Changing perspectives on the insider/outsider distinction in community sociology

This article reports on a community study which explores the nature of the distinction between insiders and outsiders in contemporary community life. Although the presence of this distinction is reported in many community studies, detailed examination of how it operates in practice reveals that insider status is open to negotiation. A person's claims to be an insider may be based on other grounds besides length of residence, for example the degree of participation in local community organizations. In addition, doubts are cast on the supposition that long local residence is always positively regarded, in the light of the finding that in-migrants may associate it with parochialism. These ideas are linked to recent developments in the sociology of community that emphasize the importance of distinguishing between the different dimensions of community relationships (including the time dimension). On this basis it is argued that in-migrants should not be equated with outsiders, since their position within community relations will be influenced by several other factors, notably social class and employment status, household type, position in kinship networks, age and gender. The insider/outsider distinction is therefore more complex than is allowed in approaches that reduce it to a single dimension related to length of residence. Este articulo presenta un informe sobre una investigacion comunitaria que explora la distincion entre los de dentro ('insiders') y los de fuera ('outsiders') en la vida contemporanea comunitaria. Aunque la presencia de esta distincion se nota en muchos estudios comunitarios, un examen detenido de como se aplica en la practica revela que la condicion de 'insider' se presta a negociacion. La afirmacion de 'insider' de cualquier individuo se puede basar en otras razones ademas de por extenso de residencia, por ejemplo, el nivel de participacion en organizaciones comunitarias de la localidad. Ademas se pone en duda la suposicion que la residencia extensa en la localidad siempre se mira bien, ya que 'in-migrants (los que entran) la pueden asociar con el provincianismo. Estos ideas se relacionan con recientes desarrollos en la sociologia de la comunidad que ponen enfasis en la importancia de disinguir entre las diferentes dimensiones de relaciones communitarias (incluyendo la dimension temporal). Asi se sostiene que los 'in-migrants' no deben ser equiparados con los 'outsiders' ya que su posicion dentro de las relaciones comunitarias se vera influida de varios otros factores, en particular clase social, estado laboral, categoria de hogar, posicion en las redes de parentesco, edad y sexo. Por lo tanto, la distincion 'insider-outsider' es mas compleja que lo que permiten considerar los enfoques que la reducen a una sola dimension relacionda a duracion de residencia.     

The Cultural Mediator: Bridging the Gap Between a Non-Western Community and Professional Social Work Practice

Summary This paper analyses a demonstration project that enabled socialworkers to practise effectively in their home community (a Bedouin-Arabcity in the Negev, Israel) where gender relations are patriarchaland the interface of social work and cultural practices hadpreviously impeded professional functioning. Collaborative workwith cultural mediators, individuals with high social statusand knowledge of community traditions, rendered interventionsmore culturally appropriate, bridged gaps between the culturaland professional canons, and promoted social work's role ina society that had a limited understanding of, and experiencewith, the profession. Future social work practice and researchcould focus on further enhancing women's choice making opportunitiesin this patriarchal culture.     

‘We need to get together and make ourselves heard’: everyday online spaces as incubators of political action

This article examines to what extent, and how, people engaging in political talk within ‘non-political’ discussion forums – online lifestyle communities – leads to political (or personal) action or calls-to-action. The analysis is framed in the context of wider questions of citizenship, civic engagement and political mobilization. To capture everyday political talk amongst citizens requires us to move beyond the now widely analysed online spaces of formal politics. Instead, we focus on online third spaces concerning lifestyle issues such as parenting, personal finance and popular culture. Drawing on a content analysis of three popular UK-based discussion forums over the course of five years (2010–2014), we found that (for two of the three cases) such spaces were more than just talking shops. Rather they were spaces where political actions not only emerged, but where they seemed to be cultivated. Discussions embedded in the personal lives of participants often developed – through talk – into political actions aimed at government (or other) authorities. The article sheds light on the contributing factors and processes that (potentially) trigger and foster action emerging from political talk and provides insight into the mobilization potential of third spaces.     

Technology,slavery and the Falmouth Water Company of Jamaica, 1799–1805

Slave societies such as Jamaica were among the earliest regions to adopt new technologies, suggesting that slavery was not synonymous with economic backwardness. This article uses the efforts of the Falmouth Water Company to adopt the new hydraulic ram between 1799 and 1805 to show that this process was also not restricted to the plantation sector and that the island possessed an unexpected capacity for technological adaption. This was based on local skills in mechanical and civil engineering derived from the plantation sector, and a wider political and financial background that supported innovation when the right conditions were in place.     

Children and safety in Australian policy: Implications for organisations and practitioners

Child safety is now a national policy priority in Australia. Extensive enquiries and reviews have escalated legislative and policy responses focused on developing, maintaining and monitoring “child safe” organisations. The recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse point to the importance of cultural conditions within organisations in supporting child safety and the need for responsive change in some organisations. Drawing on a recent policy analysis, undertaken as part of a larger Australian Research Council Discovery Project, this article examines how children and safety are constructed, within and across relevant state and federal government policies in Australia, and the implications of this. Distinctions are drawn between conceptualisations of children within the broader education policy context and two specific policy contexts in which children are considered particularly vulnerable to abuse – out‐of‐home care and disability. The findings indicate that policy discourses of “child safe” potentially foster different emphases and approaches in organisations. These have implications for the way children are positioned in relation to their safety, how their rights are recognised and implemented, and what is required to foster cultural conditions within organisations to best support children’s safety and wellbeing.     

Investigating the Marketization of the Nonprofit Sector: A Comparative Case Study of Two Nonprofit Organizations

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - It has been well documented in recent years that nonprofits are becoming increasingly marketized. What is less well...     

WHOSE CIVIC COMMUNITY? TESTING ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESES OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CIVIC COMMUNITY AND RACIAL INEQUALITY IN ARREST RATES

This analysis extends prior research on racial inequality in arrest rates by testing opposing hypotheses derived from the civic community tradition in sociology. One interpretation of this perspective suggests that communities with a locally-oriented economic infrastructure, an abundance of civic institutions, and civically engaged citizens should exhibit lower racial disparity in arrest rates. On the other hand, recent writings exposing a potential “dark side” of social capital suggest that civic community may exacerbate such racial disparties. Using spatial regression models to analyze data from nearly 1,800 U.S. counties, the current analysis examines these competing hypotheses regarding the effects of civic community. Results suggest mixed support for both the traditional and “dark side” predictions. Implications for theory and empirical research are discussed.     

Recent rural community studies

This article examines recent rural community studies by considering, in turn: comparisons, methods, theories and community studies as vehicles for developing social scientific arguments. ‘Recent’ is defined as from 1980 onwards. ‘Rural’ is taken to include research conducted in country towns. And ‘community studies’ is understood as an inclusive term embracing various research methodologies. Because this field cannot be covered exhaustively, attention is focused on research that has a special bearing on the future of community studies. Particular reference is made to the work of Colin Bell, which helped to shape recent research agendas.     

BETWEEN BROADCASTING POLITICAL MESSAGES AND INTERACTING WITH VOTERS

Politicians across Western democracies are increasingly adopting and experimenting with Twitter, particularly during election time. The purpose of this article is to investigate how candidates are using it during an election campaign. The aim is to create a typology of the various ways in which candidates behaved on Twitter. Our research, which included a content analysis of tweets (n?=?26,282) from all twittering Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates (n?=?416) during the 2010 UK General Election campaign, focused on four aspects of tweets: type, interaction, function and topic. By examining candidates' twittering behaviour, the authors show that British politicians mainly used Twitter as a unidirectional form of communication. However, there were a group of candidates who used it to interact with voters by, for example, mobilizing, helping and consulting them, thus tapping into the potential Twitter offers for facilitating a closer relationship with citizens.