[Articles] The analysis of non-take-up. Beyond the service relation model.

30 June, 2018

Service relations are not systematically fluid, and resistance is sometimes encountered in cases of non-take-up. The service relation model fails to take this into account. Therefore, as service agents’ work consists in dealing with users’ relations not only with themselves, but also with the offer, the analysis of non-take-up of rights and services requires a specific analytical model. This model would need to take users into account along with their relations to the offer and the normative content of that offer, over and above its delivery. In this respect, the social relation to the service model is more appropriate.

Author(s): Philippe Warin

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[Articles] Does secondary labour market improve the individual quality of life? Evidence from an empirical evaluation.

31 December, 2016

Background: A secondary labour market has developed in Switzerland during the last decades thanks to the joint initiative of public administrations and non-profit organisations. The main goal of the secondary market is the work integration and the social inclusion of “hard-to-place” unemployed people.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of secondary labour market on the individual quality of life.

Design: The study draws on three waves of observational data coming from a panel of 110 social assistance recipients in Canton Ticino.

Measures: Seven indicators of psychological, physical, social and material well-being.

Method: The statistical analyses are carried out by means of hybrid random effects linear regression models.

Results: We recorded a positive effect on the psychological and the financial dimensions of well-being. Surprisingly, the average impacts on physical well-being and social support are negative.

Author(s): Gregorio Alivés

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[Articles] “It is an individual choice”. Experiences of highly qualified stay-at-home mothers in Dublin.

30 June, 2015

The following contribution relies on the testimony of women themselves to expose and unpick a uni-dimensional focus on choice – to work or stay at home – to illustrate the multi-layered and complex set of factors that influence women’s decisions relating to work and caring. While based on a small sample that cannot be generalized from, the discussion of the outcomes gives strong evidence to the importance of looking beyond what first appear to be straightforward choices to critiquing the complex inter-play of factors that shape these “choices.” Such are e. g. structural or ideological reasons as decision-making factors for becoming a Stay-at-Home Mother.

Author(s): Simone Tappert, Evelyn Mahon

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[Articles] Early intervention and the management of Finnish children and young people.

The concept of early intervention emerged into everyday Finnish language of media and politics at the turn of the Millennium. The invasion of early intervention occurred through extensive political and organizational support, accompanied by vigorous media discussion. The rationale, shared by the key agents of early intervention, was formed according to this distinguished project and public discourse. At the turn of the Millennium, the idea of early intervention seemed compatible with many reformations of the public government relying on the New Public Management. Early intervention, and applying it, quickly spread to daycare, schools and child protection, among other things. This article aims at analyzing what early intervention was in this particular empirical case. It analyzes the Finnish practices of preventive child protection in social work with children and young people from the point of view of governing, and as practices that target children, young people and their parents suspected to belong to a risk group.

Author(s): Mirja Satka

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[Articles] Employability, gender and migration. The case of Eastern European circular carers in Italy.

This paper examines the phenomena of circular migration of Eastern European women to Italy both theoretically and empirically. Using interview material from migrant women working in Italy, in temporary positions, it exposes the changing nature of gender roles and the precarious nature of women’s employment whereby, in order to maintain gendered care commitments, this type of employment is sometimes in fact chosen. The respondents in this study give vivid expression to the complex way in which this selection of migrant women made decisions around balancing their work life and their caring life.

Author(s): Sabrina Marchetti

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[Articles] Lone mothers in Central Albania during communism and after 1990. Caring and earning responsibilities and regulations.

This article discusses how Albanian women – all of the sample here being lone mothers – attempt to balance between their earning and caring activity. The here discussed research reveals how the situation of lone mothers in Albania changed drastically after 1990. As there have always been moderated regulations for support to lone mothers during communism as well as after, the correlation between different factors gives insights into a more precarious need for individual handling of job possibilities without socialsecurity on the one hand and acceptance of different sources for social support on the other hand.

Author(s): Arla Gruda

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[Articles] Violence against women in Slovenia. Lessons to be learned from the victims of domestic violence.

This article focuses on the theme of violence against women in the home and tackles the dilemma of how, despite the development of measures to address domestic violence in Slovenia and at EU level, women continue to under-report this crime, primarily due to their distrust of institutions and their ability to protect them. Based on comparative research, a number of concrete recommendations on how this situation might be addressed by social work and within social policy are made.

Author(s): Vesna Leskosek

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[Articles] Dealing with everyday racism and discrimination. Experiences of migrant Chinese mothers in the Netherlands.

Based on in-depth interviews and participatory observation, this paper aims to reveal how first-generation Chinese immigrant mothers deal with every day racism and discrimination inside and outside the private domain in the daily situation in the Netherlands. Based on data collected from mydoctorate project, this article concentrates on the individual capacity and resilience of mothers to help their children to combat, resist and negotiate racism that they experienced.

Author(s): Shu-Yi Huang

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[Articles] Overcoming Self-reliance and Lack of Expectation among Care Leavers in Higher Education in England. The Role of Inter-agency Working.

31 December, 2014

This paper reports on a study exploring care leavers’ experiences of higher education in England. Although a range of support is available from local authorities and higher education institutions to care leavers, there is a tendency towards self-reliance and lack of expectation of being supported. The findings suggest that by recognising their respective strengths and weaknesses and working together, local authority and higher education staff can engage care leavers more effectively, increasing levels of expectation and reducing the need for self-reliance.

Author(s): Georgia Hyde-Dryden

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[Articles] Young people transitioning from out of home care and youth justice. Exploring the experiences of “Dual Order” Care leavers in Victoria, Australia

This exploratory research examined the state care, education, youth justice and post-care experiences of 15 care leavers who were also involved in the youth justice system in Victoria, Australia. In-depth audiotaped interviews were conducted and later thematically analysed. Access to affordable housing and substance abuse treatment, and a meaningful relationship with at least one supportive adult characterised the lives of young people who had reduced or ceased their offending behaviour. Areas for future intervention and research are identified, including working with families, supporting education retention, and the need for better supported transitions from state care.

Author(s): Susan Baidawi, Philip Mendes, Pamela Snow

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