Daddy's little girl

This paper examines the correlation between perceived paternal figure support and hope for future success among 866 African‐American girls, aged 9–19, residing in two South Alabama cities. Data from the 1998 Youth Survey conducted by the Institute for Social Science Research with 1,800 youth residing in low‐income and public housing communities in Mobile and Prichard, Alabama were explored. Overall, it is apparent that girls in this sample need at least low levels of support from their paternal figures to have this support positively impact their level of hope for the future. Hope reflects a person's belief in her ability to achieve certain goals, thus affecting academic achievement, healthy emotional development, and successful transition to adulthood. Implications for social work policy and practice include the need to consider development of programs that support or promote enrichment of paternal figure involvement in the lives of girls who may be identified as at risk for potentially damaging life experiences, further increasing the likelihood of moderate to high levels of hope, thus motivating girls to achieve regardless of their circumstances.     

‘In the Company of Men’: A Reflexive Tale of Cultural Organizing in a Small Organization

A tale of fieldwork in a small organization is discussed in this article with a view to highlighting how social processes, cultural understandings and expressions of gender are produced during fieldwork interaction. The tale is told reflexively and retrospectively, recording an ongoing conversation about fieldwork experience. Central to the tale is discussion of how the researcher is drawn into ‘culture–making’ within the organization and the ways in which fieldwork interaction creates a ‘space’ through which organizational members engage with, work through and realize work–place values. In this article there are multiple levels of reflection. At one level it is examined how the organizational–researcher role of ‘emotional nurturer’ was constructed during fieldwork. At the same time some cultural insights drawn from ethnographic inquiry and intensive interviewing within the small organization are presented. The analysis is also shaped by a further layer of post–fieldwork reflection and interpretation which draws in emotional issues and expressions of gender. It is argued that a close scrutiny of fieldwork roles is important to organizational research in that it makes explicit how the researcher–‘native’ interaction is central to the theorizing process and how the researcher can become a participant in organizational culture–making.     

Why Stay Married? Rewards,Barriers, and Marital Stability

This paper describes people's open‐ended, personal accounts of why they stay married. Most people perceived the cohesiveness of their marriages in terms of rewards and barriers, and few people referred to a lack of good alternatives. People who reported barriers only tended to be relatively unhappy with their marriages and were more likely than other individuals to be thinking about divorce. People who reported barriers only, compared with people who reported rewards only, were more likely to divorce during the next 14 years. This association was significant even after controlling for marital happiness and divorce proneness.     

Post‐adoption reunion sibling relationships: factors facilitating and hindering the development of sensitive relationships following reunion in adulthood

This paper explores findings from an exploratory study on sibling relationships following adoption reunion in adulthood. The qualitative data was gathered through in‐depth interviews with 33 adopted adults who were reunited with their birth sibling(s) through an adoption agency in the Republic of Ireland. The findings throw light upon the development of the emotional, often complex, relationships which may emerge when siblings meet for the first time in adult life. Factors influential in facilitating or hindering these post‐reunion relationships are discussed. The important insights are then considered in the context of the wider international literature on adoption, search and reunion.     

How could conditional cash transfer programme conditionalities reinforce vulnerability? Non‐compliers and policy implementation gaps in Uruguay's Family Allowances

Influential research shows that conditionalities could incentivize recipients of conditional cash transfer programmes (CCTs) to send their children to school and to regular health check‐ups. However, a growing literature is elucidating the risks of conditional transfers, from both a philosophical and an empirical perspective. This article highlights the varied deficits that have accompanied the implementation process in some Latin American countries, as well as the consequences that these deficits might have on the beneficiaries. In particular, it suggests that, rather than reducing vulnerability by improving access to services, conditionalities could be reinforcing vulnerability among non‐compliers if non‐compliance leads to the immediate suspension of the cash transfer and if this sanction is poorly implemented. While this hypothesis has gained attention and is part of both an academic and a political debate, empirical research around it is scarce. This article is an attempt to start filling this gap by focusing on the implementation process of conditionalities in a CCT programme in Uruguay (Family Allowances) and how this is experienced by a group of recipients who failed to comply with the conditionalities and were sanctioned with the suspension of the benefit. In particular, it identifies the main reasons why these beneficiaries did not comply, how they experience the sanction and how they managed—when they do—to apply for the benefit to be restored. Based on a qualitative design of in‐depth interviews, it provides empirical evidence to unpack causal relationships linking conditionalities to increased vulnerability among non‐compliers. Our findings offer evidence on the role played by the conditionalities in reinforcing vulnerability and the possible causal mechanisms that could be operating between both phenomena. This picture of policy implementation constraints that could lead conditionalities to reinforce vulnerability among recipients could be relevant to policy‐makers having to deal with non‐compliance and managing sanctions in CCTs.     

Reducing the cultural divide among U.S. and Mexican students through application of the contact hypothesis

Mexico and the U.S. are closely associated by commerce, culture and family ties. Despite the geographical proximity and the long-standing socio-political history between the two countries, there is limited understanding of cultural differences and similarities. A unique study abroad programme for U.S. and Mexican students was developed based on the contact hypothesis for reducing prejudice and creating stronger intergroup relationships. Students were recruited from a Mexican and a U.S. university for this project. Based on key principles inherent in intercultural education, students were provided with lectures, group projects and opportunities for shared living. They were merged for cultural experiences both in the U.S. and Mexico, including a three-week service learning project in two impoverished Mexican communities. Participants gained practical language skills and a more comprehensive understanding of Mexican migration. The programme also helped reduce cultural stereotypes and demonstrated the benefits of working toward collective goals. Shared experiences for students from diverse cultures hold promise for creating meaningful social integration and fostering international partnerships opportunities for higher education institutions.