Beyond Rhetorical Differences: A Cohesive Account of Post‐devolution Developments in UK Health Policy

Health is perhaps the most significant policy area to be devolved to decision‐makers in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Consequently, there has been a great deal of interest in assessing the extent to which health policies (which already differed somewhat prior to devolution) have diverged since 1999. To date, analyses have tended to focus either on health care policies or on specific public health issues (e.g. health inequalities or tobacco control). The story that emerges from this body of work suggests health care policies have diverged significantly, whilst public health policies have remained remarkably similar. This article is one of the first to consider health care and public health policy alongside each other. It reassesses and updates previous analyses, incorporating developments relating to the 2010 general election and the 2007 and 2011 devolved administration elections. Drawing on a variety of textual sources (policy documents, research evidence and corporate literature), our findings differ from existing analyses in suggesting that, despite some noticeable differences in policy rhetoric, approaches to both health care provision and tackling public health problems remain similar. Looking to the future, the article concludes that the common economic challenges, combined with a tight fiscal policy (that remains excepted from devolution), means the similarities in health care provision across the UK are likely to remain more pronounced than the differences. However, current debate about the constitutional settlement, and in particular the prospect of greater fiscal freedoms for the devolved administrations, may provide opportunities for more meaningful divergence in health policy than has been possible hitherto.     

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.     

论社区视野下的慈善事业发展

我国传统社会形成了以"仁"为核心的慈善理念。近代以来,传统慈善理念逐渐消解,而现代慈善理念还未建立。"差序格局"的社会结构、地缘优势和社区精英使社区成为培育现代慈善理念的良好载体。在现代慈善理念的指导下,个人和社区自治组织将是推动社区慈善事业发展的主体。由于个人和社区自治组织不是强势力量,在推进社区慈善事业发展的过程中还需要政府部门和社区工作专家保驾护航。     

地震灾区学校社会工作与教师精神健康服务探析

地震灾害发生后,灾区学校教师除了继续扮演好教书育人和学生管理等常规角色之外,还要做好学生的心理疏导工作,成为学生的心理调节者和心理医生,抚慰学生受伤的心灵和灾害带来的冲击、缓解因地震及一系列次生事件带来的情感的、心理的压力。灾区学校教师肩负着如此重要的任务,那么教师自身因地震灾害而带来的心理冲击和精神压力首先应该得到缓解和释放,然后才能在日常教学和学生管理中扮演好自己的角色。笔者通过研究发现,地震灾后学校教师存在着大量的心理社会方面的需求,存在着巨大的精神压力问题。笔者试图探讨通过学校社会工作服务来减轻教师的精神紧张和心理压力,从而达到提升教师精神健康的目的。     

论社会管理创新视阈下的社区矫正社会力量培育

社会转型时期的社会管理需要社会力量参与。社区矫正是社会管理创新在刑罚执行领域的重要体现,社区矫正需要社会力量参与的特点与社会管理创新不谋而合。应成立专门性质的民间组织进行社区矫正,发挥家庭的感化作用,用优惠政策鼓励企业吸纳社区矫正人员就业,建立高素质、多层次的志愿者队伍;探索建立社会力量参与社区矫正的长效机制。     

当代中国社会组织孵化研究——以太原市社区社会组织服务中心为例

山西省太原市社区社会组织服务中心是省会城市建立的第一个社会组织孵化器。通过对太原市社区社会组织服务中心的研究,了解孵化器的建立、项目的选择、入壳孵化、过程监督等方面的经验并对其遇到的问题进行分析,为其他的孵化器提供借鉴。太原市社区社会组织服务中心的情况一定程度上反映了全国社会组织的孵化情况。     

The impact of foster children's behavioural problems on Flemish foster mothers' parenting behaviour

Foster children often have behavioural problems. Behavioural problems influence the level of parenting stress and can lead to a breakdown. In this study, parenting behaviour of foster mothers is mapped, and the influence of behavioural problems and parenting stress on the parenting behaviour 2 years later is examined. Data of behavioural problems, family stress and parenting were gathered from 49 foster mothers. Problem behaviour has a direct negative impact on parenting and leads to less support and more negative control. It also results in more parenting stress. Foster parents need to be trained aiming at preventing ineffective parenting. The well‐being of foster parents needs to be guarded. Higher levels of parenting stress lead to less effective parenting.     

‘Doing it right?’– accessing the narratives of identity of newly qualified social workers through the lens of resilience: ‘I am,I have,I can’

Using narrative enquiry, this paper accesses the construct of identity through exploring resilience in newly qualified social workers based in statutory children's services. In seeking to avoid deficit‐based models of this role, this paper aims to present inductively the ‘voice’ of three social workers in a semi‐rural authority, storying the positive ways in which resilience has developed during their first year. Using the Grotberg resilience framework (1995) –‘I am, I have, I can’– as an analytical tool at the interface of personal, professional and organizational identities, we conclude that ‘I am’ and ‘I have’ are more important than the skills dimension of ‘I can’. Positive role models, trust, ‘managed’ optimism, flexibility of support in and beyond induction, and, crucially, self‐efficacy and space for reflexivity, are more prominent as sources of resilience and strong identity. The reflexivity, inspired by the process of narrative enquiry, is an important contributor to self‐efficacy. We propose that a positive view of growth and identity is preferable to deficit models in the context of the transition between the two ‘communities of practice’ and of the challenges of the workplace. Organizational approaches based on this view will be more likely to promote a sustainable workforce.     

Participation in social,leisure and informal learning activities among care leavers in England: positive outcomes for educational participation

Against a background of research and national statistics that consistently show that educational participation and achievement of young people in and leaving care is significantly lower than is the case for the non‐care population, previous research has shown the positive impact that social, leisure and informal learning activities can have on the educational participation and achievements of young people, and particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The UK: Care Matters Green Paper stated that involvement in leisure and social activities can have a positive impact on the self‐esteem of young people in and leaving care and upon their educational attainment and later success in the labour market. This paper reports on the English results of a cross‐national study of young people from a public care background and their pathways to education in Europe. Using case study examples it explores the impact that social, leisure and informal learning activities can have on educational participation and educational pathways of young people in and leaving care. The paper argues that, in view of these findings, encouraging and supporting young people in and leaving care into these types of activities should be a priority for social care professionals, carers and teachers.     

The prevalence and composition of asset poverty in Canada: 1999, 2005, and 2012

A household is considered asset poor if its assets (financial assets or net worth, taken separately) are insufficient to maintain well‐being at a low‐income threshold for 3 months. We provide the first national‐level estimates of asset poverty for Canada, using the 1999, 2005, and 2012 cycles of the Survey of Financial Security, and juxtapose these estimates with income poverty. The analysis provides new insight into economic insecurity by showing that asset poverty rates are consistently two to three times higher than income poverty rates. In addition to the prevalence of asset poverty across socio‐demographic groups, we analyzed how the composition of the poor change over time. Age and geography shape the risk for asset poverty in distinct ways. We found that while education appears to play a comparable role in shaping both income poverty and asset poverty, immigration places Canadians at a relatively higher risk of income poverty but not asset poverty. Key Practitioner Message: ? Practitioners ought to consider assets as well as income in assessing economic vulnerability; ? Asset poverty levels are 2–3 times higher than income poverty levels; ? Certain groups (e.g., immigrants) may be income poor but maintain sufficient assets.