The situation comedy (sitcom) as a televisual text specifically encourages one type of decoding through its own encoding. Through the reciprocity of encoding to decoding, feminist sitcoms accord a privileged position to the dominant code, while acknowledging deviance or opposition to it through a highly demarcated female subject position. Relying…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the connection between work and family functioning in Australia by critically reviewing relevant literature, especially literature concerning empirical research. Special attention is given to Australian literature and data. However, where local material is lacking, information from overseas (frequently…

In 1899, Katherine Pettit and May Stone established the first social settlement in the Kentucky mountains. In Chautauqua-like fashion, the women pitched tents in and around the vicinity of Knott County, Kentucky for three consecutive summers. The primary purposes of the social settlement were social justice and community uplift. While the women…

As a result of 18 months of deliberation on family policy issues pertaining to young children, the American Jewish Committee's Task Force on Family Policy put together this booklet. After an introductory foreword by E. Robert Goodkind, a paper by Steven Bayme, called "Current Debates and Challenges," outlines the range of issues…

Until recently, technological advancement was an unquestioned societal goal. Today, however, controversy and public debate are beginning to arise over a wide variety of technologies, their development, and their use. As certain aspects of technology begin to be perceived as a possible threat to our health, privacy, environment, and safety,…

Recent developments in family stress and coping research and a review of data and observations of families in a war-induced crisis situation led to an investigation of the relationship between a stressor and family outcomes. The study, based on the Double ABCX Model in which A (the stressor event) interacts with B (the family's crisis-meeting…

This report deals with the effect of the new federalism on family planning programs and considers the impact of a shift from federal categorical funding to block grants. Testimony from Department of Health and Human Services officials outlines the experience and insights gained through administrations of the Title X program. The materials deal…

This collection of 13 articles reprinted from the journal "Childhood Education" is organized into three sections: (1) Families: Structure, Status, and Stresses; (2) Parenting; and (3) Schools and the Family. The first section consists of six articles dealing with issues surrounding the changing family and early childhood education,…

Attitudes of youth (ages 14-21) toward fertility expectations and women's roles are examined for consistency (e.g., whether high career expectations are correlated with a desire for fewer children). Approximately 12,000 White, Black, and Hispanic youth rated their attitudes toward statements that a woman's place is in the home, employment of wives…

Recent rapid changes in the expectations for women make a literal imitation of one's mother's life increasingly less likely to occur. To explore the process by which the experience of observing their mother's lives becomes a source of their own choices in young adulthood, female junior and senior college students (N=114) responded to an…

The test reliability of two tests of family functioning--the Family Environment Scale (FES) and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES-II)--was studied in 111 Anglo American, Black American, and Mexican American Families. The sample included children in grades three to six, as well as adults. The FES was administered to the…

The major theme of American childhood in the 20th century has been the rise and then the beginning decline of modern childhood. The term "modern childhood" refers to a particular constellation of adult attitudes and institutional arrangements, the heart of which is the belief that children should occupy a world of their own, separate from the…

West Indian family organization has been observed to exhibit relatively greater instances of brittle common law unions, out-of-wedlock births, and female headed households than is the case with other New World populations. Three primary explanations have been given to explain the presence of these patterns: the retention or reinterpretation of…

Written for families with adolescent children, this handbook provides information about adolescent development and about the new ways family members relate to each other when children become adolescents. The handbook discusses the physical, social, and intellectual changes that young people experience, describing how parents can respond to some of…

Focusing on the heritage of the 14 predominantly Indian communities in Robeson County, North Carolina, the curriculum guide covers: Indian families (kindergarten); how the Indians lived (first grade); Indian customs, traditions, superstitions (second grade); North Carolina's Indian heritage (third grade); community and government (fourth and fifth…