‘WORK FOR THE DOLE’ – A CHEAP LABOUR MARKET PROGRAM? AN ECONOMIST'S PERSPECTIVE

From an economists perspective, this paper explores some of the issues associated with the design of an effective labour market program, and evaluation processes which are required to determine the merits of a scheme. This analysis comes at the time when pilot projects under the federal Government's ‘Work for the Dole’ scheme are being implemented. The paper concludes that if the ‘Work for the Dole’ scheme is to be viewed as a labour market program, then an evaluation mechanism should have been determined prior to the implementation of such a scheme.     

A land of the ‘fair go’? Intergenerational earnings elasticity in Australia

This paper contributes to the existing literature on income mobility by developing and applying a two‐stage panel regression model and assessing the effects of using different levels of occupational (dis)aggregation and different earnings measures on the magnitude of father–son earnings elasticities in Australia. We find that the overall intergenerational earnings elasticity in Australia between 2001 and 2013 ranges from 0.11 to 0.30. Our preferred estimates lie between 0.24 and 0.28. Elasticity estimates vary depending on the level of occupational (dis)aggregation and earnings measure used: they are highest when two‐digit level occupations and hourly earnings are used, and lowest when four‐digit level occupations and annual earnings are used. We read these findings as indicating that elasticity estimates are sensitive to the use of different data and methods, and researchers should be careful when undertaking cross‐study, cross‐temporal or cross‐national comparisons.     

‘Replacement Care’ for Working Carers? A Longitudinal Study in England, 2013–15

In the context of rising need for long‐term care, reconciling unpaid care and carers’ employment is becoming an important social issue. In England, there is increasing policy emphasis on paid services for the person cared for, sometimes known as ‘replacement care’, to support working carers. Previous research has found an association between ‘replacement care’ and carers’ employment. However, more information is needed on potential causal connections between services and carers’ employment. This mixed methods study draws on new longitudinal data to examine service receipt and carers’ employment in England. Data were collected from carers who were employed in the public sector, using self‐completion questionnaires in 2013 and 2015, and qualitative interviews were conducted with a sub‐sample of respondents to the 2015 questionnaire. We find that, where the person cared for did not receive at least one ‘key service’ (home care, personal assistant, day care, meals, short‐term breaks), the carer was subsequently more likely to leave employment because of caring, suggesting that the absence of services contributed to the carer leaving work. In the interviews, carers identified specific ways in which services helped them to remain in employment. We conclude that, if a policy objective is to reduce the number of carers leaving employment because of caring, there needs to be greater access to publicly‐funded services for disabled and older people who are looked after by unpaid carers.     

‘Doing it right?’– accessing the narratives of identity of newly qualified social workers through the lens of resilience: ‘I am,I have,I can’

Using narrative enquiry, this paper accesses the construct of identity through exploring resilience in newly qualified social workers based in statutory children's services. In seeking to avoid deficit‐based models of this role, this paper aims to present inductively the ‘voice’ of three social workers in a semi‐rural authority, storying the positive ways in which resilience has developed during their first year. Using the Grotberg resilience framework (1995) –‘I am, I have, I can’– as an analytical tool at the interface of personal, professional and organizational identities, we conclude that ‘I am’ and ‘I have’ are more important than the skills dimension of ‘I can’. Positive role models, trust, ‘managed’ optimism, flexibility of support in and beyond induction, and, crucially, self‐efficacy and space for reflexivity, are more prominent as sources of resilience and strong identity. The reflexivity, inspired by the process of narrative enquiry, is an important contributor to self‐efficacy. We propose that a positive view of growth and identity is preferable to deficit models in the context of the transition between the two ‘communities of practice’ and of the challenges of the workplace. Organizational approaches based on this view will be more likely to promote a sustainable workforce.     

Offending behaviour in care: is children's residential care a ‘criminogenic’ environment?

This paper focuses on offending behaviour and children in residential care. The paper considers whether children's residential care is a ‘criminogenic’ environment, i.e. whether this type of care environment helps to provide the conditions that produce crime or criminality. The paper draws on the findings from recently completed research on 10 children's homes in a large county local authority in England. This paper focuses on the patterns shown in trend data collected on problematic and offending data across these homes over a 7‐year period (2001–2007) and a 1‐year cohort study of 46 young people. Interviews with care staff and young people are used to contextualize these patterns. The data provide evidence of an environment where conflict and offending behaviour are common. It is argued that the residential care environment, particularly for older teenagers, often presents a set of risks that tend to reinforce offending behaviour and that this is in part due to its ‘last resort’ status.     

Do ‘child‐friendly’ countries contribute to child satisfaction? A comparative study of OECD countries

Child‐friendliness is a new concept in the research literature. Derived from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, it assesses different nations’ commitment to the aspects of children’s rights: both self‐determination and nurturance and care. Since the concept is still in its infancy, there is a need to study the associations between child‐friendliness and the subjective well‐being of children in a comparative perspective. Accordingly, the present study compares country rankings in the Child‐Friendliness Index (CFI) with country scores in the Global Domain Satisfaction Index (GDSI) in a sample of ten OECD countries. Results show that there is no association between the adapted GDSI score and the CFI. However, the self‐determination sub‐index and specifically participation in the personal domain are found correlated with GDSI domains. Moreover, countries can be grouped into different clusters: Nordic, Mediterranean, European, Asian. Key Practitioner Message: ? There was no apparent association between the adapted GDSI score and the Child‐Friendliness Index (CFI) rank; ? The CFI self‐determination sub‐index and participation in the personal domain specifically were found to be correlated with GDSI domains; ? Countries may be grouped into different clusters when looking at their GDSI score and CFI rank: Nordic, Mediterranean, European, Asian.     

Is ‘Candidacy’ a Useful Concept for Understanding Journeys through Public Services? A Critical Interpretive Literature Synthesis

Across the public sector there is concern that service uptake is inequitably distributed by socio‐economic circumstances and that public provision exacerbates the existence of inequalities either because services are not allocated by need or because of differential patterns of uptake between the most and least affluent groups. A concept that offers potential to understand access and utilization is ‘candidacy’ which has been used to explain access to, and utilization of, healthcare. The concept suggests that an individual's identification of his or her ‘candidacy’ for health services is structurally, culturally, organizationally and professionally constructed, and helps to explain why those in deprived circumstances make less use of services than the more affluent. In this article we assess the fit of candidacy to other public services using a Critical Interpretive Synthesis of three case studies literatures relating to: domestic abuse, higher education and environmental services. We find high levels of congruence between ‘candidacy’ and the sampled literatures on access/utilization of services. We find, however, that the concept needs to be refined. In particular, we distinguish between micro, meso and macro factors that play into the identification, sustaining and resolution of candidacy, and demonstrate the plural nature of candidacies. We argue that this refined model of candidacy should be tested empirically beyond and within health. More specifically, in the current economic context, we suggest that it becomes imperative to better understand how access to public services is influenced by multiple factors including changing discourses of deservedness and fairness, and by stringent reductions in the public purse.     

Where's the beef? A response to Gray and Webb's ‘The return of the political in social work’

Gray and Webb's article 'The return of the political in social work' is a welcome contribution to current debates. In its critique of the dominance of calculative reason, its rejection of postmodernism and identity politics, and its insistence on the need for social work to openly address issues of power and conflict, it is a useful addition to the growing critical literature concerned with challenging dominant forms of practice. That usefulness is limited, however, first by an excessively opaque style and, second, by problems associated with the writers' argument and approach. These include: an over-reliance on Heidegger's ontology; an over-estimation of the potential of art to act as alternative paradigm; and a particularly content-less version of politics, derived from the work of Alain Badiou, which is likely to prove to be of limited value in the project of developing alternative forms of social work.     

‘Do you want to do some arm wrestling?’: children's strategies when experiencing domestic violence and the meaning of age

The aim of this study is, by analysing children's and young people's discourses, to investigate their strategies in response to domestic violence episodes, in relation to their age. The empirical data come from individual interviews with children and young people (ages 8–20 years) who had experienced domestic violence and lived at refuges for abused women. The thematic analysis shows that the children describe a wide range of strategies before, during and after a violent episode, that all children act regardless of age and that strategies vary according not only to age but also to situation and context. The theoretical framework used is the sociology of childhood, and the analysis engages with theoretical concepts of age, agency and positioning.     

Should a Question on ‘Religion’ be Asked in the 2001 British Census? A Public Policy Case in Favour

For the first time since the voluntary census in 1851, a question on religion will be asked in the 2001 Census for England and Wales and for Scotland. The justification given in the White Paper is that the information will enhance output from the ethnicity question, especially for groups originating from the Indian subcontinent. The decision has attracted criticism on the grounds that religion is a private and sensitive matter not suitable for a census and that the information yielded by the question will be of limited or no value. This paper contends that a question on religion should be asked and presents the main arguments in favour. In addition to enabling ethnic minority subgroups to be identified, it will provide counts for groups like Muslims and Jews that are currently invisible in ethnicity classifications. Information on religions will meet government needs arising from the increasing involvement of faith communities as collaborators in urban regeneration and health improvement and statutory requirements relating to such matters as standing advisory councils on religious education and local authority obligations under the Children Act 1989. It will also provide an evidence base for facilitating the identification of discrimination on religious grounds. However, the utility of the category 'Christian' in the question for England and Wales—in contrast to the broad subdivisions of Christianity in the Scotland question—is questioned, given that for some ethnic groups 'Catholic' and 'Protestant' are important cultural markers of difference. These developments merit critical review by professionals and the wider society.     

Social security law: what does the politics of ‘conditional welfare’ mean for review and client representation?

This paper reflects on aspects of the meaning of new social security as ‘conditional welfare’ (such as welfare quarantining) and its implications for client rights, advocacy and public policy accountability. The paper considers the rising reliance on conditional welfare and related measures such as ‘linked‘, localised or place‐based welfare, and the increasing complexity of welfare discretions. The paper essentially makes the argument that it is past time to begin to debate the pros and cons for Australia of conditional welfare as it impacts on administrative law and new forms of welfare advocacy.     

‘You Feel Sad?’ Emotion Understanding Mediates Effects of Verbal Ability and Mother–Child Mutuality on Prosocial Behaviors: Findings from 2 Years to 4 Years

Early individual differences in prosocial behaviors are pivotal for children's peer relationships. To investigate the interplay among verbal ability, emotion understanding, and mother–child mutuality as predictors of prosocial behaviors, we observed 102 children at the ages of two, three, and four. All time points included verbal ability and emotion understanding tests and both video‐based and maternal ratings of prosocial behavior. The first two time points also included video‐based ratings of mother–child mutuality. The third time point included teacher ratings of prosocial behavior and an experimental task. Regression analysis demonstrated robust associations between emotion understanding at the age of three and prosocial behavior at the age of four. Path analysis showed that emotion understanding at the age of three mediated associations between verbal ability/mother–child mutuality at the age of two and prosocial behavior at the age of four.     

Activation and ‘coercion’ among Swedish social assistance claimants with different work barriers and socio‐demographic characteristics: What is the logic?

Nybom J. Activation and ‘coercion’ among Swedish social assistance claimants with different work barriers and socio‐demographic characteristics: What is the logic? The study analysed how the work barriers and socio‐demographic characteristics of both activated and non‐activated social assistance claimants influence their participation in activation and exposure to coercion, measured as two opposite indicators – sanctions and exemptions. The study covered 372 social assistance claimants in four municipalities during a period of 1 year. The results suggest that resource activation, which entails education and/or work practice in regular workplaces, often targets claimants who lack work motivation, whereas job activation, which aims at quick entry into the labour market, targets young claimants and claimants who lack formal skills (education and/or work experience). Swedish men older than 25 years appear to run the highest risk of facing sanctions irrespective of participation in activation. Exemptions vary more than sanctions between activated and non‐activated claimants. The results are discussed in terms of five logics operating in social work.     

Rethinking social work ethics: what is the real question? Responding to Stephen Webb's ‘Against difference and diversity in social work’

Jose J. Rethinking social work ethics: what is the real question? Responding to Stephen Webb's ‘Against difference and diversity in social work’ Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 246–252 © 2009 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. In his recent article, Stephen Webb argued that the real question for social work ethics concerns ‘recognising the Same and of restoring the principles of equality and social justice’. This argument also included raising questions about what should be considered an appropriate philosophical basis for progressive social work ethics. In his view, social work's emancipatory potential has been blunted by overstated and philosophically ill‐informed human rights claims about difference and diversity. He suggested that French philosopher Alain Badiou offers social workers a ‘set of conceptual devices for rethinking social work ethics’. I argue that pressing his points into Badiou's philosophical mould is unlikely to lead to a progressive social work practice, let alone solve the issues identified by Webb. Badiou's philosophical pronouncements about ethics are of questionable value and offer little or no assistance to social workers seeking to establish an ethical grounding for their professional practice.     

Decision‐making tools and the development of expertise in child protection practitioners: are we ‘just breeding workers who are good at ticking boxes’?

Concern about the decision‐making abilities of practitioners in child protection has led to the development and implementation of increasingly structured assessment tools, many based on forms of risk assessment. The positive and negative effects of such tools on practice have been widely researched and debated. This paper presents the findings from ethnographic research about the use of a particular set of decision‐making tools that provide insights into how tools might affect the professional development of practitioners. The overall finding that the use of decision‐making tools may impair professional development draws attention to the importance of the process of implementation, in particular how tools are regarded within an organization in relation to practitioner expertise.