Transnational political action and ‘global civil society’ in practice: the case of Oxfam

The term ‘global civil society’ has taken on increasing significance within scholarly debate over the past decade. In this article we seek to understand transnational political agency via the study of a particular transnational actor, Oxfam. We argue that various schools of thought surrounding the global civil society concept, in particular the prevailing liberal‐cosmopolitan approach, are unable to conceptualize transnational political action in practice – due largely, in the case of liberal‐cosmopolitanism, to a shared normative agenda. We also assess what contribution literature on development and civil society has made to the analysis of groups such as Oxfam. In investigating Oxfam's own perceptions of its context and the meanings of its agency, we discover an anti‐political perspective derived from an encounter between Oxfam's longstanding commitment to liberal internationalism and globalization discourse. Existing scholarship has insufficiently identified the local or parochial nature of the identities of global civil society actors.     

Childcare and childhood

This paper draws on data from a recent study of parents' and health staff views on child health care. The study found that mothers and health visitors held broadly different views on good childcare. In this paper it is argued that these reflect different models of childhood and motherhood Findings about background were reported and discussed in CHILDREN & SOCIETY 4(2). The study was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and carried out by Berry May all and Marie-Claude Foster at the Thomas Coram Research Unit     

PHYSICIAN RESPONSE TO A MAILED SURVEY AN EXPERIMENT IN TIMING OF PAYMENT

This article reports the results of an experiment in obtainingphysician response to a mailed questionnaire. Each physicianwas eligible for a payment of $20. A randomly selected halfreceived the payment with their initial questionnaire and coverletter; half were told they would receive their payment afterthey completed and returned the questionnaire. The same mailand telephone followup procedures were used for both groups.Overall, prepayment had significant positive effects on responserates. This paper examines these effects in terms of responserates for various specialties, field efficiencies, cost, andrepresentativeness of the sample.     

多元社会中的文化互动关系——加拿大多元文化主义政策引发的研究

心理学研究中对于文化互动关系有三个假说:多元文化主义假说、整合假说以及接触假说。多元文化主义假说是指当个体或社群在一个更大的社会中对自己的文化认同感到自信和安全时,结果会产生更为积极的相互态度;相反,当这些认同受到威胁时,结果会产生彼此之间的敌意。整合假说是指当有关支持文化整合的策略和政策得以贯彻时,就会产生更为成功的对个体与社会更有利的心理和社会结果。接触假说是指在大多数的接触情境下,文化群体间的接触越多,他们彼此的尊重和态度就会越积极。将对加拿大以及国际上有关这三种假说的研究进行回顾,同时还将包括一些在加拿大以及其他地区所实施的支持多元文化主义政策和项目,以改善文化互动关系的研究。     

Independent Living Schemes: Organization, Resident Characteristics and Outcomes

Correspondence to David Phillips, Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN. Summary This paper presents the findings of a major follow-up studyof independent living schemes (ILSs) for people with mentalhealth problems and people with learning difficulties. The surveywas undertaken in four local authority areas and covered 171schemes accommodating 481 residents. Information was gatheredon the characteristics of the schemes and their occupants, withparticular reference to the suitability of the ILSs in meetingresidents' needs. It was found that mixed-sex ILSs and ILSsrun by voluntary bodies in cooperation with statutory agencieshad higher than average success rates.     

A joy or a hassle: child health care in a multi-ethnic society

SUMMARY. This paper draws on data from a qualitative study carried out of 33 households and 28 health visitors to explore mothers' perspectives on childcare. The sample of mothers reflects the multi-ethnic character of the inner London area they live in. The paper explores the extent to which these women, from a wide range of backgrounds, shared common priorities, concerns and perspectives on childcare and childhood; and examines differences between groups of women and factors associated with patterns of difference. It concludes with the challenge this sample of women presents to social attitudes, policies and practices in the UK     

Helping Children Directly

Summary The mothers most able to respond to the child's communicationsare those whose personal needs do not obtrude and who have onlya minimum of preconceived ideas. Thus they are able to considerthe child as an individual and are interested in his expressionof individuality. They want to listen and to understand andenjoy the flow of communication between him and them. (Heinickeand Westheimer¹)