Rethinking empirical research into Children in Care and Contact

Current literature in relation to contact for Children in Care reveals that there have been a number of theories that have informed the current notion of contact and these are underpinned by psychological and psychosocial assumptions about identity development (Winter and Cohen, 2005). These have included the maintenance of the ‘mother-child’ bond (Clarke and Clarke, 1976); the need to maintain contact to avoid ‘genealogical bewilderment’ (Sants, 1964) and the importance of continuing socio-genealogical connectedness (Owusu-Bempah and Howitt, 1997) and most importantly Bowlby’s (1960) theory of attachment. These psychological and psychosocial assumptions have informed not only the type of research undertaken but also the methodology used (see Cleaver, 2000; Macaskill, 2002; Selwyn, 2003 and McWey and Mullis, 2004). A further theoretical notion that has informed the current understanding of contact is the family which Smart (2007) has described as the optimal expression of kinship and relatedness. Yet this notion in and of itself is socially constructed, and has the irony of not just being built upon by personal experience but also wider societal expectations that are communicated via the taken for granted prioritisation of family, which is illustrated in everyday language, images and ideas (Gillis, 1996 and Morgan, 1996:238). This paper will highlight that the empirical research methods that have been used to understand and explain the phenomenon of contact have been dominated not only by socially constructed notions in relation to the family and children, but also by a positivist approach where scientific techniques are used to explain and understand the dynamic of contact which can be described as a complex interaction where there are a range of agendas, interpretations and expectations that take place. An argument will be made for the use alternative methodological approaches that place the child or young person at the centre of the research project. In particular attention will be given to tools such as Hart’s ladder of participation (2008) which actively promotes empowerment and respect of children and their role in research. Additionally, the methodological approach of triadic interviews will be posited because it allows researchers the opportunity to gain a “more holistic and multi-dimensional understanding of the problem” (Brownhill and Hickey, 2012 p.370), thereby capturing the complexities of contact which can be interpreted as an interactional process built upon the foundation of existing relationships, and which is aimed at maintaining or possibly enhancing what is already present

Spanish agricultural production and productivity 1890-1936

In the first section new estimates for final agricultural output between 1892 and 1936 are presented. These indicate that only from 1909/13 did land and labour productivity start to increase. In the second section estimates for 1929/33 are provided on a provincial basis, and reasons why some of the major local differences occurred are suggested. Finally, the changes in regional productivity between 1909/13 and 1929/33 are shown, shedding light especially on the poor performance of Andalucian agriculture

Dogging Cornwall’s 'secret freaks': Béroul on the limits of European orthodoxy

This piece argues that Béroul's version of the Tristan tale can be read as offering a discreetly veiled view of the sexual, ritual and ontological chaos associated with visions of the Celtic West such as figure in Gerald of Wales' History and Topography of Ireland as well as with accounts of heretical orgies found in continental sources such as Caesarius of Heisterbach. Drawing parallels between the poem’s fictional Cornwall and Gerald’s often hyperbolically lurid accounts of the perversions and peculiarities of Ireland, both religious and sexual, this essay targets the cultural voyeurism in which the world of King Mark appears to veil its kinship with the deviance and hybridity Gerald presents as characteristic of religious life across the Irish Sea. This relation can perhaps helpfully be characterised as a form of cultural 'dogging', the sociology of which is one of the methodological focuses of this paper and which mirrors Béroul's recurring focus on voyeuristic scenarios. Evidently, however, the disavowed investments underlying orthodoxy's voyeuristic fascination with what Gerald describes as the'secret freaks' nature spawns in Ireland also reflect a desire to render unintelligible the logics of othered practices. What gives Béroul’s text an edginess discernible even today is the clear implication that such ‘flawed’ societies operated on their own cultural terms and according to the

Updating the Building Code to Include Indoor Farming Operations

Urban agricultural production has grown to be a critical tool in the battles for food security and sustainability. A common regulatory barrier to urban agricultural operations big and small has been ambiguity in land-use laws. Local governments are increasingly friendly toward community gardens, small greenhouse farming operations, farmers markets, and the like. Many have sought to lift regulatory restrictions and provide clarity in the law. However, while these efforts benefit a multitude of local food production efforts, they do little to address the regulatory ambiguities faced by commercial-scale, indoor farming operations, especially vertical farms. Particularly concerning to indoor vertical farms are the ambiguities implicit in the International Building Code (“IBC”), which serves as the model building code for virtually every American municipality. Currently, the IBC lacks any provisions contemplating buildings purposed for large-scale indoor crop production. While some state governments have traditionally exempted agricultural buildings from this type of regulation, this is neither a safe nor feasible solution for indoor farming operations. This article seeks to provide alternative solutions. First, in the short term, local governments should provide clear statutory guidance concerning where indoor farming operations fit into the IBC scheme. Second, as a more sustainable solution, the International Code Council, should update the IBC to account for commercial-scale indoor farming operations by including such operations under a particular occupancy group

Economic development in Spain, 1850-1936

Indicators of the good health of Spanish economic history include the growing number of publications in English, the proliferation in the number of academic journals within Spain, and the fact that the 1998 International Economic History Congress is to be held in Seville. It is not possible to provide here a general note on all aspects of recent research, but this essay offers a critical examination of the major arguments advanced for the slow growth in the Spanish economy over the century or so before the civil war of 1936-9. The period after 1936 has been excluded because, although many of the obstacles to development remained until the 1960s, three excellent surveys of the literature have recently been published.' Where possible, English versions of works are cited, and the essay lists only those Spanish publications which are likely to be relatively easily obtainable. After considering recent estimates of economic growth and development, the survey tries to explain the slow change by looking at three areas: agriculture, industry, and the role of the state.Publicad

Borrowing, risks and charges in the water industry : a rejoinder to the Cuthberts

In their article* in the June 2006 issue of this Commentary, Jim and Margaret Cuthbert address a number of questions to the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, the industry regulator. These questions reflect the authors' concerns about some regulatory procedures and decisions, concerns that they have expressed earlier elsewhere. The Cuthberts' criticisms can be summarised in the proposition that Scottish Water should be allowed to borrow more money, and thereby be able to lower its current charges to customers