Ethnographic insights into competing forms of co‐production: A case study of the politics of street trees in a northern English city

The aim of this article is to explore the link between different notions of co‐production. It seeks to emphasise the underlying politics of co‐production in the sense of who defines co‐production, especially in relation to initial decisions concerning which specific policy areas are deemed suitable for codesigning, cocreating, or codelivering with services users or local communities. We argue that the rejection of co‐production by government may inflame political resentment and reconfirm negative pre‐existing attitudes about “the establishment.” This is particularly problematic when politicians have promoted the rhetoric of “inclusive governance,” “sharing power,” or “delegating power” but then reject the co‐productive claims emerging from such statements. The study contributes to existing work by analysing what happens when co‐productive structures are terminated or when public protests demand the reinstitutionalisation of those relationships. We make this contribution by presenting findings from an ethnographic case study involving street trees in a large English city. We suggest these specific findings have a broader relevance.     

Access to social services as a rite of integration: Power,rights, and identity

Access to social services is a multifaceted and multifactorial process, involving social policy lines, services organization, and professional front line practices. It appears to have a crucial role in how personal social services work: depending on the way the process is handled, access to social services could provide a bridge to an inclusive and solidarizing community or worsen discrimination and marginalization. Many underline how studying the actual encounters between citizens and practitioners can provide a privileged site to highlight the interconnections between the abovementioned factors. This is the focus of our research that explored access in a specific Italian region using a case study strategy. After a pilot study, the main points of access to social services were identified, and three units were selected as best examples of different approaches. The three units were explored using mainly qualitative methods inspired by ethnography. We were able to gain in depth understanding of three cultural approaches to access, defined as the “ethical duty,” the “good organization,” and the “professional approach” and reach an in‐depth understanding of their impact on access. There is a vast literature on the power of street‐level bureaucrats, seen as similar to gatekeepers. However, our research suggests that specific organizational cultures also play an important part: different organizational cultures may impact the implementation of local social policy, the organizational procedures, and social workers' practices.     

Conjuncture and cultural reproduction in the process of embedding: social work practice in the context of government purchase of services in China

This paper focuses on the Chinese government’s policy of purchasing social services and discusses how relevant organisations provide social work and develop it within local socio-political and cultural contexts. An ethnographic research method was adopted for the study by the first author while participating in social work development in Q City. We argue that the policy of purchasing social services succeeded in achieving “embedded development” but also created a “conjuncture structure” in cultural reproduction. However, due toprofessional social workers in China have, in practice, passively responded to the conjuncture there has been a failure to reproduce professional values of social work in the Chinese cultural context. Therefore, further development of social work in China needs to strengthen cultural reflection in practical actions, focus on the exploration of cultural connections between social work practice and local communities, and enhance the cultural capacity of social workers in the local cultural context.     

"Risk" and UK Pension Reform

“Risk” is a word that has become common currency in the financial services industry in general, and in the pensions industry in particular. This article critically examines its use in the context of the current debate about UK pension reform. “Risk” is used by a broad spectrum of interests to discuss a wide range of pension issues in a variety of contexts. The article outlines key theoretical perspectives on the nature and construction, or conceptualization, of risk. Their relevance to debate and policy initiatives, particularly public pension policy, is examined. It is suggested that current government policy is failing to carry with it those to whom the policy applies; that reforms implicitly, if not explicitly, underestimate the importance of “security”; and that failure to conduct a much broader debate about the fundamental notions of work, retirement, saving and security may simply condemn the UK to interminable pension reform.     

Proportionate universalism in child and family social work

Integrated services in preventive health care and child and family social work increasingly embrace the concept of proportionate universalism (PU) as a means of overcoming the dichotomy between universal and targeted services in contexts of diversity. The implementation of the concept of PU raises several theoretical and empirical questions that form the basis of this article. This study aims to provide more insight in how the concept of PU is operationalized in child and family social work. Qualitative research was performed in three specific cases of child and family social work, the so‐called “Huizen van het Kind” or Children's Houses in Flanders (Belgium). The study triangulates three perspectives: policy, organizational level, and street level. The findings generate three meta‐themes: perseverant structuring of populations or predefinitions, image and conceptualization of the Children's House, and organizational challenges. These results reveal a difference between the theoretical assumption of PU and the practical implementation in child and family social work.     

Decentring the NHS: A Case Study of Resource Allocation Decisions within a Health District

The aim of New Labour's health policy is to shift more of the balance of power and responsibility for services to the local level. But, while the government proclaims a new decentralized NHS, doubts exist about the extent to which the reality on the ground matches the tone of policy. This article reports empirical work examining the level of autonomy purchasers have over budgetary allocation. A case study analysis of purchasing within a single district was undertaken for the financial year 2001/2 which included semi‐structured interviews with key officers responsible for budget allocation. Purchasers approach a new financial year with a starting position that matches the previous year's allocation—the “baseline”, this is adjusted for inflation and, as has happened over the last few years, increased further in real terms by “growth funds” for service modernization and government initiatives. The analysis shows a clear dissonance between policy and practice; although purchasers have complete control over their “baseline budgets”, the study found that this does not “ring true” at the local level. Only about a fifth of growth funds were at the discretion of purchasers as most are taken by national priorities and pay and price inflation. Further decentralization is planned, which includes transferring more control of funds to primary care trusts by 2004, the extent to which these measures will change the perceptions of those working in the service remains to be seen—only then will the government be able to claim a truly decentred service.     

Looking Inwards,Looking Outwards: Dismantling the “Berlin Wall” Between Health and Social Services?

This paper argues that at a time when policy guidance urged closer collaboration and joint working between health and social services, the long-established cultural and professional gaps were widening and deteriorating. Drawing on data from four research sites, the paper argues that the deterioration was rooted principally in practitioners' preoccupations with changes within their own organizations and daily work, resulting from a major period of change in both health and social services, which, ironically, was at the expense of the joint working which the "Caring for People" reforms required. As the policy environment changes again, under the Labour government, it is likely that health and social care practitioners will be working within further organizational turbulence and change. It will be crucial that those changes are managed in such a way that they avoid the very real danger of compounding the problems which our respondents identified.     

“Sleep is on the back burner”: Working students and sleep

The current study examines on a potential high-risk sleep loss population: working students at a metropolitan university in a mid-sized Midwestern city in the United States. Open-ended interviews with nineteen working university students provide insight into their beliefs and behaviors regarding how they think about and “do” work, attend university and sleep. Sleep diaries provide information on perceived sleep duration, latency and quality. While students value sleep and recognize the connection between sleep loss and ill health, they accept tiredness as “normal” for their situation. For many students sleep is the one demand that can be “put off”, in the struggle to balance work, school and family demands, “until the bill comes due” when they fall ill. Exchanging sleep loss for educational progress is explored through “health capital” as part of a human capital conceptual framework.     

What makes hybrid insourcing successful: A new public–private partnership model for social welfare services

Outsourcing has been a key policy tool for delivering a range of social services, and regarded as more effective than insourcing or direct government provision. At the same time, it has also caused many delivery issues such as principal‐agent problems, a lack of policy coordination, and poor‐quality welfare services. While the pendulum continues to swing between insourcing and outsourcing, we aim to propose a new public–private partnership model called the “hybrid insourcing model” and examine which factors influence the performance of the model. In South Korea, around 2010, the local government in Namyangju City was the first to implement the “Hope Care Center model,” a kind of hybrid insourcing model, which has been praised for its innovation and widely emulated by central and local governments. Our analysis utilizes data collected between December 2017 and January 2018 from public sector employees and civilian staff in Namyangju and a comparable city, A. From this, we draw a number of implications, both for theory and for policy. We argue that, for public–private partnerships, active cooperation and equality are the biggest factors in contributing to positive performance. These work alongside leaders with a clear vision and with employees' positive attitude.     

Children against parents? The politics of intergenerational recalibration in Southern Europe

Traditionally, Southern European countries displayed remarkably elderly biased social policy arrangements. This article introduces the notion of intergenerational recalibration to capture reforms aimed at rebalancing the generational profile of Southern European welfare states via the expansion of family policy and social assistance schemes—both monetary benefits and care services—and retrenchment in the field of pensions. Then, it elaborates theoretically on the political dimension of this policy strategy, focusing on the implications of the peculiar combination of expansionary and retrenchment reforms, to advance the hypotheses that domestic politics would prevent the realization of such an agenda, whereas the latter would be favored by a major role of supranational actors, especially the European Union. To test these hypotheses, we systematically analyze policy trajectories in the field of pensions and social assistance in Italy and Spain between the mid‐1990s and 2016. This allows, first, to argue that investment in “pro‐children” measures has not adequately balanced the reduction of pro‐parents expenditure and, second, to question the idea that domestic political incentives to expand “pro‐children” policies are necessarily too weak as well as the “enabling” role of external pressures in pursuing intergenerational recalibration.     

Limits to professional practice in decentralized systems

The decentralization of welfare systems and the introduction of “community social work” may confront social workers with tasks they were not trained for and limit their ability to function professionally. The experience of other countries may be relevant to the debate about localism in Britain. In Israel, the publicly directed local community centres have shifted their focus from leisure to welfare services. Trained social workers were employed to initiate and implement personal, group and other local services using local resources and charging fees for services. They reported having difficulties in defining local needs and wants, and in finding congruent solutions for these needs. They also found it difficult to negotiate with community politicians and work with them. This paper describes the Israeli system of community service centres and indicates some obstacles concerning the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of social workers functioning in an independent, decentralized practice. It also raises some selected issues for future social policy and service administration.     

Social Justice and the Reform of Social Security

There have been massive increases over the years in expenditure on the public services loosely grouped together as the “welfare state”, but widespread dissatisfaction persists. This article is a critique of the proposals for reform presented in the Report of the Commission on Social Justice, set up by the late John Smith. The report contains a sweeping condemnation of existing arrangements and puts forward a series of recommendations ranging from the health service to decentralization in government and from employment policy to benefits for the elderly. As was perhaps inevitable, some are more precisely presented than others. An important example of the more fully specified proposals is one to establish what would, in effect, be a means-tested “pension guarantee”but with “means”so defined as to exclude capital and with much improved “disregards”. Another is the endorsement of the proposals to extend social insurance to part-time workers—a proposal which raises some controversial issues. There is much in this report that deserves close attention, and it is, therefore, all the more unfortunate that its proposals are not presented in the form of a quantified plan for social policy. Even for the first five years or so of the fifteen the Commission has in mind, there is no attempt at quantification. The importance of economic growth is rightly stressed, but “faster growth”can become a panacea that obscures the need for choice, not only between private and public expenditure but also between the various components of public policy itself.     

The “Socialization of Elderly Hospitalization” in China: Development,Problems, and Solutions

ABSTRACT

Objectives to analyze the development of the elderly patients with chronic diseases and to make some suggestions for the elderly social hospitalization. Methods By using yearbook data and theoretical analyses, the paper respectively presents the problems and furthermore solutions of China's elderly services. Results The elderly patients with chronic illnesses have formed a new group, and the phenomenon of “socialization of elderly hospitalization” has become a major social risk. Discussions China needs to promote the idea of “long-term care” in elderly social security, establishing long-term care insurance and fostering a private, professional elderly service system.     

Making welfare conditional: A street-level perspective

This article looks at how welfare conditionality is delivered at the street level. It argues that the street-level delivery of welfare conditionality is structured by policies, the governance context in which workers deliver welfare conditionality, the organization in which they work, and the occupation they are part of. Characteristics of these contexts present street-level workers with a variety of signals and incentives that direct their decision making. The article elaborates on this proposition on the basis of a review of academic studies analysing the street-level delivery of various aspects of welfare conditionality: the use of sanctions, service personalization, and the treatment of vulnerable clients. The review shows that context characteristics together have a significant impact on the street-level transformation of welfare conditionality policies into practices. Street-level decision making concerning the use of sanctions is far more complex than can be captured by a perspective on street-level workers as merely policy implementers. Sanctioning practices are sometimes harsher, sometimes more lenient than policies lead us to expect. The “soft” side of welfare conditionality—represented by service personalization—is often under pressure at the street level, potentially strengthening welfare conditionality's tough side. This affects vulnerable jobseekers most: Street-level studies show that the balance between disciplining and enabling aspects of welfare-to-work is most at risk for more vulnerable groups. The article concludes that the contextual pressures street-level workers have to deal with in their daily work hardly reflect the “delicate equilibrium” that they need to deliver welfare conditionality in a professional, responsive, and responsible way.     

Mental Health Policy in Northern Ireland

Mental health policy in Northern Ireland has moved through a number of phases during the past seventy years. This article examines some of the developments during each of these phases in the context of political factors which had an effect on policy formation and implementation. The services which existed in 1921 were deeply rooted in the lunacy legislation and provision of nineteenth century Ireland. The political uncertainty and financial stringency, which characterized the following two decades, resulted in a situation of almost complete stagnation in those services. The contribution of Northern Ireland during the Second World War guaranteed a financial commitment by Britain to the building of a comprehensive health service in the post-war era. The expansion in mental health services was unprecedented. The relative stability of this era was shattered by the political “troubles” of the 1970s and the imposition of “direct rule” from Westminster. Though advantageous to health service development at first, this has now led to tighter central controls and the further loss of local autonomy. In policies dictated from Westminster, Area Boards moved towards a reduction in psychiatric beds to 1,500—the level of provision in 1870. History tells us that the needs of mentally ill people have not had a significant impact on services in the past. Will the future be any different?     

老年人社区服务需求与社区工作专业化

本文以南京市鼓楼区某街道为例,探索了老年人不同层次的社区服务需求及其满足状况。本文认为,当前老年居民低层次的社区服务需求已经基本得到满足,但高层次的社区服务需求难以满足。必需加快社区工作者的职业化和专业化,提升社区服务的质量才能更好地满足老年人的社区服务需求,实现社区和谐发展。     

Meeting (or not) at the street level? A literature review on street‐level research in public management,social policy and social work

This literature review analyses the adoption and development of a street‐level perspective in public management, social policy and social work. The last years have seen a prominent revival of a perspective based on Michael Lipsky's street‐level bureaucracy approach in the debates conducted within all three disciplinary fields. Based on 71 key publications in public management, social policy and social work, the review analyses the adoption of the street‐level bureaucracy approach during the period 2005–2015, pointing out the main themes of the debate within, as well as overlaps and differences between, the three disciplines. The findings show the potential of better integrating the different perspectives and taking stock of the articulated debate. Lastly, the review discerns a common viewpoint for further street‐level research, emphasising its importance for the critical analysis and understanding of street‐level work as a vital dimension of responsive and accountable institutions and as a decisive moment to shape positive policy outcomes on the ground. Key Practitioner Message: ? The use of discretion by frontline practitioners and their role as policy actors on the ground has become an important focus of research; ? This literature review shows that the debate has gone far beyond discussing discretion as an all‐or‐nothing issue, pointing out both positive and negative aspects of discretion and developing comprehensive frameworks to explain the use of discretion at the street‐level; ? However, street‐level research has traditionally rather neglected the notion of professionalism. The social work literature brings in the perspective of professionalism; more research efforts are needed to better explore and explain how professionalism matters in relation to challenges and dilemmas of different policy and practice fields.     

Citizen‐agency versus state‐agency at the frontline in prisons and probation services: A systematic literature review

Street‐level bureaucrats play a key role in the delivery of public services to the citizens with whom they interact. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta‐Analyses approach, we rely on a street‐level perspective to report a systematic review of 46 studies about officer–offender interactions in prisons and probation services. In doing so, we examine how correctional officers articulate state‐agency – whereby they focus on the implementation of rules and policies – and citizen‐agency – whereby their decisions regarding offenders are based on judgements of offenders' worth. Our results provide evidence that frontline work in prisons and probation services stems from a mix of citizen‐ and state‐agencies in which the former is prioritized over the latter: when rule enforcement allows it, correctional officers often make discretionary decisions based on professional judgements rooted in professional norms. In this respect, the managerial and actuarial approach to risk management and public protection involved by contemporary correctional reforms comes with new role expectations that conflict with correctional officers' rehabilitative ideals. At the same time, the literature provides many instances of officers coping with workload in order to meet policy objectives and organizational demands while maintaining satisfactory working conditions. In other words, there is an increasingly elaborate and fragile articulation of state‐ and citizen‐agencies at the frontline, in prisons and probations services. We conclude with some implications and an agenda for future research.     

身体资本与打工妹的城市适应

身体是被社会性地建构和生产的,身体的呈现方式不仅取决于微观的社会互动场域,也取决于宏观的生产和消费方式。本文以作者通过观察和访谈所掌握的广州餐馆等服务业中从业的农村打工妹的日常生活等资料的基础上,对这些打工妹如何通过对自身身体资本的挖掘、借用和改造,去建构自己的城市生活世界、适应城市生活及其要求的展开了细致的分析。作者指出,虽然“做个城市人”对大多数打工妹来说是一个不切实际的梦想,但通过改变身体这样的微观策略,起码“像个城市人”还是能够争取的,而这一目标的实现是她们在城市生存的前提条件。     

"So Many Tiers, So Many Agendas, So Many Pots of Money": The Challenge of English Regionalization for Voluntary and Community Organizations

This paper looks at the challenges facing voluntary and community organizations (VCOs) within the new policy context of English “regionalism”, drawing primarily on an empirical study in one of the emerging Regions. Barriers to voluntary and community sector (VCS) engagement with the new regional governmental organizations and the new regional policy agenda are identified. The role of VCS “infrastructure” organizations in facilitating relationships with regional levels of government is also considered. The concepts of exchange, ownership, trust and legitimacy are then employed to analyse and explain the implications for English VCOs of working with a new tier of government at regional level. The paper concludes by reconsidering the nature of the relationship between VCOs and “government” in the light of the new policy context presented by English regionalism combined with central government interest in building the capacity and infrastructure of the voluntary sector.