Energy and social change: an introduction

The majority of the papers collected in this section have been selected from those presented at the first international conference held in Italy on the social implications of energy issues.

The introduction to this special issue pursues two aims: on the one hand, to emphasize the importance of the energy question for the study of social change; and on the other, to show the potential importance of the social sciences, and in particular of sociological research, in regard to the energy issue.

To this end, the introduction considers a large part of the literature on the role of the social sciences in analysis of the energy issue, but also the changes in the social and political institutions, and therefore in social organization, consequent upon the ‘energy revolutions’. It finally concentrates on certain areas of inquiry in which the social sciences are the main players: the analysis of public opinion and environmental conflict. This concerns the acceptability of technologies for the production of energy from different sources, especially the alternatives to fossils, and how this affects the development of new technologies and future scenarios in regard to energy and the environment.     

Developing a Working Model of Cross-Cultural Supervision: A Competence- and Alliance-Based Framework

Despite numerous suggestions to integrate culture, diversity and social justice issues in clinical supervision, empirical studies on cross-cultural supervision indicate limited uptake of such recommendations. We suggest that a comprehensive model of cross-cultural supervision could benefit the field by guiding supervisors in this task. A working model is proposed based on a foundation of the supervisory alliance and a focus on social work practice competence, integrating strategies to promote self- and relational-reflexivity within the supervisory relationship. The model is comprised of four components: component 1: goal setting to contract on cross-cultural integration in supervision; component 2: active listening for cross-cultural markers; component 3: bonding through the supervisor’s self-reflexivity to foster the supervisee’s self-reflexivity; and component 4: working through tasks for cultural integration in supervision by modelling the supervisor’s relational reflexivity in case formulation and treatment to foster the supervisee’s relational-reflexivity.     

Books Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Gender, growth and trade: The miracle economies of the postwar years Le travail dans l'histoire de la pensée occidentale New frontiers of democratic participation at work Recent books: Des bancs de l'école aux postes de travail … Chronique d'une ségrégation annoncée Flexibilité et performances. Stratégies d'entreprises, régulations, transformations du travail L'organisation de la production et du travail: vers un nouveau modèle Santé mentale et travail. L'urgence de penser autrement l'organisation New ILO publications: A fair globalization: Creating opportunities for all A fair globalization: The role of the ILO Application of international labour standards, 2004: Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations Promoting employment: Policies, skills, enterprises Application of international labour standards, 2004: Information document on ratifications and standards-related activities Best practices in work-flexibility schemes and their impact on the quality of working life in the chemical industries Conditions of work in the fishing sector: A comprehensive standard (a Convention supplemented by a Recommendation) on work in the fishing sector Economic security for a better world Jobs after war: A critical challenge in the peace and reconstruction puzzle Key Indicators of the Labour Market Key Indicators of the Labour Market Organizing for social justice Philosophical and spiritual perspectives on decent work Policies for small enterprises: Creating the right environment for good jobs Preventing and responding to violence at work Record of proceedings Security in ports: ILO and IMO code of practice Social funds: Lessons for a new future Sources and methods: Labour statistics—Companion to the Yearbook of Labour Statistics. Volume 3: Economically active population, employment, unemployment and hours of work (household surveys) Volume 4: Employment, unemployment, wages and hours of work (administrative records and related sources) The global seafarer: Living and working conditions in a globalized industry Towards a fair deal for migrant workers in the global economy Women seafarers: Global employment policies and practices Workplace violence in services sectors and measures to combat this phenomenon: ILO code of practice     

BOOKS

Book reviewed in this article: Reviews: Beyond the new paternalism: Basic security as equality . Guy STANDING. Reviews: Family life and family interests: A comparative study on the influence of the European Convention of Human Rights on Dutch family law and the influence of the United States Constitution on American family law . Gerda A. KLEIJKAMP Reviews: The dynamics of full employment: Social integration through transitional labour markets . Günther SCHMID; Bernard GAZIER (eds.) Recent books: Critique du droit du travail . Alain SUPIOT Recent books: Réseaux de sociétés et codes de conduite. Un nouveau modèle de regulation des relations de travail pour les entreprises européennes . André SOBCZAK Recent books: Sociologie de la négotiation . Reynald BURQUE; Christian THUDEROZ New ILO publications: Fifteenth American Regional Meeting (Lima, December 2002), Report of the Director‐General: Globalization and decent work in the Americas New ILO publications: Annex: ILO activities in the Americas, 1999–2002 New ILO publications: International Labour Conference, 90th Session, Geneva, 2002: Record of proceedings New ILO publications: International Labour Conference, 91st Session, 2003, Report IV(2): Learning and training for work in the knowledge society: The constituents' views . New ILO publications: International Labour Conference, 91st Session, 2003, Report VII(1): Improved security of seafarers' identification New ILO publications: A statistical profile of the teaching profession . By Maria Teresa SINISCALCO New ILO publications: Alcohol and drug problems at work: The shift to prevention Argentina: Una década de convertibilidad. Un análisis del crecimiento, el empleo y la distribución del ingreso . By Mario DAMILL, Roberto FRENKEL and Roxana MAURIZIO New ILO publications: Corporate success through people: Making international labour standards work for you . By Nicolai ROGOVSKY and Emily SIMS New ILO publications: Decent work in Denmark: Employment, social efficiency and economic security . Edited by Philippe EGGER and Werner SENGENBERGER in collaboration with Peter AUER, Marco SIMONI and Corinne VARGHA New ILO publications: Employment, employability and equal opportunities in the postal and telecommunications services New ILO publications: Employment trends in the tobacco sector: Challenges and prospects . Report for discussion at the Tripartite Meeting on the Future of Employment in the Tobacco Sector New ILO publications: Formación profesional en el cambio de siglo . By Claudio de MOURA CASTRO. Edited by Klaus SCHAACK and Rudolf TIPPELT New ILO publications: Global employment trends New ILO publications: How to read a balance sheet New ILO publications: ILO generic crisis response modules . ILO InFocus Programme on Crisis Response and Reconstruction. Geneva, 2002. xxi + 132 pp. Loose‐leaf binder, glossary, boxes, tables, checklists, bibliography. 25 Swiss francs. ISBN 92–2–112690–0. Crisis response: Rapid needs assessment manual New ILO publications: Lifelong learning in the mechanical and electrical engineering industries New ILO publications: Managing disability in the workplace New ILO publications: Measuring the non‐observed economy: A handbook New ILO publications: Micro‐finance in the industrialized countries: Helping the unemployed to start a business New ILO publications: Panorama laboral 2002: America Latina y el Caribe New ILO publications: Pension reform in central and eastern Europe . Edited by Elaine FULTZ New ILO publications: Pensiones no contributivas y asistenciales: Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Costa Rica y Uruguay . Edited by Fabio M. BERTRANOU, Carmen SOLORIO and Wouter van GINNEKEN New ILO publications: Public emergency services: Social dialogue in a changing environment New ILO publications: Social dialogue in the health services: Institutions, capacity and effectiveness New ILO publications: Social reinsurance: A new approach to sustainable community health financing . Edited by David M. DROR and Alexander S. PREKER New ILO publications: The Committee on Freedom of Association: Its impact over 50 years . By Eric GRAVEL, Isabelle DUPLESSIS and Bernard GERNIGON New ILO publications: The evolution of employment, working time and training in the mining industry     

Books

Book reviewed in this article: Reviews: David, Natacha. From Asia to Russia to Brazil … The impact of the financial and economic crisis on women Reviews: Gual, Jordi (ed.). Job creation: The role of labor market institutions Reviews: Joshi, Heather; Paci, Pierella, with Makepiece, Gerald; Waldfogel, Jane. Unequal pay for women and men Reviews: Kornai, Janos. Struggle and hope: Essays on stabilization and reform in post-socialist economy Reviews: Vaughan-Whitehead, Daniel. Albania in crisis: The predictable fall of the shining star Recent books: Bhaduri, Amit; Skarstein, Rune (eds.). Economic development and agricultural productivity Recent books: Boserup, Ester. My professional life and publications 1929–1998 Recent books: Browne, Irene (ed.). Latinas and African American women at work: Race, gender, and economic inequality Recent books: Custers, Peter. Capital accumulation and women's labour in Asian economies Recent books: Papola, T. S.; Sharma, Alakh N. (eds.). Gender and employment in India Recent books: World Confederation of Labour. Gender and informal sector New ILO publications: Gender and jobs: Sex segregation of occupations in the world. By Richard Anker New ILO publications: Negotiating flexibility: The role of the social partners and the State. Edited by Muneto Ozaki     

Book Reviews/Comptes rendus

Book reviewed in this article:
JANE BALIN, A Neighborhood Divided: Community Resistance to an AIDS Care Facility
HIMANI BANNERJI, The Dark Side of the Nation: Essays on Multiculturalism, Nationalism and Gender
CECILIA M. BENOIT, Women, Work and Social Rights: Canada in Historical and Comparative Perspective
HELEN K. BLACK and ROBERT L. RUBINSTEIN, Old Souls: Aged Women, Poverty, and the Experience of God
EVELYN BLACKWOOD and SASKIA E. WIERINGA, eds., Female Desires: Same-Sex Relations and Transgender Practices Across Cultures
KIERAN BONNER, A Great Place to Raise Kids: Interpretation, Science and the Urban-Rural Debate
VALERIE BRYSON, Feminist Debates: Issues of Theory and Political Practice
ALISON J. CLARKE, Tupperware: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America
JUANNE NANCARROW CLARKE with LAUREN NANCARROW CLARKE, Finding Strength: A Mother and Daughter's Story of Childhood Cancer
CAROLE M. COUNIHAN, The Anthropology of Food and Body: Gender, Meaning and Power
MARC EDELMAN, Peasants against Globalization. Rural Social Movements in Costa Rica
IAN GOUGH and GUNNAR OLOFSSON (eds.), Capitalism and Social Cohesion: Essays on Exclusion and Integration
ALENA HEITLINGER (ed.), émigré Feminism: Transnational Perspectives
SUSAN F. HIRSCH, Pronouncing and Persevering: Gender and the Discourse of Disputing in an African Islamic Court     

Books Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Kerin, Anto T. Sole survivors: How exceptional companies survive and thrive at the edge. Ronnås, Per; Orlova, Nina. Moldova's transition to destitution. Sida Studies No. 1. Recent books: Argüelles, Antonio; Gonczi, Andrew (eds.). Competency based education and training: A world perspective. Budetti, Peter P.; Burkhauser, Richard V.; Gregory, Janice M.; Hunt, H. Allan (eds.). Ensuring health and income security for an aging workforce. Moss, Philip; Tilly, Chris. Stories employers tell: Race, skill, and hiring in America. New ILO publications: Ambient factors in the workplace. ILO code of practice. Cooperatives in Asia: From reform to reconstruction. By Krishan K. Taimni. Fundamental principles of occupational health and safety. By Benjamin O. Alli. Globalization and sustainability: The forestry and wood industries on the move. Report for discussion at the Tripartite Meeting on the Social and Labour Dimensions of the Forestry and Wood Industries on the Move, Geneva, 2001. Sectoral Activities Programme Mutual health organizations and microentrepreneurs' associations: Guide. Strategies and Tools against Social Exclusion and Poverty (STEP), InFocus Programme Boosting Employment through Small Enterprise Development (SEED). Mutuelles de santé en Afrique: Caractéristiques et mise en place. Manuel de formateurs (2nd edition). ILO Strategies and Tools against Social Exclusion and Poverty (STEP)/World Solidarity/Alliance nationale des Mutualités chrétiennes de Belgique. The impact of decentralization and privatization on municipal services. Report for discussion at the Joint Meeting on the Impact of Decentralization and Privatization on Municipal Services, Geneva, 2001. Sectoral Activities Programme.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed in this article:
Ecology and Society: An Introduction Luke Martell
Animal to Edible Noëlie Vialles (translated from the French by J.A. Underwood)
Challenging Medicine Jonathan Gabe
The Social Organisation of Mental Illness Lindsay Prior
Health and Health Care in Britain Rob Baggott
Mothering: Ideology, Experience, and Agency Evelyn Nakano Glenn
Anorexic Bodies: A Feminist and Sociological Perspective on Anorexia Nervosa Morag MacSween
Self-consciousness: An Alternative Anthropology of Identity Anthony Cohen
The Cultural Turn: Scene Setting Essays on Contemporary Cultural History David Chaney
Postmodernism and Popular Culture Angela McRobbie
Cinema and Modernity John Orr
Baudrillard and Signs: Signification Ablaze G. Genosko
Travellers' Tales: Narratives of Home and Displacement George Robertson
Museum Culture Histories, Discourses, Spectacles, Sherman, D. and Rogoff, I. (eds)
Television and Everyday Life Roger Silverstone
The Sociology of Deviance: an Obituary Colin Sumner
The Electronic Eye: The Rise of Surveillance Society David Lyon
Some Trouble with Cows: Making Sense of Social Conflict Beth Roy
'Race', Ethnicity and Nation: International Perspectives on Social Conflict Peter Ratcliffe, (ed.)
Constructions of Race, Place and Nation P. Jackson and J. Penrose (eds)     

Calorie Restriction on Drinking Days: An Examination of Drinking Consequences Among College Students

Objective: This study examined the association between restricting calories on intended drinking days and drunkenness frequency and alcohol-related consequences among college students.

Participants: Participants included a random sample of 4,271 undergraduate college students from 10 universities.

Methods: Students completed a Web-based survey regarding their high-risk drinking behaviors and calorie restriction on intended drinking days.

Results: Thirty-nine percent of past 30-day drinkers reported restricting calories on days they planned to drink alcohol, of which 67% restricted because of weight concerns. Restricting calories on drinking days was associated with greater odds of getting drunk in a typical week. Women who restricted were more likely to report memory loss, being injured, being taken advantage of sexually, and having unprotected sex while drinking. Men were more likely to get into a physical fight.

Conclusions: These results highlight the importance of considering weight control behaviors in the examination of high-risk college drinking.     

Changes in the Political Iconography of East Central European Capitals after 1989 (Berlin,Warsaw, Prague,Bratislava)

The fall of communism in 1989/1990 has led not only to the establishment of new political systems and ideologies, but also to significant modifications in the visual self-representation of the respective states in Eastern and East Central Europe. Statues of communist heroes were abolished and replaced by monuments and memorials reflecting the new political situation. New state buildings were erected, and the old ones remodelled and adapted to the representational needs of the new authorities. In some cases, the political changes even have had a strong impact on principles of city planning, effecting urban structures of symbolic value.

The focal points of these developments are the capital cities, being principal places of the execution of state power as well as of its self-representation. However, the conditions for the staging of the state in the capital are in each case different. They depend on one hand on the architectural shape and historic role of the city, and on the political situation and self-image of the state on the other.

The article provides a comparative analysis of the changes in the political iconography of four East Central European capitals—Berlin, Warsaw, Prague and Bratislava—since 1989, focusing on selected monuments, architectural projects for state institutions and concepts of town planning.     

Staying safe while consuming alcohol: a qualitative study of the protective strategies and informational needs of college freshmen

OBJECTIVE: In this qualitative study, the authors examined how students attempt to minimize harm to themselves and others when drinking. PARTICIPANTS: The authors recruited freshmen at a large, mid-Atlantic US public university during the fall semester of 2005 to participate in 8 focus groups. METHODS: The moderator's guide was developed through an iterative process that included input from experts and pilot testing. The researchers audiotaped focus group conversations, transcribed them, and subjected them to an interrater reliability check. Analysis was based on the framework of Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model and a phenomenological approach. RESULTS: College students have a repertoire of coping strategies they use in an attempt to safeguard themselves and their friends from harm when drinking. Strategies encompass planning a safe context for drinking, using safety measures to minimize harm when drinking, and taking care of someone who has consumed too much alcohol. CONCLUSIONS: A harm-reduction focus that acknowledges and builds on existing protective strategies may be a promising avenue for alcohol interventions.     

Migrants' entrepreneurship in transnational social fields: research in the Italian context

The aim of the article is to analyse the development of transnational economic activities run by migrants in Northern Italy. It is based on qualitative empirical research conducted in the three most important cities in northern Italy: Milan, Genoa, and Turin.

The article describes different kinds of transnational economic activity, identifying the subject of transnational transactions; the main clients (immigrant population or native population); the goods or services exchanged and their transnational impact; the expected social effects; and their positioning on a scale of transnational involvement.

The empirical cases considered are overland courier services on routes from Milan to Eastern Europe, shops owned by immigrants who offer ‘ethnic’ products in Milan and Genoa, and phone centres run by immigrants in Turin.

In the conclusion, the reactions of the receiving society and the question of public regulation are examined.     

Not only men but also migrants in non-traditional occupations

Domestic labour is considered a typical female job, and due to the arrival of large migration flows to Italy it has experienced a massive ethnicized connotation, peculiar of this sector. This paper focuses on how a double and subaltern condition of belonging to a ‘minority group’ affects gender perceptions of male migrant domestic workers and how they construct their masculinity.

This research is based on a comparison between 54 interviews with male and female migrant domestic workers, drawing on an intersectional approach based on gender and nationality. It shows how moving across borders, living in a host society, and working in a non-traditional job can reshape male immigrants' gender division perceptions, often in contradictory and unexpected ways. It also emerges how the ‘racial glass escalator’ allows reaffirmation of characteristics tied to the privileges of masculinity and furnishes an important and useful framework in which to analyse the experience of men in ‘female’ occupations.     

Social Work and the Natural Environment: Embedding Content Across Curricula

Social work is a profession focused on people within their environments. This is reflected in codes of ethics, where our shared mandate is to work towards individual wellbeing and social change. Recently, social work literature has promoted green and eco-social work, drawing on climate change science, notions of expanded and future justice, knowledge of the link between health and the environment, and principles of deep ecology. However, if social workers are to take up their place in a rapidly changing, globalised world, rife with environmental concerns, their education must prepare them to do this. One way of doing this is to embed curriculum on social work in relation to the natural environment in already existing units. This paper describes two examples of how this could be done based on the authors’ experiences from their respective universities.

IMPLICATIONS

• It is incumbent on social work to respond to the mounting evidence related to the environmental crisis.

• Social work is well placed in terms of theory, values, and skills to lead the way in developing an eco-social paradigm of potential relevance across disciplines.

• Social work educators need to educate students about emerging issues, such as environmental degradation. Embedding material in already existing courses, as per examples provided in this paper, provides one way of doing this.

     

Immigrant perceptions of ethnic and racial discrimination: patterns and singularities in a municipality in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area

In Portugal, studies on discrimination against immigrants have focused almost exclusively either on the indigenous population, or on the foreign population. The former have tended to deploy quantitative and extended methodologies, while the latter studies have opted predominantly for qualitative or intensive methodologies, focusing on particular groups. There are few studies in which the immigrant population is extensively surveyed, covering its diverse origins, life trajectories, and social position in the host society.

In this analysis we examine the main factors that shape the perceptions of ethnic and racial discrimination among immigrant groups living in the Oeiras municipality in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. This analysis is based on a quantitative analysis of a survey of 422 immigrants, of whom approximately half reported having been discriminated against since their arrival in Portugal. The study is focused on three main explanations related to predictive variables: sociographic, acculturation/cultural proximity, and opportunities for contact with the autochthonous population. A multivariate logistic regression demonstrates that there is a statistically significant relationship between perceived discrimination and some sociographic variables including cultural proximity, especially for Brazilians.     

The Steps of Sexuality—A Developmental,Emotion-Focused,Child-Centered Model of Sexual Development and Sexuality Education from Birth to Adulthood

Abstract

Objective: To review research on emotional, cognitive, and behavioral levels of sexual development in children and adolescents, and, based on that, to propose a model of sexual development from infancy to early adulthood, the Steps of Sexuality. Methods: Literature review. Results: We present a model of sexual development from infancy to early adulthood, the Steps of Sexuality. Conclusion: We posit that to promote “a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality,” sexuality education needs to focus on emotional needs and positive dimensions/aspects of sexuality.     

Implications for Sexual Assault Prevention: College Students as Prosocial Bystanders

Abstract

Prosocial bystander interventions are promising approaches to sexual assault prevention on college campuses. Objective: To assess bystander attitudes among undergraduate students at a northeastern university. Participants: A convenience sample of 188 students from 4 undergraduate classes was surveyed during regularly scheduled class sessions. Methods: Participants completed a short survey on bystander efficacy, readiness to change, and barriers to intervention prior to the start of class. Results: The majority of students were not involved in activities or programs focused on sexual assault prevention. Although students agreed that violence could be prevented, they perceived many barriers to their own participation in intervention. Conclusions: There is a need for gender-targeted prevention programming that introduces the idea of prosocial bystander intervention, with a focus on increasing self-efficacy and lowering barriers.     

Potential barriers to work for substance-abusing women on welfare. Findings from the CASAWORKS for Families pilot demonstration

AIM: To assess the prevalence and relationship to later employment of potential barriers to work for substance-abusing women on Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) enrolled in a multiservice welfare-to-work program. DESIGN: A field study with repeated measures and intent-to-treat sampling. INTERVENTION: The CASAWORKS for Families (CWF) was delivered in 11 sites in nine states across the nation and featured integration of substance-abuse treatment and employment and work readiness services. MEASUREMENT: The Addiction Severity Index, supplemented with subject-appropriate questions. SAMPLE: A total of 366 CWF women who completed interviews at program enrollment, and at 6 and 12 months later. FINDINGS: Substance-abusing women on TANF in the CWF program exhibited multiple potential barriers to work at enrollment, averaging 6 out of 14 potential barriers assessed. They reported significantly more obstacles than a general welfare sample of women from the same locales. Few single barriers were significantly related to employment at 12 months. However, the total number of potential barriers to work experienced, particularly at 6 months, was related to employment at 12 months.     

Independent Comment on Audio‐visual and Print Materials: The Graduate Diploma in Family Centred Practice,Monash University

Book reviewed in this article: Brief Therapy for Couples: W. Kim Halford NY Domestic Violence in Australia: The Legal Response, 3rd edn.: Renata Alexander Intimacy & Solitude: Balancing Closeness and Independence.: Stephanie Dowrick Clinical Epiphanies in Marital and Family Therapy: A Practitioner's Casebook of Therapeutic Insights, Perceptions, and Breakthroughs: David A. Bastiste Jr. (Ed.). Comparative Treatments for Relationship Dysfunction: Frank M. Dattilio Women's Stories of Divorce at Childbirth: When the Baby Rocks the Cradle: Hilary Hodge Recreating Partnership: A Solution Oriented, Collaborative Approach to Couples Therapy.: Phillip Ziegler and Tobey Hiller But Facts Exist: An Enquiry into Psychoanalytic Theorizing: Thomas Freeman Refugees: Living on the Margins: Helen Pavlin