Moving citizens: citizenship practices among Polish migrants in Norway and the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

Following post-EU-accession migration, Poles currently form the largest group of foreign nationals in Norway and the second largest group of foreign born residents in the United Kingdom. Given the considerable volume of new arrivals, there is a growing literature on Polish migration to both countries; however, there is little comparative research on Polish migration across different European settings. By exploring how Polish migrants reflect on the possibilities of settlement or return, this paper comparatively examines the effects that permanent and ‘normalised’ mobility has on Polish migrants’ self-perception as citizens in four different cities. In addition to classic citizenship studies, which highlight the influence of a nation-state based institutionalised citizenship regime, we find that transnational exchanges, local provisions and inter-personal relationships shape Polish migrants’ practices of citizenship. The resulting understanding of integration is processual and sees integration as constituted by negotiated transnational balancing acts that respond to (and sometimes contradict) cultural, economic and political demands and commitments. The research is based on semi-structured interviews and focus groups with a total of 80 respondents, conducted in two British and two Norwegian cities that experienced significant Polish immigration, Oslo, Bergen, Bristol and Sheffield.     

How do middle-aged employees combine work with caring for elderly parents?

How common is it for elderly employees to experience a squeeze between work and care obligations for their parents, and to what extent does this affect their behaviour in working life? To illuminate these questions, this article presents findings from a representative survey conducted in Norway in 2007. One finding is that seven out of 10 respondents (with one or both parents still living) are both employed and caring for their elderly parents. Fifty-seven percent have experienced difficult situations in coping with both. The most preferable arrangement is flexible working hours. Employees prefer the possibility to reduce or stagger working hours, or the option to work from home if necessary.     

A comparative analysis of Norwegian and American social workers’ views about inclusion of religion and spirituality in social work

ABSTRACT

This article presents results from a comparative analysis of national surveys of Norwegian and American social workers’ views and practice with regard to inclusion of religion and spirituality in their professional work with clients. Findings include views about professional values, educational preparation, raising the topics of religion and spirituality with clients experiencing oppression, and use of related interventions. Overall, American social workers are more likely to address religion and spirituality than Norwegians. International comparative statistical and conceptual analyses consider influences of differences in practice settings, respondents’ age and length of experience, and cultural contexts.     

Governing the coordination of care for older people: Comparing care agreements in Denmark and Norway

Increasing specialisation and demands to decrease the length of hospital stays have important consequences for the integration of specialised health and local care services. Based on case studies of care agreements in Denmark and Norway, this article compares subnational governance strategies for coordinating care services for older people discharged from hospitals. The question is how, and to what degree, national government regulations have an impact on local service coordination strategies. The analysis reveals that the numerous subnational procedures for coordination are somewhat more itemised in Denmark, and that regional variation in care agreements is greater in Norway. The identified differences can partly be accounted for by national differences in regulation, which is tighter in Denmark than in Norway. The study suggests that despite decentralisation of responsibility, subnational procedures to facilitate coordination are heavily influenced by national government policy.     

Child welfare workers' views of fathers in risk assessment and planned interventions,a comparison between English and Norwegian workers

In a comparison of 53 child welfare workers' risk assessment based on a vignette case about a 9‐year‐old girl, less than one‐third of the child welfare workers in England and Norway, intended to work with fathers. Only 28% and 14%, respectively, suggested involving the stepfather, in spite that, the vignette said he lived with the girl and her mother. The invisible fathers in child welfare have been well documented, but fathers and stepfathers in particular, were surprisingly invisible in the Norwegian context, known for its strong focus on gender equality and institutionalized support for the father role. The child welfare workers seemed to prefer working with the mother and other professional agencies, rather than involving the father(s) and other family members. Although this may reflect the reality of families within child welfare, they are in contrast with the prevailing family ideology and practices in the society at large, both in England and in Norway.     

Subsidiarity and social citizenship: Social assistance schemes in Austria,Belgium, Switzerland and Norway

Previous research has emphasised that conditionality impinges on social citizenship. However, a systematic assessment examining the impact of functional and territorial subsidiarity has been overlooked. Developing seven operational criteria – rights, means testing, conditionality, voice and choice, discretion, benefit's adequacy and supplementary system – we determined levels of subsidiarity and social citizenship in social assistance schemes. Analysing the benefit reform trajectories of Austria, Belgium, Norway and Switzerland, we conclude that social assistance schemes have not improved. Low benefits, means testing and work linkage have strengthened functional subsidiarity, whereas questions of voice and choice are rarely on the agenda. Caseworkers’ discretion and local administration have sustained territorial subsidiarity. Therefore, considering the potential role that benefits could play in the welfare state, low up‐take minimises the redistributive potential and, in general, risk has substantially shifted towards social assistance.     

Financial Satisfaction in Old Age: A Satisfaction Paradox or a Result of Accumulated Wealth?

Prior research consistently has found that older adults, despite low incomes, are more financially satisfied than younger adults. This “satisfaction paradox” is typically attributed to elders’ supposed psychological accommodation to poor financial circumstances. We advance a different explanation, one that focuses on substantial age differences in wealth and liabilities. Data are from the first wave of the Norwegian NorLAG study (n = 4,169). Findings support the hypothesis that an examination of a wider range of economic variables shows that material circumstances are more important to the financial satisfaction of the elderly than previously believed. A considerable part of the higher financial satisfaction with increasing age can thus be explained by greater assets and less debt among the aged. Nonetheless, assets and debt do not mediate this relationship at lower incomes, because older people with little income have very little accumulated wealth. As older people with little income and wealth have a much stronger tendency to be financially satisfied than their younger, equally poor counterparts, an “aging paradox” still remains in this field.