The intersection of social protection and mobilities: a move towards a ‘Practical Utopia’ research agenda

Currently, a number of contributions in mobility studies are looking for fruitful intersections with other ‘adjacent’ approaches . In this spirit, our theoretical paper argues to study one particular aspect: the intersection of social protection and mobilities. Currently, the provision of social services in the ‘West’ is strongly entrenched within nation-state logics, which assume that clients’ immobility is a precondition of service delivery and that national citizenship is the desirable conditionality of gaining social rights. To overcome such a wide-spread conflation of social security with state security, we introduce the heuristic concept ‘social protection’. It allows social security to be imagined beyond a state-centric perspective and avoids the pitfalls of either a citizenship or a migration approach by taking on a mobility perspective. Thus, for scholars anchored in mobility studies we propose how to develop a social security perspective in a progressive way. For readers from other areas, e.g. citizenship, migration or social policy, we will show how a mobility perspective enriched by a No Border approach can overcome a narrow Western, statist and static perspective on social security. Our goal is to conceptually open up what we call a ‘practical utopia’ research agenda, one that expands our political horizons for future and present socialities.     

‘I Just Don't Agree’: A Voice-Oriented Analysis of An IFPS Case of Alleged Child Maltreatment

In contrast to the many outcome studies of Intensive Family Preservation Services (IFPS), little is known about the underlying personal and relational dynamics of family crisis interventions. This article focuses on the core evolving dynamics of the changing self-presentations of a parent involved in an intensive home-based family preservation case of alleged child maltreatment. Three key family intervention sessions were videotaped and transcribed including both verbal and nonverbal behavior. The Listening Guide Method – a theoretically flexible, qualitative, relationally oriented method of in-depth interpretative analysis – served as our guide for this case analysis. In the processes of change toward a jointly constructed meaningful narrative on responsibility and self-care, two key elements emerged as playing a pivotal role: (1) the momentum of a potential referral of children to out-of-home care that precedes the start of an IFPS intervention and (2) the rhizomatic or root-like intertwinement of the voices of both parent and therapist with respect to the rationale for any involvement of society in the family. We argue that discourses on imminent placement in the context of family preservation deserve a genuine and valuable position in the initial discourse of a family therapist when entering a family in the context of crisis intervention. Both in understanding and driving any processes of change, we may need to reconsider our own willingness to step into the blending interplay of discourse and counter-discourse with our clients on the subject of our often drastic intervention. Consequently, we may read this narrative analysis as an invitation to reflect on the conceptualization of ‘client readiness’ in psychotherapy and to shift our thinking on preconditions for therapy from a client's readiness toward a therapist's attentiveness to listen.     

Was ist hier los?

In our prior article in this issue, we establish that although they are related, organizational and group dynamics are in fact very different. In this second article, we go on to discuss some of the challenges that this poses for consultants. We describe the interplay of factors affecting the development of the dynamics within an organization and explore approaches to acquiring practical knowledge about an organization’s dynamics. Finally, we ask how useful group dynamics skills are for providing consultancy services within and to organizations and consider where and how specific organizational dynamics skills can be acquired.     

Forms of Capital and Habitus in the Decision to Go on Academic Exchange

Although Canadian universities have made internationalization a strategic priority, only few Canadian students currently participate in any international study opportunities. Drawing on interviews with Canadian students who were about to spend some of their undergraduate education abroad as exchange students, or had recently returned from a study exchange, we argue that despite the importance of relatively high costs associated with international study experiences, cultural factors play a more important role in enabling the decision to study abroad. Being habitually exposed to travel in one's family, and having been encouraged to travel independently as a teenager or young adult emerge as important precursors to our participants’ decision to take part in study exchanges. Although one needs to engage critically with university administrators’ current preoccupation with internationalization, being exposed to an extended time abroad has shown to have positive effects, especially for otherwise underprivileged students. Given the exploratory nature of this study, we conclude with suggestions for further research aimed at confirming our findings and developing policy.     

Setting Priorities in the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse

In its ‘National Campaign Against Drug Abuse’, the Federal Government has decided to give top priority in the 1987 financial year to preventing the use of heroin and cocaine, particularly among the young. After reviewing the drug consumption habits of North Queenslanders, we conclude that this decision does not address the most immediate drug-related health problems of the region. Our data suggest not only that legal drugs pose a far greater threat to the health and welfare of Australian society but also that drug abuse is primarily concentrated within the adult population.     

The emergence of Sub-Replacement Family Size Ideals in Europe

Period fertility started to drop significantly below replacement in most Western European countries during the 1970s and 1980s, while most fertility surveys, value studies and opinion polls have found that the number of children considered ideal for society or for one's own family has remained above two children per woman. These surveys have led to the expectation that, sooner or later, period fertility would recover in Europe. The most recent data from the Eurobarometer 2001 survey, however, suggest that in the German-speaking parts of Europe the average ideal family sizes given by younger men and women have fallen as low as 1.7 children. This paper examines the consistency and the credibility of these new findings, which – if they are indeed indications of a new trend – may alter the current discussion about future fertility trends in Europe.