an article by Malcolm Carey (University of Chester, Warrington, UK) published in Ageing & Society Volume 39 Issue 8 (August 2019)
Abstract
This paper critically examines service user participation and involvement for older adults. It concentrates on research and community-led engagement for older people, and maintains that despite extensive support and expansion, participation offers a complex form of governance and ideological control, as well as a means by which local governments and some welfare professions seek to legitimise or extend their activities.
Some of the paradoxes of participation are discussed, including tensions that persist between rhetorical claims of empowerment, active citizenship and democratic engagement, on one hand, despite tendencies towards risk-aversion, welfare retrenchment and participant ambivalence, on the other.
The paper also highlights practical problems in relation to participative research and community involvement, and questions arguments that participation may challenge the authority of welfare professionals.
Critical theory is drawn upon to contextualise the role of participative narratives within wider welfare, including its role in moving debate away from ownership or redistribution while masking and validating policy-related goals which can counter many older people's needs.
Tension is also noted between participation projects represented as resources to support ageing identities as opposed to those representing technologies for social regulation and conformity.
Showing posts with label participation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label participation. Show all posts
Tuesday, 27 August 2019
Thursday, 10 January 2019
Greenspace & Environmental Justice: the case of Newcastle upon Tyne
an article by Elizabeth Brooks and Simin Davoudi (Newcastle University) published in People, Place and Policy Volume 12 Issue 2 (2018)
Abstract
The benefits of urban greenspace are both manifold and well-established; its relationship to social and spatial inequalities less so. Drawing on and updating a five-part framework (distribution, recognition, participation, responsibility and capabilities), we explore the justice dimensions of urban greenspace in Newcastle upon Tyne.
We argue that justice in this respect is not just about where greenspace is located in a city, but concerns the characteristics of the greenspace itself, how these relate to the characteristics of local communities, their wellbeing and opportunities.
In the context of Newcastle’s changing demography and contemporary moves to transfer the management of Newcastle’s parks and allotments to a charitable trust, we make the case for participation as the central Environmental Justice (EJ) dimension for the city.
Full text (PDF 19pp)
Abstract
The benefits of urban greenspace are both manifold and well-established; its relationship to social and spatial inequalities less so. Drawing on and updating a five-part framework (distribution, recognition, participation, responsibility and capabilities), we explore the justice dimensions of urban greenspace in Newcastle upon Tyne.
We argue that justice in this respect is not just about where greenspace is located in a city, but concerns the characteristics of the greenspace itself, how these relate to the characteristics of local communities, their wellbeing and opportunities.
In the context of Newcastle’s changing demography and contemporary moves to transfer the management of Newcastle’s parks and allotments to a charitable trust, we make the case for participation as the central Environmental Justice (EJ) dimension for the city.
Full text (PDF 19pp)
Friday, 27 July 2018
‘Borrowed access’ – the struggle of older persons for digital participation
an article by Linda Reneland-Forsman (Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden) published in International Journal of Lifelong Education Volume 37 Issue 3 (2018)
Abstract
This study investigates older persons engagement with digital interfaces as one important way to social inclusion. Digital exclusion and social exclusion are intrinsically intertwined, which put older persons at risk for exclusion.
To construct meaningful educational practices for inclusion, more insight is needed to understand consequences of low digital competence.
Eighteen men and women (retired) have been interviewed about their everyday encounters with digital interfaces. Results show how older persons ‘borrow’ knowledge from social networks or from contacts at previous workplace, to access technology and digital practices.
Data also show a common acceptance of exclusion and changes in lifestyle. These fragile chains, put together to access digital practices jeopardise social inclusion understood as autonomy and participation in society.
Informants did not mention community arrangements as resources for access and knowledge, which indicate that hard work is required to promote inclusion of this group.
A possible way could be using the power of informally framed learning scenarios. Society cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that groups of citizens are hindered from developing capabilities to maintain a social life, to access the health sector, to enjoy integrity and independence and cultural recreation – to live a capable life.
Full text (HTML)
Abstract
This study investigates older persons engagement with digital interfaces as one important way to social inclusion. Digital exclusion and social exclusion are intrinsically intertwined, which put older persons at risk for exclusion.
To construct meaningful educational practices for inclusion, more insight is needed to understand consequences of low digital competence.
Eighteen men and women (retired) have been interviewed about their everyday encounters with digital interfaces. Results show how older persons ‘borrow’ knowledge from social networks or from contacts at previous workplace, to access technology and digital practices.
Data also show a common acceptance of exclusion and changes in lifestyle. These fragile chains, put together to access digital practices jeopardise social inclusion understood as autonomy and participation in society.
Informants did not mention community arrangements as resources for access and knowledge, which indicate that hard work is required to promote inclusion of this group.
A possible way could be using the power of informally framed learning scenarios. Society cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that groups of citizens are hindered from developing capabilities to maintain a social life, to access the health sector, to enjoy integrity and independence and cultural recreation – to live a capable life.
Full text (HTML)
Sunday, 31 December 2017
From ‘me towns’ to ‘we towns’: activist citizenship in UK town centres
an article by Julian Dobson (Sheffield Hallam University, UK) published in Citizenship Studies Volume 21 Issue 8 (2017)
Abstract
Britain’s town centres have witnessed economic, social and physical upheaval over more than half a century, linked to sweeping changes in retailing and consumption. Yet they are also places where activists are seeking to fashion alternative futures and test social and economic models that challenge neoliberal norms.
Reflecting on recent developments in the UK, this paper explores the potential of citizen-led economic activism in British town and city centres.
Focusing on three case studies of urban activism, it contrasts policies and practices that frame the users of urban space as consumers with the marginal acts that seek to assert wider rights to the city.
The article shows how ideas of ‘resilience’ have become a stake of struggle in debates over the future of urban centres and urban citizenship, deployed both to defend neoliberal economic configurations and to signal radical transitions towards more participatory and economically autonomous forms of society.
Abstract
Britain’s town centres have witnessed economic, social and physical upheaval over more than half a century, linked to sweeping changes in retailing and consumption. Yet they are also places where activists are seeking to fashion alternative futures and test social and economic models that challenge neoliberal norms.
Reflecting on recent developments in the UK, this paper explores the potential of citizen-led economic activism in British town and city centres.
Focusing on three case studies of urban activism, it contrasts policies and practices that frame the users of urban space as consumers with the marginal acts that seek to assert wider rights to the city.
The article shows how ideas of ‘resilience’ have become a stake of struggle in debates over the future of urban centres and urban citizenship, deployed both to defend neoliberal economic configurations and to signal radical transitions towards more participatory and economically autonomous forms of society.
Thursday, 30 November 2017
Poverty and Participation in Twenty-First Century Multicultural Britain
an article by Emanuele Ferragina (CNRS and Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire d'Evaluation des Politiques Publiques (LIEPP), France), Mark Tomlinson (University of Sheffield, UK) and Robert Walker (University of Oxford, UK) published in Social Policy and Society Volume 16 Issue 4 (October 2017)
Abstract
Peter Townsend argued that poverty could be scientifically measured as a ‘breakpoint’ within the income distribution below which participation collapses.
This paper stands on Townsend's shoulders in measuring the level of poverty and participation by:
Respondents with an ethnic minority background manifest lower levels of participation than white respondents but the relationship has a less linear pattern. Moreover, the floor detected for the overall population is also replicated when combining all respondents from ethnic groups.
Full text (PDF 25pp)
Abstract
Peter Townsend argued that poverty could be scientifically measured as a ‘breakpoint’ within the income distribution below which participation collapses.
This paper stands on Townsend's shoulders in measuring the level of poverty and participation by:
- broadening his original measurement of participation;
- using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) in conjunction with a new dataset including 40,000 households (Understanding Society, 2011; 2013); and
- taking into account the multi-cultural/ethnic nature of British society.
Respondents with an ethnic minority background manifest lower levels of participation than white respondents but the relationship has a less linear pattern. Moreover, the floor detected for the overall population is also replicated when combining all respondents from ethnic groups.
Full text (PDF 25pp)
Monday, 14 August 2017
Private schooling and labour market outcomes
an article by Francis Green and Golo Henseke (University College London, UK) and Anna Vignoles (University of Cambridge, UK) published in British Educational Research Journal Volume 43 Number 1 (February 2017)
Abstract
Though a relative small part of the school sector, private schools have an important role in British society, and there are policy concerns about their negative effect on social mobility. Other studies show that individuals who have attended a private school go on to have higher levels of educational achievement, are more likely to secure a high-status occupation and also have higher wages.
In this article we contribute new evidence on the magnitude of the wage premium, and address a puzzle found in previous studies: how to explain the direct pay premium whereby privately educated male workers have higher wages even than their similarly educated peers. It is commonly conjectured that the broader curriculum that private schools are able to deliver, coupled with the peer pressures of a partially segregated section of society, help to inculcate cultural capital, including some key ‘non-cognitive’ attributes.
We focus here on leadership, organisational participation and an acceptance of hard work. We find that privately educated workers are in jobs that require significantly greater leadership skills, offer greater organisational participation and require greater work intensity. These associations are partially mediated by educational achievement.
Collectively these factors contribute little, however, to explaining the direct pay premium. Rather, a more promising account arises from the finding that inclusion of a variable for industry reduces the private school premium to an insignificant amount, which is consistent with selective sorting of privately educated workers into high-paying industries.
Full text (PDF)
Abstract
Though a relative small part of the school sector, private schools have an important role in British society, and there are policy concerns about their negative effect on social mobility. Other studies show that individuals who have attended a private school go on to have higher levels of educational achievement, are more likely to secure a high-status occupation and also have higher wages.
In this article we contribute new evidence on the magnitude of the wage premium, and address a puzzle found in previous studies: how to explain the direct pay premium whereby privately educated male workers have higher wages even than their similarly educated peers. It is commonly conjectured that the broader curriculum that private schools are able to deliver, coupled with the peer pressures of a partially segregated section of society, help to inculcate cultural capital, including some key ‘non-cognitive’ attributes.
We focus here on leadership, organisational participation and an acceptance of hard work. We find that privately educated workers are in jobs that require significantly greater leadership skills, offer greater organisational participation and require greater work intensity. These associations are partially mediated by educational achievement.
Collectively these factors contribute little, however, to explaining the direct pay premium. Rather, a more promising account arises from the finding that inclusion of a variable for industry reduces the private school premium to an insignificant amount, which is consistent with selective sorting of privately educated workers into high-paying industries.
Full text (PDF)
Tuesday, 25 July 2017
The rise and fall of life-wide learning for adults in England
an article by Alan Tuckett (University of Wolverhampton, UK) published in International Journal of Lifelong Education Volume 36 Issue 1-2 (2017)
Abstract
This article analyses policy and practice in social and cultural education for adults in England in the post Second World War era, beginning with the flowering of municipal adult education and the expansion of university extra-mural provision.
It tracks the emerging policy focus on extending participation to under-represented groups, and on securing a rich breadth of curriculum (life-wide learning), which flowered in the 1990s. It maps, and deprecates the subsequent narrowing of public investment to an increasingly utilitarian focus on qualifications for labour market participation with the rise of Treasury (finance ministry) influence on adult learning policy from 2003.
Evidence of the wider benefits that derive from participation in learning is used to re-assert the case for publicly accessible lifelong, life-wide education for adults.
Abstract
This article analyses policy and practice in social and cultural education for adults in England in the post Second World War era, beginning with the flowering of municipal adult education and the expansion of university extra-mural provision.
It tracks the emerging policy focus on extending participation to under-represented groups, and on securing a rich breadth of curriculum (life-wide learning), which flowered in the 1990s. It maps, and deprecates the subsequent narrowing of public investment to an increasingly utilitarian focus on qualifications for labour market participation with the rise of Treasury (finance ministry) influence on adult learning policy from 2003.
Evidence of the wider benefits that derive from participation in learning is used to re-assert the case for publicly accessible lifelong, life-wide education for adults.
Tuesday, 14 March 2017
The hidden face of job insecurity
an article by Duncan Gallie (University of Oxford, UK), Alan Felstead (Cardiff University, UK), Francis Green (UCL Institute of Education, UK) and Hande Inanc (The OECD Statistics Directorate, France) published in Work, employment and society Volume 31 Issue 1 (February 2017)
Abstract
Drawing on nationally representative data for British employees, the article argues for a more comprehensive concept of job insecurity, including not only job tenure insecurity but also job status insecurity, relating to anxiety about changes to valued features of the job.
It shows that job status insecurity is highly prevalent in the workforce and is associated with different individual, employment and labour market characteristics than those that affect insecurity about job loss. It is also related to different organizational contexts.
However, the article also shows that the existence of effective mechanisms of employee participation can reduce both types of job insecurity.
Full text (PDF)
Abstract
Drawing on nationally representative data for British employees, the article argues for a more comprehensive concept of job insecurity, including not only job tenure insecurity but also job status insecurity, relating to anxiety about changes to valued features of the job.
It shows that job status insecurity is highly prevalent in the workforce and is associated with different individual, employment and labour market characteristics than those that affect insecurity about job loss. It is also related to different organizational contexts.
However, the article also shows that the existence of effective mechanisms of employee participation can reduce both types of job insecurity.
Full text (PDF)
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
How can we make organizational interventions work? Employees and line managers as actively crafting interventions
an article by Karina Nielsen (University of East Anglia, UK) published in Human Relations Volume 66 Number 8 (August 2013)
Abstract
In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the processes of organisational interventions when evaluating the outcomes on employee health and well-being. Nevertheless, process evaluation is still in its infancy and primarily consists of checklists inspired by the public health intervention literature.
In these frameworks, employees are seen as passive recipients whose reactions to pre-developed interventions should be evaluated. Current organisational intervention design rests on a participatory approach and recent process evaluations reveal that employees and line managers influence the implementation and the outcomes of organisational interventions.
Following the current foci of current frameworks we may miss out on important information on the influence of both the participatory process and the line managers on intervention outcomes.
I argue that current evaluation frameworks suffer from four limitations:
Abstract
In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the processes of organisational interventions when evaluating the outcomes on employee health and well-being. Nevertheless, process evaluation is still in its infancy and primarily consists of checklists inspired by the public health intervention literature.
In these frameworks, employees are seen as passive recipients whose reactions to pre-developed interventions should be evaluated. Current organisational intervention design rests on a participatory approach and recent process evaluations reveal that employees and line managers influence the implementation and the outcomes of organisational interventions.
Following the current foci of current frameworks we may miss out on important information on the influence of both the participatory process and the line managers on intervention outcomes.
I argue that current evaluation frameworks suffer from four limitations:
- they are not aligned with state-of-the-art research and practice;
- and therefore they fail to apply theory to explain how and why human agents influence intervention implementation and outcomes;
- they do not offer suggestions as to how such agency can be measured; and
- nor do they discuss how we may use knowledge obtained from process evaluation proactively when designing future organizational interventions.
Friday, 16 November 2012
Approaches to reflexivity: navigating educational and career pathways
an article by Martin Dyke, Brenda Johnston and Alison Fuller (University of Southampton, UK) published in British Journal of Sociology of Education Volume 33 Issue 6 (November 2012)
Abstract
This paper provides a critical appraisal of approaches to reflexivity in sociology.
It uses data from social network research to argue that Archer’s approach to reflexivity provides a valuable lens with which to understand how people navigate their education and career pathways.
The paper is also critical of Archer’s methodology and typology of reflexivity as ‘types’; it is argued that social network research suggests people reveal different approaches to reflexivity in different situations. It concurs with Archer that the concept reflexivity is central to our understanding of the relationships between agency, structure and social change.
Abstract
This paper provides a critical appraisal of approaches to reflexivity in sociology.
It uses data from social network research to argue that Archer’s approach to reflexivity provides a valuable lens with which to understand how people navigate their education and career pathways.
The paper is also critical of Archer’s methodology and typology of reflexivity as ‘types’; it is argued that social network research suggests people reveal different approaches to reflexivity in different situations. It concurs with Archer that the concept reflexivity is central to our understanding of the relationships between agency, structure and social change.
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Learning online? Educational Internet use and participation in adult learning, 2002 to 2010
Patrick White (Department of Sociology, University of Leicester, UK) and Neil Selwyn (London Knowledge Lab, Institute of Education, London, UK) published in Educational Review
Volume 64 Issue 4 (November 2012)
Abstract
Covering a decade during which the “digital divide” came to popular and political attention, and written at a time when the Internet continues to be championed as a means of widening access to educational opportunities, this paper presents an analysis of the social, economic and educational characteristics associated with using the Internet for educational purposes.
The research was conducted using nationally-representative, individual-level, repeated cross-sectional data (n = 47,001) collected in annual surveys of adults in the UK between 2002 and 2010.
The results of multivariate analyses show that although there was a substantial increase in both Internet access and non-educational use of the Internet during this period, there was comparatively little growth in “educational” Internet use.
As with participation in adult learning more generally, educational Internet use was structured by age, occupational class and educational engagement.
The growth in the availability of Internet access and the development of new technologies appears to have neither increased nor widened participation in adult learning. This growth does not appear to have impacted on the social characteristics of those who use the Internet for educational purposes, nor led to any substantial uptake in Internet-based learning among already educationally-active groups.
Abstract
Covering a decade during which the “digital divide” came to popular and political attention, and written at a time when the Internet continues to be championed as a means of widening access to educational opportunities, this paper presents an analysis of the social, economic and educational characteristics associated with using the Internet for educational purposes.
The research was conducted using nationally-representative, individual-level, repeated cross-sectional data (n = 47,001) collected in annual surveys of adults in the UK between 2002 and 2010.
The results of multivariate analyses show that although there was a substantial increase in both Internet access and non-educational use of the Internet during this period, there was comparatively little growth in “educational” Internet use.
As with participation in adult learning more generally, educational Internet use was structured by age, occupational class and educational engagement.
The growth in the availability of Internet access and the development of new technologies appears to have neither increased nor widened participation in adult learning. This growth does not appear to have impacted on the social characteristics of those who use the Internet for educational purposes, nor led to any substantial uptake in Internet-based learning among already educationally-active groups.
Wednesday, 31 October 2012
New legislative settings and the application of the participative-democratic model of mainstreaming equality in public policy making: evidence from the UK's devolution programme
an article by Paul Chaney (Cardiff School of Social Sciences, Wales) published in Policy Studies Volume 33 Issue 5 (September 2012)
Abstract
Studies of established parliamentary contexts highlight institutional barriers to mainstreaming equality of opportunity in public policy-making.
In contrast, this paper uses an actor-centred institutionalist perspective to explore the case of the new devolved legislatures in the UK purposively designed with mechanisms to broaden engagement in the policy process.
It assesses progress in applying the participative-democratic model of mainstreaming to policy-making.
The findings – based upon analysis of legislative proceedings and equality and human rights organisations’ accounts – reveal that ‘system openness’ has afforded opportunities to engage in – and influence – policy work. Yet, problems and shortcomings are also identified – signifying a ‘disconnect’ between the rhetoric and reality of mainstreaming at the meso-level – and continuity with the pre-existing policy style in UK governance.
The wider significance of this is that potential gains afforded by the adoption of mainstreaming in legislative settings purposively designed to foster the engagement of exogenous interests can be negated by leadership issues and government failure to secure the full range of pre-requisites prescribed by mainstreaming theory.
Abstract
Studies of established parliamentary contexts highlight institutional barriers to mainstreaming equality of opportunity in public policy-making.
In contrast, this paper uses an actor-centred institutionalist perspective to explore the case of the new devolved legislatures in the UK purposively designed with mechanisms to broaden engagement in the policy process.
It assesses progress in applying the participative-democratic model of mainstreaming to policy-making.
The findings – based upon analysis of legislative proceedings and equality and human rights organisations’ accounts – reveal that ‘system openness’ has afforded opportunities to engage in – and influence – policy work. Yet, problems and shortcomings are also identified – signifying a ‘disconnect’ between the rhetoric and reality of mainstreaming at the meso-level – and continuity with the pre-existing policy style in UK governance.
The wider significance of this is that potential gains afforded by the adoption of mainstreaming in legislative settings purposively designed to foster the engagement of exogenous interests can be negated by leadership issues and government failure to secure the full range of pre-requisites prescribed by mainstreaming theory.
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Rethinking public ownership and participation
an article by Andrew Cumbers and Robert McMaster (based in the University of Glasgow, UK) published in On the Horizon Volume 20 Issue 3 (2012)
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to challenge the simplistic formulation of public ownership in terms of centralized planning and state bureaucracy. Instead, drawing on the works of Dewey and Veblen the paper aims to argue that public ownership is a critical aspect of forging progressive change through enhancing democratic participation in economic decision-making.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a conceptual analysis of public ownership types and employs case examples to further illuminate the argument.
Findings
The conceptual analysis challenges the supposition of market superiority in standard economic approaches and in neoliberalism. Drawing from the instrumental valuation principle a wide corpus of public ownership modes can offer the prospect of enhanced democratic participation that challenges existing power structures.
Originality/value
By emphasising the association between ownership and democracy the paper challenges the assumption that markets necessarily offer the only route to democratic participation. It also identifies and challenges the market fundamentalism of standard economic approaches.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to challenge the simplistic formulation of public ownership in terms of centralized planning and state bureaucracy. Instead, drawing on the works of Dewey and Veblen the paper aims to argue that public ownership is a critical aspect of forging progressive change through enhancing democratic participation in economic decision-making.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a conceptual analysis of public ownership types and employs case examples to further illuminate the argument.
Findings
The conceptual analysis challenges the supposition of market superiority in standard economic approaches and in neoliberalism. Drawing from the instrumental valuation principle a wide corpus of public ownership modes can offer the prospect of enhanced democratic participation that challenges existing power structures.
Originality/value
By emphasising the association between ownership and democracy the paper challenges the assumption that markets necessarily offer the only route to democratic participation. It also identifies and challenges the market fundamentalism of standard economic approaches.
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