Frames and Narratives as Tools for Recruiting and Sustaining Group Members: The Soulforce Equality Ride as a Social Movement Organization*

Structuring collective action, given diverse human thoughts, feelings, and behavior, is an arduous task. This article examines one way collective action can be facilitated by analyzing how social movement organizations (SMOs) use narratives as a key resource for recruiting members and sustaining participation. Data for this analysis were collected through participant observation and in‐depth interviews with 34 participants of the Soulforce Equality Ride (ER), a cross‐country bus journey—modeled after the Freedom Ride of the Civil Rights Movement—that toured 18 schools that ban the enrollment of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students. Findings indicate that the ER recruited participants, maintained commitment to the group and its cause, and met organizational goals by (1) crafting a frame that successfully taps into potential members’ existing emotions, ideologies, and experiences; (2) aligning these individual experiences with group messages and meanings via narratives; and (3) creating positive feelings for members. In doing so, SMOs can construct cognitive and emotional links between the individual and the SMO, thereby promoting group goals.     

The Other Le Grand? Evaluating the 'Other Invisible Hand' in Welfare Services in England

Competition and choice have become central means of improving public services in England. The former adviser to the Blair government Julian Le Grand has suggested that increased choice and competition should be the cornerstone of policy that aims to deliver more responsive and fairer results for the public. This article explores Le Grand's claims, deploying the conditions earlier suggested by him to examine the conditions which 'quasi-markets will have to meet if they are to succeed as instruments of social policy'. Claims about the efficacy of choice and competition policies in 2007 are assessed against the earlier conditions of market structure, information, transaction costs, uncertainty, motivation and cream-skimming, to examine the extent to which the reforms Le Grand has most recently proposed meet the conditions he earlier suggested would be necessary for markets to work in the public sector.     

The Pronatalist Undercurrent of the $500-per-Child Tax Credit

A review of studies which find a positive impact of tax structure on American fertility suggests this effect will increase with the tax benefits legislated by the 1997 $500-per-child tax credit. The tax credit also resembles pronatalist family allowances in other developed countries. First, however, the article investigates the intent of the tax credit, showing that key supporters hope it will increase fertility among tax-paying Americans. Lastly, the pronatalist undercurrent of the tax credit suggests that future efforts will push for further increasing the tax benefits of children in order to increase the American birth rate.     

Ageism and Abuse in the Workplace: A New Frontier

The economic crisis in the United States has led to increased media coverage of older workers being laid off, forced to retire, or working longer than planned. Embedded in these reports are the intimations of workplace abuse. Social workers need to start taking into account ageism and abuse in the workplace as possible cooccurring issues to effectively implement policy, and organizational change that will address both issues. This brief article discusses ageism and abuse in the workplace using a human rights framework, the current state of the literature, and directions for future research.     

The Initial Qualifications,Induction and In‐Service Needs of Education Social Workers in Wales1

This paper presents an analytical evaluation of the initial entry qualifications, induction and in‐service requirements of education welfare officers (EWO)/education social workers (ESW) in Wales. These data were obtained from a sponsored research project funded by the Welsh Assembly Government conducted on a pan‐Wales basis. The findings indicate that only five local education authorities (LEAs) in Wales presently require social work qualifications for entry to the service. A majority of staff in the remaining LEAs tend to hold low level qualifications. Whilst induction practices vary between LEAs, better and improved practice is beginning to emerge. Similarly, the in‐service needs of ESW/EWS staff are not normally analysed systematically. Therefore, a variety of different approaches are used within LEAs to meet the in‐service needs of education welfare/social work staff. Some examples of good practice are postulated. Recommendations to improve the induction, initial training and in‐service requirements of staff in Wales are made alongside the need for further research.     

Letters to Louis: Marital Dissolution Through the Social Construction of Lived Experience

This article examines the author's narrative within letters written to her husband over a span of several years. I examine how a marriage dissolves from the inside out, from the perspective of the lived experience of one member of the marriage. The primary research focus is how individuals living within troubled marriages construct their own marriage. Although we know much about what predicts divorce, little research considers the social construction of marriage from the perspective of the person living within that marriage. Drawing on symbolic interactionism, this autoethnographic analysis of my letters to Louis reveals an insider's view of how a marriage dissolves. Gottman's Oral History Interview coding is used as a tool of analysis throughout.     

The End of the Welfare State?

This paper critically examines claims of a new consensus on welfare and the end of the welfare state. We first review the concept of welfare consensus, concentrating on the idea of welfare pluralism, in particular the relatively neglected distinction between national minimum (base) and extension ladder (superstructure). We then examine these concepts in the 1990s under Conservative and New Labour governments. Important changes to welfare pluralism are noted. There have been changes in the character of means-tests, with the national minimum replaced by a series of residual minima, which represent fundamental changes to structural incentives governing the social division of welfare and work. The line between state and non-state provision has been blurred and there have been moves to achieve universalism in the private sector. It is possible to tentatively classify Labour's principles and fledgling policies into three categories: essential continuity with the Conservatives, reversing Conservative policies and extending Conservative policies. However, it is difficult to detect the degree of consensus because a new flexible language is beginning to pervade social policy, with the result that the welfare state is being redefined, notably in areas of full employment, citizenship and conditionality. It is possible to detect, in our terms, moves towards turning Beveridge inside out and from the "Marshall" towards the "Beveridge" welfare state. It is clear that the welfare state is being redefined, but reports of its death have been much exaggerated.     

Small Samples,Big Challenges: Studying Atypical Family Forms

We discuss the challenges of small‐subsample sizes that family scholars often encounter when studying nontraditional or less common family types. We begin by identifying the general difficulties of using existing data in this line of research and then discuss potential solutions that may help researchers to avoid these problems. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, we use the example of monoracial White, monoracial Asian, and Asian/White interracial families to illustrate these problems and available, albeit imperfect, solutions.