Emerald | International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy

Barriers to Social Support among Low-Income Mothers

Shira Offer — 2012-01-20 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The literature on personal networks suggests that individuals who have a limited ability to contribute to their network run the risk of being socially excluded and are often denied assistance. This article seeks to examine the extent to which poor health and adverse life-events constitute barriers to support from personal networks among low-income mothers in the U.S.Design/methodology/approach - Using survey data from the Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three City Study (N = 1,910), this study estimates a series of ordinary least squares regression and change models to test direct and mediated associations between poor health, adverse life-events, and perceived support. Findings - Both the cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses show that mothers who suffer from psychological distress report lower support than their healthier counterparts, so do mothers with poor physical health. Domestic violence is also found to be negatively associated with support, but its effect is mainly driven by poor health. No effect is revealed for either substance abuse or engagement in illegal activities.Research limitations/implications - The restricted character of the sample may leave differentials by socioeconomic status unrevealed. Originality/value - By treating support as a dependent variable this study sheds light on the factors related to low-income mothers’ social well-being and helps reveal the conditions that can impede their participation in support networks.

The Cultural Prerequisites of Social Cohesion. With Special Attention to the Nation of Denmark

Kasper Støvring — 2012-01-20 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The cultural prerequisites for the creation of social cohesion are examined with particular reference to Denmark, a nation that has been found to exhibit strong social cohesion. Culture is understood as a social order based on mainly informal norms. Of these, trust is vital in creating social cohesion. However, trust occurs only under specific conditions, and in this regard the Danish nation, understood as a cultural community, is of interest. There is in Denmark a strong civil society characterized by honesty, reliability, and mutuality, which historically is due to the existence of several civil movements. In contrast to the idea that society can be integrated through policy initiatives, it is proposed that social cohesion occurs precisely because of the existence of a certain culture. The different cultural elements that characterize a society with strong cohesion are investigated and an argument is presented as to how cohesion can be conserved.Design/methodology/approach - Cultural analyses.Findings - Trust is dependant on cultural norms.Originality/value - The cultural and national aspect of trust is often underestimated in scientific research. This article shows the value of culture and national community.

Loyalty as Rent: Corruption and Politicization of Russian Universities

Ararat Osipian — 2012-01-20 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze the changes that have taken place in the Russian higher education sector over the last two decades. Specifically, it analyses such phenomena as corruption and politicization of Russian universities through the concept of "loyalty as rent".Design/methodology/approach - This paper is a synthesis of conceptual work and case study, developing and applying the concept of "loyalty as rent" to the case of Russian higher education. Rapidly developing segments of the Russian economy are known for sprawling informal economic relations. In such segments, illicit revenues may exceed legal income and political influence is considered an economic resource.Findings - Informal approval of corrupt activities in colleges and universities in exchange for loyalty and compliance with the current political regime is commonplace in modern Russia. Political indoctrination of universities is advanced by the ruling political regime in Russia through informal means while academic meritocracy is no longer honored. The ruling regime uses corruption in the universities to derive its rent not in money but in loyalty to the regime.Originality/value - This paper argues that the widespread corruption in Russian universities may be used by the state in order to gain much needed political support of faculty and students.

Al-Mabrouk in Rural Egypt: A Socially Constructed Identity

Nashaat H. Hussein — 2012-01-20 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the meaning of the socially constructed identity of Al- Mabrouk in rural Egypt. Design/methodology/approach - Design/ Methodology/ Approach - The principal qualitative tool of data collection included intensive interviews with a sample of ten parents from two villages in Lower Egypt. Findings - Findings – The two main outcomes which emerged from the research were first, the social construction of intellectual disability in rural Egypt has contributed to the emergence of a distinctive culturally-mediated social identity called Al-Ma'brouk or the 'blessed', with ascribed social roles, and second, this socially constructed identity has a positive impact on the families of intellectually disabled children.Research limitations/implications - Research Limitations/ Implications – The first finding concerning the local social construction of intellectual disability corresponds to previous research on how culture shapes 'disability'. The second finding that ascribed social roles of intellectually disabled children have rooted social rationalizations raises a general question concerning how rural communities in Egypt justify and cope with intellectual disability. Originality/value - Originality/ Value – Many studies on intellectually disabled children ignore the social roles of intellectually disabled children in society, and mainly envision disability as a barrier and a familial adversity. This article contributes to the debate that intellectual disability is a social construction rather than a limiting factor.

Religion, the State, and Disaster Relief in the United States and India

Nels Paulson, Cecilia Menjivar — 2012-01-23 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the place of religion in civil society and how that relates to the problem of social order. Design/methodology/approach - To do so we conducted an exploratory comparative case study of flood relief in Mumbai with the relief following the Katrina disaster in the summer of 2005 using a qualitative content analysis of regional media documents. Findings - We found a more fluid and less clearly defined division between religion and government in the United States that created opportunities by which a much larger response by religious institutions occurred. Religiously-based disaster relief in the U.S. case is conducted more through groups and networks while in the Indian case religious-based relief takes place more through values and norms. These conditions led to more immediate social order following the floods in Mumbai but less intensive cooperation and coordination that was not tied to religious institutions. After Katrina in the U.S. case, coordination and cooperation were less immediate but of higher intensity and explicitly tied to religious institutions.Research limitations/implications - This research offers new categories for understanding the role of religion in civil society by focusing on disaster relief in a comparative manner, proposing a framework based on qualitative and exploratory research for pursuing more deductive and explanatory quantitative analyses in the future. Originality/value - Finally, instead of assuming religion as either a source of conflict or a source of social order, dependent on the nature of a given religious group, this paper shows the additional complexity and variation in social order that is dependent on the relationship between religion and state and the social context in a given time and place.

Recruiting & Retaining Volunteer EMTs: From Motivation to Practical Solutions

James Charles Haug, John N Gaskins — 2012-02-01 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - Purpose: Most rescue squad members, both in the city and in rural areas, serve on a volunteer (unpaid) basis. It has been widely reported and observed that the number of Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) volunteers is falling in communities across the United States (US). Meanwhile, internationally, the need for emergency services volunteers is increasing as government support dwindles in these uncertain economic times. This article seeks to determine how to keep EMT volunteerism at desired levels and provides recommendations for increasing recruitment and retention. Design/methodology/approach - Approach: This article examines what motivates people and why people volunteer in general, beginning with a discussion of citizenship participation and international EMS, then reviewing general and volunteer motivation theories, and finally focusing on volunteer EMT motivation/retention theories in particular. Research studies in two diverse locations (one urban, one rural) are then implemented to survey volunteer EMT motivations and priorities to find what stimulates EMTs to join and continue to participate in rescue squad operations. Findings - Findings: Theoretical explanations and research results are analyzed to determine the implications for both recruitment and retention of volunteer EMTs. Originality/value - Originality/Value: Based on these findings, the remainder of the article is dedicated to the practical application of strategies which are easily implemented and cost-effective for any volunteer EMT organization, regardless of locale or country of origin. Utilization of these strategies is both timely and relevant, because few communities’ operational budgets can absorb the costs of hiring additional professional EMTs.

In the Name of 'Development': Ethnic Politics and Multicultural Public Policy in Cameroon

Rogers Tabe Egbe Orock, Rebecca Eposi Ngeve — 2012-01-20 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - This article begins from the premise that the efforts of the two regimes of Cameroon to manage ethnic diversity on the basis of a multicultural public policy known as ‘balanced regional development’ constitutes an acute problem, exacerbating rather than attenuating the struggles that are often associated with ethnic diversity in postcolonial states in Africa. Its purpose is, therefore, an examination of this public policy in the broader context of the inter-linkages between ethnicity and politics in Cameroon.Design/methodology/approach - The study adopts a two-step methodological approach. Firstly, a review of the conceptual literature on the state-ethnicity d conundrum in postcolonial Africa, with a specific emphasis on struggles for access to state resources and opportunities that it creates. Secondly, on the basis of these conceptual insights we ground our historical and critical analysis of primary (newspaper articles, computed statistics from public records, national laws, long-term unobtrusive observations of everyday inter-ethnic struggles as a result of our permanent stay in Cameroon) and secondary (local and international publications on the subject) sources.Findings - While these measures of managing ethnic diversity in Cameroon’s public sector-related benefits, such as employment into the country’s public service may, in themselves, not be the best approaches to the problem, the main finding of this study is that the greatest obstacle to their potential to yield any serious measure of national integration lies in the tendency for their politicization and capture by those ethnic groups that are more powerful.Originality/value - The management of ethnic diversities in postcolonial states in Africa is a major development and social policy concern. While most scholars propose succinct analyses of the challenges these may pose for postcolonial nation-building and conflict-avoidance, through the notion of a constitutionally grounded ‘Human Resource Bank’ we propose an original policy solution that may suit the Cameroonian context and possibly beyond.

In search of workplace democracy

George Kokkinidis — 2012-01-20 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to explore the possibilities of workplace democracy in contemporary organizations. While organizational democracy is a popular theme in contemporary management literature, it is often asserted that participatory democracy is impractical and thus representative forms of governance constitute a more appealing and "realistic" option. Such views not only fail to picture workplace democracy beyond procedural principles (e.g. periodical elections), but they also block one of its promising features: its openness to change. In this context, direct democracy that is guided by horizontality and prefiguration may offer more promising grounds in our search for workplace democracy. Design/methodology/approach - This paper exposes the contradictions and limits of representative democracy and traces the debates around hierarchism and horizontality, size and democracy with the aim to focus on its core theme - workplace democracyFindings - This paper argues that although representative democracy is considered as a "realistic" alternative to hierarchical forms of governance it, in fact, reproduces and legitimizes hierarchism. Therefore, organizations can effectively coordinate collective action without representatives and strict hierarchical structures by giving emphasis on decentralized networks guided by horizontality and prefiguration.Originality/value - This paper shows that the current demands for workplace democracy through representation constrains our imagination of organisational democracy and therefore, our perception of workplace democracy has to be broadened and radicalized by giving emphasis not only to who rules but also to the process of governance, that is, how to rule.