Do social work education,job description,and cultural competence foster child‐welfare caseworkers' therapeutic alliances?

We explored whether the strength of caseworkers' engagement with families in the child‐welfare system was associated with the caseworkers' academic degrees, job responsibilities and environments, and/or ethnicity. We extracted data from a national data set describing 1,714 caseworkers. Results confirmed significant association between caseworkers' confidence in their engagement with families and (a) master's‐ and bachelor's‐level social work education, (b) adequate supervision at work, (c) cultural‐diversity training, (d) job focus (screening/investigation, out‐of‐home placement, or reunification), and (e) homogeneous race/ethnicity of caseworker and client.     

“There are traitors among us”: On the Emotional Vicissitudes of Populist Politics

This article examines fellowship and accusations of betrayal among members of a populist movement in contemporary Argentina. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted among self-described “militants” of the Kirchnerist movement, a contemporary iteration of Peronism, this work makes a uniquely anthropological intervention into existing literature on populist politics, which tends to focus on populism’s demonization of the enemy of “the people.” In contrast, this article argues that a focus on the demonization of an external enemy misses essential dimensions of the social world of Peronist politics, which is primarily characterized by loving bonds of fellowship between Peronist militants. I show how, in moments of uncertainty, this emphasis on fellowship morphs into a preoccupation with treachery, such that concern with the potential insubordination of one’s fellow Peronists eclipses animus towards external enemies. This article argues for greater attention to the lived experiences of adherents to populist movements to encourage a more holistic and nuanced understanding of the social world of populist politics.     

Patterns of Sensitivity to Parenting and Peer Environments: Early Temperament and Adolescent Externalizing Behavior

Although parenting behavior and friendship quality predict adolescent externalizing behaviors (EBs), individual differences in temperament may differentially affect susceptibility to these factors over time. In a multi‐method and multi‐informant study of 141 children followed prospectively from toddlerhood to adolescence, we tested the independent and interactive associations of age 3 reactive temperament (e.g., negative emotionality) and age 13 observed parenting (i.e., positive and negative behavior) and friendship (i.e., conflict and warmth), with multi‐informant ratings of age 15 aggression and rule‐breaking behavior. Negative parenting predicted growth in parent‐rated EB, but only for adolescents with early reactive temperament. Temperament did not affect sensitivity to positive parenting or friendship. Results are discussed in the context of differential susceptibility theory and intervention implications for adolescents.     

Financial instruments used by Polish municipalities in response to the first wave of COVID-19

Public Organization Review - Studies on the influence of COVID-19 on municipalities are scarce, although it was precisely municipalities that stood in the first line of combat. It is important to...     

Change agency as performance and embeddedness: Exploring the possibilities and limits of Butler and Bourdieu

In this paper, we explore the dual role of human agency in maintaining the status quo and generating change. Judith Butler and Pierre Bourdieu offer differing conceptions of change agency in relation to organization and transformation of gender relations. Focusing on how those approaches would work, we analyse an empirical case study on a particular change process: getting women the right to vote in the Swiss cantons of Appenzell. We contribute to the current use of Butler's and Bourdieu's theories in organization studies in three main ways. First, we explore stability and change from the lenses of these two scholars. Second, we illustrate how change agency looks from these two distinct perspectives. Finally, we offer an empirical analysis that identifies the main elements of change agency in the two frameworks and discuss the possibilities and limitations of bringing these two approaches together to better understand change agency.     

Understanding parental leave experiences: connecting the dots with a multiple-methods approach

ABSTRACT

This research note draws selected findings from a multiple-methods study conducted in partnership with a large public-sector employer in Portland, OR to describe the added value of this approach for research translation. We focus on how our study of a newly implemented paid parental leave policy can translate to actionable steps for two important end-users: employers and policymakers. Using administrative records (N?=?579), a countywide employee survey (N?=?137 leave-takers) and focus groups (N?=?35), we describe how each data source contributes important and unique information about how the policy’s implementation affected diverse employees. We find gender differences in how employees changed leave-taking in response to the policy, and describe the critical but nuanced role that supervisors play. Working with employers and policymakers to develop and implement thoughtful policies will help to ensure equitable distribution of the benefits of paid leave policies.     

Using complexity theory in kinship practice

This reflective discussion draws on data from a collaborative enquiry into kinship or family and friends practice. It introduces perspectives from complexity and chaos theory as a way of re‐examining the challenges of kinship practice. The discussion highlights the enduring challenges for practitioners, not least, managing anxiety and uncertainty, sustaining continuity and containment, becoming experienced and taking account of the complex developmental needs of the children and their families. The discussion particularly raises questions about appropriate settings for practitioners to undertake such a demanding area of child and family social work.     

Looking Inwards,Looking Outwards: Dismantling the “Berlin Wall” Between Health and Social Services?

This paper argues that at a time when policy guidance urged closer collaboration and joint working between health and social services, the long-established cultural and professional gaps were widening and deteriorating. Drawing on data from four research sites, the paper argues that the deterioration was rooted principally in practitioners' preoccupations with changes within their own organizations and daily work, resulting from a major period of change in both health and social services, which, ironically, was at the expense of the joint working which the "Caring for People" reforms required. As the policy environment changes again, under the Labour government, it is likely that health and social care practitioners will be working within further organizational turbulence and change. It will be crucial that those changes are managed in such a way that they avoid the very real danger of compounding the problems which our respondents identified.