marry, marriage rates have fallen and the proportion who never marry...

Growing up in Australia: the first 12 months of a landmark study: Ann Sanson reports on what the new Longitudinal Study of Australian Children will offer to policy makers, researchers and service providers.
September 22, 2003... The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (Growing Up in Australia) is a large-scale national study tracking the development of Australian children over the early years of life. In March 2002, the Australian Institute of Family Studies...

How accessible are child abuse prevention services for families? Katie Kovacs reports on a recent exploratory study conducted by the National Child Protection Clearinghouse that sheds some light on how families with a child at risk of being maltreated avail themselves of child abuse prevention programs.
September 22, 2003... Child abuse is a serious issue affecting significant numbers of Australian children every year. In 2000-2001, 27,367 cases of child abuse or neglect were substantiated by statutory child protection authorities nationally (AIHW 2002). Since the...

Competing family models, competing social policies: even in modern societies, women's views are often still overlooked. Policy-makers and social scientists concerned with family policy and social policy will in future have to take greater account of women's values, preferences and life goals.
September 22, 2003... Listening to women In 1998 and 1999, the British Cabinet Office's Women's Unit organised a major research program entitled Listening to Women. The research used focus groups, social attitude surveys and opinion polls to collect information...

Steps forward for families research, practice and policy: Eighth Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference. (AIFS Conference).(Australian Institute of Family Studies)
September 22, 2003... The theme of the 8th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, held in Melbourne on 12-14 February 2003, was Steps forward for families: Research, practice and policy. The conference was attended by 454 delegates, with 145 papers...

Productive year of research interviewing. (AIFS Activites).(Australian Institute of Family Studies)
September 22, 2003... In March 2003, the Institute's Survey Operations Unit wound up a highly productive year of research interviewing using the Institute's Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) system. During the year, the team of thirteen experienced...

Institute address changes from org to gov. (AIFS Activites).(Australian Institute of Family Studies domain name change)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2003... The Australian Institute of Family Studies domain name is now www.aifs.gov.au to reflect its status as a Commonwealth Government agency. However, its original, long-standing name of www.aifs.org.au will continue to operate simultaneously for as...

Institute farewells director. (AIFS Activites).(Australian Institute of Family Studies)
September 22, 2003... David Stanton's decision not to seek reappointment as Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies was a blow to staff at the Institute, but understandable, given that his family lives in Canberra (see Acting Director's Report, p. 2)....

Stronger Families Fund workshop. (AIFS Activites).(Australian Institute of Family Studies)
September 22, 2003... A national workshop on action research for Stronger Families Fund projects was hosted in Melbourne from 1-3 April 2003 by the Australian Institute of Family Studies in partnership with the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community...

Family Matters is a refereed journal. (AIFS Activites).
September 22, 2003... Readers are reminded that Family Matters is a fully refereed academic journal, recognised by the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) for the purposes of Research Data Collection, and included in the Register of Refereed...

Family and women's studies in Vietnam. (AIFS Activites).( Australian Institute of Family Studies )(conference activities)
September 22, 2003... The Australian Institute of Family Studies was represented at a recent international forum--the International Workshop on Family, Gender and Health--hosted by Vietnam's Centre for Family and Women Studies to celebrate its 15th Anniversary. The...

"Two success stories". (AIFS Activites).(Australian Institute of Family Studies )(family law court)
September 22, 2003... According to Justice John Fogarty, writing in an earlier Family Matters (no. 60, 2000), the Family Law Council and the Australian Institute of Family Studies are "two outstanding success stories" emanating from the Family Law Act 1975. Justice...

AIFS database moves to full text. (Family & Society).(Australian Institute of Family Studies)
September 22, 2003... Indexing and abstracting services have long been the means of monitoring the literature of a discipline and have thus been the foundation tool for researchers, students, professionals and the like. Australian Family & Society Abstracts, the...

Non-parental child care workshop.
September 22, 2003... On 7 March 2003, representatives from the Australian Institute of Family Studies were among a group of academics, researchers and senior Commonwealth public servants who attended a closed workshop about the impact of nonparental child care on...

Hilda conference 2003.(Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia, Survey Conference, Melbourne )
September 22, 2003... Two Australian Institute of Family Studies researchers were recently invited to present papers at the inaugural Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey Conference in Melbourne. The first wave of the survey was...

Parents' decisions about child care. (Institute Seminars).
September 22, 2003... Australian Institute of Family Studies researchers Sarah Wise, a Principal Research Fellow, and Associate Professor Ann Sanson, Acting Director, presented a seminar on the Child Care Choices Study--a new longitudinal study examining the extent...

Fragile families and child wellbeing. (Institute Seminars).
September 22, 2003... Professor Irwin Garfinkel, Columbia University School of Social Work, and Professor Sara McLanahan, Princeton University, presented a seminar on data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. This is a United States-based...

Childhood poverty and social exclusion. (Institute Seminars).
September 22, 2003... Dr Tess Ridge, Research Officer from the Department of Social and Policy Sciences at the University of Bath, presented a seminar on her recent qualitative child-centred study that explored the everyday lives of children living in low-income...

Role of personal attributes among at-risk children. (Institute Seminars).
September 22, 2003... Diana Smart, a Psychologist and Research Fellow at the Australian Institute of Family Studies, presented a seminar based on findings from the Australian Temperament Project--a longitudinal, community-based study of 2443 Victorian families,...

Uncertainty, risk and children's futures. (Opinion).(Editorial)
September 22, 2003... Many families and children face increased uncertainty and insecurity as a result of radical economic and social changes. The impacts are particularly experienced in the nature of work and family life and have implications for the emotional...

The Columbus Pilot: catalyst for an emerging model of an integrated Family Court system in Western Australia. (Family Law).
September 22, 2003... The Columbus Pilot project was developed by the Family Court of Western Australia to assist, enable, and encourage separated parents to acknowledge the debilitating effects of continuing conflict, violence or abusive behaviour, and to encourage...

Sociology of childhood research.
September 22, 2003... Australian approaches to poverty-related research typically focus on the relationships of adults to labour market and/or welfare systems. In these analyses, family relationships feature prominently, often as factors that help to explain an...

Children, family and the state: Decision-making and child participation.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... by Nigel Thomas, Policy Press, Bristol, 2002 Price: UK 18.99. This book begins with a discussion of the different theories of childhood, children's rights and the relationship between children, their parents and the state. It then goes on...

Surviving rape: a handbook about sexual violence for survivors, family, friends and workers.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... by NSW Rape Crisis Centre, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 2002. Price: $35.00. This handbook provides practical advice about sexual violence. Individual chapters cover: myths and realities of sexual violence; medical treatment;...

Building community: the shared action experience.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... by Linda Beilharz, Solutions Press, Bendigo, 2002. Price: $50.00. This book relates the experiences of the Shared Action Project, a community development project run in rural Victoria. Initiated by the local agency, St Lukes, the project...

Children caring for parents with mental illness: Perspectives of young carers, parents and professionals.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... by Jo Aldridge and Saul Becker, Policy Press, Bristol, 2003. In this book the authors challenge the claim that children and young people are damaged by caring for a parent with a mental illness. Instead they argue that, with adequate...

Making contact: How parents and children negotiate and experience contact after divorce.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... by Liz Trinder, Mary Beek and Jo Connolly, Joseph, Rowntree Foundation, 2002. Price: UK 12.95. This report from the United Kingdom is based on a study which interviewed 61 families about their child contact arrangements. The aim of the...

My house and Going to Fair Day.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... by Brenna and Vicki Harding, B & V Harding, Sydney, 2002. Price: $14.95 (each). These two colourful picture books, telling the story of a little girl and her two Mums, is aimed at readers aged five to seven years. Going to Fair Day...

Papunya school book of country and history.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... by Papunya School, Allen and Unwin, Crow's Nest, 2001. This beautifully presented and illustrated picture book was created by the students and staff at the Papunya School in Central Australia. It tells the story (in words and illustrations)...

Family day care: International perspectives on policy, practice and quality.(Book Review)
September 22, 2003... edited by Ann Mooney and June Statham, Jessica Kingsley, London, 2003. While much attention has focused on children in formal day care settings, little has been given to family day care. This book is a collection of papers which give an...

Conferences.(family health-related and social concerns)(listing of international conferences, 2003)
September 22, 2003... 12-15 June 2003 Spirituality in Suicide Prevention Brisbane, Qld The title of the 10th Annual Suicide Prevention Australia National Conference,"Finding meaning to sustain life:The place of spirituality in suicide prevention," signals a...