Forced to work and liberated from work

The work-welfare nexus is essential in all social policy regimes. The question is in what situations individuals should be entitled to social welfare benefits and in which situations they should be obliged to work. Social welfare law and administrative practices define mechanisms that separate the deserving poor from people able to work. This article analyses the functions and character of these "separation mechanisms" in Sweden during three periods in history: a) in rural society in the late 19th century; b) in industrial society during the successful years of the Swedish model from World War II until the late 1970s; and c) the present, including the period of welfare retrenchment and reconsideration since the early 1980s. The conclusion is that Swedish social policy has always been strongly work-oriented, but the specific form and content of the work ethic has varied under the influence of different ideologies and handled in different social policy institutions. Under specific conditions the work line has been either generous or restrictive and it has been based on structural attempts to improve the opportunities to work as well as on attempts to strongly pressure the individual to work. The work line of today is seen as an interesting attempt to combine an effort to create good work through improved work conditions and an effort to reinforce elements of work enforcement in the social insurance system.     

Age limits for participation in child protection court proceedings in Sweden

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Swedish legislation, children have the right to participate in child protection proceedings. The aim of this paper is to describe and analyse the notion of age and maturity in child protection proceedings in order to elucidate how these aspects could influence children's rights to participate. We focus on the view of three groups of actors involved in child protection proceedings in Sweden—social workers, lawyers, and laypersons in social welfare boards and administrative courts—and on how children's age and maturity should be taken into consideration in decisions on their participation in court. The analysis is based on survey data. The study found that social workers, laypersons, and lawyers have different views on when children are old enough to have the right to litigate in court. Additionally, there is no consensus on how the maturity of the child can be assessed to inform the decision about participation. More discussion is needed about what competences a child needs to participate in court and to what extent this right should be limited by their age. Importantly, courts and decision‐making proceedings can be made more child friendly.     

Readiness for practice: social work students' perspectives in England,Italy, and Sweden

The aim of this article is to present the views of social work students from three different welfare regimes—Italy, Sweden, and England—and to analyze in what way at the end of their training they feel ready to practice. Primarily, it considers the findings of a comparative pilot study conducted in the three countries. Specifically, the paper initially offers general comments on the European context of standards of social work competence and how these impact on the countries involved here. It then briefly discusses the three different welfare regimes that these countries reflect. Social work education is then given some consideration, including reflection on similarities and differences in each curriculum. We then review examples of previous research on students' readiness to practice, also referencing models of competence previously developed. After this we look in detail at the research study itself, with a short discussion of its methodological—primarily phenomenological—approach and modest scope, before we consider tentative findings in relation to the themes of theory, practice, and personal growth. The paper concludes with reflections on levels of competence attained and how the research might best be extended.     

Heuristic Coordination of Decentralized Inventory Systems Using Induced Backorder Costs

In this paper, we investigate a one‐warehouse multiple‐retailer system, where the inventory control decisions are coordinated using a near optimal induced backorder cost, β*. All installations use continuous review installation‐stock (R, Q) policies. The analysis builds on an approximation model where the stochastic warehouse delays are replaced by their correct averages. The contributions include insights as to how β* is influenced by system parameters, and the determination of simple closed form β* estimates. The latter offering a practical means to achieve coordinated control of large size systems.     

What is healthy work for women and men? - A case-control study of gender- and sector-specific effects of psycho-social working conditions on long-term sickness absence

The aim of the study was to investigate the relevance of the demand-control model and social support in predicting long-term sickness absence (LTSA). Identifying gender- and sector- (private vs. public) specific patterns was in focus. The study uses a cross-sectional design with a case and a control group. The cases are a sample of 2 327 long-term sick listed (>60 days) and the controls are a Swedish population-based sample of 2 063. Data on sickness absence were retrieved from the Swedish national social insurance registers. Data on health, working and living conditions were gathered through a self-administered questionnaire. The results show that employed women have a notably higher risk for LTSA than employed men. High-strain jobs increase the odds for LTSA among both women and men. Active jobs were also associated with LTSA among women. The study confirms the demand-control model (job strain hypothesis) and social support and their associations with LTSA. However, the job strain hypothesis is more evident in the private sector. Active jobs with high psychological demands and high decision latitude seem to be problematic for many women, especially in the private sector. Thus, the active learning hypothesis receives no support for women in the Swedish working population in general.     

The specialisation of needs-assessment in Swedish municipal care for older people: the diffusion of a new organisational model

The 1990s were characterised by strong pressure for organisational reform at the municipality level in the Swedish welfare provision. In social care services for older people, care management reform was one of the many proposals circulating. Within a short time span, a large number of municipalities had implemented this new model and this paper reports and analyses the process of change. A key finding was that the success of the new organisational model was ascribed to new problem-solving functions and a lack of internal (professional) resistance.