The Atypical Family: Mode or Necessity?

The study of de facto families has been neglected, despite the fact that they occur all round the world under various names and among individuals of all social strata. This paper analyses these atypical families in terms of their appearing to be stable social systems with consciously selected partners. Thirteen motives of individual and social provenance are found to be involved in their establishment. Although the older families are preponderantly a result of societal stress, modern atypical families in most cases are a mode expression.     

The Cuban paladar: Ideological subversion or substantiation?

The findings of a qualitative, in-depth exploration of Havana's rapidly expanding private sector, reveal that paladares – privately owned Cuban restaurants – are not, as previously suggested, antithetical to Havana's political status quo. Instead the negotiation between the state in, and toleration of, private enterprise in Havana has become the foundation for a host of double standards and informal regulations that manifest themselves in two distinct business models. While at the same time inherently capitalistic, modestly successful paladares help contribute to the socioeconomic endurance of Havana's social doctrine despite their high levels of regulation. On the other hand, elite paladares routinely challenge political and social ideologies, yet remain largely immune to retribution. The findings contribute to the understanding of the context of Havana's informal second economy and the ongoing U.S. embargo.     

Positivism: paradigm or culture?

Much post-positivist policy theory implies that positivism exists as a self-protecting paradigm. Inspired by a one-sided reading of Kuhn, this understanding suggests that policy positivism must be overcome as a whole. This approach is problematic. In particular, there are important contradictions between various elements commonly said to be part of the positivist paradigm, contradictions that make it difficult to believe that the paradigm can be embraced as a whole. An alternative approach views positivism as a culture. Since components of any culture can evolve independently of each other, a cultural approach would focus its critique on specific dimensions of positivism. This approach would provide more rigor to policy critique, and push post-positivists to overcome weaknesses in their own theories, in particular those concerning the question of truth.     

Dual process theories: A key for understanding the diversification bias?

The diversification bias in repeated lotteries is the finding that a majority of participants fail to select the option offering the highest probability. This phenomenon is systematic and immune to classical manipulations (e.g. monetary rewards). We apply dual process theories and argue that the diversification bias is a consequence of System 1 (automatic, intuitive, associative) triggering a matching response, which fails to be corrected by System 2 (intentional, analytic, rational). Empirically, supporting the corrective functions of System 2 through appropriate contextual cues (describing the task as a statistical test rather than as a lottery) led to a decrease of diversification.

'Anti-oppressive practice': emancipation or appropriation?

Summary This article offers an initial critical discussion of the conceptof anti-oppressive practice - AOP - from the perspectives ofservice users. Whilst acknowledging the emancipatory aspirationsof anti-oppressive practice, it also considers its regressivepotential. AOP has become central in social work theory andpractice and indeed is sometimes presented as a key approachand theory of social work. This discussion highlights the failureso far significantly to involve service users and their organizationsin the development of anti-oppressive theory and practice. Itconsiders how the ideology and structures of anti-oppressivesocial work impact upon service users; the problems raised by'expert' appropriation of users' knowledges and experiencesand the issues raised by the failure so far to address the useof social work and social care services as an area of differenceand category of social division. Finally, the article examinesalternatives to existing notions of anti-oppressive practicebased on the equal involvement of service users.     

EU Experience: Development or Equity?

一个国家或政体的发展战略的制订应当是其历史规律的逻辑发展,是这个政体量体裁衣的过程。在经济全球化时代,生产规模和生产方式的变化使欧洲人所面临的社会风险随之发生变化,而欧洲各福利国家的政治稳定结构和社会分配模式则不能适应这种变化。在这种情况下,欧洲的建设者们既没有牺牲公平,也没有放弃发展,而是延续欧洲一体化建设的成功思路:"扩大范围"和"求同存异",一方面在更大的市场中投资知识经济,防范经济全球化带来的新的社会风险,另一方面又按照欧盟政体的特殊性,设计了可以操作的"公开协商"的社会标准化机制,使成员国能够根据各自的资源、特色和方式去实现欧盟共同的可持续发展和社会和谐目标。     

Unfinished modernity or another modernity? The South Korean case

South Korea has experienced “compressed capitalist development” over the last five decades, characterized by unprecedented levels of industrialization and democratization, with other distinctive features. This development experience causes some scholars to view the country as a site for a new modernity, following the Western prototype. Concerning the underlying nature of emerging modernity in South Korea, however, there have been controversial insights: some scholars argue that the country is now experiencing a Western type of modernity, and others refute this, saying that it has not at all been modernized. This paper investigates the dynamics and contradictions of capitalist development in South Korea from a perspective of vertical modernization. It considers the origins, process, and outcomes of modernization mainly in terms of democracy, economic growth, and welfare. We assume that there are “different sites and forms of modernity” in the world, and that South Korea would be a good candidate to examine for non-Western modernity. Yet it is our contention that the country’s modernity has been distorted and unbalanced in the development of society, culture, politics, and economy. Historically, South Korea has progressed through traditional unmodernity, colonial undermodernity, and Western modernity. A clear examination of the country’s development experience reveals to no small degree the complex nature of modernity, in that tradition, modernity, and postmodernity coexist in the present time. We conclude that South Korean modernity is an incomplete project still in progress.     

大牌并购:强强联合or蛇吞象?

9月4日上午,中国大连万达集团在美国西洛杉矶一家AMC电影院举行新闻发布会,宣告该集团斥资26亿美元正式收购AMC公司.收购完成后,万达集团将成为世界上最大的影院运营商.这次收购被看作是中国民营企业进军美国高端文化市场的重大事件.而这事件,也将民众关心的“蛇吞象”现象再次放大.聚焦国际,类似的事件更是牵动着全球经济的神经.     

Senior Gambling: Risk or Reward?

For a growing number of older adults, a day outing to a local casino has become one of the more enjoyable and accessible opportunities for socialization and entertainment. Unfortunately, for some older adults this growing pastime increases their risk for developing a gambling problem or, worse yet, a gambling addiction. The consequences of problematic gambling behaviors for individuals living on a fixed income require greater attention by social work researchers, practitioners, and providers of senior services. The development and implementation of a Gambling Education Workshop for older adults attending senior centers in a large metropolitan area, along with qualitative interviews with a sample of workshop participants, are reported in this article. Among the findings from this project are the needs for greater awareness of the risk factors associated with problematic gambling, as well as greater awareness among older adults about the consequences associated with gambling.     

User Empowerment or Family Self-Reliance? The Family Group Conference Model

Correspondence to Carol Lupton, Social Services Research and Information Unit, University of Portsmouth, Halpern House, 1/2 Hampshire Terrace, Portsmouth PO1 2QF, UK. Summary Towards the end of the 1980s, the concept of ‘user’empowerment emerged as a central idea in debates about the organizationand delivery of health and social care services. Politicallyattractive to left and right, the concept contains both ‘liberatoryand regulatory’ implications (Baistow, 1994/5). Whileoffering the possibility of greater control and self-determination,it may also involve expectations about increased self-relianceand individual responsibility. Although not inherently contradictory,these different objectives may prove difficult to reconcileif the promotion of self-reliance is primarily driven by a concernto reduce the provision of state services. This paper sets out to explore the issue of empowerment in thecontext of the new Family Group Conference (FGC) initiative.Originating in New Zealand (NZ), the FGC model explicitly aimsto shift the balance of power between families and professionalswithin the child-care dicision-making process. Political interestin the model, however, may also be generated by its perceivedpotential for reducing the dependency of families on state-providedservices. Drawing on research from NZ and the UK, the paperexamines the quality of empowerment provided by the FGC modelfrom the perspectives of the families involved and sets outto assess the particular balance that obtains within the modelbetween the different and potentially contradictory objectivesof promoting user empowerment and encouraging family self-reliance.     

Commentary: Perverse Incentives or Rotten Apples?

Around 2% of the investigators admit to have falsified or fabricated data at least once. Also, 34% report to have been guilty to one or more questionable research practices, such as doing many statistical analyses and to publish only what fits their theoretical framework. Prevention of questionable research practices is very important. Universities should ensure that the training is in order and the research culture is adequate, and they should critically look at perverse incentives, such as a too high publication pressure, but also by ensuring proper guidelines, and by having a fair and transparent procedure for suspected violations of scientific integrity.