Specialism, Genericism and Others: Does it Make a Difference? A Study of Social Work Services to Elderly People

Correspondence should be addressed to Roger Fuller, Social Work Research Centre, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA Summary A previous paper published in this journal (Fuller and Petch,1991) described a preliminary feasibility study designed toinvestigate the effects of organizing social work teams alongspecialist or generic lines. The main study which developedfrom this work is here reported. The study, using modified casereview forms, compares the way samples of referrals of elderlypeople (n=1232) were dealt with at initial assessment and forup to a year subsequently by 15 social work teams of contrastingorganizational approach. The latter include specialist and genericteams, and comparisons are also drawn with teams adopting aself-styled community social work approach. Although the organizationalagenda has moved on since the study began, the issues are ofcontinuing relevance for the implementation of community care,particularly in view of its growing focus on specialist services.While not arguing that there is any one optimal model of teamorganization, the paper sets out some of the measurable consequencesof opting for the various models; in particular, it emergesthat the strengths of specialization are more clearly apparentin certain aspects of their engage ment with clients than inothers and at certain stages of that engagement than at others.     

The Population Census of 1917 and its Relationship to Egypt's Three 19th Century Statistical Regimes*

Abstract This essay is a comparison of Egypt's three 19th century statistical regimes, with particular emphasis on the third established by the British before WW1, and culminating in the holding of the 1917 census. It is argued that the organizer of this census used it self-consciously to encourage the production of statistical data as an essential tool of modern government. He also provided officials with a method of integrating their findings through the use of a national model based on the balance between population and resources. Foucault's notion of governmentality is deployed to provide a framework within which to understand the central processes at work.     

Dependency and its Relationship to the Assessment of Care Needs of Elderly People

Correspondence to Dr Ian Gibbs, Social Policy Research Unit, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York, Heslington, York, YO1 5DD Summary A number of previous studies of old people in residential homeshave suggested that a substantial minority are not in need ofthat form of care. The rapid growth in the number of peoplein private homes, supported by social security payments andentering without any independent assessment, has led to concernthat many more people enter residential homes without needingto be there. Social workers were employed in four areas to assess the needsof residents newly admitted to homes in the independent sectorand over eighty per cent were found to be in need of residentialcare. It is suggested that the measures of dependency used toindicate need in some previous studies fail to take into accountthe complex factors involved in deciding whether a person needsresidential care.     

SUBJECTIVE ELEMENTS IN RAWLSIAN CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT ON DISTRIBUTIONAL RULES

Rawls (1971) argued that individuals choosing institutions from behind the veil of ignorance would unanimously agree on institutions that maximized the imputations of the least advantaged persons in the post-choice social outcome. Critics have argued that the Rawlsian contract requires risk averse individuals. Our paper focuses on the contractual element inherent in constitutional choice when individuals have differing subjective estimates of the working properties of different institutions. We show that in genuinely Rawlsian contractual settings there may exist a general bias toward the selection of institutions that embody maximin solutions without the assumption of risk aversion.     

AN INDEX FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF CONSUMER LOYALTY*

The concept of consumer “loyalty” (i.e., preference for a particular store or brand) is intriguing to marketing scholars and practitioners. Research in this area would be enhanced by the acceptance of an operational measure of consumer loyalty. Loyalty appears to be a tri-dimensional concept; per cent of budget, allocated to the store or brand, amount of switching, and number of alternatives explored have been used to measure loyalty. Consequently, the authors propose a “loyalty index” which combines these three measures. An empirical test of the proposed index showed that the index did discriminate among degrees of consumer loyalty, and was related to consumer psychological characteristics in a manner similar to that of the generally used single measures of consumer loyalty.     

Central Scotland's joint police and social work initiative in child abuse: an evaluation

SUMMARY. The previous article in this issue described the joint police and social work initiative in Central Region for the investigation of child abuse allegations from the point of view of a social work manager. This paper sets out the main findings of an independent evaluative study of the same scheme, focusing on its impact on the way investigations were handled, the aspiration to make procedures more child-centred, and the development in practice of the concept of co-ordination. The study, described more fully in Brown and Fuller (1991), was carried out by the Social Work Research Centre, University of Stirling, and funded by the Social Work Services Group of the Scottish Office.     

THE SUPPLY OF OCCUPATIONAL REGULATION

This paper examines the state's decision to supply monopoly rights to occupations. The two key aspects of the analysis are the degree of political competition and the proportion of market demand of the regulated service accounted for by government officials. An application of the analysis is developed to explain an episode of comparative occupational regulation in mercantile England and France. Other applications of the analysis are suggested.     

Finding Subgroups for Surveys

This article reports on an experiment comparing two methodsfor selecting national samples of blacks. The experiment wascarried out as part of the 1982 General Social Survey (GSS).One sample was selected using area probability sampling withthe selection probability for an area proportional to the sizeof its black population. The other sample was selected by samplingextra dwelling units in areas selected for the regular GSS.Although comparable in other respects, the two methods differedsharply in costs and statistical efficiency. The sample selectedfrom the special black frame proved less expensive to interviewand required fewer screening interviews in order to locate householdswith black members. The sample selected in the same areas asthe regular GSS sample exhibited a smaller "design effect"—probablybecause fewer respondents were selected from each sample area.The decision to use one method or the other to sample rare subgroupswould depend on several factors, including the degree to whichthe subgroup is segregated, the amount of savings possible throughpiggybacking, and the relationship between screening and interviewingcosts.