Not-so-distant cousins: Family benefits in the United Kingdom and Australia

Abstract   Recent trends in tax transfers have seen an increasing interdependence of tax and welfare systems in determining access to and the quantum of benefits, particularly in relation to in-work benefits, such as family support. Both the United Kingdom and Australia have adopted family support mechanisms that appear to operate in a similar way, but closer examination of the detail reflects the differences in underlying policy in the two jurisdictions. This article examines, first, the institutional and policy basis for the design of the family tax transfer system in each jurisdiction and, second, the issues raised by the interdependence of tax and social security concepts in the design of in-work benefits.     

An Exploratory Study of Religion and Trust in Ghana

Based on individual-level data from 2008 Afro-barometer survey, this study explores the relationship between religion (religious affiliation and religious importance) and trust (interpersonal and institutional) among Ghanaians. Employing hierarchical multiple regression technique, our analyses reveal a positive relationship between religious affiliation and both measures of trust among Ghanaians. A positive relationship between Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Pentecostal/Evangelical faiths and interpersonal trust compared to non/traditional religion are detected. The data also reveal that upon controls, only Catholic and Pentecostal/Evangelical show significant positive effect on institutional trust among Ghanaians compared to non/traditional religion. It is worth noting that religious importance does not significantly predictor of neither interpersonal nor institutional trust among Ghanaians. The overall effect of religion on trust is weak, and weaker for institutional trust. Most of the difference relates to the difference between world religions and traditional religions. Place of residence, political affiliation, region of residence, ethnicity, and education are significant nonreligious predictors of both institution and interpersonal trust among Ghanaians. The findings further show that whereas age significantly influences only interpersonal trust, gender, life satisfaction, media exposure, sense of corruption, and sense of unfair treatment are significant factors molding institutional trust among Ghanaians. Policy implications of the study are discussed, emphasizing the need to incorporate religious organizations in efforts aimed at boosting interpersonal and institutional trust among Ghanaians. Religious-specific trust promotion program is suggested as possible strategy likely to succeed in Ghana. The need for more detailed studies in this important but ignored area is emphasized.     

The Nature of Social Responsibility: Exploring Emancipatory Ends

Social responsibility (SR) initiatives within a corporate environment (CSR) continue to be met with deep scepticism. My concern is with exploring this scepticism, which I argue is due to there being more to the underlying objectives of SR than has previously been investigated. I begin by outlining and substantiating my project as a social ontological enquiry, one in which I unpack key concepts to reveal the nature of SR. These ontological findings then underpin my argument that SR is problematically grounded in liberalist thinking, and CSR is in fact just one manifestation of SR. I advance the thesis that SR has emancipatory ends, of meeting human needs and flourishing, and that it is best explicated using feminist care ethics. The argument is then focussed on both shoring up and advancing the emancipatory project of SR. The scepticism of interest is revealed to be the incongruity between care and business; that businesses are deemed as being incompatible with SR, at least in their present capacity. Any claims to the contrary by the business community are branded inauthentic and the aforementioned scepticism ensues. The paper concludes with a brief discussion concerning implications for CSR initiatives and future changes and developments are considered.     

Consanguineous Marriage in Turkish Families in Turkey and in Western Europe

The paper compares the prevalence and development of consanguineous marriages between Turkish migrants in Western Europe and stayers from the same regions of origin in Turkey. Analyses draw from three‐generational family data of the 2000 Families study. Findings suggest a decline of kin marriage over generations and time in both groups, but a higher prevalence of kin marriage among migrants. Parental impact was influential, but effects of transmission were lower among migrants. Kin marriage was strongly linked with cross‐border partner choice. The results support previous findings and indicate the specific effect of migration on seemingly traditional patterns of marriage.     

Investigating sexuality discourses in the U.K. secondary English curriculum

This article reports on findings from a small-scale study that investigated sexuality discourses in the U.K. secondary English curriculum. In addition to conducting a critical analysis of English curriculum documents, interviews were also conducted with some English teachers and young lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)-identified people who attended, or had recently left, secondary school in Birmingham, U.K. Key findings indicate that issues around sexual diversity are noticeably absent from the curriculum, while other forms of diversity are more visible. This means that teachers are not explicitly encouraged to explore sexual diversity in their teaching, and the effects of this on young LGBT-identified people are overwhelmingly negative.