From the new left to the new enlightenment: the methodological implications of public attention on private lives

Research on Rajneeshpuram was partially supported by the Center for the Study of Women in Society and a Summer Research Grant from University of Oregon. Research on the fate of Santa Barbara activists was partially supported by grants from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues and the Graduate Division of the University of California at Santa Barbara.     

Servers and providers: the distribution of food within the family*

We examine the nature of decision-making surrounding food provision within families and the patterns of food distribution established. The analysis draws upon detailed interview material and dairy records gather from 200 women currently bringing up young children. The sexual divisions and power relations which characterize families are found to have an impact on the choice of food for family consumption and on women's theories concerning the food needs of family members. The manner in which these theories are given concrete expression in the differential distribution of meat both between the sexes and intergenerationally is revealed. Variations in the extent of such inequalities are assessed with reference to the nature of the work undertaken by the marital partners and their relative control over money.     

Tipping points: what participants found valuable in labour market training programmes for vulnerable groups

Graham JR, Jones ME, Shier M. Tipping points: what participants found valuable in labour market training programmes for vulnerable groups
Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 63–72 © 2009 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. This article is based on face‐to‐face and focus group interviews with 72 people who have experienced ongoing difficulties integrating into Canadian labour markets, and who had completed a labour market training programme. Participants were representative of at least one (and often several) categories that inhibited labour market integration: low socio‐economic status, Aboriginal status, single parenthood, criminal justice history and being disabled. The major finding: respondents associated life skills rather than labour‐market skills with success in overcoming personal barriers to securing and maintaining employment. Life skills involved developing life meaning and interpersonal skills related to personal cognition and behaviours. Valued cognitions identified by participants were gaining a new perspective on life and realising that the past impacts the present. Valued behaviours identified by participants included actions associated with understanding personal characteristics and motivations, and building positive social support and social capital. These insights provide theoretically rich considerations for labour market training programmes and could considerably influence labour market policies and practices, particularly since most training programmes and policies are geared toward human capital (i.e. labour‐market skills) accumulation.     

How and Why Do Social and Sustainable Initiatives Scale? A Systematic Review of the Literature on Social Entrepreneurship and Grassroots Innovation

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Social and sustainable initiatives generally start small and need to scale to create substantial impact. Our systematic...