Family Matters articles from September 2005

Family Matters archives from September 2005

Director's report.(Australian Institute of Family Studies 9th Conference)
September 22, 2005... Institute conference I am pleased to report that the Australian Institute of Family Studies 9th Conference, held in Melbourne on 9-11 February 2005, was another outstanding success. It was extremely well attended and included a pleasing...

Governments, workplaces and households: to what extent do they shape how mothers allocate time to work and family, and what role do preferences play? Rather than talking about the role of preferences, it might be more useful to talk about the role of supports, pressures and additional labour in determining how mothers allocate time to work and family.
September 22, 2005... Rather than talking about the role of preferences, it might be more useful to talk about the role of supports, pressures and additional labour in determining how mothers allocate time to work and family. Compared with 30 or even 20 years...

Mothers' views on using formal child care: drawing on in-depth interview data from the Institute's Family and Work Decisions Study, this article explores mothers' reasons for using or not using child care, and their views on the child care available to them.
September 22, 2005... Access to child care is seen as a key factor in encouraging women's return to the paid workforce after having children (Doiron and Kalb 2004), and Australian parents are increasingly using formal child care to meet their work and family needs...

Caring for children and adults: differential access to family-friendly work arrangements.
September 22, 2005... As the population ages over the next few decades increasing numbers of employees will be providing care for their parents or other adults. Little is known about the use of family-friendly work arrangements for these employees. This paper...

Current approaches to marriage and relationship research in the United States and Australia: American researchers Linda Waite and Maggie Gallagher have launched an extensive empirical case for the promotion of marriage in the United States. But is it the right case for Australia?
September 22, 2005... Changes in the forms of adult living over the past 30 years have led more than one author to describe them as revolutionary. For example, Coontz (2004), from an historical perspective, writes about the "contemporary revolution in marriage",...

Snapshot of couple families with stepparent-child relationships: stepparent-child relationships that cross household boundaries, through the repartnering of a non-resident parent (typically the father) are rarely documented in statistics on family types. Lixia Qu and Ruth Weston explore the prevalence these relationships within households and those that cross household boundaries.(FAMILY TRENDS)
September 22, 2005... Stepparent-child relationships that cross household boundaries, through the repartnering of a non-resident parent (typically the father) are rarely documented in statistics on family types. LIXIA QU and RUTH WESTON explore the prevalence...

Chronic and isolated maltreatment in a child protection sample: many children who are maltreated experience multiple incidents of maltreatment over a prolonged period of time.
September 22, 2005... Researchers and practitioners in the field of child maltreatment often consider child abuse and neglect as a single or repeated series of isolated events. However, such an approach fails to acknowledge that some children's development is...

What is life like for young Australians today, and how well are they faring? Many worry about how young people are coping with the complexity and uncertainty of modern life. Is the sky the limit, or are their lives tough and unrewarding? Are young people happy or miserable? This paper reports the progress and perspectives of 1157 young people aged 19-20 years.
September 22, 2005... There has been much speculation and concern about how young people are faring in today's world. The lives of the current generation are very different from the lives of their parents and grandparents. For example, in the 1960s and 1970s, most...

Families matter: research, policy and practice: Ninth Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference.(OVERVIEW AIFS CONFERENCE)
September 22, 2005... "Families Matter", the 9th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, was held in Melbourne on 9-11 February 2005. The conference was attended by 382 delegates, with more than 130 papers and five workshops presented over the three...

Changes to federal family law and state domestic violence legislation: a busy law reform agenda sees the Australian Government close to announcing far-reaching family law reforms, and a number of states overhauling laws relating to domestic violence.(FAMILY LAW UPDATE)
September 22, 2005... The year 2005 marks 30 years since the proclamation of the Family Law Act 1975. The anniversary falls on the cusp of significant changes, not so much to the Act itself but rather to the family law system as a whole that has evolved since the...

From Work-family Balance to Work-family Interaction: Changing the Metaphor.(BOOK NOTES)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... From work-family balance to work-family interaction: Changing the metaphor, edited by Diane F. Halpern and Susan Elaine Murphy, Erlbaum, Mahwah, 2005. This collection of papers is drawn from a range of writers including academics,...

Understanding Human Development: A Multidimensional Approach.(BOOK NOTES)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Understanding human development: A multidimensional approach, by Louise Harms, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, 2005. This book is intended to give undergraduate students an overview of the social ecology of human behaviour and...

Maintaining Long-Distance and Cross-Residential Relationships.(BOOK NOTES)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Maintaining Long-Distance and Cross-Residential Relationships, by Laura Stafford, Earlbaum Mahwah, 2005. Both long-distance and cross-residential relationships are becoming increasingly common. This American study examines how these...

The War Over Work: The Future of Work and Family.(BOOK NOTES)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... The war over work: The future of work and family, by Don Edgar, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 2005. Price: $35.00. In this book Don Edgar (the Foundation Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies) aims to widen the...

Is Your Child Ready for School?: A Guide for Parents.(BOOK NOTES)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Is your child ready for school?: A guide for parents, by Sandra Heriot and Ivan Beale, ACER, Camberwell, 2004. Price: $19.95 Starting school is one of the biggest changes that children make in their early years. This book aims to assist...

Child sexual abuse.(BOOK NOTES)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... Child sexual abuse, editor Justin Healey, Spinney Press, Thirroul, 2005. Price: $18.95. This educational resource book is written for secondary school students. It contains information reproduced from a variety of sources including...

The Complete Parenting Guide: Caring For Your Child From Toddler to Teenager.(BOOK NOTES)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 22, 2005... The complete parenting guide: Caring for your child from toddler to teenager, by The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Focus Publishing, Bondi Junction, 2005. Price: $29.95. This practical (Australian) parent guide is divided into three...

To have but not to hold: a history of attitudes to marriage and divorce in Australia 1858-1975.(BOOK NOTES)
September 22, 2005... To have but not to hold: A history of attitudes to marriage and divorce in Australia 1858-1975, by Henry Finlay, Federation Press, Leichhardt, 2005. Price: $69.50 To have but not to hold is a major contribution to the history of divorce...

Conferences.(Calendar)
September 22, 2005... This short selection of forthcoming family-related conferences is taken from the Australian Institute of Family Studies internet conference listing, which is updated weekly. For the complete, up-to-date list, refer to www....