Talking about culture in social work encounters: immigrant families and child welfare in Finland

This article aims at analysing the ways in which people talk about ‘culture’ in social work encounters involving child welfare in immigrant families. The empirical material includes conversations between immigrant clients, their social workers and co-operating professionals at six Finnish social service offices, as well as interviews with the persons participating in these meetings. The theoretical and methodological frames of reference are social constructionism and discourse analysis. The study suggests three ways in which the concept of ‘culture’ is used by social workers and their clients: firstly, as a means of explaining ‘the ordinary and normal ways’ of raising children; secondly, as ‘a difficulty’ in the interaction between social workers and clients; and thirdly, as ‘a methodical tool’ in creating dialogue with clients. As far as the practical implications for social work are concerned, it is emphasized that in order to avoid ethnocentric practice or ‘culturalization’ of problems, it is important for social workers to be conscious of the various meanings of ‘culture’ both in their own practice and in the ways their clients employ cultural symbolism.     

Understanding generations: political economy and culture in an ageing society

Sociological understanding of generations can be enhanced by avoiding defining them rigidly as chronological cohorts but rather linking people's accounts of their generational experience with an historically informed political economy. It then becomes possible, for example, to understand the complexity of generational politics. This paper uses data on the 'War Generation' taken from the Exeter Politics of Old Age project to link an empirically based political economy of generational inequality with a cultural sociology of generations. The 'War Generation' recognizes itself and is referred to by others in terms of a common identity. It is also an historical generation; its values, attitudes and, above all, sense of national solidarity and mutual obligation were forged in the direct experience of war. But it is also divided by divergent economic interests in property and pension rights based on the historical experience of the life course by successive groups and this segmentation can be observed in political action. The political culture of the War Generation manifests both continuity and change. Understanding these dynamics requires listening to people constructing their worlds, understanding their full range of historical experiences, and analysing the conditions for their conflicts and their cohesion.     

Talking of racism: The project of a society of diversity

‘We have a choice, and we can decide to make a society in which diversity is accepted, encouraged and made central to human practice’ (Essed, 1996, viii)     

Citizenship and culture: the role of disabled people in Navajo society

Cultural constructs of disabilities can vary from one culture to another and significantly affect how the individual with disabilities is perceived, accepted, and accorded citizenship rights and responsibilities. This anthropological study of Navajo individuals with disabilities investigates these cultural constructs in a non-Western society from the perspective of the Navajo community members. Factors analyzed include child-rearing practices, the Navajo concept of childhood, and Navajo notions of health and unwellness. Historical attitudes toward disabled people are also explored, as well as changing attitudes due to the influence of Western biomedical explanations and interventions.     

Contemporary urban culture: how community structures endure in an individualised society

This paper examines the ways in which socio-cultural norms have shifted to accommodate higher levels of autonomy in urban communities. Largely critiquing traditional concepts of community as well as current dystopian perspectives on the fluid and vapid state of social organisation, it will show how individualism has been incorporated into societal norms, producing highly autonomous personalised networks that, when combined with large amounts of social interaction and imaginative cultural appropriation, create the common social and cultural practices emblematic of community structure. It also illustrates how many activities, traditionally viewed as indicative of social decay, are socially productive, in that they go towards generating the common bonds and world-views that unite individuals across urban landscapes. Focusing particularly on the spaces of community interaction, the construction of common identities and common sense of belonging, this paper sets out to explore alternative modes of community creation and enactment in a contemporary urban environment.     

Centres and peripheries: the political culture of dependency*

Cet étude examine les variations du sentiment d'efficacité politique externe des Canadiens face à leur situation régionale dans le système centre-périphérie. Dans les régions périphériques du Canada, le manque d'autonomie, qui reste la marque la plus sure de la dépendance, est indiqué par la perception des résidents qu'il est difficile d'influencer le processus politique. Le Québec francophone se distingue du reste du Canada par le manque d'impact que même une des régions avantagées percevoit avoir face a la réponse gouvernementale. Divers modèles log-linéaires sont comparés dans le but d'examiner l'impact de la classe sociale et de la province. Cet ètude indique qu'à l'intérieur de chaque province, il existe des variations importantes dans le sentiment d'efficacité externe. This study relates variations in Canadians' feelings of external political efficacy to their region's location in the centre-periphery system. In Canada's peripheral regions, the lack of autonomy that is the hallmark of dependency is reflected in residents' perceptions that little can be done to influence the political process. Francophone Quebec is shown to be distinctive in the lack of impact of even an advantaged regional location on perceptions of government responsiveness. A variety of ordinal loglinear models are developed to examine the impact of social class and province. The study points to important variations in feelings of external efficacy within provinces.     

Ethnicity and culture: thinking about 'police ethnicity'

Research about the development of ethnic identifications within contexts of employment has been neglected, not least by proponents of 'new ethnicities'. Drawing on evidence from a two year study of Black Police Associations in the constabularies of England and Wales, this paper is concerned with the construction and sustaining of a particular notion of ethnicity, related to police employment. Black Police Association members have claimed a distinct experience of police employment related directly to their being 'black' and, therefore, an essentialism forming a boundary marking them off from white officers. 'Police ethnicity', however, is a strategic notion that is somewhat fragile and exclusive. The consequences of BPA definitions of being a black officer are explored. The paper ends with a consideration of the wider, intellectual consequences of researching ethnicity within employment.     

Musculoskeletal symptoms and workers' perception about job factors in a pulp and paper industry

The study aimed to conduct a literature review as a step of the development of a new questionnaire about the nursing workers' perception of job factors that may lead to musculoskeletal symptoms. An information synthesis was achieved by collecting data from studies that fitted the search criteria. The results showed that despite the existence of several job factors related to musculoskeletal symptoms, no specific questionnaire that evaluates this relationship was found. Therefore, this literature review presents important topics for developing the first questionnaire to analyze work activities that may contribute to pain and discomfort among nursing personnel.     

Quota trouble: Talking about gender quotas in finnish local politics

This article analyses the discourse concerning gender quotas and their implementation in Finnish local politics. Among our local actor interviewees, we found four different groups: feminist-oriented, non-feminist, accepting and disapproving. Despite the successful implementation of the quotas, our analysis reveals hidden conflicts and resistance. Respondents often resorted to memory lapses, strategies of distancing or assumptions about the interim character of quotas in an ‘almost gender equal Finland’ when discussing the implementation process. The predominance of these strategies is explained by contextual factors, including the strong cultural support for gender equality and legalism in Finland. We suggest that they can be interpreted as psychologized forms of resistance to a hegemonic discourse which does not really allow for anyone to be ‘against gender equality’ or wilfully negligent of the law.     

Talking about money: public participation and expert knowledge in the Euro referendum

This paper uses the proposed UK referendum on the single European currency as a means of investigating the effect of democratizing science on the scrutiny of conflicting expert advice. Although the referendum has not happened yet, and may not happen at all, the campaigners for and against the Euro have none the less been working for several years to ensure that if, and when, it does happen they are in a position to win it. By exploring how campaigners on both sides of the debate understand the concerns of voters, the paper shows how they are working towards a referendum in which the political dimensions of the Euro are actively minimized in order to avoid alienating key 'floating voters'. Instead, the campaign is expected to focus on the economic costs and benefits of the Euro for individuals and households, with only limited discussion of issues relating to sovereignty. Whether or not the campaign groups, particularly those that oppose the Euro, can maintain this line remains to be seen but if there is a full and frank public debate about the economic, social and political stakes, then this will be despite the referendum rather than because of it.     

《当代中东国家社会与文化》总序

从事地区研究,了解和熟悉对象国的社会文化,是一项必不可少的基础工作.90年代末,我正担任教育部外语专业教学指导委员会副主任兼阿拉伯语指导组组长,在讨论"面向21世纪的课程和教材建设"项目时,我倡议并获准组织力量编写几种阿拉伯国家的社会文化专著.因为教学与科研总是相辅相成的,很难想象高等学校的专业建设离开了认真的科研,倒能形成一流的教学.     

Telecommuting: The future of work, corporate culture, and American society

Conclusion Throughout American history, first on the family farm and now in modern day business institutions, the workplace has been a stabilizing institution in American society that has anchored the ongoing, informal interactions occurring outside the workplace. In 1900, few Americans had a private mode of transportation. Barely 4,000 passenger automobiles were sold in 1900, and while horses were common, they were used primarily for farming, public transportation, and commercial activity in cities. By 1930, nearly 40 million cars had been added to America’s streets. The automobile recast life and work in central cities and eventually the suburbs.     

Reconsidering Ideological Lines: Beliefs about Poverty in America*

Our nation's policy to reduce poverty reflects the belief that poverty is caused by institutional discrimination. This study first identifies the ideological and political nature of this position in relation to the classically ideological individualistic and structural beliefs about poverty. Second, it tests a block variable regression model of popular support for the various belief sets to determine how deeply Americans divide along traditional ideological lines. This model includes not only objective status and demographic factors but subjective variables as well. The results indicate only shallow cleavages in beliefs about poverty and account for why previous studies found deeper ones. Support for the institutional discrimination position is especially broad and is independent of support for individualistic or structural beliefs. These findings suggest that this position and its policy represent a successful political compromise and a viable way for people to resolve their ideological inconsistencies.