Is Gender Inequality in Social Work Management Relevant to Social Work Students?

Correspondence to Ms C. Taylor, Research Fellow, Social Work Research Centre, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA. Summary This paper reports on a study carried out in 1991 based on questionnaireswhich asked 169 female and male social work students about theiraspirations and expectations in respect of promotion in theirfuture career. Underlying the study is a concern about the unequalrepresentation of male and female workers at management levelsin social services in the UK, there being at present a predominanceof male managers. The phenomenon is not regarded as unique tosocial services, but as part of the pattern of gender inequalityin the workforce as a whole. The view that women contribute to the phenomenon by a fundamentallack of interest in, or unwillingness to apply for, promotionwill be challenged. It will be argued that the differences inthe aspirations and expectations of male and female employees,which previous research studies have reported, may be an effectof the experience of the organization rather than a cause ofthe scarcity of female employees in promoted posts. The paper will focus on some of the findings, including students'aspirations and expectations, their opinions about the unequalrepresentation of men and women in social work management, theimplications of this for their own career and whether they considerthis issue is, or should be, a significant component of socialwork training.     

Reactions to Research Participation in Vulnerable Subgroups

This paper describes the extent to which vulnerable individuals (defined by economic, social, psychological, physical health, and child maltreatment status) react to research participation. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study, participants (N = 896) completed a lengthy and intrusive in-person interview and provided a small amount of blood through finger pricks. At the end of the interview, participants were asked eight questions about their reactions to the research experience. Vulnerable individuals in general agreed more strongly about having an emotional reaction, but were not less willing to continue to participate. In addition, psychologically vulnerable individuals more strongly agreed they would continue to participate, were treated with respect and dignity, and found their participation meaningful. Compared to whites, nonwhites reported stronger agreement about the meaningfulness of the research and the belief that their responses would be kept private. Like others, individuals vulnerable by virtue of their prisoner status or homelessness (past or current) agreed more strongly about having an emotional reaction to the interview, but otherwise did not differ in their reactions. These results suggest that researchers and institutional review boards should not be deterred from conducting research on sensitive topics with potentially vulnerable populations.     

Causal inferences in non-experimental research: a reply to Gomme

In his 'Comment' Gomme raises two objections: first, that the Simon-Blalock procedure for testing causal ordering is meaningless and misleading; second, that he has developed a model which better fits the data than the model presented in our paper. In response, we shall deal with each criticism separately     

Children who run

SUMMARY. A lack of national statistics is compounded by a range of terms used to describe young people away from home and a definition for ‘runaway’ is suggested. Eased on 12 months data (interim findings of a three year research project), a ‘safe house’ for young runaways in London, run by The Children's Society, is described. Reasons for running, both from parental home and local authority care, are outlined together with some of the consequences. Five key areas are highlighted in order to develop appropriate services, skills and policies to meet the needs of runaways A ‘runaways’ pack containing the briefing paper and leaflets for use in school, together with further information about the Central London Teenage Project is available from: The Public Relations Department, The Children's Society, Edward Rudolf House, Margery Street, London WC1X 0JL     

Why are migrant campaigns different from homeland campaigns? Understanding belonging in context among UK‐Sudanese activists

Migrant communities' homeland‐oriented political campaigns are always related to, but often different from, the activism in which local people engage in their homeland setting. In seeking to understand the observed disparities between migrant campaigns and homeland activism, several studies have demonstrated the influence of contextual factors like political opportunity structures on homeland‐oriented migrant politics. Complementing these studies are works that focus on changes to identity and belonging associated with migration and resettlement. In this article, I build on these debates by offering a combined analysis of the intersections between, and interplay of, contextual and identity‐based factors. I use this analytical approach to examine the case of Sudanese political activists resident in the UK. I demonstrate how forms of belonging emerge here as part of – and not in isolation from – the strategic navigations of multiple political contexts and opportunities. In doing so, I contribute to our understanding of how belonging can be contextualized to serve as an analytical lens for understanding homeland‐oriented migrant activism.     

Ambivalent citizenship and extraterritorial voting among Colombians in London and Madrid

In this article, we explore the nature of extraterritorial voting among Colombian migrants in the 2010 elections in London and Madrid. To address the neglected issue of why voter turnout from abroad has been so low, we take into account the views of voters and non‐voters alike to show that, while the external vote privileges the professional and well educated, this does not mean that migrants are not interested in politics back home. Drawing on Bauman (1991), we conceptualize ambivalent citizenship as the paradoxical manner in which, through the external vote, states impose hegemonic notions of citizenship from above, which people embrace in an ambivalent manner from below. We show that the workings of the state make voting a difficult process; they create structural ambivalence for migrants who, even if they practise their citizenship in other ways, exercise individual ambivalence because they find it difficult to engage with a political system back home that they do not trust. The conceptualization of ‘ambivalent citizenship’ therefore encompasses the contradictory complexities inherent in the provision of external voting rights that actively privilege and exclude migrants in mutually constitutive ways.     

A comparative study of delinquency involvement*

Cette étude vise L'analyse de données sur la délinquance recueillies à Edmonton, Alberta et à Richmond, Californie. La nature et L'ampleur de la délinquance révélée sont évaluées pour les sujets masculins et féminins des deux endroits. A partir d'une théorie qui integre les éléments des théories d'association différentielle et de régulation sociale, les épiphe-nomènes de la délinquance dans les deux villes sont comparés. Les résultats indiquent une similitude dans la nature, L'ampleur et les causes de la délinquance bien que ces aspects ne soient pas identiques dans les deux régions étudiées. The paper analyzes data from delinquency studies carried out in Edmonton, Alberta and in Richmond, California. The nature and extent of self-reported delinquency are examined for males and females in the two studies. Using a theory which represents an integration of differential association and control theories, correlates of delinquency in the two cities are compared. The study concludes that the nature, extent, and causes of delinquency are similar, though not identical, in the two communities studied.