An examination of social work interventions for use with displaced Iraqi households in Jordan

The purpose of this paper is to identify and examine how models of social work intervention are being used with displaced Iraqi households in Jordan. The review of the situation of displaced Iraqis in Jordan identifies the size, characteristics and experiences of this group, Jordanian government policies towards them, and the role of IGOs and NGOs dealing with them. The literature review of social work interventions with refugees internationally identifies a range of psycho-social and community-based intervention models that are contextual, some of which include spiritual dimensions. The paper reviews social work interventions in use with Iraqi households in Jordan and concludes that these need to be focused at the individual, household and community levels using an inter-professional, holistic approach that includes spiritual dimensions, and that coordination between agencies is essential.     

When Things Go Wrong: Being an Independent Person under the Children Act 1989 Complaints Procedure

The introduction of market principles into public services in the 1990s meant that British local authorities were required to develop complaints procedures. In the case of services for children and families, the Children Act 1989 required the appointment of an "independent person". This article describes the findings from a research study conducted in 1999. A total of nineteen independent people from a range of London boroughs participated. It was found that young people themselves rarely use this system designed to protect their rights. As "sole traders" in adversarial situations between social services personnel and complainants, the independent people were constantly negotiating their position. Depending upon the issue, they are required to move skilfully between conciliation and formal investigation. The findings will be useful to local authorities using independent people, and to the independent people themselves who are largely unsupported in their roles.     

Evaluating qualitative management research: Towards a contingent criteriology

The term qualitative management research embraces an array of non‐statistical research practices. Here it is argued that this diversity is an outcome of competing philosophical assumptions which produce distinctive research perspectives and legitimate the appropriation of different sets of evaluation criteria. Some confusion can arise when evaluation criteria constituted by particular philosophical conventions are universally applied to this heterogeneous management field. In order to avoid such misappropriation, this paper presents a first step towards a contingent criteriology located in a metatheoretical analysis of three modes of qualitative management research which are compared with the positivist mainstream to elaborate different forms of evaluation. It is argued that once armed with criteria that vary accordingly, evaluation can reflexively focus upon the extent to which any management research consistently embraces the particular methodological principles that are sanctioned by its a priori philosophical commitments.     

An approach to stochastic programming for medium term planning

A number of methods of obtaining the distribution of the optimum of the ‘wait and see’ stochastic programming model have been proposed, but computational experience for these is currently limited to the solution of small problems. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of the ‘wait and see’ model in planning, and to propose a method of analysis based on the minimax and maximax decision criteria. The approach requires the solution of a special class of non-linear programming problems. Computational results to date suggest that it will be possible to analyse practically sized problems in this way.     

FATHERS’ USE OF LEAVE IN AUSTRALIA

This paper examines Australian fathers’ use of leave at the time of the birth of a child, drawing on data from The Parental Leave in Australia Survey, conducted in 2005, and a subsequent organizational case study. Our analysis shows that although most Australian fathers take some leave for parental purposes, use of formally designated paternity or parental leave is limited. This is unsurprising given the Australian policy framework, which lacks legislative provision for paid paternity or parental leave, and does not require any of the shared unpaid parental-leave entitlement to be reserved for fathers. Use of leave is shown to be influenced primarily by fathers’ employment characteristics, with those working in small organizations or non-permanent positions least likely to utilize paternity or other forms of leave. Overall, the analysis suggests that improvements in the policy framework would increase Australian fathers’ propensity to take parental leave, but highlights barriers to usage associated with labour market divisions and career pressures that will not be solved solely by the adoption of more progressive leave policies.     

Family comes first or open all hours?: How low paid women working in food retailing manage webs of obligation at home and work

This paper draws on qualitative findings from a study exploring work-life balance issues amongst female employees within food retailing. Whilst female employment is fundamental to this sector, there is limited evidence on employees' experiences of reconciling relatively low-paid work and the particular demands of food retailing with domestic and caring responsibilities. Managing competing discourses and demands at home and work is a feature of many women's lives. For those in low-paid jobs, with fewer material resources to fall back on, such webs of obligation, often stretching over the lifecourse, may be particularly difficult to navigate or escape. In food retail work, as in caring/domestic emergencies, timeframes may be tight and demands made on workers at short notice and outwith the standard working day. The study showed that sustaining their moral identities both as good mothers/daughters/family members ('family comes first') and as good and reliable workers ('the store must be staffed') was, therefore, an everyday practical accomplishment for these food retail employees. We explore women's accounts against the backdrop of particular familial, workplace and socio-cultural expectations and constraints, identifying overlapping sets of values between home and work as well as points of contradiction and tension.     

Moments in the Methodology of Meso History

Meso history is that branch of the history of sociology that focuses on social relations, that is, patterns of connection among groups, group members, and group meanings, as explanatory factors in the shaping of sociology. The methodology of meso history consists of strategies for discovering, documenting and patterning connections. This paper explores those strategies in terms of three moments generic to the research process in social science– moments of movement from intellectual curiosity to conceptualization, from research question to data collection and from data to presentation of findings–focusing on the distinctive permutations on this research process that occur in the practice of meso history.     

Electoral Politics, Ideology and American Social Policy

This article addresses the politics of social policy in the context of the 2004 American presidential election. It examines the divisions in American society and their distinctive agendas. It also explores the record of the Bush administration on key social policy issues and shows how it relates to the broader conservative tradition as well as to the Clinton administration's reform of welfare. Finally, it examines the election results. The article argues that the Bush administration has a distinctive agenda on social policy issues and that its approach is likely to reduce further the role of the social government in the provision of social policy, by emphasizing market forces and philanthropy as well as cutting taxes. It also notes, however, that the Bush administration has taken a strong stance on traditional moral values and that its opposition to abortion and homosexuality is an important part of its political strategy.     

Adoption and permanence planning in Scotland: Impact of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 on key processes and timescales

Adoption and permanence planning has been a key feature of Scotland's policy in relation to children and young people who are “looked after.” Although policy and law has significantly developed in recent years, there has been comparatively little research on permanence processes in Scotland. This paper outlines key findings from the first comprehensive study of permanence planning in Scotland. It examines the process for two cohorts of children where adoption or other types of permanence orders were made. The children were selected under the long standing Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978 and the more recent Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007. In total, 300 cases were examined, analysing data from the children's first contact with services through to the order made by the Scottish Courts. This paper pays particular attention to the timescales found at key stages under the two sets of legislation and asks what difference the change in legislation has made.