Turkish Immigrants in Sweden: Are They Integrated?

Many in Europe believe that large numbers of Turkish immigrants have failed to integrate into their host communities. How is this situation in Sweden? We found that most of the Turkish immigrants felt themselves to be Turkish and Sweden was accepted as a foreign country. Turkish‐originated media was followed frequently and strong ties with relatives in Turkey were maintained. Marriage and friendship with native Swedes were not well accepted. We concluded that despite the multicultural aspects of Swedish integration policies, Turkish immigrants in Sweden were not well integrated and they prefer to live within the boundaries of their segregated, closed, small communities.     

Meta-Analysis on the Roles of Fathers in Parenting: Are They Unique?

ABSTRACT

A meta-analysis was undertaken, including 34 studies, to determine whether fathers play a unique role in parenting that is different from mothers’ roles. Statistical analyses were done to determine the extent to which the effects of fathering children were distinct from that of mothering. In addition to examining this phenomena overall, the meta-analysis also specifically examined social measurements, psychological indicators, and academic achievement. The possible unique effects of fatherhood were also examined in relation to the age and gender of the child. The results indicate consistent statistically significant effects that emerged for the unique role that fathers have. This association between fathering and the outcome variables held across social measurements, psychological indicators, and academic achievement. This relationship also held for both boys and girls and across age groups. The effects of the unique role of fathering yielded effect sizes of about .14 to .23 of a standard deviation unit.     

Are Men and Women Equal in Employment?

EQUALITY was one of the themes of the Fourth World Conference on Women. The motto of the Conference was "Action for Equality, Development and Peace." But is there a real possibility for equality between men and women? Equality in employment remains an important concern. Recently, Zheng Yefu, research worker of the Beijing Academy of Social     

What Are They Really Selling? A Content Analysis of Advertisements During Religious Television Programming

This study quantitatively analyzed the content of television commercials aired during religious programs to determine the categories of products being promoted and the primary method used by advertisers to appeal to highly religious consumers. Medical- and life-related products are the largest category. Fear-related appeals occurred in the advertisements at the high rate of 81%. The results suggested that marketers attempt to appeal to Christian fundamentalist viewers with fears, anxieties and doubts.     

Accountability Agreements in Ontario Hospitals: Are They Fair?

Governments can be accountable for improving the fairness oftheir priority setting through enhanced transparency and stakeholderengagement. A case analysis is conducted of priority settingin a government health care context in Ontario, Canada, assessinghow implementation of hospital accountability agreements meetsthe conditions of a leading international ethical frameworkfor priority setting, "accountability for reasonableness" (A4R).Hospital accountability agreements provide a mechanism for governmentto ensure that public funding achieves desired performance inhospitals. A key goal of priority setting is fairness. A4R linkspriority setting, legitimacy, and fairness to theories of democraticdeliberation, making a claim for fairness if the four conditionsof relevance, publicity, revision/appeals, and enforcement aresatisfied. Regarding the relevance condition, this analysissuggests that government only partially met the relevance conditionproviding limited stakeholder engagement but with evidence ofpolicy learning and movement toward the establishment of inclusivestakeholder arrangements. Evidence suggests that governmenteventually progressed toward meeting the publicity condition.Government only partially met the revision/appeals conditionand did not meet the enforcement condition, as the other conditionswere only partially met. It is our view that regional governancestructures in Ontario (i.e., Local Health Integration Networksor LHINs) provide an opportunity for the province to improvethe fairness of their accountability agreement processes throughenhancing transparency and stakeholder engagement. More broadly,this case study provides a guide for government to enhance accountabilityby focusing on A4R to improve the fairness of its priority setting.     

Foreign Aid Transaction Costs: What Are They and When Are They Minimised?

‘Transaction costs’ are commonly referred to in the recent literature on aid effectiveness. Aid transaction costs, however, have been neither consistently defined nor measured. This article defines aid transaction costs as all the economic costs associated with aid management that add no value to aid delivery. This enables the ‘net’ transaction costs that should be minimised to be identified. An analytical framework is then developed for assessing these costs. This allows the effectiveness of different aid modalities to be compared, according to the characteristics of the aid transaction. The article shows that the choice of aid modality should depend on these characteristics and, therefore, that the minimisation of transaction costs should not be an end in itself.     

But Where Are “The People”? Unfinished Agendas in The People of Puerto Rico

The People of Puerto Rico is a comprehensive ethnography of major types of rural communities in pre-1950 Puerto Rico but was less successful in reconnecting those localities in a coherent portrayal of the island's social formation. A reexamination of this work's best-known subcultures, Santa Isabel (Sidney Mintz' “Cañamelar”) and Ciales (Eric Wolf's “San José”), offers entry points to these communities, as well as to the key concepts that Mintz and Wolf constructed reciprocally through their research: rural proletarian and peasant, plantation and hacienda. Also present are the too-implicit spatial referents of these concepts—lowland and highland, foreland and hinterland—and their associated crop types, sugar and coffee. In this article, the historical space of Santa Isabel and Ciales will be reconsidered, in part with reference to often-overlooked nuances and caveats in Mintz' and Wolf's chapters. Foregrounding the spatial/ecological referent in “Cañamelar” and “San José” opens our sights to counterpoints between sugar and livestock, and to patterns of highland-lowland migration, kin networks, and social interaction. Familiar concepts take on new meanings as we discern supra-municipal, sub-insular, and intermediate island regions and move closer to specifying historical situations (Mintz) while renewing our theorization (Wolf).     

Queer Is the New Black? Not So Much: Racial Disparities in Anti-LGBTQ Discrimination

The present study examines the intersection of race and sexual orientation in the experience of discrimination among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. The results of the study suggest that while a majority of LGBTQ individuals report being victims of anti-LGBTQ discrimination, racial minorities experience even greater levels of anti-LGBTQ discrimination than do White LGBTQ people. The findings suggest that the intersection of race and sexual orientation creates elevated levels of discrimination risk beyond the already elevated rates of discrimination experienced by members of the LGBTQ community for LGBTQ racial minorities.     

Refusing to Listen: Are We Failing the Needs of People with Alcohol and Drug Problems?

This paper argues that social work education in the UK has persistently failed to equip its social workers with the knowledge to work effectively with people with alcohol and drug problems. In spite of continuing criticism of the profession's unwillingness or inability to engage with substance use issues, social work education has failed to respond to the calls for better training on this subject, even when specific guidance has been issued about course content. This results in a failure to meet the needs of our service users as well as social work staff who remain frustrated at their inability to intervene. The paper explores the historical and current debate about social work training in relation to alcohol and drugs and identifies the barriers to its inclusion in qualifying and post‐qualifying (PQ) curricula. Finally it offers a strategy for improving social work training as well as an overview of programme content requirements.     

“It's Really Not Easy to Get Help”: Services to Drought-Affected Families

Abstract

The present paper details the results of research conducted with drought-affected farm families in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The study reveals the significant health and welfare stresses experienced by families and the lack of access to services and support. The research was conducted in three sites in rural and remote areas of NSW in 2003. Farm family members, service providers, and other community key informants were interviewed. The paper outlines ways that the social work profession can respond to significant natural disasters.     

Barriers in Access to the Treatment for People with Gambling Disorders. Are They Different from Those Experienced by People with Alcohol and/or Drug Dependence?

A prevalence of gambling disorders is diversified depending on the region of the world. Almost three quarters of pathological gamblers had never sought a professional treatment as well as an assistance in self-help groups. Reasons why they do not initiate a treatment are complex. The aim of the article is to compare barriers to the treatment for people with gambling disorders found in presented study and barriers to alcohol and drug treatment identified in the available literature. The semi structured interviews were applied and conducted with people with gambling disorders, social workers, therapists employed in the addiction treatment facilities, General Practitioners and psychiatrists. Selection of the respondents was based on purposive sampling. In total, 90 interviews were completed. Respondents identified individual barriers as well as structural ones. Individual barriers include internal resistance and a fear of the treatment. In turn structural barriers apply to the organization of the therapy, infrastructure, personnel, and the therapeutic program. A comparison of barriers experienced by people with gambling disorders and substance use disorders showed that they are largely similar, but people with gambling disorders also experience specific barriers. Empirical studies focused specifically on treatment needs of people experiencing gambling disorders may improve an offer of help for them. More adequate treatment options could contribute to the increasing in the number of people who start the treatment. It can result in improving their quality of life and may have positive impact on public health.     

Anticipated Emotions About Unintended Pregnancy in Relationship Context: Are Latinas Really Happier?

This study examined differences in women's anticipated emotional orientations toward unintended pregnancy by relationship status and race and ethnicity. Data from a prospective survey of 437 women aged 18 to 44 years who intended no more children for at least 2 years were analyzed along with 27 in‐depth interviews among a diverse subsample. Cohabiting women and women in romantic relationships not living together were less likely to profess happiness (odds ratio = 0.42, p < .05, odds ratio = 0.25, p < .01, respectively), even when partners' intentions and feelings were controlled. The most prominent factor underlying negative feelings was partners' anticipated lack of engagement with the emotional, physical, and financial toll of unintended childbearing. Contrary to conventional wisdom regarding the “Hispanic paradox,” foreign‐born and U.S.‐born Latinas were no more likely to profess happiness than non‐Hispanic Whites or Blacks. Moreover, foreign‐born Latinas whose survey responses indicated happiness often revealed highly negative feelings at in‐depth interview, citing pressure to conform to sociocultural norms surrounding motherhood and abortion.     

An Employment Project as a Route to Social Inclusion for People with Learning Difficulties?

Government policy to reduce social exclusion focuses on increasing employment opportunities and incentives, especially for disadvantaged groups. This paper discusses the findings of an evaluation of a project in the North West of England for people with learning difficulties, which sought to create opportunities for paid and/or integrated employment. The findings suggest that this goal can be undermined by many factors such as the isolation of social care services from employers and the disinclination of service organisations to include users, carers and staff in the development of new service approaches. Social welfare policies also mitigate against this aim, by failing to enable providers to translate the rhetoric of social inclusion into a reality. We discuss some of the obstacles preventing people with learning difficulties from inclusion into mainstream employment, by considering their impact upon the achievements of the North West project.     

‘Not Fanatical’: The Evolution of Sociable Piety and the Dialogic Subject in Multi-religious Indonesia

In Indonesia, the politics of ‘sociable piety’ has been reinvigorated by local Islamic sermon groups opposed to a range of public behaviours labelled as ‘fanatik’. United by an intra-Muslim alliance self-identified as being ‘not fanatical’, members of urban middle-class sermon groups shrewdly redraw moral boundaries across the long-term ‘traditionalist’ and ‘modernist’ divides. As revealed by my fieldwork between 2009 and 2012, the improvisation of ‘sociable piety’ is so prominent that not only optional rituals such as tarawih but obligatory prayers such as salat can be negotiated contextually. Using the multi-religious city of Salatiga as a window to see the broader religious trends in many religiously pluralistic Indonesian cities, this paper contends that the general appeal of Islamic self-cultivation in Indonesia has been simultaneously an individual ethical cultivation and social, even national, improvement. Theoretically, this study of the everyday Indonesian strategies to deal with the tension between piety and sociality is a modest attempt to rethink subjectivity that moves beyond either the docile or the deliberative self and towards the dialogic subject in a world of conflicting heterogeneity.     

Employment commitment among the long-term unemployed in norway: Is a culture of dependency about to develop?

This paper explores the association between employment commitment and employment status, with a focus on the long-term unemployed. It has been claimed in some quarters that there has been a decline in the work ethic and a parallel development of a culture of dependency. Our data indicate that employment commitment seems to be influenced by previous and present work experiences, but factors such as sex and household circumstances are also of importance. There appears to be no association between unemployment duration or receipt of unemployment benefits and employment commitment. Even persons with a marginal attachment to the labour market are highly committed to employment. There is little evidence indicating that a decline in employment commitment is likely to take place. Overall, unemployment commitment among young people was as high as that found among older age groups. There are no signs of the development of a culture of dependency and a reduced work ethic. Our data further suggest that it may be possible to reverse low employment commitment among marginal categories by offering them meaningful paid work.     

Training Needs of Administrators in the Nonprofit Sector: What Are They and How Should We Address Them?

In increasing numbers, academic programs across the country are exploring how they can best meet the needs of nonprofit organizations. To better support the debate and decision‐making processes of such programs, the author contributes information on training drawn from nearly six hundred nonprofit administrators, exploring variables that may influence the needs and examining the format for training most desired by those administrators.     

Are Women Really More ”Ameteur” in Politics Than Men?

This paper examines political style among male and female party elites. Previous research primarily from convention delegates to the 1972 nominating conventions has indicated that women tend to be more "amateur" in style than men, while studies drawn from other years have produced null findings. We attempt to reconcile this literature by examining data from party elites in office in 1980 and comparing two alternative explanations of a more amateur style among women. No consistent differences were found in amateur and professional styles, suggesting that the 1972 findings were a function of the particular circumstances of that year.