bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Closed Shop and the National Health Service: A Case Study in Public Sector Labour Relations
Authors: Harrison Stephen 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTDuring the second half of the 1970s, the practice of the closed shop became widespread in some parts of the British public sector, but was resisted in others. This paper examines the issue in relation to the National Health Service, where trade unionists made frequent demands for the closed shop and where many managers were apparently not unwilling to concede it. Yet very few closed shops actually resulted. The paper examines the origin and patterns of these demands, health authority policies towards them, and their outcomes in terms both of the operation of the closed shops which were agreed, and the reasons for failure to agree. The conclusion is that although NHS industrial relations had apparently matured very rapidly between 1973 and 1977, the trade unions were neither strong enough nor united enough to enforce the closed shop; nor were industrial relations so far developed as to make the practice a natural next step.
Gender, Household Composition and Receipt of Domiciliary Services by Elderly Disabled People
Authors: Arber Sara , Gilbert G. Nigel , Evandrou Maria 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTUsing data from the 1980 General Household Survey, differences in the provision of statutory domiciliary services to disabled elderly people are explored. Domiciliary services vary in their degree of ‘substitutability’, that is, in the extent to which the care may be performed either by state services or by other members of the elderly person's household. Domestic support services are substitutable by any available carer; personal health and hygiene services are partially substitutable depending on the relationship between the carer and the cared for; and medical services are not substitutable by informal carers. The paper shows that discrimination by statutory services against women carers is dependent primarily on the household composition of the elderly person rather than on gender per se. Taking into account the level of disability of the elderly person, younger ‘single’ women carers receive no less support than ‘single’ men carers, but carers who are married women under 65 obtain the least domestic and personal health care support. Carers who are elderly receive more support than carers under 65. Among disabled elderly people who live alone, men receive somewhat more domestic and personal health services than women.
Unemployment and Health: An Historical Perspective
Authors: Whiteside Noel 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTAs unemployment has risen, so has academic, professional and political interest in its possible social consequences. In recent years a large number of studies have sought to prove—or disprove—that unemployment causes ill health, with few definitive results. This paper reviews the methodological and conceptual difficulties experienced by researchers in this field. It concludes that, generally, the impact of structural factors on the shape of the analysis has been all but ignored. It suggests that an historical perspective provides useful insights into the question and ought to be given more attention.
Defining and Measuring Poverty. A Reply to Stein Ringen
Authors: Donnison David 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThis response to Stein Ringen's paper recognises the importance of his recent work and the validity of some of the criticisms he makes of poverty studies, but argues that his own approach suffers from some of the same defects. He dismisses this research too hastily, partly because he has neglected some of the best of it. Drawing on these sources, this paper formulates with their help a more rigorous presentation of the relative concept of poverty and the analytical steps which should be taken by those using this concept.
Community Care for the Mentally Ill in England and Wales: Myths, Assumptions and Reality
Authors: Goodwin Simon 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTIt is widely recognised that there are many problems with the community care policy for the mentally ill which has been in operation in England and Wales since the late 1950s. However, many existing accounts of the development of the policy rest upon a variety of erroneous assumptions about how it has evolved, and which in turn affect our understanding of how it might be changed. Some of these assumptions are examined, and it is argued that frequently they fail to acknowledge how both the rhetoric and the reality of the policy have developed. Taking this critique into account, a more accurate assessment of how to understand community care for the mentally ill is offered.
The Adequacy of the Social Security System in Belgium, 1976–1985
Authors: Deleeck Herman 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTFor over 15 years the Centre for Social Policy at the University of Antwerp has been involved in research on social security. More specifically, it has tried to develop research methodologies which would make it possible to quantify the adequacy of the social security system in Belgium, and to assess its impact on the income of households. The first part of this article provides a broad outline of the social security system in Belgium. The second and major part presents the main results of the research. The same methodology and the same standardised presentation of results is currently being used in a comparative study financed by the Commission of the European Community and undertaken by research groups in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Ireland, Spain and Greece.
Dependency and Ageing in Britain: A Re-Examination of the Evidence
Authors: Falkingham Jane 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThere has been growing concern over the consequences for public expenditure of an increasing number of elderly people dependent on a relatively diminishing working population. This concern stems largely from demographically determined dependency ratios and it is not necessarily the case that a change in the age profile of the population will lead to a greater burden of dependency. The ‘engine of dependency’ is shown to have at least two other cylinders—patterns of labour-force participation across age and gender, and levels of unemployment. Policy to date has had a surprisingly narrow focus in view of the dual role of economic and demographic forces in influencing the ratio of dependency. The economic and political feasibility of alternative policy options is discussed.
Family Size Equivalence Scales and Survey Evaluations of Income and Well-Being
Authors: Bradbury Bruce 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThe determination of the different needs of families of different compositions is necessary in order to ensure horizontal equity in tax/transfer policies. Despite the seeming simplicity of the problem, a consensus as to the appropriate means of determining relative need remains elusive. One approach which has been proposed has been to use social surveys to analyse the relationship between subjective evaluations of well-being and incomes. This paper examines such methods, and discusses the key assumptions upon which they rest. An explanation is advanced as to why these methods may lead to an understatement of the differences in relative needs of different family types.
Statutory Sick Pay and the Control of Sickness Absence
Authors: Dean Hartley , Taylor-Gooby Peter 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThe shift from national insurance to employer administered, state funded Statutory Sick Pay has been discussed in terms of the privatisation of social security and its impact upon the living standards of sick-absent employees. This paper reports a survey of employers’ perceptions of the change. Many employers have seen the introduction of the scheme as an opportunity to extend control of sickness absence among workers. The new regime may be better understood as part of a process whereby the government and employers link together to manage labour in the interests of capital, rather than as the privatisation of one aspect of social security.
Rescuing the Good Samaritan: An Exposition and a Defence of the Samaritan Principle in the Welfare State
Authors: Pemberton Alec 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTCatholics are urged to show a ‘preferential option for the poor’. For the most part debate about the exercise of such an option is primarily in terms of a justice model—righting the twin wrongs of the ‘exploitation’ and ‘oppression’ of the poor. But there is another, largely untheorised approach to helping strangers in need—Samaritanism. This paper provides an exposition of Samaritanism and a defence of its role in the modern Welfare State. In doing so it seeks to challenge non-Christians to put their rationale for helping the needy on an equally secure footing as that provided by Christianity.
Organisational Influences on Professional Behaviour: Factors Affecting Social Work Involvement in ‘Schemes’
Authors: Sinclair Ian , Crosbie David , Vickery Anne 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTCommunity schemes play an important part in a community approach to social work. This paper investigates the extent to which social workers' involvement in such schemes is influenced by personal preference or by their work setting. Data from questionnaires completed by 394 social workers/social work assistants show that the likelihood of a worker's involvement with a scheme varies with the organisation and procedures of the area office, the perceived attitudes of team leaders and the title of the worker's job. Workers' personal attitudes were related to involvement in schemes only in area offices organised on a geographical basis. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for the development of a community approach to social work and for the degree to which social workers can expect to control their work as autonomous professionals.
Women, Economic Dependency and Citizenship
Authors: Lister Ruth 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTCitizenship is, once again, on the political and academic agenda. This article explores some of its meanings for women. It examines some of the contradictions raised by notions of dependence and independence and the relationship between ‘private’ and ‘public’ forms of dependence. It then considers the implications of financial dependence and of the sexual division of labour and of time for women's rights and obligations as social, political and ‘active’ citizens. It concludes by drawing out briefly some policy implications, arguing that radical changes are needed in domestic life and in the organisation of paid employment and state provisions, if women are to be full citizens. This will require changing both our conceptions of Citizenship and the structures which fashion citizenship rights. Ultimately, neither the question of dependency nor of citizenship can be divorced from that of power.
Dependency and Interdependency: the Incomes of Informal Carers and the Impact of Social Security
Authors: Glendinning Caroline 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTConsideration of the income and social security needs of informal carers has remained conspicuously absent from discussions about ‘community care’. Similarly, carers have been more or less invisible in the development of social security policies. This paper reports on a study of the financial circumstances of a sample of working age carers, who were living with and providing substantial amounts of help and support to a disabled person in the same household. The study highlights first, the substantial work-related costs incurred by carers with full time employment; and second the financial dependency of carers without full time earnings, on their spouse, sibling or on the person being cared for. The implications of these findings are discussed in the light of recent developments in social security policies.
Transformation Through Tenure? The Early Purchasers of Council Houses 1968–1973
Authors: Forrest Ray , Murie Alan 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThe sale of council dwellings under the right to buy has been a prominent feature of the privatisation policies of the Thatcher governments. The impact of such changes in the ownership and control of dwellings remains a subject of considerable debate. Whilst there is now substantial evidence on the short term effects of council house sales, the longer term impacts on dwellings and households have largely been a matter for speculation. This paper explores some of the central policy and theoretical issues through new research evidence on dwellings sold by local authorities in the late sixties and early seventies. In particular it focuses on what has happened to households and dwellings since privatisation, the political orientation of those households and on attitudes towards and experiences of state provision. In general it presents a picture of continuity and stability rather than dramatic change and transformation following privatisation.
An Econometric Analysis of the Growth in the Numbers Claiming Invalidity Benefit: An Overview
Authors: Holmes Phil , Lynch Mauricea , Molho Ian 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTInvalidity benefit is the main form of state-provided long term sickness benefit in Great Britain, and the number of claims for the benefit have increased beyond all expectations since its introduction in 1971. This paper summarises the results of a project on the issue, analysing data over the period 1975/6 and 1983/4. The numbers claiming the benefit are viewed in terms of the outcome of the inflow and the duration of claims. The determination of both inflows and durations were found to be dominated by demographic effects in terms of age and health, but other factors were also found to be relevant at the margin. These included local housing and labour market conditions, as well as pay prior to entry and rates of benefit. Inflows were found to fall over the period, however, as a result of changes in the population ‘at risk’ of entry. The main cause of growth in the number of claims lay in increased durations, in relation to which it was observed that the percentage of new claimants with characteristics associated with longer claim durations increased over the period.
Afro Caribbeans and Schizophrenia: How Does Psychiatry Deal With Issues of Race, Culture and Ethnicity?
Authors: Knowles Caroline 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThis paper discusses the various ways in which British Afro Caribbeans are disadvantaged in their encounter with psychiatry. It suggests that far from being monolithic and institutional, racism must be deconstructed and traced to the actions, practices and procedure involved in specific encounters. The procedures of psychiatry are examined through the discourses of psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology. From this analysis it is suggested that psychiatry's relationship to Afro Caribbean populations in Britain arises from the ways in which psychiatry conceptualises notions of ethnicity, race and cultural difference, as well as ways in which it organises and reproduces itself as a form of therapeutic intervention.
Health and Labour Force Participation: ‘Stress’, Selection and the Reproduction Costs of Labour Power
Authors: Bartley Mel 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThis paper will discuss the applicability of concepts of ‘stress’ and ‘selection’ to which health researchers appealed in their attempts to explain the relationship between health and unemployment, and examine the implications of some of the major studies carried out in Europe and the USA for these competing approaches. The contradictions arising from this evidence will then be addressed with the aid of a technical advance in population statistics which allows us to test hypotheses about whether the associations between socio-demographic characteristics and mortality may be due to selective mobility of seriously ill persons into socially disadvantaged positions. It is concluded that a better understanding of the results of available studies may be reached if we avoid the dichotomy between ‘stress’ and ‘selection’, and explore whether concepts of labour market processes and the reproduction costs of labour power can throw new light on the relationship between health and patterns of labour force participation. The paper aims both to encourage health researchers to consider policy and market variables more closely, and to tempt researchers more specialised in these latter fields to apply recent advances in the understanding of the interaction between labour market and income maintenance policies to the question of how economic conditions and change may affect health.
A New Era for Social Policy: A New Enlightenment or a New Leviathan?
Authors: Glennerster Howard , Power Anne , Travers Tony 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTA succession of Acts of Parliament passed between 1988 and 1990 mark the most decisive break in British social policy since the period between 1944 and 1948. This paper examines the extent to which common principles underlie this legislation. One of the most important common elements has been the reduction in the powers of local government and in the presumption that local authorities should be the main providers of social welfare outside the social security system. Schools, housing estates and social care services are to be given greater powers to run themselves or to become separate organisations. Local authorities are to use their resources to fund and contract with external agencies. The possible outcomes of this change in governance are discussed.
What does Equity in Health Mean?
Authors: Pereira João 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTUp until very recently, the international debate on health inequality tended to disregard the issue of specifying equity objectives precisely. This was unfortunate, given the importance of normative analysis for understanding why people care about social justice in the field of health; the extent to which specific types of inequality are compatible with equity; how the concept should be measured; and how rational policies may be formulated and monitored. This article critically appraises six well established approaches to defining equity—egality, entitlement, the decent minimum, utilitarianism, Rawlsian maximin, and envy-free allocations—as well as two alternative formulations recently proposed by health economists—equity as choice and health maximisation. All of these are found wanting in some respect when applied to the health sector. It is argued that Sen's ‘capabilities’ concepts, strangely ignored by health services researchers in the past, could prove an effective framework within which to organise research and policy formulation in the area of health and health care inequality.
Community Law Centres: Problems and Proposals
Authors: Stephens Mike 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThe principal aim of law centres is to service the claims of poor and low income people in the field of social welfare law. Their successes and limitations in realising this aim constitute the major part of this paper. Levels of demand, the satisfaction of unmet legal needs and the role played by law centres in the spectrum of advice services are important factors in assessing their mission. No assessment can be complete, however, without taking into account the internal problems faced by law centres—such as, funding, caseload levels, and rationing procedures. This paper argues that the formation of a national network of law centres would help to solve many of their operational difficulties and to position them more effectively within the spectrum of legal advice services.
Resources, Deprivation and the Measurement of Poverty
Authors: Callan Tim , Nolan Brian , Whelan Christopher T. 
Published: January 2009

AbstractRingen has advocated the use of both income and deprivation criteria in identifying those excluded from society due to lack of resources, a widely accepted definition of poverty. We illustrate with Irish data how this might be done, paying particular attention to how appropriate indicators of deprivation are to be selected. The results show that employing both income and deprivation criteria rather than income alone can make a substantial difference to both the extent and composition of measured poverty. This highlights the restrictive nature of poverty conceived in terms of exclusion rather than minimum rights to resources.
Public Opinion and the National Health Service: Patterns and Perspectives in Consumer Satisfaction
Authors: Judge Ken , Solomon Michael 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the nature of public opinion concerning the National Health Service. Data from two series of national surveys covering the period 1983–92 are used to analyse trends in opinion. OPCS data for 1991–2 are examined in more detail to investigate the determinants of satisfaction with health services. A range of demographic, socio-economic and health status characteristics, as well as media coverage of health-related issues, are found to be significantly related to expressions of satisfaction with the NHS, in addition to recent experience of using health services. The complexity of the formation and expression of public opinion is acknowledged. In particular, the importance of taking note of the methodological implications and political context associated with expressions of public opinion is emphasised.
Work and Welfare Benefits: Social Security, Employment and Unemployment in the 1990s
Authors: McLaughlin Eithne 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThis paper considers social security policy and structures in relation to the labour market of the late 1980s and 1990s. The paper begins by describing the labour market of the late 1980s and summarising projective descriptions of labour demand in the 1990s. The second section of the paper reports on recent research examining the labour supply behaviour of long term unemployed people, drawing out the role of social security policy and structures therein. The third section of the paper concludes that the role of social security policy is at present essentially reactive rather than proactive; that it does little to address the likely need for labour of certain kinds in the 1990s; and that efforts to address the problem of long term unemployment through social security policy have been largely misdirected. The final section of the paper briefly considers some of the ways in which social security systems can be more proactive and suggests a number of both short term and longer term policy changes which research indicates would be of benefit in the UK.
Costs and Benefits: A Review of Research on Take-up of Income-Related Benefits
Authors: Craig Peter 
Published: January 2009

ABSTRACTThis paper reviews recent research on take-up with a view to identifying the most promising lines of further enquiry. In the late 1970s take-up research seemed to be foundering in the face of the complexity of the factors affecting claiming decisions. Progress came via the development of models of the claiming process. The most influential postulated a series of thresholds which claimants must pass in a set sequence on the way to claiming a benefit. One question for future research is whether this model is still the best starting point or whether there are others which capture the key factors and their interaction more fully and accurately. Another approach is to look at claiming decisions indirectly by applying multivariate techniques to continuous survey data to examine the relationship between variables such as age, income and housing tenure and differing probabilities of claiming. A second question is what the two approaches can offer each other. Overhanging all the issues facing take-up research is the problem of sampling a population—eligible non-recipients—for which, almost by definition, no suitable sampling frame exists. The paper concludes by examining various options for identifying this elusive group.