A Disaster Foretold? The Case of the Personal Pension

With the creation of the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) in 1975, pensions policy in the UK was characterized by a consensus between the Labour and Conservative parties. By the mid 1980s, under the influence of New Right ideas, the Conservatives had broken with this consensus. Conservative pensions policy now centred on the ideological objectives of promoting individual property ownership and pension provision “independent”of the State. Such objectives were central to the creation of personal pensions under the 1986 Social Security Act. This article examines the political background to the emergence of this policy and seeks to evaluate how far the stated aims have been achieved. It does this by analysing the current controversy over methods of selling personal pensions and by looking at statistical evidence on the incomes of individuals who have taken out personal pensions. The argument concludes that personal pensions have been, predominantly, taken out by groups with low incomes, and the combination of low contributions and transaction costs threatens to lead to inadequate pension provision; such problems are likely to be particularly marked for women. In turn this conclusion, when set in the context of the tax regime applying to personal pensions, raises further doubts over the extent to which “independent”pension provision is likely to be achieved.     

Judicial Amendment and Lack of Thoroughness: Analysis of Provisions on Evidence in the Amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law

2012年中国?刑事诉讼法修正案?对证据制度进行了修正, 较修改前的内容有进 步之处, 也存在若干不足。例如, 立法中虽然认同反对强迫自证其罪, 但却并不认同 沉默权, 而且保留了行为人的供述义务; 对“威胁”, “引诱”和“欺骗”这些非法 取供行为发出宽容的信号; 对非法搜查、扣押的取证行为缺乏坚决遏制的立法态度; 对保证证人出庭作证来说, 虽然规定了人身安全保障, 经济补偿和司法处分措施, 却 没有规定这一制度最为重要的传闻证据规则, 等等。关键词: 刑事诉讼 司法改良 证据制度 不彻底主义

China’s Amendment to the Criminal Procedure Law of 2012 revises the provisions on rules of evidence. There are a number of positive changes compared to the original text, but some shortcomings still exist. For instance, although the legislation recognizes the right against compulsory self-incrimination, it does not acknowledge the right to silence and retains the obligation of the accused to confess; the amended provisions are more tolerant of the use of illegal tactics like “threats,” “enticement” and “deceit” to obtain confessions; the legislative approach does not resolutely deter unlawful search and seizure in the collection of evidence; and although there are provisions for protection of personal safety, financial compensation and judicial sanctions to ensure that witnesses appear before court to testify, there are no provisions on the most important rule in the evidence system, the hearsay rule.     

Safe at home? Housing decisions for women leaving family violence

Internationally, domestic violence policy has shifted towards supporting women to stay at home with the perpetrator of violence excluded. However, the practical realities indicate that this is a complex arena in which the rhetoric of rights for “women and children to stay in their own home” needs to be underpinned by additional support to provide safety and protection for those choosing this option. The current study examines decision making about accommodation options and the role of civil protection orders among 138 women accessing domestic violence support services in Victoria Australia. It shines a light on the intersection between justice responses and the housing needs of women and their children leaving a violent relationship. Our findings reveal that for this sample of women, staying in their own home left them more open to breaches of intervention orders than those who re‐located. In spite of the frequency of breaching, a majority of women believed that they were safer with the protective order in place. We conclude that supporting women to “stay at home” with the perpetrator removed may be a pathway to safety for only a minority of women particularly if support from police and courts is not proactive and reliable.     

Alfred Schutz and Herbert Simon: Can their Action Theories Work Together?

This paper combines Alfred Shultz and Herbert Simon's theories of action in order to understand the grey area between dynamic and completely unstructured decision making better. As a result I have put together a specific scheme of how choice elements are represented from an agent's personal experience, so as to create a bridge between the phenomenological and cognitive‐procedural approaches of decision making. I first look at the key points of their original models relating Alfred Schutz's “provinces of meaning” and Herbert Simon's “satisficing” mechanism. I then consider the particular concept of intentionality and reasoning by analogy for different choice settings. Finally I have suggested a perspective based on creative behaviour and sense‐making for ill‐structured conditions.     

Partial vs. general equilibrium analysis and choice of functional form: Implications for policy modeling

In formulating empirically tractable, economywide models, researchers are often forced to employ “convenient” functional forms. These forms embody restrictive maintained hypotheses. Alternatively, flexible functional forms may be utilized in a partial equilibrium setting. Estimation and incorporation of flexible functions into computable general equilibrium models is considerably more demanding of research resources. Assuming that shortcuts will continue to be necessary for researchers attempting to respond to current policy problems, this paper compares these two alternatives. Specifically, a general equilibrium model for New York State is employed to evaluate the relative performances of flexible partial equilibrium models and their more restrictive, general equilibrium counterpart. In the particular application considered, the former approach is found to dominate the latter.     

Changing practice cultures in statutory child protection: Practitioners' perspectives

Many child protection systems struggle to implement effective models of frontline practice in the context of high caseloads, increasing costs, and compliance‐focused bureaucratic cultures. This article discusses changes brought about by “Practice First,” a framework for practice introduced to improve the quality and effectiveness of child protection work in New South Wales, Australia. Findings drawn from quantitative and qualitative research with practitioners show that the initiative was effective in changing cultures of practice. It enabled workers to spend more face‐to‐face time with families and build relationships and was perceived to improve the quality of decision‐making. At the same time, the article highlights difficulties in attempting to embed change in practice cultures when broader systemic challenges persist.     

Safety nets in (the) crisis: The case of Greece in the 2010s

This paper deals with the question of how the social safety net in Greece responded to, and was transformed by, the social emergency of the 2010s. The outbreak of the Eurozone crisis caught Greek welfare woefully unprepared for what was to come. Thereafter, as the recession fuelled the “demand” for social protection, the austerity reduced its “supply.” Nevertheless, this is not a straightforward case of austerity predictably causing welfare retrenchment or dismantling. Stringent budgets and policy inertia did result in reduced provision and diminished capacity to protect. Yet significant progress towards a less parochial and more effective social safety net also took place. The paper is an attempt to bring out the complexity and contradictions of recent developments. It concludes that the system of social protection that has emerged from the crisis is undoubtedly leaner, less robust in core policy areas such as pensions and health, but also more effective in protecting against extreme poverty than ever before.     

Learning from parents: A qualitative interview study on how parents experience their journey through the Dutch child protection system

The quality of parents' experiences with the child protection system (CPS) is related to the outcomes of their family's process in the system. The importance of collaboration with parents in child protection is underpinned by human and children's rights conventions addressing the right for family life and parents being first responsible in fulfilling children's rights. We interviewed 20 parents about their experiences with the Dutch CPS. Our thematic analysis shows that a CPS serving the best interests of their children is most important to parents. To realize this, professionals should (1) “not let it happen but do something,” (2) “get a clear picture of the family's situation,” and (3) “take parents seriously.” Parents emphasize that a system providing sufficient “money, time, and knowledge” is needed to facilitate professionals. Their experiences seem to influence their trust in the system and their attitude towards it. This study shows new insights in parents' experiences, such as their advice to professionals to determine the truth and to be decisive. This deepened knowledge about parents' experiences is essential for evaluating and improving the CPS.     

The effect of newspaper feature articles on referrals to a child guidance clinic 1

This study investigates the key factors influencing turnover intentions of social workers, adopting a comparative approach within the two patterns. Based on planned behaviors theory, the personal attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived competences of social workers were measured to predict organizational and occupational turnover intention, with controlling variables being demographic factors, work-related factors, and professional perception. It was found that social workers from Guangzhou (as “autonomous-embedded” patterns) expressed stronger intention to leave their current organizations than did their counterparts in Beijing (as “dependent-embedded” patterns), and their attitudes played a salient role in the prediction of organizational or occupational turnover intention. However, personal attitude was not a determinant of either organizational or occupational turnover intention in Beijing. This research sheds light on the importance of subjective norms in dependent-embedded patterns, points out the dominant role of personal belief in autonomous-embedded patterns, and highlights the key role of job satisfaction in the turnover process.     

A Qualitative Case Study on Recovery and Personal Growth in Korean Drug Addicts

ABSTRACT

In recent years, crimes related to drug smuggling and production have gradually increased in Korea. This qualitative case study explores the experiences of Koreans recovering from drug addiction and identifies specific details and mechanisms of recovery. For this purpose, participants were selected based on criteria such as engaging in social activities after recovery from addiction for 3 years or more. Next, one-on-one in-depth interviews were conducted with five voluntarily consenting participants. Data were analyzed using the within-/cross-case analysis suggested by Creswell. Substantial personal growth took place in the recovery process for drug addicts. Nineteen themes were identified as manifestations of personal growth through within-case analysis. Four common themes were then derived through cross-case analysis. These four common themes were “reconnection with reality,” “embracing the essence of one's own existence,” “reconstructing oneself in social relations,” and “self-love.” The study's results suggest that a recovery program needs to be developed wherein the program not only enables drug addicts to reflect on their current existence but also allows them to develop their specific coping skills. Future research should be broadened to consider the social support mechanism and viewpoints of people including family and local community members in close contact with drug addicts.     

本轮经济全球化的后果及其成因探索

由于本轮经济全球化主导观念的重大偏误，导致当今世界人与自然、人与人、人与自身的对立后果愈演愈烈。本轮经济全球化以“经济人”假定为逻辑起点，以发达国家的最大利润和经济效益为目标，实质是大资本在全球范围内对利润的持续性、体制化的疯狂劫掠，巧立名目地将人类共同资源与财富转化为利润装进了资本家私人口袋的同时，却把资本主义基本矛盾必然引发的人与自然的割裂、人与人的纷争和人相对于自身的异化等诸多脱序状况丢给了普罗大众。认清本轮经济全球化主导观念的偏误，有利于我们在实现“中国梦”的进程中，重树“道德人”的规范，积极化解这三大对立，而不是被“经济全球化”等中性概念所蒙蔽，受制于资本逻辑羁绊，苟安于日益危脆的世界之中。     

From Pavement to Piazza: Grassroots Social Work to Counteract the Globalization of Marginality

This paper—inspired by the experience of grassroots social work in Naples begun by M. Borrelli in the 1950s—emphasizes that “consciousness‐raising” and “community development” can be useful processes to stimulate responsible social participation on the part of the most marginal individuals and groups. To overcome a bureaucratic and pietistic model of the welfare state which serves in the long run to increase their dependence and socio‐cultural subordination, there is a need for alternative social policies, capable of improving people's empowerment and social citizenship. Giving more resources and decision‐making power to the most marginal could amount to changing an unfair and oppressive society from the roots up. This goal remains a moral imperative for both professional and voluntary social workers who believe in a fair, non‐violent and ecological model of development. Unfortunately, in Italy as elsewhere, neo‐liberal reforms of welfare states are tending in the opposite direction, partly as a result of out‐of‐date functionalist theories and by means of a worrying process of welfare marketization and globalization that actually increases the exclusion and marginality of the lower classes. This paper takes issue with current neo‐liberal trends by returning to a territory‐based and resident‐focused image of social work. This way, non‐profit agencies can play a more active and stimulating role in support of communitarian networks and help avoid the risk of the Third Sector's alternative spur being compromised by the otherwise “commodification” of welfare. Only in this way might one stop the transformation of non‐profit organizations into mere private providers for a buyer/controller state, more business‐minded than really concerned with freeing the poor and the marginal “underclass” from subordination and exclusion.     

The Intrinsic Influence of the Poetics of Yanzhi on Modern Chinese Literature

否定与批判“言志”诗学, 曾是中国现代文学转型的标志。但从五四新文学开 始, “言志”诗学不仅没有被剔出中国现代文学的审美范畴, 相反, 却借助于西方 话语得到合理的传承。“言”救亡图存的启蒙之“志”, 与“抒”忧国忧民的个人 之“情”, 中国现代文学都未摆脱“志”者“大情”、“情”者“小志”的传统思 维, 具体表现在: 主“思”派提倡文学创作的功利意识, 进而以“志”代“情”回归 “道”统; 主“情”派则提倡文学创作的真情实感, 进而以“情”传“志”, 回归 “道”统。中国现代文学的理论与实践, 虽然涂抹着光怪陆离的“西化”色彩, 但 其重新“释道”与巧妙“言志”的本质特征, 恰恰表明了它对传统文化的价值认同, 而不是简单地抛弃“传统”后走向了“西方”。

关键词: “言志”诗学 “志”与“道” “志”与“情” 古典主义

Rejection and denunciation of the poetics of “yanzhi” (literally “expressing one’s thought or ideals”) was once a marker of Chinese literature’s modern transformation. However, right from the beginning of May Fourth new literature, the poetics of “yanzhi” was not only not cast out of the aesthetic canon of modern Chinese literature but was, on the contrary, legitimately transmitted via Western discourse. Whether modern Chinese writers were expressing enlightenment ideas of saving the nation or voicing their personal feelings for their country and their people, they remained convinced that “zhi” was “feelings” writ large and “feelings” were a lesser form of “zhi.” Specifically, the school stressing the idea that “literature expresses thought” advocated utilitarian literary creation and returned to the traditional Chinese poetics of “yanzhi” by replacing “feelings” with “zhi.” Those stressing the idea that “literature expresses feelings” advocated writing with genuine emotion; they went on to express “zhi” via “feelings,” thus returning to the traditional Chinese way of thought. Both the theory and practice of modern Chinese literature have a strange “Western” tint. Nevertheless, this literature’s essential character of “reinterpreting the ‘dao’ (way)” and sophisticated “expression of thought” or “yanzhi” indicate its value identification with traditional culture rather than the simple abandonment of “tradition” in pursuit of “the West.”     

Personal Services in the Post-industrial Economy: Adding Nonprofits to the Welfare Mix

This article develops linkages between two separate fields of research, namely work on post‐industrial welfare states, and work on nonprofit organizations. It pays particular attention to the emphasis on personal services and the “cost disease” hypothesis found in the former, which places strong constraints on improving pay and job quality in the nonprofit sector. At the same time, it argues that the post‐industrial welfare states literature, despite its emphasis on personal services, has largely ignored the significant and growing role of nonprofits in delivering these services, and thus the potential of these organizations to shape their relevant labour markets. This poses the question about the relative weight of productivity‐related wage restraints in personal services versus the capacity for agency by nonprofits. The final section of the paper engages in a critique of the “cost disease” hypothesis to suggest that space exists to improve pay and job quality in nonprofit personal services, despite productivity‐related constraints.     

Measuring Support Provisions for People Living With Disabilities in South Asia: An Accessibility Index

ABSTRACT

The terms “empowerment,” “rights,” and “inclusiveness” are now commonly used in public policy, but little emphasis is placed on “accessibility” issues in the integration of disabled people. This article proposes a composite index to measure economic support provisions, such as employment, vocational training, microfinance, and safety nets. The index was tested in a case study (N= 245) of two districts in Pakistan. Results support a “cost/benefit”-based philosophy, rather than the “means–ends” goal, where the disabled poor are viewed as unproductive and risky payers, instead of giving them an opportunity to exercise their potential. Change for the disadvantaged poor can be brought about with the mandatory use of this index in local annual audits. Future research might examine the impact of the index and standardize it for global use.     

Taking social policy personally: How does neuroticism affect welfare state attitudes?

The role of the “Big Five” personality traits in driving welfare state attitudes has received scant attention in social policy research. Yet neuroticism in particular—a disposition to stress, worry, and get nervous easily—is theoretically likely to be an important driver of welfare attitudes precisely because welfare states deliver social “security” and “safety” nets. Using cross-sectional data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we study three distinct attitude types (dissatisfaction with the social security system, feelings of personal financial insecurity, and preferences for state provision) and multiple social need contexts (including unemployment, ill health, old age, and nursing care). Controlling for established explanations such as self-interest, partisanship, and socialization, neuroticism does not systematically affect support for state provision. But it robustly increases general dissatisfaction with social security, as well as financial insecurity across various need contexts. Neurotic people are thus less happy with welfare state programmes across the board, yet they also appear to need these programmes more. This trait may be an important deeper layer driving other social attitudes.     

When political values and perceptions of deservingness collide: Evaluating public support for homelessness investments in Canada

Citizen attitudes toward welfare state investments are often explained by their ideological values and their perceptions of deservingness of welfare recipients, yet recent experimental research has led to the theorization that clear deservingness cues can overwhelm otherwise strong ideological beliefs. We tested these claims with respect to homelessness in Canada using a vignette survey experiment and found evidence that citizens with very different political beliefs can support similar government investments, indeed from a shared sense of deservingness as suggested by recent experimental studies, but that support is anchored by rather different reasons. Key Practitioner Message: ? Citizen support for homelessness investments is jointly mediated by ideology and a sense of the “deservingness” of the beneficiary. ? Emphasizing the broader cost savings to taxpayers from “Housing First” does not make conservative‐leaning citizens more supportive of investments. ? Emphasizing the personal attributes of persons experiencing homelessness rather than abstract statistics may unite progressives and conservatives on “deservingness”.     

Social Capital and the Growth of the Nonprofit Sector*

Objectives. This article examines the extent to which nonprofit organizational foundings are determined by various forms of social capital. Our hypothesis is that, controlling for other relevant social, political, and economic factors, communities with higher levels of social capital should experience more extensive growth in their nonprofit sectors. Methods. Using data derived from the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey and the IRS “charitable organization” Business Master Files, we test our hypothesis using a negative binomial event count regression on nonprofit organization foundings in 284 U.S. counties in the year 2001. Results. We find that two core dimensions of social capital—political engagement and “bridging” social ties—have a significant impact on county‐level nonprofit foundings. Surprisingly, a key element of social capital in the literature, the level of interpersonal trust, does not lead to an increase in foundings of new not‐for‐profit organizations. Conclusions. This study provides further evidence of the strength of political engagement and bridging ties for the vitality of the community. It also shows that the different dimensions of social capital do not manifest a uniform effect on nonprofit sector growth. These results further demonstrate that the growth of a community's not‐for‐profit sector is dependent on a mix of ecological and environmental factors, especially preexisting organizational density, median household income, unemployment, and levels of governmental spending. Overall, social capital can usefully be seen as another key “environmental” factor in explanations of organizational foundings.     

Hours of work offered by nurses

How do registered nurses balance the number of hours they work against their other commitments? This article begins by challenging the common assertion that “there is a nursing shortage.” This subjective “needs” approach ignores economic theory. Instead, two economic models are useful: Arrow-Capron and the Archibald Monopsony models. These models are applied to a survey of 644 nurses in Nebraska, concluding that there is a nursing shortage because hospitals do not pay high enough wages.     

Development of the Distinction Among the "Desirable", Morality, and Personal Preference

Israeli children of grades 1, 4, and 7 were asked, with respect to nine types of behavior, whether such behavior is bad, whether a child should be brought up to behave otherwise (and why), whether a child should be required to behave otherwise, and whether such behavior should be punished. Analysis of their responses and the reasons they provided supports the hypothesized distinction between three categories of behaviors or reasons for action—morality, “the desirable” and personal preferences—in terms of two dimensions: desirability and obligatoriness. Specifically, moral norms were perceived as both desirable and strictly obligatory, and were justified in terms of inherent goodness/badness and the welfare of others. Behaviors in the category of “the desirable” were perceived as desirable but not obligatory, and were justified in terms of self-development and long-term utility. Behaviors in the category of personal preferences were perceived as non-obligatory and neither desirable nor undesirable, and were justified in terms of personal choice. This distinction was less sharp among first graders, who exhibited some tendency to view desirables and preferences, as well as moral behavior, as obligatory. In light of these findings, it is suggested that the young child's “intuitive morality” relates only to the dimension of desirability and not to that of obligatoriness, which seems to develop somewhat later.