The social professions and social policy: Proactive or reactive?

This article considers the role of the social professions in influencing social policy in the new policy contexts at the turn of the century. Members of the social professions are often criticized for simply reacting to policy changes rather than proactively contributing to changing or making policy. This article argues that the simple distinction between reactive and proactive masks the important contribution that can be made by members of the social professions to influencing policy through engaging in and demonstrating new and innovative practice, supporting groups of service users to campaign for change, and undertaking research. The first part of the article considers what is meant by 'reactive' and 'proactive' and then looks at methods and tactics for influencing social policy. The second part includes three case studies from Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands and concludes that the social professions have a lot to offer but need to develop their credibility, networking, and influencing tactics so that their voices are heard.     

The uses of social science in the history of dutch social work, 1900–1980

In this paper the author reviews the history of Dutch social work between 1900 and 1980 and tries to shed light on how Dutch social workers enlisted various insights developed by the social sciences to gain jurisdiction in dealing with social problems. He argues against the simplistic idea that scientific knowledge is merely applied in practical settings such as social work. Social workers did not just apply scientific insights; they also used scientific insights strategically to demarcate their position from various opponents both inside and outside the profession. It is useful to differentiate between the reflexive and strategic uses of social sciences: reflexive means that new interpretations of the social world and the nature of social problems are offered which imply different ways of doing social work; strategic means that with these new interpretations new boundaries are created between social work and competing actors in the field of dealing with social problems.     

The circle of social reform: the relationship social work—social policy in Addams and Richmond

This article presents some results of a broader purpose of research on the thought and work of Addams and Richmond, particularly about the relationship between social work and social policy. First, we aim to contribute to deeper knowledge on the thought of these two pioneers on this relevant subject for social work nowadays and, particularly, to remove a relative veil of ignorance Richmond's involvement in social reform activities and elaboration on social reform in the context of the public and social policies process. Second, our proposal is to support a revision of the orthodox account on the antagonistic or irreconcilable nature of the two major traditions—social casework (or psychosocial approach) and social reform (or socio-political approach)—founded by two of the most influential figures of social work. Based on secondary and primary sources, the article focuses on the inseparable relationship between social policy and social work, clearly present in the thought and intervention of these seminal authors, and sheds new light on on-going debates and the disputed role of social policy perspectives within professionalised social work and the articulation between direct intervention with individuals, groups and communities and policy practice.     

Do natural resource revenues lower government reliance on seigniorage? The role of exchange rate policy

The study investigates how the degree of exchange rate management conditions the relationship between seigniorage and governments’ natural resource revenues using a sample of 140 countries over the period from 1971 to 2012. It also disaggregates natural resource revenues to investigate if this relationship holds across the various types of natural resources. The main approach is to estimate dynamic panel data interaction models. The study finds that under exchange rate regimes characterized as fixed or of limited flexibility an increase in natural resource rents is associated with an increase in seigniorage. Under crawling currency bands and managed floating, an increase in natural resource rents has little association with seigniorage. Under exchange rate regimes permitting greater exchange rate flexibility, greater natural resource rents allow less reliance on seigniorage. Additionally, the direct relationship between natural resource rents and seigniorage is driven mostly by oil and natural gas.     

The problem of modern-day slavery: is critical applied history the answer?

This article suggests that historians have much more to offer in the fight against modern-day slavery and human trafficking. It argues that the modern-day abolitionist movement should reorient its approach in the fight against slavery, as it tends to rely on a sanitized, unproblematic, rendering of the eighteenth and nineteenth-century abolitionist movement while simultaneously side-stepping discussions about the impact of global neo-liberal economic order. The article advances the notion of critical applied history which provides a methodological framework that can facilitate discussions about the role of power, historicity, and memory in shaping present-day abolitionist discourses.     

Defiance or submission? The role of the slave woman in slave resistance in the British Caribbean

The majority of works on Caribbean slavery, both contemporary and modern attribute to slave women a subordinate and passive role in slave resistance. By examination of every‐day acts of non‐cooperation, maronage, slave uprisings and the link between African religion and slave revolts, this paper argues that, on the contrary, women were active at all levels of slave resistance and made a significant and indispensable contribution to the slaves’ struggle against servitude. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between the West African cultural heritage of slave women and the nature of their participation in slave resistance. In conclusion it is suggested that this neglected area of the slave woman's life warrants further research as a crucial aspect of the slave experience in general.     

The role of usability in the evaluation of accidents: human error or design flaw?

This article aims to highlight the role of consumer products companies in the heart and the extent of accidents involving these types of products, and as such undesired events take part as an agent in influencing decision making for the purchase of a product that nature on the part of consumers and users. The article demonstrates, by reference, interviews and case studies such as the development of poorly designed products and design errors of design can influence the usage behavior of users, thus leading to accidents, and also negatively affect the next image of a company. The full explanation of these types of questions aims to raise awareness, plan on a reliable usability, users and consumers in general about the safe use of consumer products, and also safeguard their rights before a legal system of consumer protection, even far away by the CDC--Code of Consumer Protection.     

Strong policy or weak policy? The environmental impact of the 1992 reforms to the CAP arable regime in Great Britain

This paper examines the environmental impact of the 1992 reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union within British arable agriculture. It demonstrates how policies that were expected by some to have positive environmental outcomes did not do so. One reason for this failure is to do with the design of the policy instruments and the fact that environmental objectives were not explicit. It is suggested that the environmental arguments remain peripheral to policy making within the European Commission. It is also the case that there were important unexpected impacts of other non-policy factors, especially trends in world market prices for arable products in the period following 1992. A weak policy thesis in which the CAP sits alongside market forces, other policies and the socio-economics of agriculture provides a powerful explanation of land management in agriculture. However, it is also the case that the policy remains strong if measured by its core principles. The paper suggests in conclusion that future policy reforms should recognise the complex and inter-related factors influencing farmer behaviour. This is likely to mean a combination of measures designed to capture the potential for increasing biodiversity in a range of contrasting farm systems and individual farm circumstances. Policy goals should be explicit and the policy mechanisms designed to achieve those goals tightly focused.     

Where do classifications come from? The DSM-III,the transformation of American psychiatry,and the problem of origins in the sociology of knowledge

When something serves a function, it is easy to overlook its origins. The tendency is to proceed directly to function and retroactively construct a story about origin based on the function it fills. In this article, I address this problem of origins as it appears in the sociology of knowledge, using a case study of the publication of the 3rd edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) in 1980. The manual revolutionized American psychiatry and the treatment of mental illness, because it served the function of classification that had become critical to the field of mental health by this time. But this function must be bracketed in order to reveal the “extra-functional” origins of the DSM-III. Using field theory, I argue that the manual was necessary for reasons other than the function it filled as a classification. Specifically, its origin lies in a series of conflicts among psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, and clinical psychologists within the field of mental health, which followed in the wake of the collapse of psychoanalysis as the dominant treatment type for mental illness. I reveal the generative formula behind the production of the DSM-III, capturing a variety of social processes that influenced the format of the manual and made it a useful classification, but which are not reducible to function. In this way, I reproduce its raison d’etre in a manner similar to how the DSM-III appeared for the people who produced it. This focus on generative formulas offers the sociology of knowledge a way to capture the epistemic importance of a range of different social processes. Most importantly, it avoids the functional fallacy of reducing origin to function, and ignoring the idea that innovations might appear necessary even without clear recognition of their functional consequences.     

W(h)ither the academy? An exploration of the role of university social work in shaping the future of social work in Europe

A controversial proposal to pilot the training of child protection social workers through an intensive work-based route in England is being supported and funded by the UK Government. Frontline, the brainchild of a former teacher, locates social work training within local authorities (‘the agency’) rather than university social work departments (‘the academy’) and has stimulated debate amongst social work academics about their role in shaping the direction of the profession. As a contribution to this debate, this paper explores the duality of social work education, which derives its knowledge from both the academic social sciences and the experience of practice within social work agencies. While social work education has traditionally been delivered by the academy, this paper also explores whether the delivery of training in the allied professions of probation and nursing by ‘the agency’ is equally effective. Finally, this paper explores the Helsinki model which achieves a synergy of ‘academy’ and ‘agency’. It suggests that there are alternative models of social work education, practice and research which avoid dichotomies between the ‘academy’ and the ‘agency’ and enable the profession to be shaped by both social work academics and practitioners.     

Centering or not centering in multilevel models? The role of the group mean and the assessment of group effects

In multilevel regression, centering the model variables produces effects that are different and sometimes unexpected compared with those in traditional regression analysis. In this article, the main contributions in terms of meaning, assumptions, and effects underlying a multilevel centering solution are reviewed, emphasizing advantages and critiques of this approach. In addition, in the spirit of Manski, contextual and correlated effects in a multilevel framework are defined to detect group effects. It is shown that the decision of centering in a multilevel analysis depends on the way the variables are centered, on whether the model has been specified with or without cross-level terms and group means, and on the purposes of the specific analysis.     

Corporate social advocacy or social issues management? Examining state flagship universities’ responses to the killing of George Floyd

Colleges and universities are social institutions often called on to speak about socio-political issues (e.g., racism). Critics have suggested that when responding to instances of racism on their campuses, institutional leaders often ignore the racist acts and harm caused and focus their discourse on diversity and inclusion. Considering this critique, this study examined how state flagship universities in the United States (U.S.) responded to the killing of George Floyd through the lenses of social issues management and corporate social advocacy (CSA). Through my critical thematic analysis of all 50 U.S. state flagship universities’ initial public statements, I forward three key findings: (1) institutions constructed Floyd’s killing as an example of racism; (2) through their statements institutions localized the issue by focusing on their values or centering marginalized community members’ experiences; and (3) the majority of institutional responses functioned to reinforce the individualistic logics of whiteness. Based on these findings, I argue that to advance research on organizational communication about social issues, CSA should be considered beyond overt statements for or against issues and suggest that as organizations discuss socio-political issues their communication may reinforce hegemonic ideologies and create paradoxes for their marginalized publics. I conclude by proposing an approach to social issues management that could be used by organizations seeking to promote social justice.     

Where do intra-organizational advice relations come from? The role of informal status and social capital in social exchange

Social status and social capital frameworks are used to derive competing hypotheses about the emergence and structure of advice relations in organizations. Although both approaches build on a social exchange framework, they differ in their behavioral micro-foundations. From a status perspective, advice giving is a means to generate prestige, whereas asking advice decreases one's relative standing. At a structural level these motivations are expected to result in an overrepresentation of non-reciprocal dyads and non-cyclical triadic structures in the advice network, as well as in active advice seekers being unlikely to be approached for advice, especially by active advice givers. From a social capital perspective, advice seeking creates obligations for the advice seeker. At the structural level, this results in an overrepresentation of reciprocal dyads and cyclical triads, and active advice seekers to be unpopular as targets of advice seeking, especially for active advice givers. Analyses of four waves of a longitudinal sociometric study of 57 employees of a Dutch Housing Corporation provide partial support for both approaches. In line with the social capital perspective, we find reciprocal advice relations to be overrepresented at the dyad level. Results at the triad level support the social status arguments, according to which high status individuals will avoid asking advice from low status individuals. The implications for macro-structural properties of intra-organizational advice network are discussed.     

“We're gonna get you through it”: The role of bonding social capital in the development of bridging social capital

Many programs that place low-income students of color in high-achieving college preparatory high schools seek to nurture bridging social capital, connections across class lines that provide leverage in the process of “getting ahead.” Bonding social capital, which focuses more on emotional support and “getting by,” is frequently characterized as less useful for social mobility. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with alumni from one such program, we challenge the notion of bridging and bonding social capital as discrete, countervailing forms of social capital, and demonstrate how the two may complement each other. Specifically, we find that bonding social capital served as a critical resource that students drew upon as they navigated their elite high schools in the face of racism and classism. In doing so, this bonding social capital ultimately facilitated the development of bridging social capital by encouraging student persistence at these institutions. Our findings support critiques of traditional accounts of social capital that devalue the capital possessed by marginalized communities and fuel deficit ideologies. Furthermore, they highlight the personal costs that youth may face in the pursuit of bridging capital, complicating the narrative of social mobility as an unmitigated good.     

The role of the enslaved in the ‘Fedon Rebellion’ of 1795

This article argues that the slave component of Grenada’s Fedon Rebellion of 1795 has been somewhat overlooked in the scholarship. In reality, the Fedon Rebellion was an enormous servile revolt that cost the lives of some 7000 slaves over the course of its 18-month duration. This article argues that there were three distinct elements to the slaves caught up in this revolt: those that joined with the revolutionaries, those that remained loyal and those that sided with neither. This article also explores the varying source base for this conflict to argue that though partisan, the few sources that remain can tell us a great deal about the war and the slaves who took part.