The relationships and supports that matter to children looked after (CLA) in long term voluntary accommodation (Children Act 1989, s 20)

The overall aim of this practitioner-led research project was to explore relationships and conceptualisations of ‘permanence in foster care’ from the young person’s perspective. A multidimensional conceptualisation of permanence, with a focus on supportive networks, was used to identify the relationships that a group of looked after young people viewed as significant to them and to explore which relationship groups they accessed for social support. Participants were a convenience sample of six (two male, four female) young people (aged 13 – 16) who were voluntarily accommodated (Children Act 1989, s.20) in the long term care of the local authority. Four participants were living with foster carers and two were in residential homes. Participants constructed a personal network map, placing themselves at the centre of a concentric circles diagram and the names of the people in their support network in the surrounding circles. To ascertain participants’ perceptions of who provides what type of support, they were asked how they would respond in three scenarios that were designed to elicit specific measures of social support (affective support, self-affirmation, and instrumental assistance). The results showed that the young people considered a wide variety of relationships as important to them and were able to utilise a range of relationships as sources of social support. Significantly, despite their physical absence, sibling relationships were unanimously viewed as important and appeared to hold the potential to provide much support. This research suggests the potential value in moving beyond physical conceptualisations of permanence and instead adopting a systemic relationships-based approach, which recognises a young person’s entire social network. Recommendations for practice include providing support to strengthen all significant relationships, regardless of their physical presence. This research project hopes to highlight the potentially unique needs of voluntarily accommodated young people. The discussion suggests the importance of reinforcing the implementation of voluntary accommodation as it was intended, as “support for children and families” (Children Act 1989, part 3)

Social Functioning of Children and Their Parents: Are They Related?

This study examined whether parents' social support was related to their children's peer acceptance and likability. The moderating role of the parent's and the child's gender was also examined. Father (N = 146-150) and mother (N = 201) reports of social support and peer reports of peer acceptance were obtained from 107 boys and 96 girls (7.92-16.76 years, M = 11.77). Aspects of fathers' and mothers' social support were observed to be differentially correlated with their children's friendships and likability. While fathers' social support was moderately correlated with their children's friendships, mothers' social support was not. The implications of these findings for the role of fathers in children's social functioning are discussed

Recommendations to the Social Security Administration on the Design of the Mental Health Treatment Study

Many beneficiaries with mental illness who have a strong desire to work nevertheless continue to seek the protection and security of disability benefits, not only because of the income such benefits provide but also for the health care coverage that comes with it. Further complicating matters is that few jobs available to people with mental illnesses have mental health care coverage, forcing individuals to choose between employment and access to care. These barriers, coupled with the limited treatment options and negative employer attitudes and even discrimination when it comes to employing people with serious metal illness, help "explain" the very rates of low labor force participation among people with psychiatric disabilities

What the brain 'Likes': neural correlates of providing feedback on social media.

Evidence increasingly suggests that neural structures that respond to primary and secondary rewards are also implicated in the processing of social rewards. The 'Like'-a popular feature on social media-shares features with both monetary and social rewards as a means of feedback that shapes reinforcement learning. Despite the ubiquity of the Like, little is known about the neural correlates of providing this feedback to others. In this study, we mapped the neural correlates of providing Likes to others on social media. Fifty-eight adolescents and young adults completed a task in the MRI scanner designed to mimic the social photo-sharing app Instagram. We examined neural responses when participants provided positive feedback to others. The experience of providing Likes to others on social media related to activation in brain circuity implicated in reward, including the striatum and ventral tegmental area, regions also implicated in the experience of receiving Likes from others. Providing Likes was also associated with activation in brain regions involved in salience processing and executive function. We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of the neural processing of social rewards, as well as the neural processes underlying social media use

Theoretical development and social capital measurement

Chapter 4, by Sarah Hean and colleagues, highlights the importance of theory development in making the concept useful to the practice of public health. The authors present an innovative way of thinking about the different facets of social capital, describe the development of a survey instrument that attempts to make explicit the inputs and outputs of social capital and describe how these can be operationalised in a practice setting. The survey tool takes account of the dynamic nature of social capital and offers a useful way of evaluating community projects

Who Is Caring for the Caregiver? The Role of Cybercoping for Dementia Caregivers

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between dementia caregivers’ communication behaviors (information seeking and forwarding) and their outcomes (coping outcomes: e.g., dealing better with negative feelings or improved medical outcomes). A survey data set of dementia patients’ caregivers substantiates the effects of communication behaviors about dementia illness on coping outcomes, as well as the mediating role of emotion-focused and problem-focused coping processes. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), this study found positive effects of communication behaviors on outcomes through coping processes. Further, the results indicate that communication behaviors in cyberspace are crucial for caregivers to cope with dementia, both affectively (improvement of caregivers’ emotional control) and physically (health improvement of patients). The implications for the improvement of public health through online health communication behaviors are discussed

Wearable Computing for Health and Fitness: Exploring the Relationship between Data and Human Behaviour

Health and fitness wearable technology has recently advanced, making it easier for an individual to monitor their behaviours. Previously self generated data interacts with the user to motivate positive behaviour change, but issues arise when relating this to long term mention of wearable devices. Previous studies within this area are discussed. We also consider a new approach where data is used to support instead of motivate, through monitoring and logging to encourage reflection. Based on issues highlighted, we then make recommendations on the direction in which future work could be most beneficial

Cultural Influences on the Antecedents of Trust in B2B Relationships : A Study of Financial Services in the United Arab Emirates

This study investigates the impact of cultural values on trust in the corporate banking industry in the United Arab Emirates. A substantial literature exists concerning trust in inter-firm relationships, and considerable research has been conducted into trust in the banking industry. However, uniquely, this study focuses on trust in business-to-business relationships within the banking industry in the cultural context of an Arab country. The bulk of the empirical research reported concerning trust in business-to-business relationships has been conducted in Europe and North America, while a considerable amount of research into related concepts such as guanxi has been conducted within Chinese cultures. However, little empirical research has investigated trust in business-to-business relationships from the perspective of an Arab culture. Culture in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is influenced by Islamic tradition and by Bedouin tribal values. The social and cultural characteristics that prevail in the Arab context are very different from those in nations influenced by Western or Chinese culture. Consequently, this study yields unique insights that would develop our understanding of culture and ‘shared values’ in the development of trusting business relationships with Arab businesses. The focus of this research is on the individual and on individual practices in their social setting, to explore the role of culture as antecedents of trustPeer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio