Black‐market Medicine and Public Opinion Towards the Welfare State: Evidence from Israel

Based on a survey and interviews, this article presents and analyses Israeli public opinion toward black‐market medicine (BMM) and the welfare state. In addition to providing quantitative and qualitative evidence of the existence of under‐the‐table payments in Israel, we suggest various insights into this phenomenon. While most citizens admit that they would consider making under‐the‐table payments in order to receive preferential medical treatment, when the questions mention words such as ‘illegal’ or ‘bribe’, respondents tend to be less tolerant of such activities. We find that, first, there is a basic willingness among Israeli citizens to use BMM. Second, despite this predilection, Israeli citizens are reluctant to articulate their willingness to engage in such illegal activities. This reluctance implies the existence of a moral barrier among the population as far as identifying themselves with illegal behaviour is concerned. We may infer the existence of a gap between declared attitudes and behaviour. Third, the fact that people's willingness to engage in BMM is greater than their willingness to adopt black‐market strategies in other areas signifies the special nature of health care. Finally, by connecting the phenomenon of BMM to public opinion regarding the welfare state, we point to a possible gap between normative attitudes and preferences produced by structural conditions.     

The Higher Education White Paper: The Good,the Bad,the Unspeakable – and the Next White Paper1

This article argues that reforms of higher education finance for undergraduates in England introduced by the Blair government in 2006 provided a progressive strategy for achieving the central objectives of higher education of quality (better), access (wider) and size (larger). Reforms in 2012 are a not a strategy but a collection of ad hoc arrangements. They include the good (a higher fees cap, a higher interest rate on student loans, better information and improved support for part‐time study), the bad (abolishing most taxpayer support for teaching in the arts and humanities and the social sciences, and raising excessively the threshold at which loan repayments start) and the unspeakable (abolishing Education Maintenance Allowances and AimHigher). The reforms are fiscally costly and hence perpetuate the central problem of capped student numbers, and will not stand the test of time. The concluding section outlines the next White Paper.     

Islamisation and activism of a Muslim NGO in Pakistan: Jama'at‐ud‐Da'wa as a case study

This paper locates the study of Jamat‐ud‐Da'wa (JUD) within the context of global political developments. Premised on the nexus between the local and the global developments, it discusses how changes in the domestic or international arena shaped the policies of JUD after 9/11. It argues that, as a successor to the Lashker‐e‐Toiba in Pakistan, the JUD has been active in the social welfare space. It has moved into roles that reside in the domain of the state's responsibility but have passed to the private sector due to the state's failure to meet the needs of its citizens, including the provision of education and relief and rescue efforts after natural disasters. Though not categorically identified as being part of the jihadi agenda, this activism increases the appeal of the JUD among Pakistani citizens, with a possibility of increasing their declared and/or active support for JUD's views on Pakistan's foreign policy.     

Job satisfaction and ‘welfare‐to‐work‘: is any job a good job for Australian single mothers?

This exploratory study sought to assess the job satisfaction of employed Australian single mothers who had mandatory employment participation requirements. In particular, we sought to identify the characteristics of the job and the individual that were closely associated with participant's job satisfaction. Self‐report data on job satisfaction, employment characteristics and parenting stress were collected from 155 employed single mothers. Participant job satisfaction was compared to female Australian population norms and linear regression analyses determined the job‐related and individual predictors of single mothers' job satisfaction. Findings from this exploratory study revealed that single mothers involved in a mandatory welfare‐to‐work program experienced significantly lower job satisfaction than the Australian female population. The individual variable, parental distress, negatively predicted each of the six job satisfaction domains while being employed on a casual basis was inversely associated with three domains (job security, work hours and overall job satisfaction). The Australian government purported that making the transition from welfare to work would improve wellbeing for program participants, under the assumption that ‘any job's a good job‘. However, the relatively low levels of job satisfaction experienced by single mothers in the current study provide little support for this assumption.     

“自我的道德地形学”——一个具有心理学和社会学意涵的本体诠释学理论

在当今中国,社会学、心理学研究领域中所强调的“文化自觉”的旨趣在于凸显文化主体性以及文化间的和平沟通。“自我的道德地形学”无疑对这一旨趣具有独特的理论启示意义,它构成了C.泰勒的巨著《自我的根源》的主体部分,并在其诠释学思想中占有基础地位。“自我的道德地形学”首先是作为一个心理学理论被提出来的,而它的社会学意涵在以其为基础的、C.泰勒的著名政治理论论文“承认的政治”中充分地得以展现。鉴于这一理论以兼具心理学和社会学意涵的本体论诠释为基础,对错综复杂的历史经验具有条分缕析的阐释力,因此,作者认为,对该理论所具有的启示意义予以深刻地把握,对中国社会学、心理学在方兴未文的跨学科文化研究领域建构基础性的平台具有重要意义。     

Sustainable social work: Modelling knowledge production,transfer, and evidence‐based practice

Gray M, Schubert L. Sustainable social work: modelling knowledge production, transfer, and evidence‐based social work This article is a first attempt to present a model of knowledge production and transfer in social work, drawing on the expanding literature on knowledge production. It highlights features of knowledge production in social work, such as the diverse contexts in which knowledge is developed and applied. It argues that knowledge production by itself is not enough. Equally important is knowledge transfer and implementation. The literature on knowledge production highlights problems with the implementation of actually existing knowledge and the potential resistance to this implementation as highly important issues for social work research. It leads to a greater awareness of the context in which knowledge is produced and applied and creates a bridge between traditional informal and tacit ways of knowing in social work and the demands of evidence‐based practice.     

Unheard voices,unmapped terrain: Care work in long‐term residential care for older people in Canada and Sweden

Daly T, Szebehely M. Unheard voices, unmapped terrain: care work in long‐term residential care for older people in Canada and Sweden This article aims to contribute to comparative welfare state research by analysing the everyday work life of long‐term care facility workers in Canada and Sweden. The study's empirical base was a survey of fixed and open‐ended questions. The article presents results from a subset of respondents (care aides and assistant nurses) working in facilities in three Canadian provinces (n= 557) and across Sweden (n= 292). The workers' experiences were linked to the broader economic and organisational contexts of residential care in the two jurisdictions. We found a high degree of country‐specific differentiation of work organisation: Canada follows a model of highly differentiated task‐oriented work, whereas Sweden represents an integrated relational care work model. Reflecting differences in the vertical division of labour, the Canadian care aides had more demanding working conditions than their Swedish colleagues. The consequences of these models for care workers, for older people and for their families are discussed.     

On the significance of social control: Treatment‐entry pressures,self‐choice and alcohol and drug dependence criteria one year after treatment

Storbjörk J. On the significance of social control: treatment‐entry pressures, self‐choice and alcohol and drug dependence criteria one year after treatment This article explores how self‐choice and treatment‐entry pressures are associated with one‐year treatment outcome (dependence symptoms, 0–6, 12 months) among alcohol and drug misusers, respectively. Informal pressures (from family and friends), formal pressures (related to work, healthcare, social services, social allowances, child custody) and legal pressures (related to the police, criminal justice system, compulsory treatment) were analysed. A sample (N= 1,210) representative of the addiction treatment system of Stockholm County was interviewed when starting a new treatment episode and after one year. Regression analyses indicated that self‐choice and pressures are associated with outcome among alcohol misusers but not among drug misusers when controlling for background factors and severity. Self‐choice (without pressures) correlated with a good outcome (a lower number of dependence criteria). Pressures were generally associated with poorer outcome. Alcohol misusers who had experienced threats regarding child custody did better in comparison with those not experiencing such pressure. The difference in results by drug type and implications were discussed.     

自驾游背景下考虑参考点依赖的酒店定价策略

随着居民私家车保有量不断高速上升,自驾游由于其出行方便、可以体验驾驶乐趣等好处,极大地受到旅行者的偏爱。据最新统计,中国居民自驾游年度出游频次、平均时长、人均消费等指标逐年上升。特别是消费者平均入住酒店消费指标增速较快,景区内的酒店如何根据消费者的行为特点和竞争对手的信息进行最优定价是一个值得研究的课题。在自驾游消费市场迅猛发展的背景下,基于消费者参考点依赖的购买效用理论,以旅游目的地内的两家竞争性酒店为研究对象,利用静态纳什博弈理论建立了两家酒店竞争定价的数学模型,分别从完美信息博弈和非对称信息博弈两个方面对两个酒店竞争时的最优定价策略进行了研究,并比较分析了参考酒店（即名气较大的酒店）和非参考酒店在上述两种情形下的最优决策。研究表明:两家酒店可以在完全市场信息的情形下达到双方利润的最大化,而任何一方的信息缺失均将导致二者的期望利润降低;参考酒店和非参考酒店应该结成商业联盟,与对方充分分享自己的市场信息才能同时实现两者利润的最大化。     

Left behind: How to encourage biological parents' involvement in their children's group homes

This paper addresses the challenges and benefits of involving biological parents in group homes in Israel and presents various means to encourage their involvement in care. Using family systems theories and the concept of co‐parenting, it analyses the fragile and complex relationship caseworkers and foster parents have with biological parents. The paper presents four components that might play a role in encouraging parental involvement to benefit their children's adjustment. The components are demonstrated through case studies and include assessing the family profile; addressing the family's needs within the child's intervention plan; training biological and foster parents; and building co‐parenting between biological and foster parents.