Social work and sustainable rural development: The practice of social economy in China

The impact of globalisation on local agriculture and food systems has brought issues such as food security and rural sustainability to the forefront of policy‐making in developing countries. In China, the restructuring of domestic agriculture and liberalisation of trade following accession to the World Trade Organization have led to the growing reliance on imported food and raised concerns for food self‐sufficiency and safety. Inspired by the concept of social economy, social workers in China have explored alternative pathways towards sustainable food production and consumption through local initiatives. Based on participatory action research in a Chinese village, this study examines the potential contribution of social work intervention in responding to China’s agrarian challenges. It is shown that by linking rural cooperatives with the local food system and allowing farmers to sell directly to urban consumers at fairer prices, social economy initiatives provide a viable pathway for sustainable transformation by empowering rural producers while giving urban consumers access to sustainably produced food.     

How Mothers Cope When Their Welfare Grant Is Cut

Abstract

In this qualitative study of welfare mothers' perceptions and responses to receiving an economic sanction, we recruited a convenience sample of mothers of preschool children whose benefits had been cut due to noncompliance with an employment activity. The interviews combined semi-structured and open-ended questions, as well as measures of maternal depression and economic hardship. No pattern of differences in strategies was found between those women who complied with the work mandate and those who did not. Many of the women were confused about the reason for the cut in their benefit. Policy ramifications of findings in regard to the 2002 TANF Reauthorization legislation are discussed.     

企业员工感知可雇佣性及其影响后果研究述评

感知可雇佣性是个人对获得和维持(当前或者未来)雇佣可能性的主观感知,它逐渐成为一种帮助员工适应不确定职场环境的重要个人资源.从企业角度而言,高可雇佣性感知或许会激发员工高的工作流动,从而让企业陷入培训开发等成本付诸东流的风险.本文首先对感知可雇佣性的内涵、结构与测量进行回顾,再从职业生涯管理、职业健康心理、组织行为等角度系统梳理感知可雇佣性的影响效应与影响机制,从而一定程度上有助于厘清感知可雇佣性对个人和企业带来差异化影响后果的内在原因.     

Food Access Among Elderly Japanese People

With a rapidly growing aging society, many elderly people in Japan have been facing difficulties of shopping in their daily life. Recently, this phenomenon has been found in urban areas, especially local cities. This growth of the aging society, combined with alterations to the food supply system, has caused food insecurity over a large area.The food insecurity may induce poor nutrition and disease in elderly people. The Ministries and local governments have taken measures for improving food access. Although NGOs, social organizations and the private sector manage social‐related businesses in many areas, they also rely on government funding. This paper proposes solutions for stakeholders to alleviate this considerable issue: (i) share research outcome, (ii) organize platforms for discussion, and (iii) strengthen community empowerment.     

Disrupting 21st-Century In/Security

Abstract

This thematic issue probes into twenty-first-century security concerns in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and their transnational implications. In particular, it explores three tensions that characterise contemporary security concerns: national security vs. human security, policy measures vs. grassroots activism and scholarly discourses vs. artistic interventions. The 'War on Terror' launched by President George W. Bush marked the beginning of the century with issues of violence and insecurity, with major human rights ramifications. Grassroots activists, however, have resisted the imposition of security policy and stood up to the insecurities they face. This thematic journal issue discusses questions of in/security around a robust people-centred framework that delineates questions of insecurity as a complex nexus that intertwines policy-making, everyday experiences, cultural representations and formal and informal communication networks. This focus presents an alternative to more conventional approaches that examine issues of societal in/security solely from the viewpoint of nation states and law enforcement. The collection’s case studies address the ways in which ordinary people in a transnational North American context experience questions of insecurity. The articles highlight the central position of gender, race, class and sexuality in both strengthening and challenging danger, uncertainty and liminality.     

Strangers in a strange land: coping with imprisonment as a racial or ethnic foreign national inmate

A wide range of scholarship examining the global effects of neo‐liberalism draws attention to the precarious position of individuals who are not seen as part of the social body. While immigrants, racial minorities, and common criminals are central to this discourse, relatively little research has examined how the experiences of these individuals may vary based on statuses other than citizenship when they are imprisoned. Our research focuses on the interactions (between prisoners and between prisoners and correctional staff) of a racially diverse group of Dutch foreign national prisoners incarcerated in England. Although all of these prisoners clearly saw themselves as ‘outsiders,’ visible minorities faced a unique set of challenges relative to their White counterparts. We consider both the practical and theoretical import of these findings.     

Profiles of early career insecurity and its outcomes in adolescence: A four-wave longitudinal study

This study investigated the developmental profiles of perceived early career insecurity (ECI) and their outcomes among adolescents (n = 1416) during a critical educational transition from basic education to upper secondary education. We found three distinct latent profiles with varying amounts of ECI: Profile 1: Moderate and decreasing ECI before the transition (57%); Profile 2: Low-decreasing ECI before the transition but increasing ECI after the transition (31%); and Profile 3: High and stable ECI during the transition (12%). Moreover, the ECI profiles related to school and life satisfaction as well as to school stress and dropout intentions in a meaningful way consistent with the stressor hypothesis. Chronically high and increasing ECI was related to negative outcomes.