Provides a profile of the use of action learning at the University of Brighton (United Kingdom), identifies reasons for the spread of action learning in a variety of subject disciplines, and discusses implications for the adoption of other innovations in learning and teaching in higher education. (LRW)

This study examined the first year of placement of 61 boys and girls who joined permanent, unrelated families during middle childhood. Most had experienced abuse, neglect and discontinuity in their lives. Psycho-social functioning assessment indicated that a third of the children showed a reduction of problems following adoptive placement. Factors…

Reviews the longitudinal study on special needs adoption examined in Groze's work. Notes that the main strength of the book is showing how these adopted families are different from other families. Criticizes the work's limitations, including small sample size, use of self-reports, and decreased information when the children became adolescents.…

Interviewed private adoption agency staff in 1987-89 and 1993 to examine the impact of open adoption on practices and services. Found that over time, agencies offered a greater range of openness options. Client demand, changes in agency philosophy, and competition from independent or private adoptions were among the most salient reasons for…

Argues that transracial adoption is not necessary to ensure that children of color are adopted in a timely manner. Presents alternative arguments around six issues. A brief history of the transracial adoption controversy is presented and discussed. Summarizes positions of several social work organizations. Makes recommendations for education,…

Personal interviews were conducted with 67 adult adoptees who had reunions with birth relatives. Postreunion relationships were studied; closeness of the ensuing relationships was assessed. Interactive and motivating factors associated with the development of particular relationships were identified. Implications for clinical practice are…

Investigated how international adoptive families of Chinese children socialized their children biculturally. Interviews with and observations of adoptive families at a Chinese cultural school indicated that learning about the Chinese language and culture and interacting with others were the main ways that adopted children developed a sense of…

Notes that "Handbook" presents 10 topics related to attachment interventions, including attachment disorders as an antecedent to violence, ADHD treatment, permanency planning, and adoption. Maintains that the handbook's tone and style varies from the highly practical to the broadly philosophical although the specific professional…

Explores the meaning of adoptive identity, and the sense of who one is as an adoptive person; then looks at identity within the context of recent social changes. Considers three contexts of intrapsychic, family environment, and contexts beyond the family (i.e., relationships with friends, connection to community). Discusses implications for…

Applying "Third World" theories to "First World" contexts is risky. Four problematic tendencies in using the work of Paulo Freire are failure to consider its social context, fragmentation of his texts, reductionism in using his principles and practices, and reluctance to assess his ideas critically. (SK)

Discusses how a complex regulatory system, along with a lack of consensus about the functions served by adoption, produces uncertainty on many basic issues, including distinguishing lawful adoption versus illegal "baby-selling." The author recommends passage of more uniform state adoption laws, describes the 1994 Uniform Adoption Act,…

Suggests that a simple videotape of biological parents can open up avenues of development and self-exploration for an adoptee that are unavailable in printed information or third-hand verbal information. Notes that generational continuity is a secondary benefit offered by the videotape medium. (HTH)

Describes a study designed to ascertain the extent to which the public library model of universal service generated Internet use among information gatekeepers in an African American inner city community. Analyzes use or non-use of the library, library computers, and Internet resources using an innovation adoption model. (Contains 37 references.)…

Current relationships between libraries and adult learners are shaped by technology adoption, learner demographics, constructivist learning, and institutional pressures. Future relationships must emphasize learner-centered action over technological efficiency, stronger learning leadership, and greater integration of libraries in educational…

Examines self-report data from organizational members of a federal government health information and education network piloting innovative intervention strategies to disseminate cancer information to the public. Suggests the existence of a new innovation role: the Devil's advocate. Explores the nature of resisting innovation, existing innovation…