Poverty‐aware social work practice: service users' perspectives

In recent years, there has been an increase in scholarly writing on the theory and practice of critical social work with people living in poverty. Yet there is a lack of research on the experiences and perspectives of service users regarding this kind of practice. This paper presents a qualitative study that explored the practice of a special poverty‐aware social work programme in Israel, through the experiences of women who took part in it. Using an interpretative interactionist approach, in‐depth interviews with nine women were held three times over a 2‐year period. Findings reveal a high degree of satisfaction with the programme on the part of the women. The satisfaction was derived from four main experiences: the experience of visibility, the experience of the active partnership in the fight against poverty, the experience of close, hierarchy‐challenging relationships, and the experience of responsiveness to material and emotional needs. The findings are discussed in terms of three principles of practice: intervention in a real‐life context, relationship‐based intervention and the focus on both the material and emotional needs and their fulfilment.     

Using reflexivity to explain variations in migration among the highly-skilled

ABSTRACT

Migration literature has traditionally distinguished between different motivations of migration, such as labour, family and newly also lifestyle migration, never fully exploring the background of these motivations. This article suggests that these different motivations may be explained by different modes of reflexivity as distinguished by Margaret Archer. Linking modes of reflexivity with migration motivations addresses two problems in current migration literature. First, it provides for practical application of reflexivity in explaining migration motivations, which has been missing so far. Second, the article advocates using psycho-social approach as opposed to more commonly adapted ethnical or class based explanations in understanding migration behavior, hence avoiding the potential trap of falling into the trap of methodological nationalism or classism. Through the interview with highly-skilled Estonian migrants it is shown that the reasons of migration among highly skilled are versatile and cannot be explained solely by their class background.     

A three-dimensional object point process for detection of cosmic filaments

Summary.  We propose to apply an object point process to delineate filaments of the large scale structure in red shift catalogues automatically. We illustrate the feasibility of the idea on an example of the recent 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, describe the procedure and characterize the results.     

Poverty‐aware social work in the child protection system: A critical reflection on two single‐case studies

In recent years, scholarly writing that calls for the development of a new child protection framework that contextualizes risk and links it to poverty and social marginalization has increased. Nonetheless, there is a lack of research on the challenges of implementing such a framework in frontline practice. Based on the ongoing, rigorous documentation of the author's experience, as a social work practitioner in a community child protection centre, this article presents two single‐case studies that describe and conceptualize the potential contribution of the poverty‐aware paradigm to the creation of a social framework for child protection practice. Utilizing critical reflection as a method of analysis, the findings reveal two major tensions entwined in poverty‐aware child protection practice: the tension between focusing child protection interventions on parenting and focusing them on poverty and the tension between framing risk within a social context and framing it within the concept of the best interest of the child. Based on the case studies, seven poverty‐aware practices to cope with these tensions are identified.     

Evaluation utilization research-Developing a theory and putting it to use

This article presents the findings of a two-stage study that had two key objectives: to develop a theory about evaluation utilization in an educational organization and to apply this theory to promote evaluation utilization within the organization. The first stage involved a theoretical conceptualization using a participatory method of concept mapping. This process identified the modes of evaluation utilization within the organization, produced a representation of the relationship between them and led to a theory. The second stage examined the practical implications of this conceptualization in terms of how different stakeholders in the organization perceive the actual and preferable state of evaluation utilization within the organization (i.e. to what extent is evaluation utilized and to what extent should it be utilized). The participatory process of the study promoted the evaluation utilization by involving stakeholders, thus giving them a sense of ownership and improving communication between the evaluation unit and the stakeholders. In addition, understanding the evaluation needs of the stakeholders in the organization helped generate relevant and realizable evaluation processes. On a practical level, the results are currently shaping the evaluation plan and the place of evaluations within the organization.     

To return or not to return? The importance of identity negotiations for return migration

Whereas migration research has been heavily influenced by the individualization paradigm, studies on return migration have been more inspired by theories on attachment and belonging. It is common for this kind of research to assert that the main motivations for returning are social contacts and a homing desire. Although this article does not question the importance of such motivations for some, it does argue that return migration needs to be more problematized, not least by studying people who have decided not to return. Based on interviews with highly skilled Estonians, this article suggests that return decisions are influenced by three types of comparisons: social, temporal, and intra-subjective. The first two comparisons have been discussed to some degree in migration literature; however, a focus on intra-subjective comparisons – in which people compare different parts of their identity in order to decide on a potential return – has been scarce. This article suggests that, in line with the individualization of social relationships, but also with the introduction of a new EU mobility space, it is the latter type of comparison that is becoming increasingly widespread.     

Can the Concept of Lifestyle Migration be applied to Return Migration? The Case of Estonians in the UK

This article makes the case for using the concept of lifestyle migration to understand return migration. The key argument is that there are several advantages for engaging with lifestyle migration literature when analysing people's return, of which the prime reason is to draw attention away from the affective and emotional aspects of return migration and view it as a conscious decision related to future planning. A combination of statistical data and interviews with highly skilled Estonian migrants in the UK shows how the return of these migrants is often related to moving from one life stage to another. In the conscious process of planning for a family, several aspects related to both countries were evaluated and the return was often explained as benefitting the (potential) family. The article also claims that there is a need for lifestyle migration research to engage more actively on interlinkages between lifestyle and life stage.