Casting for a sovereign role: Socialising an aspirant state in the Scottish independence referendum

an article by Ryan K. Beasley (University of St Andrews, UK) and Juliet Kaarbo (University of Edinburgh, UK) published in European Journal of International Relations Volume 24 Issue 1 (March 2018)

Abstract

This article examines international reactions to Scotland’s 2014 bid for independence as an instance of socialisation of an aspirant state, what we term ‘pre-socialisation’. Building on and contributing to research on state socialisation and role theory, this study proposes a nexus between roles and sovereignty.

This nexus has three components:

• sovereignty itself is a role casted for by an actor;
• the sovereign role is entangled with the substantive foreign policy roles the actor might play; and
• the sovereign role implicates the substantive foreign policy roles of other actors.

The Scottish debate on independence provides an effective laboratory to develop and explore these theoretical dimensions of pre-socialisation, revealing the contested value and meaning of sovereignty, the possible roles that an independent Scotland could play, and the projected implications for the role of the UK and other international actors.

Our analysis of the Scottish case can provide insights for other cases of pre-socialisation and is more empirically significant following the UK’s 2016 referendum to leave the European Union.

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A mediational model of workplace flexibility, work–family conflict, and perceived stress among caregivers of older adults

an article by Melissa Brown and Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes (Boston College School of Social Work, MA, USA) published in Community, Work & Family Volume 19 Issue 4 (2016)

Abstract

As an increasing number of employees become caregivers, the role of workplace resources in supporting caregivers has attracted the attention of researchers, employers, and policy-makers.

Workplace flexibility is one type of resource that has attracted particular interest, with research exploring whether flexibility (that is, giving employees some control over when and/or where work gets done) is related to important outcomes for both employees and employers.

This investigation develops and tests a mediational model explicating the process through which workplace flexibility – operationalized in three distinct ways – impacts caregiver stress among US employees.

Using a sample of 211 caregivers from the National Study of the Changing Workforce (2008), results show that work-to-family conflict mediates the relationship between perceived workplace flexibility and caregiver stress as well as the relationship between access to flexible work options and caregivers stress.

However, the mediational model is not supported when flexibility is operationalized as respondents’ formal use of flexible work options. Implications for employers and future research are discussed.

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