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International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
Journal Prestige (SJR): 0.3
Citation Impact (citeScore): 1
Number of Followers: 69  
 
Hybrid Journal Hybrid journal   * Containing 7 Open Access Open Access article(s) in this issue *
ISSN (Print) 0144-333X - ISSN (Online) 1758-6720
Published by Emerald Homepage  [362 journals]
  • Are formal institutions ineffective for firm performance' Evidence from
           the economic community of West African States

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      Authors: Hazwan Haini, Roslee Baha, Pang Wei Loon
      Abstract: This study examines the interconnected effects of formal, informal, environmental and skill-based institutional barriers on firm performance. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region has implemented various reforms and policy initiatives to support small businesses yet are unsuccessful as formal institutional framework and governance remains a challenge. The authors employ a sample of 3,515 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the ECOWAS and a two-stage instrumental variable approach to control for endogeneity. Additionally, the authors check for robustness using various measures of firm performance such as profitability, productivity and export intensity. The authors confirm that formal institutions are insignificant for firm profitability and productivity, whilst reducing informal, environmental and skill-based institutional barriers are associated with firm performance. However, when barriers to informal, environmental and skill-based institutions are at the lowest, formal institutions are associated with firm performance. The major limitation lies in the policy implications. Informal institutions come into play when formal institutions are weak. However, informal practices must be addressed in the form of formal enforcement. This leads to a conundrum. Policymakers should continue to market-supporting institutions and a conducive business environment to complement the formal institutional framework. This study provides new empirical evidence on how institutional quality affects firm performance by examining whether other institutional factors, such as the informal, environmental and skill-based institutional barriers, can moderate this effect.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-05-29
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-04-2023-0089
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • Does religiosity affect entrepreneurial intention across countries'

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      Authors: Jabir Ali
      Abstract: This study aims at analysing the influence of religiosity, entrepreneurial ecosystem (EES) and economic development (ED) on entrepreneurial behaviour across countries. Data from 54 countries on religiosity, entrepreneurial behaviour, EES and ED have been used for undertaking this research. Correlation, curve estimate and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) have been utilised for analysing the relationship between the variables. Findings suggest a positive and significant correlation between religiosity, entrepreneurial intention (EI) and attitude towards entrepreneurship (ATE), and a negative and significant correlation between religiosity, EES, and ED. Similarly, the curve estimate indicates a positive and significant effect of religiosity on EI and attitude, and a negative and significant influence on EES and economic growth. Finally, the results of PLS-SEM show a significant and positive influence of religiosity on EI and ATE; no significant influence on the EES and an inverse influence on ED. It is evident from the analysis that religiosity has positive and significant impacts on EI and ATE, while having mixed implications for creation of a formal EES and bringing about ED. This implies that an increase in the level of religiosity in a country is more likely to enhance EI due to the creation of strong informal social networks. The unique findings of this study would be useful for promoting entrepreneurship, EES and ED based on insights into the level of religiosity of a country.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-05-22
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-11-2022-0303
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • What determines the tax compliance intention of individual taxpayers
           receiving COVID-19-related benefits' Insights from Indonesia

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      Authors: Prianto Budi Saptono, Ismail Khozen
      Abstract: Even as governments worldwide take extraordinary measures and spend unprecedented amounts of their state budgets to combat COVID-19, tax compliance remains challenging. Therefore, this study employs previously identified predictors to investigate the factors that persuade individual taxpayers to comply with the law. Individual taxpayers in Indonesia (N = 699) who had experienced COVID-19-related benefits were asked to assess the provided evaluation regarding the tax compliance intention and its determinants. The bootstrapping analysis was employed using smart partial least squares (SmartPLS) to test the hypotheses. The results suggest that the perceived fiscal exchange, tax morality, tax fairness, tax complexity and the power of authority are significant determinants of tax compliance intention. This study also supports the indirect effects of numerous factors on tax compliance intention through the perceived fiscal exchange and tax morality. In practice, reminding taxpayers of how tax payments fund public services, improving taxpayer morale, increasing the perceived fairness of the tax system, streamlining the tax code and managing the effectiveness of tax administration could all lead to a greater intention to comply with the law. In addition to highlighting the dynamics of tax compliance amid the unprecedented pandemic crisis, our findings also provide insight into the importance of perceived fiscal exchange and tax morality for achieving and sustaining planned behavior to comply with tax rules.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-05-05
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-02-2023-0045
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • Pragmatic approaches to control inbound sex tourism and prostitution in
           Thailand and Cambodia: the examination of relevant policy gaps
           and suggestion of multifaceted policy development

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      Authors: Jason Hung
      Abstract: The essay aims to suggest policies that can help strategically deconstruct and dereproduce the establishment of (child) sexual exploitation in Thailand and Cambodia in phases, for the purpose of upholding child and human rights and rebranding the global image of these two regional commercial sex hubs in the long term. This essay is constructed based on the theoretical framework of the social control and general strain theories. Supported by the theories, the essay examines what are the socioeconomic determinants driving the prevalence of the (child) commercial sex industry in Thailand and Cambodia. Here the essay highlights and summarises how the (child) commercial sex industry has been constructed and reproduced. Next, the essay presents the existing policy gaps in relation to (child) sex tourism and sex exploitation. Last, and more importantly, the essay delivers perspectives on how Thai and Cambodian lawmakers and policymakers should respond to the severe societal problems of (child) sex trafficking and prostitution in relation to the prevailing sex tourism. At the national level, Bangkok and Phnom Penh have an urgent need to rebrand their countries, despite partially allowing commercial sex activities. Moreover, to promote gender equality, Bangkok and Phnom Penh should redistribute their education and occupational opportunities, enabling more school-aged girls or work-aged women to obtain a fairer share of life chances for self-empowerment. At the regional level, Bangkok and Phnom Penh have to tighten regulations against (child) sex exploitation. At the community level, the promotion of community policing can be conducive to minimising any prostitution activities. At the family level, more positive socialisation should be exercised. When more children, including girls, are subsidised to enter school, and are positively parented, there are more educational opportunities for school-aged cohorts. This essay contains scholarly originality and significance in the presentation of the socioeconomic construction of (child) sexual exploitation, and its relationship to sex tourism and (child) prostitution in Thai and Cambodian contexts, grounded in up-to-date, relevant sociological arguments. A major area that identifies the originality of this essay is the examination of existing, relevant policy gaps in a timely fashion, and correspondingly, the suggestion of policy development that helps deconstruct and deproduce (child) sexual exploitation at the national, regional, community and family levels.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-04-25
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-03-2023-0048
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • Fertility tourism: A systematic review

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      Authors: Paul Strickland, Vanessa Ratten
      Abstract: The aim of this article is to review the literature on fertility tourism in terms of social policy implications. There has been a global growth in interest in fertility tourism, especially amongst these in developed countries travelling to developing countries for fertility needs. Due to women's increased involvement in the workforce and changing societal norms, the age at which females start having children has risen resulting in a need for many to seek fertility help. These developments have led to a growth in fertility tourism and related services. The authors undertake a systematic literature review on fertility tourism to identify cognate research themes that relate to social policies such as assisted reproduction facilities, medical tourism and changing societal attitudes. The findings of the study have important implications for social policy particularly regarding the tourism and health industry, practitioners and policymakers. This involves focussing on new geographic regions that are underrepresented in current research but have a high interest in fertility tourism. Currently much of the research is centred around western contexts but as evident in our review newly emerging markets in countries that have high infertility rates requires further attention. In addition, the authors provide directions for future research avenues that focus on how to evaluate changing social policies with regards to reproductive choices. Whilst there has been much discussion in the media about fertility tourism there is limited knowledge about social policies related to human reproductive systems, so this article is amongst the first to discuss societal implications.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-04-10
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-02-2023-0047
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • Can social inclusion policies promote financial inclusion'

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      Authors: Peterson K. Ozili
      Abstract: This study aims to examine whether social inclusion policies promote financial inclusion. Three social inclusion policies were analyzed: gender equality policies, environmental sustainability policies and social protection (SP) policies. The study used the panel fixed effect regression methodology to analyze data from 48 low- and medium-income countries. The results show that social inclusion policies do not have a significant effect on financial inclusion. Also, the older population is less likely to own an account at a formal financial institution in low- and medium-income countries that have strong environmental sustainability policies and institutions. The implication of the finding is that the policies and institutions established to promote environmental sustainability can discourage the older population from keeping the population's wealth in formal financial institutions in the country. Policy makers should consider how social and environmental policies and programs can be designed to promote financial inclusion for older individuals in the individuals' countries. The financial inclusion literature has not considered the role of social inclusion policies in promoting financial inclusion for individuals, businesses and the excluded groups in a country.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-04-07
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-03-2023-0054
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • Gender and leadership positions: understanding women's experiences and
           challenges in patriarchal societies in Northern Ghana

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      Authors: Awinaba Amoah Adongo, Jonathan Mensah Dapaah, Francess Dufie Azumah
      Abstract: Women are rarely seen in positions of leadership in patriarchal societies, which is unsurprising. Following gender equity policies, few women have been able to break through the gender equity barrier and assume leadership positions in schools. Few research investigations have delved into the experiences and challenges that women encounter in positions of leadership in patriarchal societies in government schools in Northern Ghana. The study seeks to comprehend the experiences and challenges that women confront in positions of leadership in patriarchal societies in Northern Ghana. The study aimed to gain a better understanding of the experiences and challenges that women encounter in educational leadership roles in patriarchal societies in Northern Ghana. To achieve the study's objectives, a quantitative research approach and a social survey design were used, as well as descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study revealed that in patriarchal societies in Northern Ghana, women experience conventional gender roles that conflict with roles, cultural values, gender stereotyping, family responsibilities and cultural beliefs and perceptions of women and attitudes and low expectations of women's managerial skills discourage women from taking on leadership positions in men-dominated societies. There is a need to shift the gender position and question the negative cultural convictions of cultural and patriarchal societies. Equal opportunities for men and women necessitate equal access to leadership positions. It proposes that in patriarchal societies, education and community stakeholder involvement in leadership training programmes for women be considered, as policy documents alone would not be sufficient to eradicate deeply embedded cultural social practices and dispel negative notions about women in leadership positions in men-dominated societies. The study established that in patriarchal societies, women experienced conventional gender roles that conflict with roles, cultural values, gender stereotyping, family responsibilities, cultural vulnerability of women and the interplay between cultural expected roles and management goals influence women from taking on leadership positions.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-03-28
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-02-2023-0028
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • What works for whom' What theories may predict about the effectiveness
           of measures against employment discrimination

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      Authors: Áron Hajnal, Ágota Scharle
      Abstract: Employment discrimination persists across global labour markets inflicting considerable social and economic costs. The existing literature tends to focus on explaining and measuring discrimination or on the measures to tackle it, overlooking the links between these areas. The paper contributes to filling this gap in order to inform policy design and empirical research on the impact of anti-discrimination policies. The paper assesses the potential effectiveness of commonly used policy measures in tackling the types of discrimination described in the theoretical literature. The assessment is based on the underlying incentive structure of particular policies, which is matched with the behaviour of employers predicted by particular theories. The potential effectiveness of commonly used anti-discrimination policies varies greatly depending on the source of discrimination and the target group. Some commonly used tools, such as wage subsidies are likely to have modest effects for several target groups, while employer counselling may be a more effective and cheaper alternative in many cases. Quotas may be effective against various types of discrimination, but setting them is challenging and they may yield adverse effects. The findings call for more research on and consideration of the motives behind employment discrimination in the targeting and design of anti-discrimination measures. The authors propose a framework to link discrimination types with measures against discrimination and potential target groups, which allows for systematically linking the literature on theories of discrimination and research on anti-discrimination.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-03-20
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-12-2022-0318
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • Panacea or poison' Exploring the paradoxical problematizations of
           loneliness, technology and youth in Norwegian and UK policymaking

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      Authors: Elian Eve Jentoft, Marit Haldar
      Abstract: Loneliness’ impact on health and wellbeing has emerged as a public health issue in several countries. Young people are increasingly understood as a ‘risk group’ and intervention target for loneliness-reduction. This research paper aims to present a discourse analysis of policies and political speech about young people and loneliness. Using discourse analysis inspired by Carol Bacchi’s “What is the Problem Represented to Be” (WPR) approach, this cross-cultural analysis studies loneliness policy in the United Kingdom (UK) and Norway. In doing so, the authors ask: What is the problem of loneliness among young people represented to be in UK and Norwegian welfare policy' The findings indicate paradoxical problematizations of the role technology plays among lonely young people, who, in this context, are divided in two categories: able normative and disabled youth. We reveal fundamental differences in beliefs about the impact of technology on these groups, and corresponding differences in the proposed solutions. The problem of young peoples’ loneliness is represented as uncertainty about potential harms of digital connectedness and reduced face-to-face interactions. In contrast, the problem of loneliness among disabled youth is represented as impeded access to social realms, with technology serving a benign role as equalizer. Little research has examined this new policy field. The article contributes to filling this gap and encourages policymakers to consider how political discourses on loneliness may lead them to overlook digital interventions young people could find beneficial.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-02-27
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-11-2022-0292
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • Tax compliance of small and medium sized enterprises in Ghana

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      Authors: Edward Nartey
      Abstract: Tax compliance studies have been extensively conducted across various jurisdictions. However, only partial answers have so far been provided for the question: “Why do people pay tax'”. The aim of this study is to report tax compliance behavior from both the supply side (SMEs) and demand side (tax collecting authorities) in Ghana. A survey of 233 responses comprising 169 SME managers and 64 tax officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority qualified for the study. Data were modelled using covariance-based structural equations modelling (AMOS Graphics version 23). Isomorphic forces and tax fairness have a positive impact on tax compliance. However, the impact of strategic response on tax compliance was insignificant, which suggests that, although SMEs in Ghana adopt different strategies to respond to institutional pressures, such strategies do not influence their tax compliance behavior. This study investigates tax compliance behavior among SMEs using a survey design from only one developing country – Ghana. Based on a cross-sectional survey and the approach used to gather the sample data, assessing any changes over time may be impossible. The findings suggest that SMEs’ tax compliance behaviors are shaped by institutional pressures in terms of obeying tax laws and filling their tax returns in a consistent manner. Given that isomorphic forces and tax fairness are significant predictors of tax compliance, SME tax compliance can be improved if strong institutions are incorporated in the administration of taxes. The findings also support the logical thinking of tax fairness theory that the higher SMEs perceived the tax system to be fair, the more their compliance behavior is encouraged. This study represents one of the few to provide preliminary empirical evidence on tax compliance from the supply side of taxation in a developing economy. Therefore, the findings have implications for taxpayers in Ghana.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-02-09
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-06-2022-0159
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • A critical evaluation of research associated with carers’ organisations
           since the start of the Carers' Movement

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      Authors: Rachel Crossdale, Lisa Buckner
      Abstract: Since the start of the Carers’ Movement research into unpaid care and carers has been used to advocate for policy change. The purpose of this paper is to address the changes in research into unpaid care and carers since the start of the Carers’ Movement and to explore the relationship between these changes and social policy. This research paper is based on a qualitative study of documents within the Carers UK archive. Research into unpaid care and carers has changed focus from caregiving as an identity and lifestyle to an interruption to “normal” life and employment. Changes in research are intertwined with changes in policy, with research evidencing advocation for policy change and policy change fuelling further research. Changes in the methodology of this research exposes transition points in the Carers’ Movement and in social research more broadly. This paper contributes to critical understandings of the relationship between research into unpaid care and caring and policy. The paper also contributes to debates on methodology, exploring how the methodological zeitgeist presents in archived research. Understanding how current research into unpaid care and carers has been developed and acknowledging the role of policy in research development brings available data on unpaid care and caring under scrutiny. This paper is original in developing a critical analysis of the relationship between research into unpaid care and carers and social policy.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-02-06
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-10-2022-0275
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • Outcomes of psychological contract breach for banking employees during
           COVID-19 pandemic: moderating role of learned helplessness

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      Authors: Anushree Karani Mehta, Divyang Purohit, Payal Trivedi, Rasananda Panda
      Abstract: The present study aims to understand the relationship between psychological contract breach (PCB) and outcome variables with mediation role of job stress, psychological empowerment and moderating role of learned helplessness. Descriptive cross-sectional research design was deployed. Data were collected from the Indian public sector bank employees, especially from those who are regularly going to the banks even during the lockdown situation. A total of 239 respondents were contacted via online and offline method. The authors reported that bank employees feel the breach of psychological contract which induced job stress. Further, job stress negatively impacts their psychological empowerment and psychological empowered employees exhibit increased innovative behavior and well-being. The authors also found that job stress and psychological empowerment mediated the relationship between PCB and outcome variables, and learned helplessness moderates this relationship. The current study captures the psychological response of employees during the pandemic era. The study also highlights that during the pandemic, when majority of the employers have given work from home, the public sector employees were regularly going to the banks with fragile mindset. The banks' managers and HR managers can also understand that how the fulfillment of expectations is important not only for employee well-being but also for the health of the organization.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-01-23
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-11-2022-0288
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • Culture and innovation: a human emancipation perspective

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      Authors: Hamid Yeganeh
      Abstract: This study aims at offering a comprehensive thesis about the relationship between different cultural values and innovativeness. Building on the human emancipation perspective and using data from Hofstede’s, Schwartz’s, and Inglehart’s cultural frameworks, the authors conduct a cross-national investigation into the effects of cultural values on national innovativeness. The analyses show that emancipatory cultural dimensions such as rationality, secularity, self-expression, individualism, low uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, mastery and autonomy have significantly positive associations with national innovativeness. The opposing cultural values, such as traditionalism, religiosity, survival, collectivism, high uncertainty avoidance, short-term orientation, harmony and conservatism, have negative associations with national innovativeness. This study contributes to the literature by putting forward a comprehensive and theory-driven explanation of the relationship between cultural values and innovativeness, by using all of Hofstede’s, Schwartz’s and Inglehart’s dimensions, by incorporating ethnic, linguistic and religious diversities and by applying alternative measures of the national innovativeness.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-01-20
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-07-2022-0185
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • Women entrepreneurs in the craft industry: a case study of the batik
           industry during the COVID-19 pandemic

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      Authors: Grisna Anggadwita, Nurul Indarti, Vanessa Ratten
      Abstract: Batik is a craft in the creative industry, which is the identity of the Indonesian nation. One of the main batik tourism areas in Indonesia is Trusmi, and women entrepreneurs have a strategic role in developing the batik craft industry in the region. The batik industry faced various challenges during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Therefore, this study aims to explore the impact and identify strategic options during the COVID-19 period on batik businesses owned by women entrepreneurs in the Trusmi area. This study uses a qualitative case study method by interviewing ten batik women entrepreneurs in the Trusmi area. This study elaborates findings about the impact of COVID-19, the technology role, collaboration, the government role and strategic options. This study provides academic and practical implications, which are discussed further about the role of the craft industry in dealing with economic and social turmoil.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-01-19
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-12-2022-0305
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • Budgeting poverty alleviation: justifying in-kind conditionality
           in Israeli municipal authorities

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      Authors: Orly Benjamin, Karni Krigel, Nir Cohen, Anat Tchetchik
      Abstract: Welfare reforms introduced conditionality into cash transfers often by diverse welfare-to-work programs achieving its vast legitimization. Meanwhile in-kind poverty alleviation policies maintained their universal character in the forms of national budgeting of municipal services. Utilizing justification work, the authors aim at showing how conditionality of in-kind support is replacing universalism. The authors ask which justification work assist administrators in shaping the relationship between in-kind and cash transfer and the changing meanings of poverty alleviation practices. The authors conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with senior administrators in Israeli local governments analysing them along principles of critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 2010). Further, seeking to elicit the justification work, the authors added some guidelines from the discourse interaction approach. The findings identified administrators' justification work as taking two major shapes. The first is an emphasis on conditionality in their in-kind support projects, which is limited in time, contingent upon co-operation and sometimes even enhancing choice for those in need. The second is the manifestation of pride anchored in the skilful budget management enabling the achievement of conditional in-kind support projects based on the effort involved. The authors did not prompt the interviewees for the proportions of specific categories, such as whether they are attending and benefitting of the in-kind support programs. This is a limitation of this study that prevented the authors from contrasting perceived achievements against the actual coverage of their projects. It is important that government funding is increased for municipal anti-poverty policies engaging municipal administrator in the struggle for full and better coverage so that capability deprivation is combatted by a combination of cash transfer and quality social services that are universal and at the same time secure mentoring and supervision to all households in need. Future research should present the analysis that associates different budgets of each city with its anti-poverty polices and its different socio-economic ranking. Critical social-policy scholars may apply this study’s findings in future analyses of municipal administrators' power position as reinforced by national level policy makers, particularly when introducing controversial policies. Anti-poverty policy and the specific combination between conditional cash transfers and in-kind support have been explained at the level of political–economic decision making. The authors conceptualize the need to explain anti-poverty policy by focussing on municipal administrators’ embedded agency, particularly around controversial issues. By building the professional self of municipal welfare administrators, inter alia by ignoring past meanings of in-kind support as depriving recipients of autonomy, conditionality is extended into in-kind services.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-01-19
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-07-2022-0175
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • Child benefits and child tax allowances in the Czech Republic, Slovak
           Republic and Sweden

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      Authors: Jan Hájek, Cecília Olexová
      Abstract: The paper deals with the child benefits system in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and Sweden. The authors describe the systems as the key baseline for subsequent qualitative and quantitative comparison. An essential element is the quantitative comparison of child benefits using their statistically stationarised values. The Czech and Slovak systems provide a comparable rate of coverage as the Swedish system regarding the payment of both types of benefits, i.e. child benefits and tax allowances, for the first and second child; however, from the third child, the individual differences are considerable. Albeit the concepts of Czech and Slovak systems are framed by the same historical origins and conceptual approach, they differ significantly, with Slovakia providing the lowest aggregate level of child benefits. The paper provides insight into the child benefit systems in the respective countries. These systems are at the centre of attention of policymakers who are attempting to maintain birth rates and reduce child poverty. The Czech Republic has the lowest level of at-risk-of-poverty rates for persons under 16 years of age, while natality rates are comparable.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-01-16
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-07-2022-0183
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • Social infrastructure platforms: the case of AskingBristol

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      Authors: Martin Parker, James Brown, Hannah Jusu-Sheriff, John Manley
      Abstract: The project – AskingBristol – uses university students to connect third sector organizations with particular “asks” to organizations which might be able to respond with “offers”. The authors describe the task of the experiment as being an attempt to embed students and their universities within the cities that they are based in, but are often not really very connected to. This reflective report on practice describes an initiative aimed at producing a piece of “social infrastructure”. Written by the four people involved, the authors theorize and evaluate what we have done so far and what we hope to do in future. Over two phases, it has had some success, and we think represents a concrete approach to thinking about how “civic” ideas might gain traction within universities. Using ideas about social networks, boundary objects and infrastructure the authors explore the opportunities and problems of such a project, stressing that it allows co-ordination between a wide variety of people and organizations that do not necessarily share common interests. This is one “experiment”, in one city, but it demonstrates the possibilities of getting “civic” universities engaged with local third sector organizations. If it became a piece of social infrastructure, such a project could embed ideas about “civic”, “impact”, “engagement” and so on into the routines of the city and the university. Though Asking Bristol cannot solve the problems of the city, it shows that we can transfer resources, time, skills and space to where they are needed. The authors do not think anything like this has been attempted before, and hope that sharing it will stimulate some comparisons, and perhaps some dissemination of the idea.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-01-10
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-08-2022-0208
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • Home care workers' views of employment conditions: private for-profit vs
           public and non-profit providers in Ireland
         This is an Open Access Article Open Access Article

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      Authors: Nicholas O'Neill, Julien Mercille, Justin Edwards
      Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to compare home care workers' views of their employment conditions by provider type – private for-profit vs public and non-profit – using the case study of Ireland. An online survey was distributed to care workers (n = 350) employed by private for-profit, public and non-profit home care providers in Ireland. Returned questionnaires were analysed statistically in R using chi-squared tests to systematically compare key aspects of employment conditions. Analysis shows that conditions are perceived to be significantly worse for those employed by private for-profit providers (and to a lesser extent non-profit organisations) compared to the public provider. There are wide disparities between public and private sector conditions in terms of contracts, pensions, unsocial hours pay and travel time allowances. The main area of convergence is in relation to employer support, where although the public sector performed better, the difference between the three provider types is smaller. Relatively little research compares working conditions in private for-profit providers vs public and non-profit providers in Ireland and other countries. The findings can be understood in the context of marketisation reforms and may partly be explained by a lack of regulation in Ireland's home care sector and low unionisation rates amongst care workers employed by private for-profit providers.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-01-03
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-10-2022-0276
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • How online collaboration software shapes control at work' Evidence
           from news organizations

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      Authors: Afshin Omidi, Cinzia Dal Zotto
      Abstract: Online collaboration software (OCS), such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, has become widespread among news organizations as these tools help news workers collaborate across different locations and make communication more efficient inside newsrooms. While such technologies are increasingly employed as teamwork productivity boosters, the authors’ knowledge of their potential role in shaping control mechanisms and power dynamics within news work is limited. This paper addresses how different types of control may emerge within virtual newsrooms being operated by OCS. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue. The paper employs an interview-based qualitative method and provides evidence gathered from 20 interviews with digital journalists and media managers representing 11 online news media in Switzerland. The findings reveal how OCS could lead to various control mechanisms in the workplace by directing, evaluating and disciplining journalists in specific ways. This study suggests that while OCS can be valuable in boosting collaborations among news staff, it might create a situation where journalists are less able to focus on their work and creative activities. Most importantly, OCS bolsters an “always-on” work culture in news media and removes obstacles for employers and managers to invade journalists' space, time and mind. By focusing on three aspects of control mechanisms, including direction, evaluation and discipline, this paper contributes to a better understanding of the role of OCS in shaping control and power dynamics within news media organizations.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-01-02
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-10-2022-0262
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
       
  • Rethinking paid domestic services in modern societies – Experimental
           evidence on the effect of quality and professionalisation on service
           demand
         This is an Open Access Article Open Access Article

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      Authors: Natascha Nisic, Friederike Molitor, Miriam Trübner
      Abstract: Although essential to social welfare, unpaid domestic and care work is an increasingly scarce resource in modern societies. Despite the growing need, many households refrain from outsourcing their domestic chores to the market. Simultaneously, the household service sector is mostly characterised by low-qualification, informal jobs lacking quality and professional standards. Drawing on transaction cost theory, the present study aims to examine how trust problems deriving from the quality and professionalisation of domestic services can be overcome by also exploring the role of state subsidies in this context. A factorial survey experiment in Germany (N = 4024) causally explores the effect of state-subsidised service vouchers, quality signals and professionalisation on preferences and willingness-to-pay for domestic services. The data were analysed using multilevel modelling techniques. Hypotheses are mostly confirmed: strong quality signals help overcome trust problems, thus facilitating the demand for household services. Further, service vouchers can generate better pay for domestic workers while simultaneously reducing the costs for households. The relevance of professionalisation and quality of service as important determinants of domestic service demand is revealed. However, the experimental survey design involves hypothetical scenarios. The analysis offers insights into how to stimulate demand for household services and increase formal employment in a sector currently largely characterised by informal arrangements. It further shows how social policies can help secure quality and foster professionalisation by shifting paid domestic work from the informal to the formal economy.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-05-09
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-11-2022-0290
      Issue No: Vol. 43, No. 13/14 (2023)
       
  • Contribution of the informal sector towards sustainable livelihoods:
           evidence from Khayelitsha Township, Cape Town
         This is an Open Access Article Open Access Article

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      Authors: Sinhle Thwala, Tyanai Masiya, Stellah N. Lubinga
      Abstract: This study aims to investigates the contribution of the informal sector towards secure livelihoods. Using a case study design, the study focusses on Mandela park, situated in Khayelitsha Township, Cape Town, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Khayelitsha is predominantly an old township established by the apartheid government using unjust segregation laws to foster spatial planning that isolated people of colour in areas with insufficient infrastructure and informal economic activities. Therefore, informal trading became a survival strategy in Khayelitsha, attracting an increasing number of informal traders in public spaces within the township in pursuit of livelihoods. Informal activities are generally conducted to generate income and secure sustainable livelihoods. This study uses a qualitative research design, incorporating structured interviews instrumental in data collection and in-depth thematic analysis. The study findings reveal that the informal sector positively contributes to the sustainable livelihoods of those involved in the informal sector and the relatives of those through income generation, family support, wealth creation, source of employment, business incubation and innovation and creativity. The study concludes that given the increasing unemployment rate in South Africa, caused by the stagnant economic growth rate, policymakers should rethink their policies on the informal economy, acknowledge the sector's relevance and support the sector.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-04-28
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-11-2022-0289
      Issue No: Vol. 43, No. 13/14 (2023)
       
  • The value of pension reforms for late working life: evidence from
           Sweden
         This is an Open Access Article Open Access Article

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      Authors: Chiara Natalie Focacci, Gülin Öylü, Andreas Motel-Klingebiel, Susanne Kelfve
      Abstract: Driven by the aim to increase the participation of older people in the labour force and to extend people's working lives, the Swedish Parliament passed a bill in 1998 to increase the pension eligibility age from 60 to 61 years and establish a notional defined-contribution (NDC) plan. In this article, the authors investigate the impacts towards the prolongation of working lives expected from such an intervention. The authors apply a multinomial probabilistic model based on Swedish registry data on the birth cohorts 1937–1938 (n = 102,826) and observe differences in exit behaviour between eligible and non-eligible individuals. The authors find that the cohorts eligible to the pension reform exit the labour market at a later age compared to non-eligible cohorts at the 61-years cut-off. The authors also find that the effect persists in the long term. Furthermore, the authors find that both men and women are equally struck by the reform. While there exist many descriptive reports and theoretical analyses on the costs and benefits of pension reforms, this study is the first one to empirically analyse the effect of the first European NDC pay-as-you go pension plan on the potential exclusion of old-aged workers.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-04-06
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-02-2023-0038
      Issue No: Vol. 43, No. 13/14 (2023)
       
  • The gender dimension of outsiderness in Western
           Europe: a comparative cross-model analysis
         This is an Open Access Article Open Access Article

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      Authors: Giovanni Amerigo Giuliani
      Abstract: The article investigates whether and to what extent outsiderness is gendered in Western Europe, both in terms of its spread and degree. It thus explores which male and female post-Fordist social classes are more exposed to the risk of this phenomenon. It also scrutinizes whether such a gendered characterization has varied over time and across clusters of Western European countries. Relying on a comparative analysis of the data provided by the European Social Survey (ESS) dataset and comparing two points in time – the early/mid-2000s and the late 2010s – the work provides both a dichotomous and continuous variable of outsiderness, which measure its spread and degree in the female and male workforces of a pooled set of growth models. The empirical analysis shows that outsiderness is profoundly gendered in Western Europe and thus a feminized social phenomenon. However, the comparative investigation highlights that outsiderness has been genderized in diverse ways across the four growth models. Different patterns of gendered outsiderness can be identified. The article provides a comparative and diachronic analysis of outsiderness from a gender lens, putting into a mutual dialogue different literature on labour market, and shows that outsiderness represents a key analytical dimension for assessing gender inequalities.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-03-28
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-12-2022-0317
      Issue No: Vol. 43, No. 13/14 (2023)
       
  • How does institutional context shape work-related functionings for regular
           and self-employed workers' A contextualised application of the capability
           approach to Belgium, France and the Netherlands
         This is an Open Access Article Open Access Article

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      Authors: Chiara Natalie Focacci, François Pichault
      Abstract: According to Sen's theoretical framework of capability (1985), individuals reach their full potential once they have the freedom, intended as the set of functionings at their disposal, to do so. However, many critiques have been developed against the lack of embeddedness of the capability approach in social and political relations and structures. In this article, the authors investigate the influence of three institutional contexts (Belgium, the Netherlands and France) on the respective work-related functionings of self-employed and regular workers, with a focus on human capital investment and institutional support offered to them. Data from the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) are used to highlight similarities and differences in building work-related functionings for regular and self-employed workers. A regression analysis is provided at the country level. In the three labour markets, the authors find that the building of work-related functionings is more successful for regular employees, especially as regards institutional support. Self-employed workers, on the other hand, need to rely on their individual capability as regards employment protection and human capital investment. However, the authors find interesting differences between the three institutional contexts. In both Belgium and France, self-employed workers are subject to higher instability in terms of changes in salary and hours worked, whereas atypical work is better positioned in the Dutch labour market. The Netherlands is also characterised by a less significant gap between regular and self-employed workers with respect to participation in training. In this article, the authors contextualise Sen's (1985) theoretical framework by taking into account the institutional differences of labour markets. In particular, the authors provide a novel application of his capability approach to regular and self-employed workers in an economically relevant European area.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2023-03-01
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-12-2022-0312
      Issue No: Vol. 43, No. 13/14 (2023)
       
  • Understanding lurking behavior on enterprise social media:
           the perspective of the transactional model of stress

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      Authors: Qin Yuan, Chun Liu
      Abstract: Drawing on the transactional model of stress, this study develops a theoretical model to understand the lurking behavior on enterprise social media (ESM). Based on a questionnaire survey, this research study collected valid data from 301 ESM users in the workplace. Hierarchical regression analyses are used to analyze the conceptual framework. The results show that Zhongyong thinking is a significant predictor of lurking and emotional exhaustion and that lurking can cause emotional exhaustion. Lurking mediates the relationship between Zhongyong thinking and emotional exhaustion. Additionally, communication overload moderates the relationship between lurking and emotional exhaustion as well as the indirect relationship between Zhongyong thinking and emotional exhaustion through lurking. This article examines the antecedents of lurking by considering Zhongyong thinking and explores how lurking on ESM influences emotional exhaustion. This research contributes to the literature on techno-stressors, lurking and ESM and hopefully contributes to the growing dialog about the consequences of lurking in the workplace.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-12-26
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-12-2022-0304
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • Initial social-policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Global
           North – A scoping review
         This is an Open Access Article Open Access Article

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      Authors: Päivi Mäntyneva, Eeva-Leena Ketonen, Heikki Hiilamo
      Abstract: The purpose of this scoping review is to analyse comparative studies on social-policy measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in Global North welfare states. The authors also consider the potential influence of the regimes on the responses. The authors conducted a scoping review of six databases including peer-reviewed comparative studies. In an iterative process with exact inclusion criteria, the authors screened 699 titles/abstracts/articles and found 16 comparative research articles to be included in the review and analysis. The review summarises the main themes of the comparative articles and the articles' typical features. The results show that social-policy measures were directed specifically at working-age people to minimise income loss and to save jobs. The pandemic also increased care-related responsibilities, necessitating the expansion of current policies and the implementation of new instruments. Despite the differences in responses between universalistic and residual welfare states, the influence of welfare regimes on COVID-19 social-policy measures remains unclear. The emergency responses in the different regimes varied widely in terms of coverage. The results of this review provide a basis on which to conduct future studies, identify new research topics and knowledge gaps and inspire new research questions and hypotheses. Given the accumulation of scientific knowledge in the area of social-policy measures, the need for systematic reviews will grow in the future. The authors identified three main themes: changes in employment protection, changes in care-related income protection and the potential influence of welfare-state regimes on COVID-19-related measures.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-12-20
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-08-2022-0207
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • Does institutional quality affect the relationship between
           income inequality and entrepreneurial activity'

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      Authors: Hazwan Haini, Yazid Abdullahi Abubakar, Pang Wei Loon
      Abstract: This study examines whether institutional quality affects the relationship between income inequality and entrepreneurial activity. The authors specifically examine whether the greasing or sanding effect holds for the relationship between income inequality and entrepreneurship, while moderating for institutional quality. The greasing effects suggest that income inequality can promote entrepreneurial activity, while the sanding effects disincentivise it. The authors examine this relationship using a sample of 100 advanced and developing countries from 2006 to 2018 using a dynamic panel estimator to control endogeneity and simultaneity. Additionally, the authors include an interaction term to estimate the marginal effects of income inequality, while moderating for institutional quality. Furthermore, the authors differentiate between six measures of institutional quality. Overall, the authors find that institutional quality and income inequality have a positive and significant impact on entrepreneurial activity. However, when moderating for institutional quality, the findings show that the marginal impact of income inequality is negative for countries with low levels of institutional quality. The authors show that the rule of law and government effectiveness are effective moderators in terms of magnitude. Furthermore, the authors find that the sanding effect of income inequality is observed in developing economies, even when moderating for institutional quality. The major limitation lies in the estimation of entrepreneurial activity, which is measured using new business formation. While this is commonly used, it focuses on formal entrepreneurial activities and overlooks the informal economy. This study provides new empirical evidence on whether institutional quality can moderate and explain the puzzling link between entrepreneurial activity and income inequality.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-12-19
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-10-2022-0254
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • Consumer logics and the relational performance of selling high-risk goods:
           the case of elective cosmetic surgery

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      Authors: Anson Au
      Abstract: This article investigates how medical specialists as professionals and elective cosmetic surgery tourists as consumers relationally negotiate decisions within the cosmetic surgery clinic. Drawing on a Goffmanian approach, this article explores the processual social structures that shape consumer logics in the clinic as a social space and as a type of professional institution. This article is based on ethnographic fieldwork in cosmetic surgery clinics in South Korea. This article identifies two genres of professional strategies (spatial arrangements and dramaturgical performances) that are leveraged by medical specialists to assert control over and persuade consumers to purchase cosmetic surgery. The valorization of surgery captured in this article suggests that surgical modifications may serve as another vehicle for entrenching class inequality between those able and those unable to afford surgery. This article offers recommendations for future policymaking in terms of the regulatory oversight of the consumer profiles eligible for surgery and the marketing practices of clinics. This article offers a micro-level account of how the high-risk good of cosmetic surgery is sold by medical specialists in charismatic and affective bids to enhance their legitimacy, authority and trust.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-11-29
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-07-2022-0180
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • Diversity management in the integration of minorities in the job market:
           policies and practices

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      Authors: Tehila Kalagy, Orna Braun-Lewensohn
      Abstract: Cultural variance represents a significant challenge to policy designers and, in practice, to employers in the varied employment spaces. Providing workplace accessibility for the integration of various cultural groups requires deep thinking and creating unique possibilities for each group in accord with its particular heritage. Ultra-Orthodox society in Israel is a religious minority group that has undergone significant changes, from a desire to maintain total separation, to gradual integration into a variety of areas in Israeli society. In light of these changes, we sought to examine what policies should be adopted in order to improve ultra- Orthodox integration. Methodologically, we examined the cultural variance of ultra-Orthodox academics in their workplace using combined methods. The study included 745 ultra-Orthodox academics who responded to an online questionnaire that examined the issue in question from various aspects. In addition, four focus groups were convened, in which discussion examined issues. The study findings reveal that the integration policies of the various workplaces were above and beyond the expectations of the cultural diversity management approach. Although the study focused on the personal perspective of the ultra-Orthodox employees who integrated, the employers' open and accepting attitudes were very prominent. The participants' comments showed that the employers showed great consideration for their needs and exceptional cultural sensitivity towards the employees' temperament. This dialogue constitutes the basis for managing variance in a multicultural society. The understanding by the employer of the background and cultural legacy from which the worker has come, alongside the difficulties he must cope with constitutes, in itself, the basis for building a stable relationship between employer and worker and for optimal integration of a minority group in society. The findings indicate that cultural adjustment is required in four areas: a. Adaptation from the social and cultural aspect in the workplace. b. The definition of different areas of employment specific to gender. c. Consideration of the employees' halachic needs d. Professional preparation for employees prior to their absorption. This study is a pioneering one, examining the integration of ultra-Orthodox academics in the Israeli economy. This process is very significant in a political entity with different cultural identities. The acquisition of a higher education in ultra-Orthodox society in Israel and subsequent integration into the Israeli economy has a decisive cultural and economic impact on both the ultra-Orthodox and general societies simultaneously. An examination of the issue of integration of the ultra-Orthodox minority in employment is intended not only to investigate the character and nature of the process, but also to examine the place of multiculturalism in Western societies and the interaction between a minority group and the majority group, with an emphasis on employment.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-11-24
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-09-2022-0228
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • Post-COVID-19 poverty in France: magnitude, manifestations and actors from
           nine case studies

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      Authors: Célia Bouchet, Nicolas Duvoux
      Abstract: Drawing on the French case, this article examines the size and scope of poverty resulting from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the diversity of poverty's manifestations and the role of public action (among other actors) in addressing the poverty. This reflection unfolds at the confluence between the international literature on the economic effects of COVID-19 around the world and the methodological and conceptual issues on poverty. Following a research report to the French Government in 2021, a new academic collaboration is initiated to assess the conceptual issues underlying the report's nine quantitative, qualitative and participatory studies. A thematic analysis is used to elaborate on an original framework. COVID-19 not only had detrimental economic effects on specific groups, such as precarious workers and students, but also serious effects on social isolation, mental health, access to welfare and public services. Together with assessing the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on poverty in France, this paper highlights the lack of recognition of community support in the face of hard times. The COVID-19 outbreak has not only deteriorated socioeconomic situations in France, but has also unmasked structural, long-term components of poverty. The paper discusses three policy implications of these revelations, concerning (1) the monitoring of non-monetary dimensions of poverty, (2) the needs of various groups under a welfare state with a dual structure and (3) the role of communities in public policy schemes.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-11-16
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-07-2022-0182
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • Exploring the contributions of concepts of time to pension studies in
           Hong Kong and the United Kingdom

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      Authors: Liam Foster, Sam Wai Kam Yu, Ruby Chui Man Chau
      Abstract: This article aims to link discussions of the role of earnings-related pension measures with time in Hong Kong (HK) and the United Kingdom (UK). It presents a new conceptual “time-based framework” to explore two related types of government response to the way people accumulate pension incomes through participation in paid work. The first is to consider governments' perceptions of appropriate time in work and retirement. The second is to consider how governments use pension measures to influence the connection between the amount of time people spend in paid work and retirement. This is a conceptual paper. The time-based framework is developed using literature concerning discretionary time and the social construction of time. To explore the empirical significance of this framework, the authors discuss how it can be applied to the analysis of earnings-related pension measures in HK and the UK. The evidence generated from the discussion of the earnings-related pension measures in HK and the UK shows that pension policies can serve both as a financial and time instrument. At the same time as influencing the connection between the amount of time people spend in paid work and the pensions they can accumulate, pension policies can be used to convey the government's views on important time issues, namely the appropriate length of time in work and retirement, and the relative value of the time spent in paid work and providing informal care. A new framework is developed to explore the connection between the studies of earnings-related pension measures and time, which is an understudied area.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-11-08
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-08-2022-0218
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • Sense of belonging among people outside of working life in Finland

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      Authors: Elina Turunen, Heikki Hiilamo
      Abstract: For social inclusion, it is necessary to have a sense of belonging to society, whether having a job or not. Experience of belonging means feeling a part of something beyond oneself. It can be a place, a moment, a situation or a group of people. The authors study how unemployed people experience their place in a society; more specifically, the authors analyse which emotions and affects encourage (and discourage) the sense of belongingness among the unemployed. Emotions and affects were examined in 10 focus group interviews collected in Finland between 2016 and 2017. The data was analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results demonstrate that sense of belonging is enhanced by affects such as being needed, being accepted and experiencing equal treatment. To achieve these affects, promotion of social contacts, participation and contribution to the common good are important. Previous studies have mostly ignored the role of emotions and affects in the experience of unemployment. The findings emphasize the importance of emotions and affects in promoting and eroding the sense of belonging among unemployed people.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-10-28
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-06-2022-0144
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • Crisis management: personal financial well-being and public attitudes
           toward government intervention

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      Authors: Andrea Lawlor, Tyler Girard, Philippe Wodnicki, Miranda Goode
      Abstract: Crises precipitate strong fiscal responses by government – sometimes toward austerity, other times toward renewed social spending. This variation in approaches to crisis handling has the potential to highlight factors that drive public opinion toward government interventions that may be quite different from those in non-crisis times. This study aims to discuss the aforementioned issues. This article brings together theories of government policymaking in crises, policy responsiveness and economic voting to assess how personal financial (egocentric) concerns and/or national financial (sociotropic) concerns may influence opinions toward government handling of direct financial supports in a crisis and, more generally, opinions toward social policy interventions. The authors assess this dynamic in the Canadian context using original national survey data collected in the initial stage of the pandemic-based crisis in June and July of 2020 (N = 1290). The authors find strong evidence in support of sociotropic concerns shaping government approval and support for greater social policy interventions, but limited evidence to support egocentric concerns, suggesting that social policy attitudes may be more insulated from personal factors than anticipated. The authors’ findings suggest that crises may prompt enhanced support for interventionist social policy measures that may lack broad-based support in non-crisis times. The authors’ findings speak to the ongoing discussion around the possibility for crises to function as policy windows for enhanced social spending and for entrenching targeted financial supports for vulnerable individuals.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-10-04
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-07-2022-0184
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • The impact of perceived organizational support on professional commitment:
           a moderation of burnout and mediation of well-being

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      Authors: Sehrish Ilyas, Ghulam Abid, Fouzia Ashfaq
      Abstract: In today’s challenging world, achieving professional commitment among healthcare workers is becoming the need of time. Drawing on self-determination theory, the current study examines how and under which boundary conditions perceived organizational support affects professional commitment. Data was collected from doctors and nurses employed in public and private sector hospitals by employing a split-questionnaire design. The authors’ study findings demonstrate that perceived organizational support has a positive and indirect effect on the professional commitment of nurses and doctors via mediating the role of subjective well-being. The authors also found that these findings depend on healthcare workers’ burnout levels. The positive relationship between perceived organizational support and subjective well-being is attenuated by burnout syndrome. The current study poses implications for policymakers and administrators of healthcare institutions as well as to develop a supportive culture to evoke more professional commitment among healthcare workers. Implications for nursing managers and policymakers are discussed in light of the study findings. Healthcare institutions are increasingly paying attention to raising the professional commitment of their workforce, especially in the wake of a crisis like the COVID-19 outbreak. The current study will add to the body of literature on nursing management, healthcare studies and organizational psychology in the South Asian context by explaining the relationship between POS and professional commitment, drawing on self-determination theory.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-10-03
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-06-2022-0170
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • Undeclared activities on digital labour platforms:
           an exploratory study

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      Authors: Mara Mațcu, Adriana Zaiț, Rodica Ianole-Călin, Ioana Alexandra Horodnic
      Abstract: This paper aims to explore the prevalence of undeclared activities conducted on digital labour platforms, and then to discuss what policies are likely to be more effective in order to prevent the growth of the informal activities on these platforms. To depict the profile of the digital worker conducting undeclared activities, the sectors where undeclared activities are more prevalent and the effectiveness of deterrent policies, data are reported from 2019 Special Eurobarometer survey covering the European Union member states and the UK. The finding is that 13% of undeclared activities are conducted on digital labour platforms. This practice is more common amongst men, those married or remarried, those living in small/middle towns, in sectors such as repairs/renovations, selling goods/services, assistance for dependant persons, gardening and help moving house. The higher the perceived sanction, the lower the likelihood of undertaking undeclared activities on digital labour platforms. Intriguing, a higher risk of detection is associated with a higher likelihood to use digital labour platform for undeclared activities. The attitudes toward risk can be interpreted closer to the gaming context, and not to the working environment, looking at platform workers as being involved in a state versus individual game. Policy makers should consider improving the correspondence of laws and regulations between countries and offering operational assistance for suppliers and consumers. This is the first paper to explore the prevalence of undeclared activities conducted on digital labour platforms and to outline the policy measures required to reduce this practice.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-09-27
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-07-2022-0186
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • Social insecurity and varieties of family resilience strategies
           during the COVID-19 pandemic

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      Authors: Tauchid Komara Yuda, Misbahul Munir
      Abstract: This study is aimed at developing an understanding of the consequences of the pandemic on families' socioeconomic resilience, and the strategies adopted by the families in overcoming social vulnerabilities amid uncertainty. The materials for this study consist of semi-structured interviews with 21 families spread across the South Sumatra Province, Indonesia. Families in the study represent four different income levels, namely very high, high, middle and low, and who also work in the informal sector. Each family has at least 1 or more members who fall into the vulnerable category (children, the elderly, people with disabilities unemployed or having potential economic vulnerability). Two main findings are outlined. Regardless of their socioeconomic status, many of the families analyzed adopted similar strategies to remain resilient. Among the strategies are classifying the urgency of purchasing consumer goods based on financial capacity rather than needs, leveraging digital economic opportunities as alternative sources of income, utilizing more extensive informal networks and going into debt. Another interesting finding shows that the pandemic, to some extent, has saved poor families from social insecurity. This is supported by evidence showing that social distancing measures during the pandemic have reduced the intensity of sociocultural activities, which require invited community members to contribute financially. The reduction of sociocultural activities in the community has provided more potential savings for the poor. In this study, informants who provided information about their family conditions represent a major segment of the workforce and tend to be technologically savvy and younger, due to the use of Zoom as a platform for conducting interviews. Therefore, there may be a bias in the results. Another limitation is that since the interviewees were recommended by our social network in the fields, there is a risk of a distorted selection of participants. This study offers insights that are critical in helping to analyze family patterns in developing countries in mitigating the risks and uncertainties caused by COVID-19. In addition, the literature on social policy and development could benefit from further research on COVID-19 as an alternative driver to identify mechanisms that could bring about change that would result in “security.” Critical questions and limitations of this study are presented at the end of the paper to be responded to as future research agenda.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-09-27
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-08-2022-0201
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • The rationality of voluntary care work: light and shadow of volunteering
           in Germany's care sector

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      Authors: Tine Haubner
      Abstract: In the context of a care crisis in Germany, care work done by volunteers is increasingly being semi-formalized by the state and used in professional care work contexts to relieve families and professionals. However, voluntary care has not yet been adequately studied from a care-specific perspective. This study examines in what way voluntary care can be considered decent care from a care-ethical and empirical perspective. Considering findings of a qualitative interview study, the study examines the special features of voluntary care, addresses its socio-political expansion, and asks about the decency of voluntary care in elder care and social work. Care work done by volunteers is a special kind of care work, which has advantages but also disadvantages regarding care-ethical requirements of decent care. The study examines under which conditions voluntary care violates these requirements and how this can be countered in socio-political terms. Voluntary care is an under-researched phenomenon despite its increasing socio-political importance. While its state-led expansion can informalize and deprofessionalize care work at the expense of users, professionals, and volunteers, its analysis can help to illuminate the preconditions for decent care.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-09-26
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-01-2022-0012
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • They do what they must: caseworkers at the public employment service in
           Vienna

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      Authors: Bettina Leibetseder
      Abstract: Concerning the decision-making of frontline bureaucrats, research has suggested that caseworkers take into account a broader range of legal, organisational, professional and personal aspects. Their decision-making can offset social rights, when it neglects policy goals, but it can support social rights if the decisions consider clients' perspective. Based on a factorial survey experiment with 197 Viennese caseworkers of the employment service, the caseworkers were asked how likely they would be to refer nine different typical clients to the introductory session for the programme “Women into Technical and Craft Professions”, whereby different dimensions were altered to grasp regulations and clients' perspective. In the multilevel analysis, the interest of the clients in a technical-educational programme demonstrates the strongest positive effect, which complies with the programme's political intention. Other pertinent criteria may support clients' interests and the organizational performance goals, but neglect clients' position, when they counteract performance goals. Primarily, caseworkers do what they must and follow mandatory and performance criteria. On the caseworker's level, further research should aim to reach larger samples. Furthermore, the impact of performance goals on caseworker's decision making has to regard different professional groups beside personnel and labour market experts. The findings suggest that a focus on the micro-level is needed to evaluate the impact of social policies. The practitioner's position is crucial to juggling legal goals and client's need. Performance goals ought to better reflect social rights on a broader scale. This article provides new evidence on the level of discretion caseworkers execute.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-09-19
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-03-2022-0075
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • Social identity dilemmas of ultra-orthodox men in Israeli higher education

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      Authors: Adi Binhas, Yaffa Moskovich
      Abstract: This paper aims to analyze the unique dilemmas and challenges of ultra-orthodox men in academia. This research is conducted in the phenomenology approach. It explores the experience and the process that shape the social identity of higher-educated Haredi men through the life stories of twenty individuals. The research found the developmental path of Haredi-educated males, till they adopted a hybridist identity. The research uses a new term of hybridist identity, to better analyze the components of this new identity structure that, to the best of the authors knowledge, has not been examined as such in the literature. The study population is not large and therefore the number of participants is not large. From this, we can also learn about other conservative groups that integrate into academic institutions. This is a group that has been researched, through which it will be possible to learn about trends of diversity in academia and other public institutions. From the findings, it will be possible to design a policy that will suit the sociological, social and cultural composition of the students, in order to enable access to higher education for more diverse groups. This is a group that has been researched, through which it will be possible to learn about trends of diversity in academia and other public institutions. From the findings, it will be possible to design a policy that will suit the sociological, social and cultural composition of the students, in order to enable access to higher education for more diverse groups.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-09-14
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-07-2022-0173
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • Occupational segregation, microaggression, social exclusion, and turnover
           intentions: mediating and moderating impact of social invisibility and
           felt obligation

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      Authors: Sadia Batool, Muhammad Kashif
      Abstract: This study investigates occupational segregation, microaggression, and social exclusion as antecedents of social invisibility to predict employee intentions to leave. Furthermore, the authors question whether felt obligation moderates the relationship between social invisibility and intentions to leave. Finally, researchers explore various forms of occupational segregation, miscoaggression, and social exclusion from employee's perspective. Two studies are conducted. Study 1 is quantitative where the data were collected from 273 nurses employed in various hospitals in Pakistan. Study 2 is qualitative where twelve confirmatory interviews were conducted to enrich our contextual understanding of the proposed relationships. The quantitative data are analyzed using partial least square methods via SmartPLS. The qualitative data analysis is based on a content analysis of interviews. Surprisingly, occupational segregation does not predict social invisibility. Moreover, the relationship between occupational segregation and intentions to leave is not mediated via social invisibility. The issues such as social hierarchy and high power distance are reflected via the findings of the qualitative study. The results provide insightful strategies to counter feelings of social invisibility among individuals performing those jobs which are considered stigmatized occupations. This study uniquely presents three antecedents of social invisibility, its mediating role, and the moderation of felt obligation between social invisibility and intentions to leave.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-09-06
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-07-2022-0190
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • (Re)constructing a hostile environment: political claims making and the
           primary definers of a refugee “crisis”

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      Authors: Tom Montgomery, Francesca Calo, Simone Baglioni
      Abstract: In this article focused upon the UK context, the authors sought to better understand how political elites shaped public debate to reinforce rather than challenge the hostile policy environment for those seeking asylum. The authors undertook a political claims analysis (Koopmans and Statham, 1999) focussing on a venue that has been pivotal in shaping the discourse around asylum issues in the UK, namely the print media. This work adopts a theoretical frame informed by the work of Stuart Hall to uncover the extent to which debates on asylum during the key period of the refugee emergency in Europe were shaped by political elites. The study’s findings reveal the extent to which political elites acted as “primary definers” of the “crisis” and utilised that position to cast those arriving in Europe as a threat to be managed. This research offers a contemporary worked example of political claims analysis in a topical subject area that colleagues across disciplines and contexts may find informative for their own research agendas.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-08-31
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-05-2022-0130
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • Deradicalization in response to social experiences in youth in
           Hong Kong

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      Authors: Chau-kiu Cheung
      Abstract: The study aims to examine the effectiveness of socially available measures such as concessive messaging, deradicalizing messaging, punishment, and reward in deradicalization, which remains theoretically debatable and empirically unclear and concern social policymakers. This study surveyed 4,385 Chinese youths in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, to clarify the effectiveness. Results show that receiving concessive messages about radicalism raised radicalism in 2020. Meanwhile, receiving deradicalization messages and rewards reduced radicalism. Receiving punishments for radicalism reduced radicalism when radicalism in 2019 had been high. These results support social learning theory and imply its usefulness for deradicalization. That is, deradicalization can rely on messaging countering as opposed to conceding to radicalism and reinforcement for deradicalization and against radicalism.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-08-16
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-05-2022-0121
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
  • Grey workers in the European Union: precariousness among economically
           dependent solo self-employed

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      Authors: Filip Majetic, Miroslav Rajter, Chiara Bassetti
      Abstract: This explorative study aims to investigate work precariousness (WP) among EU27-based economically dependent solo self-employed, i.e. those with no employees and usually relying on just one client. Univariate and multivariate analyses of European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) (2015) and Eurostat data. The analyses yielded Disempowerment, intended as lack of job autonomy and money-induced Vulnerability as the dimensions of WP. Disempowerment was found positively influenced by workers' threat of losing the job and negatively by the enjoyment from being their own boss. Vulnerability was negatively influenced by workers' age, perceived easiness to find new customers, household's financial well-being as well as the country's employment rate. The study represents pioneer exploration of the phenomenon's dimensionality and main determinants.
      Citation: International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
      PubDate: 2022-08-02
      DOI: 10.1108/IJSSP-05-2022-0126
      Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2022)
       
 
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