Talking about citizenship in New Zealand

Abstract

This paper fleshes out the rather sparse empirical literature on citizenship with data collected from seven focus groups involving a wide range of New Zealanders. Results indicate that the term “citizenship” is relatively unimportant to identity and belonging compared to “family” and “community”. Yet there is considerable agreement about the key elements of citizenship and what makes a “good citizen”. Knowledge about citizenship, however, is not evenly distributed or experienced in the same way by different groups of New Zealanders, with Maori participants offering notably more negative perspectives on citizenship, and benefit recipients most likely to feel like “second‐class citizens”. Against predictions, the findings further suggest that neo‐liberal reforms have not eliminated a belief in community spirit and collective solutions to social problems. Although New Zealanders do believe that individuals should be responsible for themselves, they also expect government to ensure the social and economic conditions that make this possible.     

Second‐Generation Immigrants? The “2.5 Generation” in the United States*

Objective. This article takes issue with the way that second‐generation immigrants have been traditionally defined. In most studies, respondents are considered to be “second generation” if they are born in the United States and if at least one of their parents was born outside the United States. This article considers whether the experiences and outcomes of those with one U.S.‐born parent and one foreign‐born parent (the “2.5 generation”) are different from those with no U.S.‐born parents (the “2.0 generation”) and those with two native‐born parents (the “third generation”). Methods. The article analyzes data from the March Current Population Survey (CPS) from 1999 to 2001. Results. The evidence indicates that the 2.5 generation is a numerically significant population, and that it varies from other groups in age structure, racial identification, educational attainment, and income. Conclusions. In studying the U.S.‐born children of immigrants, scholars should avoid lumping together the 2.5 generation with those who have no native‐born parents. The members of the 2.5 generation also should be treated as distinct from those born in the United States to two native‐born parents.     

Race/Ethnic Differences in Female Headship: Exploring the Assumptions of Assimilation Theory*

Objective. This article conducts a comparative analysis of temporal and generational patterns in Mexican‐American female headship compared to patterns for non‐Hispanic whites and non‐Hispanic blacks. These patterns are explored within two frameworks of assimilation, the more general assimilation perspective and the “segmented” assimilation perspective. Methods. Logistic regression analysis looking at female headship is conducted using the 1960–1990 IPUMS. Additional analyses use the 1995 CPS to look at intergenerational patterns of female headship, divorce, and nonmarital fertility among Mexican‐origin women relative to other groups of women. Results. Analysis using the IPUMS finds that U.S.‐born Mexican‐origin women have higher levels of female headship in every year compared to white women, and this difference has actually increased over time. Additionally, analysis using the 1995 CPS finds that while levels of female headship for second‐generation Mexican‐origin women are no higher, levels for third‐generation Mexican‐origin women far surpass those of white women. The high levels of female headship and the proportion of never married women with children in the household among third‐generation Mexican‐American women are startling and lend more support to a “segmented” assimilation framework.     

Political demand and policy advice: a framework for analysis

ABSTRACT

In the policy advice literature, there has been two main “waves” of research focus. In the first wave, the focus of scholarly attention tended to focus on single policy advice actors. A key innovation was offered by Halligan, who sought to frame policy advice within a policy advisory system, with a focus on government control and location. In later research, Craft and Wilder called for a “second wave” of research which also sought to integrate factors such as policy content, context, ideational compatibility but also reflect the increasingly polycentric advice landscape. This article contributes to the second wave drawing attention to a key element of the institutional dynamics of policy advice systems, namely the issue of political “demand”. A core argument offered in this article is that the dynamics of demand need to be interrogated more fully, and be given greater prominence in current understandings of PAS dynamics. The net effect of marginalizing “demand” factors is that it can de-politicize the extent and nature of advice-giving, and reduce it to a seeming technocratic exchange. To expand our understanding of demand, this paper offers a framework for understanding the dynamics of demand within policy advice systems.     

Social Inequality under a New Social Contract: Long-term Care in Japan

The 1990s saw the beginning of new developments in the social policy agenda of Japan. A combination of further cuts in social expenditure and increases in financial resources through various means has become inevitable in response to the increasing cost burden of an ageing society, the prolonged recession and changes in the Japanese family. In this context, “kaigo hoken” (long‐term care insurance) was introduced in 2000 to increase revenue and fill the gap vacated by the family. The scheme introduced a different concept to the public: that long‐term care was no longer “expected’’ from the family or “allocated” by the state, but has become part of a “social contract” based upon a system of mandatory contributions, uniform entitlements and consumer choice. This paper first explores the role of the new scheme in creating social inequalities among individuals (and families). A panel survey is used to highlight different patterns of care provision and the varying degree of financial pressure among different income groups. Second, based on qualitative research, the paper examines how the new scheme has transformed the relationship between older people and their families who have played a central role in this arena. The scheme has consequently divided “traditional” families and their liberal counterparts, as a result of care work being “commodified”. It is apparent that this scheme has not only responded to fill the existing care gap but may also help accelerate the changes that have been taking place for the last two decades.     

Some effects of the war on child placement work

Abstract

Studies of social work students reveal high rates of family dysfunction and trauma (Black, Jeffreys, &; Hartley, 1993; Rompf &; Royse, 1994; Russel, Gill, Coyne, &; Woody, 1993). Object relations theory (Hanna, 1990a, 1990b; Winnicott, 1965) and family systems theory (Lackie, 1983) explain how the choice of a helping profession motivated by unmet dependency needs may lead to problems in clinical performance. This article reports on an exploratory study (n = 15) that found some support for the theoretical link between a history of early, pervasive family caretak‐ing by second‐year clinical MSW students and Winnicott's False Self characteristics. Analysis of process recording data and Working Alliance Inventory (Horvath &; Greenberg, 1989) scores suggest some effects of this caretaking history on students’ clinical performance. Implications for social work education and practice are discussed.     

Therapeutic Intimacy

Abstract

This essay describes therapeutic intimacy as a deeply personal and evolving definition of what each therapist finds uniquely curative. The author arrived at her definition following the events of September 11, 2001, and notes that constructs such as vicarious traumatization do not adequately convey the profound impact that such a catastrophic event can have on the clinician's personal and professional life. She introduces the term “shared trauma” to describe the lasting, transformative changes in one's self-concept taking place when the clinician and client are exposed to a collective trauma. The arbitrariness of professional boundaries is captured through discussion of client narratives.     

Social investment effects of public education,health care,and welfare service expenditures on economic growth

The purpose of this study is to theoretically and empirically examine whether public spending in education, health care, and welfare service operates as a fruitful investment in welfare states, which has been implied in the literature of social investment arguments. Based on comprehensive review of existing literature, this study suggested a tripartite mechanism of social investment effect of such spending, that is “enhancement of human capital,” “support for labor force participation,” and “job creation.” To find the empirical evidence, a pooled time‐series cross‐section analysis was conducted with the data of 15 advanced welfare states from 1980 to 2015 using estimation technique of fixed‐effect model. The results confirmed that public spending in education, health care, and welfare service had a positive medium‐term as well as long‐term effect on economic performance, while cash‐type welfare spending had an obscure or no visible effect on economy. Government consumption that is a proxy and control variable of size of the welfare state showed a positive effect on real GDP in the medium term but a negative effect in the long run. In conclusion, this study suggests that reinforcing social services should be recognized and dealt with as essence of social investment strategy.     

MICROBEHAVIORS IN GROUP DECISION-MAKING

An exploratory field experiment sought to study the effects of three levels of task complexity on the decision-making patterns of seven long term, on-going task groups. Decision-making was identified as consisting of five behaviors; namely, organization, information exchange, alternative generation, evaluation, and non-task behaviors. The results confirmed the predictions for alternative generation and non-task behaviors: alternative generation occurred most frequently with moderate task complexity; non-task behaviors occurred the least frequently at the level of moderate complexity. The organization behavior increased with increasing task complexity, while information exchange and evaluation showed no differences in frequency of occurrence across the three levels of complexity.     

Exploring drivers of demand for child protection services in an English local authority

This paper reports on an empirical study of child protection services in a local authority where rates of investigations and interventions rose to unprecedented levels during the course of a single year. The aim of the research was to explore explanations for this rise in demand among the providers of children's social care in the area. Using an interpretative qualitative design, a series of focus groups and interviews were carried out with practitioners and managers (n = 25) from statutory services and Early Help. The findings identified a combination of long‐term and short‐term drivers of demand. Long‐term factors emphasized the impact of rising levels of deprivation combined with cuts to community‐based services for children and young people. Short‐term factors ranged from a more proactive approach to child neglect to more effective multi‐agency partnerships and joint decision making. The interaction between these factors was found to be accentuating an underlying shift to “late intervention” across the sector. The findings are contextualized in relation to contemporary debates about the crisis of demand for children's social care and the complex relationship between prevention and protection.     

Managing Work and Care: A Difficult Challenge for Immigrant Families

This paper explores the strategies used by immigrant families to reconcile work and care for young children in Finland, France, Italy and Portugal. Drawing upon interviews with couples or lone parents who have children below age ten, it shows that immigrant families rely on a diversity of work/care strategies. These strategies include extensive delegation of care (mostly to formal or non‐familial informal care), negotiation of care within the nuclear family (both partners sharing the care responsibilities as well as older child care), mother‐centredness (mothers cutting back on working hours), child negligence (leaving children alone) and the superimposition of care upon work (taking children to work). Almost all immigrant families, but especially first‐generation ones, suffer from the absence of close kin networks to support childcare, strong pressure to work and from work (long or atypical hours) and various integration problems such as social isolation, lack of information on services, and problems with housing. However, our findings show that migration patterns, among other factors, have a significant impact on work/care strategies. Highly qualified “professional migration” is more associated with extensive paid delegation (often private and high‐cost), “marriage migration” with mother‐centredness, and “unskilled worker migration” with low‐cost solutions supplemented by workplace care, older child care and negligence. First‐generation unskilled worker migrant families are more exposed to occupational and residential segregation, atypical working hours, low earnings and difficulties in managing work and care for young children. Findings point to the still weak regulatory function of the different welfare states in the protection of these families.     

The Role of the Social Worker in Long-Term Care

Abstract

Making use of a formulation by Rosalie Kane of the ingredients necessary to “a good life” for residents of homes for the aged and other long term care facilities, the role of the social worker in insuring the presence of these ingredients is discussed. Included is an analysis of the responsibilities and tasks of the social worker which must be carried and fulfilled in order that social workers make appropriate contributions to “the good life.”     

The "Employment-first" Welfare State: Lessons from the New Deal for Young People

New Labour is constructing an “employment‐first” welfare state. It plans through Jobcentre Plus to transform the passive culture of the benefit system by creating more explicit links between individual behaviour and engagement with labour market programmes. The New Deal for Young People (NDYP) has been at the forefront of these changes. This paper reports on the findings from four case studies that explored how the NDYP has changed young people's experience of the welfare state. It establishes that NDYP offers a mixture of employment assistance and “pressure” and has made progress in developing front‐line services and helping young long‐term unemployed people into work. NDYP does not, however, work for all. In areas of high unemployment and for some disadvantaged groups intermediate labour markets could enhance the New Deal and make real the offer of “employment opportunities for all”.     

Terrorism‐Centric Behaviors and Adversarial Threat Awareness*

This article estimates situational awareness in a diverse collection of police officers with respect to their individual ability to identify nine key behaviors that are indicative of terrorism activity. The selected group of police officers was drawn from state, county, and municipal law enforcement organizations. The terrorist‐centric behaviors were presented to the test group in multicomponent text‐based scenarios that emulate real‐world police events and respondents were instructed to rate each scenario component on an 11‐point Likert‐type suspicion scale. With the exception of terrorist fundraising, law enforcement personnel tended to view all of the terrorist‐centric activities and behaviors as at least “somewhat suspicious.” The activities that could also be associated with “conventional” criminality such as weapons acquisition received higher ratings than those activities more exclusively related to terrorism such as recruiting. We also noted statistically significant differences based on agency type, officers’ assignment (patrol or detective), experience, gender, agency size, and education. Race had no effect.     

Traumatic exposure to violence: A comprehensive review of the child and adolescent literature

Abstract

This paper reviews contemporary literature on the diverse effects trauma and violence have on children and adolescents. The author emphasizes an area of paramount importance: perpetual re‐exposure to trauma through re‐enactments and risk‐taking behaviors.     

Preservation and Innovation in Online Literature: A Brief Discussion

网络文学文本主要由传统文本和超文本组成。隐含“超文本性”的传统文本是网 络文学的根基;而超文本作为网络世界最为流行的表意媒介,它以“比特”之名唤醒 了沉睡于传统文本的开放性、自主性、互动性等潜在活力与灵性,代表着网络文学 发展的方向。超文本以去中心和不确定的非线性“在线写读”方式解构传统、颠覆本 质,在与后现代主义的相互唱和中,改变了文学的生存环境和存在方式。更重要的 是,日益走向超文本的网络文学文本正在悄然改写我们关于文学与审美的思维方式和 价值标准。因此,网络文学如何在持守传统的同时坚持创新,便成了一个值得我们深 长思之的重要问题。

关键词: 网络文学文本?超文本?互文性

Online literature contains both traditional text and hypertext. While traditional text containing “hypertextuality” provides the foundation for online literature, hypertext as the prevalent signifying medium of the cyberworld has awakened the latent energy and spirit of traditional text, making the latter more open, more autonomous and more interactive. The literature of “bits” points to the direction of future development. It deconstructs the traditional and overturns the nature of things through decentered “online reading and writing” that is uncertain and nonlinear. Hand in hand with post‐modernism, hypertext has transformed literature's context and mode of existence. Above all, the shift to hypertext in online literature is transforming our mode of thinking and value criteria in relation to literature and aesthetics. We should therefore conduct in‐depth and long‐term explorations of how online literature may innovate while maintaining tradition.     

"Mirror Neurons," Collective Objects and the Problem of Transmission: Reconsidering Stephen Turner's Critique of Practice Theory

In this paper, I critically examine Stephen Turner's (1994) critique of practice theory in light of recent neurophysiological discoveries regarding the “mirror neuron system” in the pre‐frontal mo‐tor cortex of humans and other primates. I argue that two of Turner's strongest objections against the sociological version of the practice‐theoretical account, the problem of transmission and the problem of sameness, are substantially undermined when examined from the perspective of re‐cently systematized accounts of embodied learning and intersubjective action understanding in‐spired by these developments. In addition, I show that the practice‐theoretical framework out‐lined by Pierre Bourdieu in the Logic of Practice and other works is, in contrast to Turner's por‐trayal of a confused hodgepodge of logical errors and empirical impossibilities, largely consistent with the latest neurophysiological evidence and as such fundamentally foreshadowed more recent understandings of the neurocognitive foundations of the perception, understanding and structure of the motor schemes productive of action in the world. Also in line with these newer neurosci‐entific developments, the practice‐theoretical focus on the body as the central matrix generative of tacit understandings and analogical operations responsible for “higher order” systems of classi‐fication emerges as the key to solving some of the thorniest problems in the theory of action: eliminating to need to resort to unwarranted “collective object” explanations for the origins of shared presuppositional frameworks.     

The dynamics of sexual victimization/victimizing in the members of a child sexual abuse group: Exploring the theoretical role of shame

Abstract

A weekly inpatient group for preadolescent children who have been sexually abused and/or sexually abusive provides insights into the convergences of victimization and victimizing. Based on clinical experience and a review of pertinent literature, it is hypothesized that shame forms a crucial affective bridge by which the transition from victim to victimizer occurs. The group fosters exploration of this transition, viewing it as an attempt to master, or annihilate, the initial pain of exploitation. Examination of feeling states that underlie early traumatic experience illustrates the defensive transformations that translate the painful affects of victimization into victimizing behaviors. The group provides a suitably shame‐reducing clinical context for this process.     

A Worker's Personal Grief and Its Impact on Processing a Group's Termination

SUMMARY

This article deals with a worker struggling with a personal loss while simultaneously helping her group with the termination of a valued long term member. The focus is on the parallel grieving process and the resistance to mourning.     

Gender similarity in growth patterns of support toward friends during young adulthood

The purpose of this article was to analyze change over time in a specific aspect of prosocial behavior, emotional support toward friends, using two different methodologies. We examined how emotional support changes during the transition to adulthood and whether gender‐based group comparisons yield different gender patterns than person‐centered growth mixture models. We hypothesized that emotional helping toward friends would increase over time and that person‐centered analyses would not show gender differences as large as those indicated by group comparison models. Participants were 466 young adults (ages 18–21). Findings indicated that important intragroup variance was masked when analyses focused on comparisons between gender groups. Person‐centered analyses indicated two mixed‐gender groups with different prosocial trajectories. We discuss how the methods and outcomes of person‐centered analyses are more congruent with current theories of “gender similarities” as well as empirical evidence of the small gender difference in social behaviors such as emotional support.