Reconceptualising and contextualising sexual rights in the MENA region: beyond LGBTQI categories

In recent years, LGBTQI rights have become central to debates around international development, human rights, refugee protection, and diversity. Yet research and experience in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) reveals significant problems with LGBTQI as a way of identifying individuals who do not conform to heterosexual and binary gender norms, in order to support their rights. In this article, we draw on experience of working to advance gender and sexual rights to illustrate the shortcomings of LGBTQI identity categories, and use findings from the Centre for Transnational Development and Collaboration’s (CTDC) four-year programme of research into LGBTQI rights in the MENA region to support our argument further. This research identified major problems in policies and debates on the rights of individuals whose sexual orientation and/or gender identity differs from the norm. In response to this, CTDC has developed a tool to address rights in programme development and advocacy, using a new approach, Sexual Practice and Gender Performance (SPGP), for work in the MENA region.     

Opportunities in the Hungarian Financial Services Sector as Part of the Single European Market

As Hungary became a member of the European Union, much of the legislatory environment for providing financial services has changed, although most of the integration, at least on the legislatory level, was already carried out before the accession. In my study I try to look at the developments this new status quo has brought about, even if we are quite sure that the adoption of the common currency will cause bigger steps forward in the integration process. I also have a look at another factor influencing the financial services almost as much as the European integration, namely, the development of e-finance. Finally, I make an attempt to draw a picture of the Hungarian financial services sector a few years from now.     

Editorial introduction to the Special Issue

In March 2004, a major conference on community development inthe ‘new Europe’ was held in Budapest, Hungary,to mark the accession of a further ten nation states, most ofthem in the east and central European region, to the EuropeanUnion. The conference was sponsored by the International Associationfor Community Development (www.iacdglobal.org), in conjunctionwith the Combined European Bureau for Social Development (www.cebsd.org),the Hungarian Association for Community Development (kofe@kkapcsolat.hu),and the Community Development Journal (www.cdj.oupjournals.org).The initial outcome was the Budapest Declaration, the text ofwhich was included in the CDJ issue of October 2004 (39(4),423–429 – copies     

A feminist confronts ageism

As a feminist sociologist and gerontologist, I am aware that life and work intersect, with one arena providing fodder, challenge, or impetus for reflection upon the other. I explore those links consciously in this essay, finding some of the earlier tensions that have marked my intellectual and personal life resolved while others maintain their importance. In particular, I have experienced greater acceptance of feminist work and feel a part of a community of scholars; at the same time, I continue to struggle with the deeper levels of ageism in society, both within the disciplines in which I work and within myself.     

TEACHING IN LITHUANIA—THE PERSONAL AND THE PROFESSIONAL

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the central role of the countertransference as a catalyst for understanding for both teacher and student. During a week of teaching basic psychoanalytic concepts to Lithuanian university students in central Lithuania, I discovered that there was an absence or lack of understanding between the group I was teaching and myself. Our expectations were very different. On a political, cultural level, I was faced with a Lithuanian understanding of the world that is quite different from a Western European perspective. This personal narrative explores how I used my countertransference to the group, and their countertransference to their clinical work, as a tool to begin to explore the professional issues we have in common and to struggle to understand the differences. It was impressive to observe, through the lived experience of this work, the development of a well‐functioning group that had overcome not only the difficulties that accompany large groups but that had taken on board a new way of thinking and working. I returned in October 2004 for a further week's teaching and a continuation of a joint teaching–learning enterprise.     

Democracy and Grassroots Opposition in Eastern Europe: Hungary and Russia Compared

The aim of the article is to show how the extent of democracy in two Eastern European societies has a strong conditioning effect on the development of social movements. Hungary and Russia are chosen as contrasting cases. The experience of environmental movements before and after the regime change is used as an illustration of grassroots movements. It is shown that environmental movements in Hungary are more numerous and more successful than those in Russia, and that this is linked to the extent of support they have (or lack) from politicians, non-elected officials, and the media.
In Hungary, although ecological issues are not central, politicians and environmental groups mostly co-operate, whereas in Russia the relationship is either hesitant or sometimes even hostile. In both countries, however, apparatchiks are generally a lot more opposed to grassroots groups, such as environmental ones, but their weaker position in Hungary compared with Russia cancels out this effect. Finally, the media in Hungary have been sympathetic to environmental issues and they are also supportive of the environmental movements. In contrast, however, in Russia, after Yeltsin's arrival in power 'glasnost' has been largely reversed and the media have also been hostile to environmental groups. In sum, the position of the media, politicians and officials shapes the prospects for environmental movements and is an index of the differing degree of democracy in the two societies.     

Building the Sustainable Community: Is Social Capital the Answer?

Over the past decade, environmental sustainability has emerged as a prominent theme in the community development literature. In fact, the concept has become a standard feature of most economic and social development plans. Most models of sustainable community development stress the importance of widespread participation in the decision-making process. Unfortunately, community studies document numerous barriers to broad involvement and the high level of activeness envisioned by proponents of sustainable community development. In searching for ways to overcome these barriers, scholars and policymakers have embraced the idea that we can enhance efforts to create more sustainable communities by increasing the local stock of social capital. We examine this line of reasoning in light of what we view as the most important conceptual issues surrounding the relationship between social capital and sustainable community development. We conclude that before social capital is endorsed as a central component of public policy, much work remains to be done in terms of developing a more precise definition of the concept, situating it within extant theories of community, constructing better measures of social capital, documenting the activities and networks most important in building social capital, and gaining a better understanding of the forms of social capital that are most important in developing sustainable communities.     

Family patterns and the politicization of consumption relations

There has been little sociological research on the processes of exploitation and the politicization of relations of consumption. This study examines the role that family structure plays in the development of a class‐based politicization of consumption relations in a community. I compare communities of the Lake Superior region at the turn of the 20th century that were settled largely by the male immigrants living without families with structurally‐similar communities from the same region and time that were settled larged by married workers and their families. Using local newspapers, corporate reports and federal and state investigations, I compare the level of politicization of consumption relations in family‐settled communities with those settled by male workers. I find some relationship between family settlement patterns and the politicization of consumption in a community, but the relationship is not constant across communities. Family‐based communities do have a greater ability to organize alternatives to corporate‐controlled consumption than do non‐family based communities.     

Community orientation of services for persons with a psychiatric disability. Comparison between Estonia,Hungary and the Netherlands

This article explores the way mental health services and social services are orientated on assisting people with a psychiatric disability to participate in different areas of community life. A large research project about community participation in three different countries (Estonia, Hungary and the Netherlands) confirms the findings of other studies that – regardless of geographical location – people with a psychiatric disability have difficulty fulfilling social roles in the community. They are often faced with fewer opportunities than other citizens, due to their health problems, stigma, discrimination and poverty [World Health Organisation. (2011). World report on disability. Geneva: WHO]. An important objective of social work is to help people find their way in society. Surprisingly enough, in all three countries, most social workers are mainly focused on solving individual problems, and not on community participation. Shifting the focus starts by having a clear awareness of the notion of community participation. Social workers have to work both on supporting individuals to find their way in the community (individual support), and on supporting social networks in the community to accommodate persons with a disability on the basis of equal and valued citizenship (community support).     

Neoliberalism With a Community Face? A Critical Analysis of Asset-Based Community Development in Scotland

In this article, we trace the ideological and social policy roots of asset-based community development (ABCD) in the United States and the United Kingdom, and explore how this approach has been legitimized in Scotland. We argue that ABCD is a capitulation to neoliberal values of individualization and privatization. Drawing on findings from our empirical work, we discuss how ABCD generates dilemmas for community development. Although some practitioners are able to adapt ABCD to focus on renewing Scottish democracy, several practitioners are using ABCD to privatize public issues such as inequality and justify dramatic cuts to the Scottish welfare state.     

A (not so) simple dialogue activity

ABSTRACT

This article explores the research on peer-to-peer dialogue in higher education, including the innovative practice of intergroup dialogue and other practices such as nonviolent communication and contemplative listening. I then describe an activity I do with my community college students, in a context where lack of time and other resources do not allow a more resource-intensive dialogue practice. I ask them to experience dialogue with several free, easily available resources, including nonviolent communication, contemplative practice, and public radio podcasts from On Being, then have a conversation outside of class in which they mostly practice deeply listening to someone with different political beliefs than they have. They may make a brief attempt at dialogue or nonviolent communication. I discuss how my activity may accomplish some of the goals of intergroup dialogue and be useful where students are learning about diversity and inequality across social divides, including in social work education and sustainability education. I nest this activity in a course that involves some contemplative practice, to explore how both sustainability education and the social justice component of social work may benefit from contemplative practice. Finally, I detail some other resources about hope and despair that support this activity.     

Social Welfare of the Aged Comments on some Overseas developments

I must first make a brief comment on this very broad title. Such a vast topic could not be reviewed in one paper, even if I had at my fingertips all the knowledge it would require. What in fact I aim to do is simply to comment on trends in programmes of social welfare for the aged which I became aware of while on study leave in 1966. My primary object was to observe developments in the field of medical social work, but since the practice of social work in hospitals is concerned to a large and ever-increasing extent with the social needs of the aged, and community endeavours to provide for those needs, the welfare of the aged always has a very central place in the medical social worker's interest.     

Reconsidering “community liberated”: How class and the national context shape personal support networks

The “community liberated” thesis has been influential in describing contemporary social support systems. Specifically, “community liberated” argues that people do not seek support in their immediate neighborhood but rather entertain a network of far-flung ties to support-providing alters. This paper uses personal network data from six countries – Australia, Germany, the US, Austria, Hungary and Italy – to evaluate this argument and shows that the degree of liberation of one's community is strongly linked to one's socioeconomic status – specifically, one's education level. Additionally, we describe strong country-level heterogeneity in the spatial dynamics of personal support networks and find national contexts to be moderating the effect of education on community liberation, especially in Italy and Hungary, thus suggesting network geographic dispersion to be linked to national economic structures and labor markets. The paper thus elucidates the effect of two different, yet related social contexts on personal networks: the class context and the national context.     

Exploring the Potential of Social Network Analysis in Asset-based Community Development Practice and Research

Abstract

Strengths-based practice appears to be a popular approach to social work practice. Increasingly, it has become the approach of choice in community work, with the “asset-based community development” model being utilised both in Australia and internationally. However, asset-based community development has been criticised for its lack of an evidence base, lack of theoretical depth, and its lack of consideration of the macro level causes of disempowerment. While concepts of networks are central to asset-based community development, social network theory and analysis have rarely been utilised in a comprehensive manner in asset-based community development practice or research. This article contends that asset-based community development practice can benefit from the integration of key concepts from social network theory. Similarly, it is proposed that social network analysis holds promise as an appropriate methodology in terms of understanding the efficacy of asset-based community development projects.     

Toward an Appreciation of Simmel's Fragmentary Style

The rationality that guides the sociological community has generated principles to evaluate members' work. Under the sway of these principles, Georg Simmel surfaces either as a peripheral member of the community or as an outright failure. His critics have argued that his work is "fragmented," that he begins without having formulated "guiding statements," that he is "unsystematic" and "undisciplined." Yet we can discover in Simmel's writings a distinct rationality that upsets this criticism by its transcendence of it. Had these particular critics read his work more carefully they might have discovered that Simmel had anticipated their criticism and had carefully reevaluated its source of authority. In this paper I address the problems of discipline and systematic unity in sociological writing in order to unmask the rationality held within the sociological community and to formulate Simmel's unique contribution as a member of that community.     

CHANGING FAMILIES/CHANGING COMMUNITIES

Scholars writing about community in recent years have been more likely to lament its passing than celebrate its exemplars. What's missing in this recent revival of interest in community is a systematic link with work–family issues and, in particular, an explicit recognition that women's and men's work–family lives have changed dramatically in the post-World War II era. We investigate the consequences of structural shifts in our family and work lives for a sample of elite, managerial women in dual-earner marriages, a population for whom work and family concerns are both immediate and salient. Understanding changing definitions of, and trends in, family and work can provide a useful lens through which we can profitably address recent debates about the decline or resurgence of community and civic society. Our findings suggest that, although conceived differently than in previous decades, family remains central to our respondents’ sense of community and structures their civic engagement. In contrast with previous generations of women, however, work is also important, for defining women's sense of self and community and for offering an alternative venue for community service.     

The Influence of EU Law on the Rules of Hungarian Civil Procedure

In this paper I will give a short insight into a field which will definitely not change the model of the Hungarian civil procedure law, but which – similarly to other fields of law – made a significant effect to the change of the civil procedure rules following the change of regime in Hungary and therefore requires a completely different approach from the legislators as well as the jurisdiction; this field is the community law of the European Union.     

Science and social work: a sketch

While recognizing that understanding of ‘science’ varies across time and countries, there are strands of a shared albeit diverse inheritance. Failures to see where we are located within this inheritance make the social work community vulnerable to simplistic claims regarding what, for example, ‘doing science’ is like. This in turn makes it difficult to deal adequately with questions such as in what ways can or should we distinguish social work science from other kinds of knowledge? Is science in some recognizable way a unified form of knowledge? How ought we to deal with disputes and disagreements in social work science? What kinds of consequences might we envisage from social work science? I deal in turn with each of these questions.     

Confidentiality,power relations and evaluation of potential harm in the study of the personal and organizational networks of travel agents in Moscow

Network research in organizational contexts faces ethical challenges related to revealing the identity of participants, managing power relations, and managing the interests and potential harms of the different stakeholders. In this article, we review the ethical issues associated with the investigation of the personal and organizational networks of travel agents in Moscow. In our case study, we interviewed 32 tourism agents from Moscow and its region, obtaining information on 45 people with whom they have regular relation as part of their work; and relational data, with a 2-mode matrix, on 15 organizations with which the agency could be linked in the Russian-Andalusian tourism market. Our results highlight the utility of presenting the information of personal networks in an aggregate manner. It also demonstrates the value of cultural adaptation strategies and adjustment to the characteristics of the community. Moreover, the central role of power relations in organizations, within a cultural context with a greater distance to authority was also found.     

Conformity and change: community effects on female genital cutting in Kenya

In this article, I analyze women's decisions to have their daughters circumcised based on data from 7,873 women in Kenya collected in the 1998 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey. I use multilevel models to assess the degree to which women s decisions are correlated with the decisions of other women in their community, in addition to studying the effects of socioeconomic characteristics measured at both the individual and community levels. I find some support for modernization theories, which argue that economic development leads to gradual erosion of the practice of female circumcision. However, more community-level variation is explained by the convention hypothesis, which proposes that the prevalence of female circumcision will decline rapidly once parents see that a critical mass of other parents have stopped circumcising their daughters. I also find substantial variation among different ethnic groups in the pace and onset of the decline of female genital cutting.