Does National Identification Always Lead to Chauvinism? A Cross-national Analysis of Contextual Explanations

This study examines the premise that national identification inevitably leads citizens to endorse chauvinism in the international arena. It argues that the relationship between national identification and chauvinism is affected by three contextual factors: globalization, inter-state conflict, and social division. A multilevel analysis of cross-national survey data from the International Social Survey Program National Identity II (2003) was employed in order to observe these three contextual effects, the sample consisting of 33 countries. The results demonstrate that closer relations exist between national identification and chauvinism in more globalized countries. The effects of inter-state conflict vary according to the indices used to measure conflict. Those countries that experienced a large number of deaths during the 2000s and mobilized resources and personnel evinced a higher level of chauvinism. This effect is not evidenced by other measures of conflict, however. Social division did not affect the level of chauvinism or its relation with national identification. These findings are used to critically evaluate the notion that citizens who identify with their nation tend to be nationally chauvinistic.     

Teacher,Researcher and … Policy Actor? Social Work Academics’ Involvement in Social Policy

This cross‐sectional quantitative study expands the knowledge on the level of involvement of social work academics (SWAs) in social policy formulation processes, and the factors associated with this. SWAs are an interesting case for exploring the academia–policy nexus because they are affiliated with a profession in which the discourse regards social policy as a target of intervention. The study took place in Israel, where social work is strongly embedded in academia and enjoys relatively high professional status. The study drew upon a sample, which consisted of 57 per cent of all SWAs in Israel, and employed questionnaires developed specifically for the study. The findings show that the highest levels of involvement were in activities characterized by more active, public sphere routes of influence within the policy arena that were undertaken in conjunction with traditional social work partners. Social work scholars engaged in these activities more during the initial stages of the policy process. These forms of policy involvement reflect the dual impact of academia and the social work profession upon SWAs. Associated with level of involvement were individual factors, which included academic rank, perception of the social role of academia, perceived individual policy role, and perceived policy competencies. By contrast, factors linked to institutional support for policy engagement were not found to be associated with policy involvement.     

Where Does it Begin? A Comparative Perspective on the Professional Preferences of First-year Social Work Students

Correspondence to Dr John Gal, Paul Baerwald School of Social Work, The Hebrew University, Mt Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel. Summary The goal of this paper is to contribute to a better understandingof international social work by examining the professional preferencesof students at the beginning of the social work training processin the United States, Great Britain and Israel. The study, uponwhich the paper is based, examined the preferences of the studentswith regard client groups, social services, types of sectorsand of practices, and sought to identify the similarities andthe differences between these preferences in different countries.The findings indicate that the students from the United Statesand Israeli universities prefer to work with social groups andto be employed in services, that can be defined as "less stigmatic",while these trends were not identifiable in the case of theBritish students. They expressed a greater readiness to workwith more needy social groups and to find employment in thestate sector. By contrast, the students in all the universitiesstudied expressed a similar unwillingness to work the unemployed,the chronically ill and to find employment in old-aged homes.In addition, casework with individuals was the most preferredtype of social work practice. Clearly, the findings indicatethat the preferences of students in different countries reflectvariations in the nature of social work in each of the specificnational settings.     

Formulating the Matthew Principle: on the role of the middle classes in the welfare state

The Matthew Principle, which formulates the role of the middle classes in the welfare state, is discussed in this article. The middle classes are described as primary beneficiaries of the welfare state. This status is achieved through the ability of this social group to influence the policy-formulating process by way of six different channels of influence. It is also facilitated due to the impact of middle-class clients upon the implementation stage of social policy. A case study of employment policy in Israel illustrates the workings of different aspects of the Matthew Principle.     

Regulation on Migrant Workers’ Employment in the Israeli Construction Sector

This article deals with a reform in the regulation on employment of migrant workers which was implemented in the Israeli construction industry from 2005. This corporations‐based arrangement replaced a restrictive employment arrangement which tied the employee to a specific employer. The new regulation of work conditions and wages, coupled with a significant reduction in the number of work permits issued to construction, has improved work conditions and wages paid to migrant workers, and made their employment less attractive to employers. The reform also included elements designed to reduce the illegal employment phenomenon and to encourage migrant workers to leave the country at the end of their contracts. However, the new arrangement still restricted the mobility of migrant workers to some extent and had negative consequences such as a significant rise in the broker fees demanded of workers.     

Regulation of Personal Social Services – The Israeli Experience

The current article explores the aspects of regulatory policy in the field of personal social services. In Israel, the government sets standards, and finances and oversees personal social services, while the services themselves are provided primarily by non‐governmental organizations. Based on a qualitative study we examined two questions. First, what characterizes the implementation of regulatory mechanisms in the field of personal social services in Israel? Second, how can we explain the outcomes of regulation in the personal social services in Israel? In a unique approach, we used the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework to explore the regulatory practices implemented in community residences and hostels for people with intellectual disabilities and in after school programmes. The findings revealed that although there were implementation gaps in both cases, the IAD might improve our understanding of the nature and magnitude of these gaps. Furthermore, the insights gained may have implications for policymakers in their development of regulatory policy.     

Supply Chain Sourcing Under Asymmetric Information

We study a supply chain with two suppliers competing over a contract to supply components to a manufacturer. One of the suppliers is a big company for whom the manufacturer's business constitutes a small part of his business. The other supplier is a small company for whom the manufacturer's business constitutes a large portion of his business. We analyze the problem from the perspective of the big supplier and address the following questions: What is the optimal contracting strategy that the big supplier should follow? How does the information about the small supplier's production cost affect the profits and contracting decision? How does the existence of the small supplier affect profits? By studying various information scenarios regarding the small supplier's and the manufacturer's production cost, we show, for example, that the big supplier benefits when the small supplier keeps its production cost private. We quantify the value of information for the big supplier and the manufacturer. We also quantify the cost (value) of the alternative‐sourcing option for the big supplier (the manufacturer). We determine when an alternative‐sourcing option has more impact on profits than information. We conclude with extensions and numerical examples to shed light on how system parameters affect this supply chain.     

Policy-practice in social work and social work education in Israel

Policy-practice is a form of social work intervention that is intended to influence social policy. It is linked to an understanding of the role of social workers which places the struggle for social justice at the forefront of social work activity. However, this form of social work intervention has remained on the sidelines of social work practice and education in most welfare states. This paper seeks to understand the role that policy-practice and social policy play, and have played, in social work and social work education in Israel. The findings indicate that, despite a growth in interest in the political role of social workers in Israel during the 1970s, policy-practice has remained a mode of practice adopted by a minority of members of the profession in Israel. An empirical study of the curriculums of the schools of social work in Israel indicates that this is the case for the study program in most of the schools. The reasons for this can be linked primarily to the overwhelming influence of American social work upon the development of the Israeli profession and to the process of liberalization and privatization of the Israeli welfare state in the last two decades.