Norms,status and the dynamics of advice networks: A case study

The issue of the influence of norms on behavior is as old as sociology itself. This paper explores the effect of normative homophily (i.e. “sharing the same normative choices”) on the evolution of the advice network among lay judges in a courthouse. 0020 and 0025 social exchange theory suggests that members select advisors based on the status of the advisor. Additional research shows that members of an organization use similarities with others in ascribed, achieved or inherited characteristics, as well as other kinds of ties, to mitigate the potentially negative effects of this strong status rule. We elaborate and test these theories using data on advisor choice in the Commercial Court of Paris. We use a jurisprudential case about unfair competition (material and “moral” damages), a case that we submitted to all the judges of this court, to test the effect of normative homophily on the selection of advisors, controlling for status effects. Normative homophily is measured by the extent to which two judges are equally “punitive” in awarding damages to plaintiffs. Statistical analyses combine longitudinal advice network data collected among the judges with their normative dispositions. Contrary to what could be expected from conventional sociological theories, we find no pure effect of normative homophily on the choice of advisors. In this case, therefore, sharing the same norms and values does not have, by itself, a mitigating effect and does not contribute to the evolution of the network. We argue that status effects, conformity and alignments on positions of opinion leaders in controversies still provide the best insights into the relationship between norms, structure and behavior.     

社会正义的实现:从“排斥冶走向“包容性政策冶

我国社会政策经历过一个建构与重构的过程,但排斥性是一以贯之的主基调.随着人类从工业社会逐步迈入后工业社会,基于差异承认与平等实现而形成的二维正义观登场.而现行社会政策既无法体现对差异的尊重,也无法保证平等实现,从而呈现出对正义的偏离.只有建立起包容性社会政策,尊重个体差异,同时保证多元主体享有共同福利的机会和水平,才能实现正义.     

残疾儿童社会保障制度的研究

目前，政府通过发展社会保障以增进社会和谐的政策方向基本确立，倡导残疾儿童社会保障制度的适度公正机制是基于经济发展和现代社会平等两者之间的权衡。目的是使社会成员都能够普遍以适度标准不断享受经济社会发展的成果，从而有效地实现社会整合。我国已经初步具备实现残疾儿童社会保障制度的适度公正目标的条件，基于此目标，残疾儿童的社会保障制度仍存在以下制约瓶颈：相关社会保障制度建设法规滞后；政府保障主体地位缺失，财政经费投入不足；残疾儿童参与社会保障层次低、覆盖面窄；保障政策执行部门行政多头管理。因此，残疾儿童社会保障制度的制度设计需要着重于：保持经济发展水平下残疾儿童保障支付享受标准；倡导公正和能动的残疾儿童权利保障价值取向：界定政府责任边界和立法，广泛动员社会力量；整合政府部门残疾儿童社会保障资源。     

问题式学习对社会工作专业课程教学改革的启示——以个案工作课程为例

问题式学习教学模式以建构主义为基础,认为学生是知识意义的主动建构者,教师只是意义建构的帮助者和促进者。这一基本理念与社会工作"助人自助"核心理念,以及社会工作强调案主与工作者平等专业关系的要求具有诸多共通之处。通过对问题式个案工作课程的教学设计,学生不仅收获了专业理论与专业知识,更是通过问题式学习过程深化了专家价值观的认同,以及对社会工作实务开展具体过程的理解。     

对我国高校社会工作专业人才培养的思考

2011年11月,中组部等18个部门和组织联合发布《关于加强社会工作专业人才队伍建设的意见》,充分说明国家对社会工作专业人才的高度重视,同时也进一步体现经济社会发展对社会工作专业人才的迫切需求。因此,高质量社会工作专业人才的培养已经成为高等学校的重大课题,本文从人才培养目标定位、服务面向、培养模式构建等三个重要方面切入,提出对我国高校社会工作专业人才培养的思考。     

论社会企业的合法性

社会企业的组织形态与现行法律体系格格不入,产品受到公众质疑,定位受限于一线城市,导致在法规合法性、道德合法性与认知合法性等方面面临难题,并进而影响社会企业的经济效益与社会效益。鉴于此,唯有通过主动地适应或选择、改变或创造环境才能化解这一难题。     

Being involved in the country: Productive ageing in different types of rural communities

Productive ageing recognises the contribution of older people to economic, social and cultural growth and helps build a sustainable community. Being involved in community life is good for individuals and good for society. However, we know very little about the participation of and contribution by people aged 50 and over in rural communities. This research aimed to develop a better understanding of productive ageing in different types of communities in rural Victoria, Australia. An anonymous self-complete postal questionnaire was distributed to a sample of households in twenty rural communities using the Australia Post Unaddressed Select Service. Those householders 50 years of age and older were invited to complete the survey. Data collected allowed examination of social and civic engagement, familiarity with community, the value placed on social relations by people aged 50 years and over, and how community involvement was linked to community sustainability. In particular it attempts to address the question ‘Does social and civic engagement differ across declining, stable and growing rural communities?’ Despite differences among rural communities, this study showed that older people develop and maintain strong community connections and well-functioning social capital and that participation in social activities was associated with feelings of being connected with community. It also identified health issues and lack of options as the main constraints on participation. A key message for policy makers is that older people play an important role in the sustainability of rural communities. There is much to be gained from actively supporting their participation in activities that are connected to ageing well.     

Where do intra-organizational advice relations come from? The role of informal status and social capital in social exchange

Social status and social capital frameworks are used to derive competing hypotheses about the emergence and structure of advice relations in organizations. Although both approaches build on a social exchange framework, they differ in their behavioral micro-foundations. From a status perspective, advice giving is a means to generate prestige, whereas asking advice decreases one's relative standing. At a structural level these motivations are expected to result in an overrepresentation of non-reciprocal dyads and non-cyclical triadic structures in the advice network, as well as in active advice seekers being unlikely to be approached for advice, especially by active advice givers. From a social capital perspective, advice seeking creates obligations for the advice seeker. At the structural level, this results in an overrepresentation of reciprocal dyads and cyclical triads, and active advice seekers to be unpopular as targets of advice seeking, especially for active advice givers. Analyses of four waves of a longitudinal sociometric study of 57 employees of a Dutch Housing Corporation provide partial support for both approaches. In line with the social capital perspective, we find reciprocal advice relations to be overrepresented at the dyad level. Results at the triad level support the social status arguments, according to which high status individuals will avoid asking advice from low status individuals. The implications for macro-structural properties of intra-organizational advice network are discussed.     

Applied Learning: A Project for Graduate Social Work Students

This paper describes a pilot project to develop an effective applied learning experience for graduate social work students. An asset-based social justice model was used as a guide in the development of the project. Importance was placed on the host community determining its own needs and the contributions the students would provide. A partnership with community stakeholders was developed. The stakeholders decided the needs to be addressed and the faculty prepared the students to meet those needs. Successes and limitations of the pilot project are reviewed.     

Pragmatic professionalism: micro-level discourse in social work

In recent years the welfare sector has encountered numerous and often challenging changes, such as marketisation, New Public Management, and demands for evidence-based practices. These changes can be seen as a shift between the two logics of creating and maintaining authority, and as a movement from occupational towards organizational professionalism. Perhaps the most important difference between these logics is that, in occupational professionalism, authority is built on trust in the professionals’ education and ethics, whilst in organizational professionalism it is grounded in regulation and control expressed, for example, in rules, regulations, and routines. The article focuses on the ways in which two groups of social workers in Swedish social welfare offices orient themselves towards organizational and occupational professionalism in constructing themselves and in the construction of each other, as well as the work that is carried out by each group. The aim is thus to elaborate on what these logics mean at the micro-level. In this respect, pertinent questions such as ‘How are they to be understood?’, ‘Regarded from the point of view of micro politics, what do these logics mean?’ and ‘How are the logics internalized by the social workers?’ are posed.