Progressive Social Policies Research Articles

Planners & Politicians: Liberal Politics and Social Policies, 1957-1968

Planners & Politicians: Liberal Politics and Social Policies, 1957-1968

Advancing the human right to food in Canada: Social policy and the politics of hunger, welfare, and food security

This article argues that hunger in Canada, while being an outcome of unemployment, low incomes, and inadequate welfare, springs also from the failure to recognize and implement the human right to food. Food security has, however, largely been ignored by progressive social policy analysis. Barriers standing in the way of achieving food security include the increasing commodification of welfare and the corporatization of food, the depoliticization of hunger by governments and the voluntary sector, and, most particularly, the neglect by the federal and provincial governments of their obligations to guarantee the domestic right to food as expressed in international human rights law. The interconnectedness of hunger, welfare, and food security issues in a first world society are explored from the perspective of progressive social policy and food security analysis and the development of alternative strategies. In terms of advancing the human right to food in Canada, particular emphasis is placed on the role of the state and civil society, and the social and economic rights of citizenship built on an inclusive social policy analysis and politics of welfare, food security and human rights.

Planners and Politicians: Liberal Politics and Social Policy 1957-1968

Planners and Politicians: Liberal Politics and Social Policy 1957-1968

Articles and Publications

Articles and Publications by Mary Ellen Chijioke and Claire B. Shetter A new manuscript directly related to George Fox will always excite scholars ofQuaker history. In "A New Letter to George Fox" (Journal of the Friends 'HistoricalSociety 57.3 (1996): 221-227), Geoffrey A. Nuttall presents his evidence for identifying Fox as the recipient ofa 1653 letter in the Friends House Library fromMorgan Llwyd, described in Fox'sJournal as "the priest at Rexam in Wales." Other studies of seventeenth-century Quakerism deal with America. James E. Maule describes a major victory for religious liberty in his study of his ancestor, Better That 100 Witches Should Live: The 1696 Acquittal of Thomas Maule of Salem, Massachusetts (Villanova, PA: Jembook Publishing, 1995). About half of the large volume is a reprint of Maule's works. In "The Records of the First 'American' Denomination: The Keithians of Pennsylvania, 1694-1700" (Pennsylvania Magazine ofHistory and Biography 120.1/2 (1996): 89-105), Jon Butler produces letters from Keith and Budd to their Pennsylvania supporters in 1694 and the records of the Keithian Baptist congregation in Chester County, 16921700 . Janet Moore Lindman provides a fascinating view of the Keithian controversy from the Baptist perspective, examining its impact on Delaware Valley Baptists in her dissertation, "A World of Baptists: Gender, Race, and Religious Community in Pennsylvania and Virginia, 16891825 " (Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1994). In "Confessions of an American Ranter" (Pennsylvania History 62.2 (1995): 238-248), Brendan McConville uses John Pearce's self-identification as a "Ranter" in his letters dated 1687, 1706, and 1708 as evidence in support ofthe existence of a distinct sect by that name in the seventeenth century. Pendle Hill has published all nine presentations from the very successful autumn, 1994 Monday evening lecture series,John Woolman 's Spirituality and Our Contemporary Witness, edited by Shirley Dodson (Wallingford, PA: Pendle Hill Publications, 1995). Contributors include Anne Dalke and Susan Dean, John Lampen, Sterling Olmsted, Mary Rose O'Reilley, Tom Head, Elizabeth Watson, Philip Boroughs, Michael A. Heller, and Daniel A. Seeger. The centennial ofthe 1895 Manchester Conference continues to stimulate re-evaluations of the past century of British Quakerism. In a special issue of Friends' Quarterly (30.2; 1996), The Manchester 1895-1995 Conference, two articles deal directly with the earlier gathering: an essay by David Blamires on "The Context and Character ofthe 1895 Manchester Conference" (pp. 50-58), and Susan V. Hartshorne's article on "The 1895 Conference as Viewed by My Grandparents," Dorothy Crowley and Articles and Publications71 Edward Vipont Brown (pp. 58-65). Thomas C. Kennedy explores the impact ofthe conference in his article, "What Hath Manchester Wrought? Change in the Religious Society of Friends, 1895-1920" (Journal ofthe Friends' Historical Society 57.3 (1996): 277-305). He argues that the Manchester Conference confirmed an ongoing theological shift to modern liberalism and laid the basis for a more progressive social policy, leading directly to the full equality ofwomen in the Society ofFriends and public support ofconscientious objectors who defied the law during World War I. In his review of"Quaker Theology Since 1 895" (Friends ' Quarterly 30.3 (1996): 131-143), Martin Davie argues that the theology of liberal Quakerism that emerged from Manchester was still clearly centered in Jesus Christ but lost the tradition ofChristian doctrine; the radicalism characterizing British Quakerism since the 1960s could reject the definition of Quakerism as Christian because there was no strong Christian doctrine to resist. "Religion and Ethics in the Thought of Richard Ullmann" (19041963 ), by T. Vail Palmer, Jr. (QuakerReligious Thought 28.1 (cumulative no. 87): 11-31) stands as an interesting case study of a mid-twentiethcentury convinced Friend who drew on both seventeenth-century Quakerism and twentieth-century existentialism. Ben Pink Dandelion presents another perspective on contemporary Quakerism in the published version ofhis dissertation,^ SociologicalAnalysis ofthe Theology ofQuakers: The Silent Revolution (Studies in Religion and Society, 34), Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1996. (See Quaker History 83.1 (1994):62) In terms ofvolume, Women's Studies continues to dominate the scholarly output related to Quaker history, with a wide span of specific topics. Bernadette Diane Andrea's doctoral dissertation for Cornell University (1996), "Properly Speaking: Publishing Women...

Writing the "Wrongs" of Fieldwork: Confronting Our Own Research/ Writing Dilemmas in Urban Ethnographies

Inspired by Laurel Richardson's (1995) call for "writing stories," the authors of this essay struggle with how to produce scholarly texts drawn from narratives of over 150 poor and working-class men and women—White, African American, Latino, and Asian American. They unveil a set of knotty, emergent ethical and rhetorical dilemmas they have encountered in their attempt to write for, with, and about poor and working-class informants at a time when their lives and moralities are routinely maligned in thepopular media; when the very problematic policies that may once have "assisted" them are being abandoned; and when the leverage of and audience for progressive social researchers and policy makers has grown foggy, and weak in the knees. Writing with a desire to create a conversation about ethics, writing, and qualitative research, the authors worry about the contemporary role of qualitative social researchers.

Democratization in Namibia: Soft state, hard choice

Independent Namibia’s struggles to create a functioning democracy have made great strides, including a successful regional and local election process in 1992. Soft state problems such as external dependence, weak state capacity for development, and penetration of the state by particularistic class and ethnic interests threaten at independence. In Namibia’s case the economic dominance and potential for military intervention by South Africa restricted the options available to the new SWAPO government. The intimidation and sabotage in the UNSCR 435 election left the government fragmented and weakened its effectiveness in redressing past injustices. Despite adopting moderate economic and progressive social policies, the rewards from trade and investment have been minimal. The independence honeymoon and modest improvements have bought the government time, but a soft state situation limits success and has created openings for new class formations.

Publishing Evaluation Research

The late 1960s was a period of great optimism about progressive social policy and about the ability of social science to inform the policy process. In retrospect, it seems almost inevitable that the late 1960s was also the period during which evaluation research became a self-identified field. Evaluation research and the War on Poverty had common roots, and many academics were active in both efforts (for an historical account, see Rossi and Wright, 1984). It was natural for these academics to seek publication outlets for their work. However, evaluation research manuscripts were not greeted with great enthusiasm by the editors and reviewers of the conventional social science journals (Berk, 1981). Strike one was called because evaluation research was applied research. Strike two was called because evaluation research was interdisciplinary research. And strike three was called because evaluation research was methodologically opportunistic; the procedures applied were dictated by the empirical problem, with no sense of loyalty to any particular methodological school. An obvious response was to establish new journals that would be more sympathetic. Over the past twenty years, the number of evaluation research journals has grown and become more heterogeneous. Depending on how one chooses to draw the boundaries, at least a half dozen journals routinely publish evaluation research. Relatively few of the published papers, however, have been authored by sociologists. While some sociologists are major figures in the field, the most visible and numerous evaluators come from psychology, education, and economics. No doubt the underrepresentation of sociologists derives in part from the way mainstream sociology is currently practiced. But many sociologists, especially more junior ones, may not realize that there are several good journals in which to publish evaluation research. These journals also provide an excellent resource for scholars who want information on the design, implementation, and effectiveness of a wide variety of social programs. In this light, I will address in the next several pages what sorts of work these journals favor. I will try, in the process, briefly to clarify what is meant by evaluation research and how it is related to such neighboring fields as policy analysis, social impact assessment, and clinical sociology.

POSTMODERN THOUGHT AND CRIMINOLOGICAL DISCONTENT: NEW METAPHORS FOR UNDERSTANDING VIOLENCE*

Although postmodern theory has virtually exploded throughout the social sciences, thus far it has only begun to touch criminology. This piece identifies some of the principal themes associated with postmodern thought, reasons for the current interest in it, and its potential relevance for criminology. There are many postmodernisms, but special attention is paid here to the popular models borrowed from literary and linguistic analysis. Violence is used as a concrete example to explore these issues. The postmodern critique is a challenge not only to the philosophical underpinnings of traditional and empirical criminology, but also to the basic premises of both mainstream and progressive social policy responses to criminal violence.

Welfare, Women, and Race

JUST TWO MONTHS BEFORE THE RODNEY KING VERDICT SPARKED THE uprising in South Central Los Angeles, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan scolded President Bush and Vice President Quayle for racializing political debate through their frequent incendiary blasts against dependency. Moynihan charged that the Bush administration had seized upon welfare a focus of resentment and a code word for you-know-what. ' Moynihan's scolding went unheeded. In the aftermath of the South Central uprising, President Bush blamed the poverty programs of the 1960s, and Vice President Quayle blamed single mothers for the explosive frustrations of poor, urban communities. The victims and survivors of racism, poverty, and inequality were thus held to account for the social conditions against which some protested and other rampaged. They were held up as examples of the failure of liberal social policies and as examples of what happens when family values decline. The country was thereby reminded that its race problem is a behavioral problem, funded by welfare and poverty programs. Welfare politics has been racially coded since at least the late 1960s,

Under‐age pub drinking and illegal drug use: implications for a progressive social and health policy

Abstract In a sample of 926 fourth and fifth year comprehensive school students, 38% were public house under‐aged drinkers. This drinkers’ group's behaviour and social characteristics were compared with those of their non‐under‐age drinking peers. The drinkers had nearly three times the level of solvent misuse (13% compared with 5%), three times the soft drug misuse (17% compared with 5%) and four times the involvement with hard drugs (8% compared with 2%). The drinkers were significantly more involved with other problematic behaviour and were found to score higher on all negative social indexes, including parents who smoked. Despite the sample's relatively accurate knowledge about drugs and HIV infection, the drinkers scored less well on these and other HIV‐related issues. An extrapolation of the results suggests that a significant number of adolescents may be involved in risk behaviour.

Shifting the Blame: Racial Ideology and Politics in the Post-Civil Rights Era

In the post-civil rights era, critics on the right have indicted liberal social policies for exacerbating the very problems of racism and poverty they purport to alleviate. In vastly distinct ways, the far right and neoconservatism have attempted to reshape popular conceptions and scholarly wisdom about race and racial equality. They have targeted the liberal state of the 1960s and 1970s as the cause of a new racially unjust order and fueled the resentment of many white Americans to liberal social policy. Despite the ascendancy of the far right and neoconservatism in the 1980s, the Reagan-Bush years have not witnessed the consolidation of a new "common sense" with respect to race and racial policy. In the wake of the riots in Los Angeles and other cities, an opening for a renewed debate is apparent.

Survival of the Black Family: The Institutional Impact of U.S. Social Policy.

Preface Introduction Social Policy and Black Family Structure Informal Social-Support Systems The Era of Liberal Social Policy Impact of Social and Economic Gains on Black Families Expectations Versus Realization The 1980s: A Period of Social Conservatism and Social Reawakening The Future of Social Policy and the Black Family Bibliography Index

Intent vs. Reality in Long-Term Care Policy

Care for the frail elderly in the community was the focus of a national debate in Israel between 1980 and 1986. This paper presents a case study of this social policy process as follows: first, it identifies the elements of a uniquely progressive social policy in the field of long-term care; second, it describes a political process that vitiated what could have served as model legislation for the field; and third, it traces the link between the policy and implementation, with attention paid to the consequences for the frail elderly. The original intent of this policy, as well as its transformation, should serve to assist policymakers in various countries in their consideration of long-term care policy and programs for the frail elderly.

Impact on Black Families of Liberal Social Policy in the 1960s and 1970s

Impact on Black Families of Liberal Social Policy in the 1960s and 1970s

Gestion moderniste à Nîmes : Construction d'une image de ville

Nîmes, modern management of the image of a town The new mayor of Nîmes wants to sell his town, combining rigourous management with aesthetics. A progressive social policy includes the privatising of avant-garde municipal services. The town hall has invested in smartening up the town using decorative and architectural touches.

Beyond the Willowbrook Wars: The Courts and Institutional Reform

It is now more than thirty years since the Supreme Court, in Brown v. Board of Education (1954),' unleashed the federal courts as an engine of liberal social policy reform. Debate and political controversy about the legitimacy of this new public law litigation2 role has been heated and extensive, with criticisms ranging from ideological broadsides about the evils of judicial activism-which is, in the words of Richard Morgan, a rights industry that has run amok and which is disabling America3-to a more particular concern with excessive judicial entanglement in the affairs of governmental institutions such as schools, prisons, and hospitals for the mentally ill and the mentally retarded. Debate over the proper role of the federal courts in the formulation and enforcement of social policy is much broader than the question of institutional reform. But challenges to the conditions in these institutions, which have become known as extended impact or institutional reform cases, enable us to focus discretely and efficiently on the interface between constitutional theory and evolving views of what federal courts can and should be doing. Critics argue that the federal courts have neither the legitimate right nor the capacity, without compromising their essential courtness, to intervene in the management of such institutions.4 In this context, legitimacy is defined at two levels. First, schools, prisons, and hospitals have traditionally been regarded as primarily if not solely within the regulatory authority

The Impact of Education on the Will to Redress the Feminisation of Poverty in Australia1

Education is commonly portrayed in liberal democracies as a source of enlightenment and support for liberal social policy. If that is true, how does education affect views about the feminisation of poverty? Jackman and Muha (1984) concluded that 'the well educated (in the USA) are but one step ahead of their peers in developing a defense of their interests that rests on qualification, individualism, obfuscation and symbolic concession'. On the basis of two national surveys of workers and leaders it is suggested that education in Australia has only minimal impact on the will to redress the feminisation of poverty. However, it is noted that the lack of any positive finding may well be the result of poor measurement and inadequate analysis of the issue under examination both in the United States and in Australia. It would appear that education is a necessary, rather than a sufficient condition for the production of more enlightened attitudes concerning the will to redress the feminisation of poverty in Australia.

Education policy and the heritability of educational attainment.

Many workers assume that genetically determined differences in intellectual ability will be influenced little by changes in educational policy or other environmental interventions. Others, however, have suggested that increasing equality of educational opportunity will lead to an increase in the heritability of educational attainment. The resolution of this issue has been delayed until now because of the extremely large sample sizes which would be required. Education data on twins and their parents, from the Norwegian twin panel, provide a unique opportunity to determine the impact on the heritability of educational attainment of the more liberal social and educational policies introduced in Norway after the Second World War. As reported here, for individuals born before 1940 there is a strong effect of family background on educational attainment, accounting for 47% of the variance, though genetic factors account for an additional 41% of the variance. For females born after 1940 and before 1961, the relative importance of genetic (38-45%) and familial environmental (41-50%) differences changes very little. For males born during the same period, the broad heritability of educational attainment has increased substantially (67-74%), and the environmental impact of family background has correspondingly decreased (8-10%). For males, at least, having well-educated parents no longer predicts educational success, as measured by duration of education, independent of the individual's own innate abilities.

The Progressives and the Urban Question: British and American Responses to the Inner City Slums 1880-1920

Indictments or diagnoses of social problems often assume that they are either generically urban or confined to the inner city. This assumption is the root of the 'urban question' and has its origins in those early twentieth century reform movements which were collectively described as 'progressive'. Progressive social policies were grounded in socio-geographical formulations of urban society which resembled those described by the Chicago School a generation later. While each approach did propose quite different interpretations of the same graphic patterns, both made those assumptions which provoked the urban question. Structuralist interpretations of urban society have questioned these assumptions in their discussions of the transition from entrepreneurial to corporate capitalism. This perspective argues that previous graphic conceptions of modern urban society, and especially of the inner city slums, emphasized the secondary consequences rather than the primary causes of poverty. This emphasis not only deflected attention from the more complex and discrete distributions of social problems within the slums but also obscured some of the adaptations of their residents to their immediate predicament.

Empire and Social Reform: British Overseas Investment and Domestic Politics, 1908–1914

Two central developments in the economic history of Edwardian Britain are rarely considered in conjunction. Large flows of investment overseas between c. 1905 and 1914 have been regarded as a feature of ‘high imperialism’, or more innocuously, as a phase in the growth of an international economy. In domestic politics, the ‘New Liberal’ achievement of tax and welfare reforms has been viewed as a stage on the road to the ‘welfare state’, and as a bid for political survival. Was there any link between the export of capital and domestic politics? This article will describe how capital flows affected the choice, timing and scope of Liberal social and economic policies.