Revealing and Concealing Personal and Social Problems: Family Coping Strategies and a New Engagement with Officials and Welfare Agencies c. 1900–12

Abstract

Researchers from many disciplines have identified new forms of health and welfare services emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Attention has focused on the growth of direct provision by the local and national state, and new relationships between the statutory and voluntary sectors. The literature describes an important transition from the general workhouse to more specialist institutions, and the rise of community care. It also suggests that the increasing number of women employed by statutory and voluntary sector organizations forged new relationships with clients, but to date this research has been limited by a lack of sources and an emphasis on controlling practices. This new research on the work of female sanitary inspectors parallels this interpretation in the sense it was often intrusive, and certainly created new routes into institutional care. However, it also supports the idea that the inspectors were welcomed by some sections of the community and thereby made a distinctive contribution to the evolution of health and welfare services.     

Common Counsel,Common Policy: Healthcare,Missions and the Rise of the ‘Voluntary Sector’ in Colonial Tanzania

Analysis of the voluntary sector in sub‐Saharan Africa has tended to focus on the role of the NGO, and the types of relationships this institution establishes and maintains with donors, national governments and the communities with which they work. The voluntary sector in Africa is therefore usually defined through, and often treated as synonymous with, the institution of the NGO. As a result, the boundaries of understandings of the ‘third sector’ space occupied by the vast number of NGOs — its origins, the nature of the relationship of voluntary sector actors to the state, the types of organizations that characterize the sector — have tended to reflect a narrow concern with the NGO type and its experiences. This article suggests that this view is too narrow in its gaze. The voluntary sector was not a creation of a post‐colonial (and especially post‐1970s) development crisis. It emerged from an evolving relationship between colonial‐era non‐state (voluntary) actors and governments determined to demonstrate that they were meeting their commitments to the welfare of Africans under their charge. Missions and mission welfare services, expanding across much of rural sub‐Saharan Africa by the beginnings of the twentieth century, and increasingly coordinated from the late 1920s and early 1930s, created the foundations for the emergence of sub‐Saharan Africa's formal voluntary sector as it exists today. This matters for more than just historical accuracy. To understand the constraints, challenges and opportunities faced by NGOs, we need to move beyond a narrow focus on the institution of the NGO itself, and look in addition to the environment in which it operates: its history, its evolution and the shifts that created those conditions.     

Voluntarism, municipalism and welfare: the geography of hospital utilization in England in 1938

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the pattern of hospital utilization (rather than provision) in England prior to the establishment of the NHS, showing the extent to which the probability of obtaining hospital treatment was a function of residence. Access to hospital care depended on the vigour of voluntarism and the political priorities of local governments. The pattern of voluntary hospital utilization is shown to have been markedly unequal, but the effect of municipal provision was to reduce disparities in access to services. The paper demonstrates variations in hospital utilization and discusses contemporary assessments of the situation. This work contributes to debates about the efficacy of non-profit forms of welfare delivery; it provides a novel British study to complement American work in this field. It also raises questions about the contemporary vogue for partnerships in health care delivery between the public and private sectors, arguing that such proposals rest on an optimistic view of history.     

Social Service Delivery and the Voluntary Sector in Contemporary Australia

Continuing poverty, deprivation and unemployment in rich English-speaking countries have led governments to reconsider existing methods of delivering social services. In Australia, the Minister for Employment Services, Tony Abbott, has developed a doctrine of 'constructive compassion' to justify human service delivery through private firms and voluntary organisations. The McClure Report has also argued for 'social partnerships' involving governments, the business community and the voluntary sector. The limited purpose of this research note is to evaluate these arguments using the conceptual tools of market failure, government failure and voluntary failure and drawing on some of the theoretical literature on the voluntary sector, especially Billis and Glennerster (1998). We contend that considerable scope does indeed exist for social service delivery by voluntary organisations, subject to at least one important caveat.     

Out from the (Green) shadow? Neoliberal hegemony through the market logic of shared urban environmental governance

Recent work in critical geography describes the neoliberalization of urban social service provision through a transition from state provision to civil sector delivery. The concept of a ‘shadow state’ is deployed by some social theorists to describe this process by which nonprofits with government contracts increasingly adopt a state-oriented agenda for the execution of social entitlement programs. Possible linkages between the neoliberalization of urban environmental service provision and a shadow state are lacking by comparison. I, therefore, use qualitative data concerning three organizations in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to demonstrate that civil sector groups are stepping up as local government diminishes its markets for municipal environmental labor. However, the diverse compositions of these shared governances potentially complicate the efficacy of a shadow state thesis for describing environmental provision in inner-city Milwaukee. Instead, I argue that a Gramscian interpretation of shared governance better accounts for the neoliberalization of environmental service provision as government agencies and civil sector groups relate to one another through hegemonic market logic. I argue that this provides a more nuanced picture of how governance concerning the urban environment is constructed by the government, market, and civil sectors to further shape human social reproduction.     

‘Milking The Elephant’: Financial Markets as Real Markets in Kenya

Financial liberalization policies in the 1990s were intended to raise formal sector interest rates, enhance competition and expand access for users. This article investigates patterns of provision and use in a local financial market in Karatina, Kenya, at the end of the 1990s after a period of financial and economic liberalization. It takes a holistic approach, examining both formal and informal financial arrangements and microfinance interventions. This is because the role of the informal financial sector is particularly important for poor people and has received relatively little attention in the discussion of the consequences of reform. The author does this using a ‘real’ markets approach that sees markets as socially regulated and structured. Significant provision by the mutual sector (formal and informal), and poor lending performance by the banking sector is explained through an examination of the characteristics of the services on offer and their embeddedness in social relations, culture and politics.     

Voluntary Environmental Programs in the Public Sector: Evaluating an Urban Water Conservation Program in California

Solving conflictual environmental policy problems is increasingly falling under the purview of local governments and public agencies. Nonregulatory approaches, such as the development of voluntary environmental programs (VEPs), could offer a useful policy alternative as they often have greater political traction and flexibility. However, there has been little work examining the use of VEPs in the public sector. This article uses a new dataset from California to examine how political institutions affect decisions by local governments and public agencies to participate in a voluntary urban water conservation program and whether this program has improved the water conservation performance of its members. The results show that special district governments, private utilities, and water suppliers dependent on purchased water are more likely to participate in the program and to join early. However, urban water agencies that have joined the program have not reduced their per capita water use more than those that have not. These results underscore the influence of political institutions in public‐sector decision making and demonstrate that, as in the private sector, commitment to a VEP by local government and public agencies does not guarantee implementation or environmental improvements. While voluntary programs offer political and administrative advantages, in order for VEPs in the public sector to be effective they must be accompanied and supported by credible enforcement mechanisms, performance standards, and rigorous monitoring programs.     

Optimal Allocation of Land between Productive Use and Recreational Use

Abstract This paper is an inquiry into the optimal allocation of time and natural areas to recreational uses, which have the feature of being a pure and continuous public good. We address this issue with a comprehensive approach. A static rational general equilibrium framework is developed in which heterogeneous agents allocate land and time endowments between alternative uses. This modeling has important advantages. First, Pareto‐optimal and voluntary‐contribution equilibrium allocations are obtained in a unified set‐up. Second, the suboptimality result of the decentralized equilibrium, the free‐rider problem on the provision of this nonexcludable public good, and different mechanisms to return the economy to its first‐best are analyzed. Finally, a methodological critique is made of some empirical literature, and it is suggested that our theoretical microeconomic‐based structure seems to be a suitable starting point for empirical research.     

Voluntarism and long-term care in the countryside: the paradox of a threadbare sector

This article contributes to the burgeoning literature on the geographies of voluntarism by addressing how voluntary sector providers in rural communities respond to the downloading of responsibilities for health and social care associated with public service restructuring. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of long-term care in Ontario, it focuses on the consequent actions of non-profit organizations, community support groups and volunteer caregivers in three different rural settings. Despite evidence of increasingly disproportionate levels of voluntarism amongst rural communities, the results reveal sector- and place-specific opportunities that allow voluntary sector providers to overcome the limitations of the rural service environment. The findings suggest that in the longer run, however, the growing dependence on local solutions will only exacerbate the uneven geographies of health and social care across rural space. Resolving this paradox remains a critical yet neglected challenge for sustainable rural services and communities.     

Hospital contributory schemes and the NHS debates 1937-46: the rejection of social insurance in the British welfare state?

This article considers the discussion and rejection of social insurance model of funding for the British National Health Service. Specifically it asks why the hospital contributory scheme movement had so little impact on policy debates in the 1940s. We argue that at the start of the policy-making process serious consideration was given to the incorporation of this mode of funding, not least because the contributory schemes, with some ten million members, played a major role in financing existing voluntary hospital provision. Early sections describe the growth and nature of the schemes, noting that, despite their large working-class constituency and the presence of labour movement representatives amongst their leadership, they remained peripheral to discussion of reform in the interwar period. We then trace the emergence of the proposal for an insurance-based 'hotel-charge' in civil servants' discussions about hospital funding the Beveridge Report. Officials, however, remained sceptical about the contributory schemes' capacity to deliver a comprehensive and efficient funding mechanism, given their lack of uniformity, the gaps in their coverage, and the limited progress of reciprocal arrangements between them. Finally, we note the ineffectiveness of the British Hospital Contributory Schemes Association as a player in the policy community. Its leadership had no clear strategy for influencing events and was reluctant to deploy pressure group tactics such as lobbying through the press or parliament. Crucially, the movement was divided internally between those members who supported the voluntary system and others who welcomed a publicly funded health service.     

PATTERNS AND DETERMINANTS OF PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY IN STATE MANUFACTURING*

ABSTRACT This paper uses a stochastic frontier production-function model to measure and compare productivity efficiency in the manufacturing sector of states in the United States over the period 1959–1972. Based on this model we find considerable variations in productive efficiency across states. A large portion of the variation is found to be related to regional differences in labor-force characteristics, levels of urbanization and industrial structure. We also examine the relationship between productive efficiency and the subsequent growth of manufacturing and find some evidence of a weak relationship between efficiency and the growth of employment.     

The impact of centralisation upon geographical variations in the provision of aged care services: a comparison of outcomes in Melbourne and Adelaide

This paper examines the extent to which centralisation affects service delivery through a comparison of geographical variations in community-based services for the aged in the cities of Melbourne and Adelaide. The first part outlines the administrative structures in the two cities. This is followed by a comparison of geographical variations in the provision of meals-on-wheels services and residential accommodation within the cities. The final part considers the implications of the results for our understanding of the influence of centralisation upon service provision in Australian cities.     

Spatial Analysis of Physicians' Offices with Respect to Population and Hospital Beds in Istanbul

Maldistribution of medical staff is a subject of criticism in many developing countries. This paper investigates the spatial distribution of physicians' offices with respect to population and hospital beds in Istanbul. The spatial distribution of physicians' offices is investigated with respect to socio-economic and locational characteristics of the districts. The results show that only a few districts benefit from an amazing growth in the concentration of physicians' offices while the periphery of the city, where mostly low-income people live, has a lower physician/population ratio than the metropolitan average. In addition, the spatial distribution of physicians offices with respect to population and hospital beds is investigated by the use of regression analysis within time. According to the results, while there was some relationship between the physicians' offices and the hospital beds in the 1980s, there was no relationship with population or hospital bed distribution in the 1990s. Increasing the number of factors which affect the distribution of physicians and testing the model in other metropolitan areas in order to obtain more general results are suggested for further research.     

Revisiting the Skills Agenda: A Complicated Geography

This paper revisits the skills agenda and suggests that in light of shifts from supply-side to demand-led provision within the UK higher education sector, there is a need to think more critically about the role and place of skills within university curricula. It suggests that if universities are to respond effectively to sector changes, then the increasing focus on embedding employability and skill development within curricula needs to be accompanied by consideration of how skills are understood, negotiated and given meaning at the curricula level. Consequently, this paper assesses how ‘place’ affects our understandings of skills; it moves on to address the relationship between skills and the development of student personality, before concluding with an exploration of the performance of skills, which questions what we actually mean when we talk about skills.     

The dynamics of family farming in North Huron County, Ontario. Part I. Development trajectories

Recent structural shifts towards enlargement and intensification in the farm sector in Canada have drawn attention to the changing relationship between farming and the rural community. While some developments in farming are implicated in increasing conflict with communities, others may be fostering the need for stronger linkages. A more nuanced understanding of change in both the family farm and community sectors would contribute to a better appreciation of these evolving linkages. This paper explores contemporary change on the farm side, with attention to the nature and causes of diversity in a local family farming system. Data from a survey of family farms in northern Huron County, Ontario, were used to document variations in farm development trajectories and to explore the interactive importance of factors relating to the farm economy, the farm business and the household. The research invokes a pathways conceptualisation and the theory of business and family life cycles in attempting to characterise and attribute change. Revealed trajectories range from aggressive engagement in expansion, diligent efforts to 'hang on' and forced or voluntary contraction. In addition, the paper presents two brief farm history case studies as a means of demonstrating the interaction of farm business and household factors through the lived experience of farm families. Revealed diversity in family farm business trajectories suggests an increasingly differentiated set of linkages and dependencies between farm and community.     

The Tertiary Turn: Locating “The Academy” in Autobiographical Accounts of Activism in Manchester,UK and Auckland,Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract: Activists often strategically negotiate sectoral boundaries by switching between public, private and voluntary sectors over the life course in order to pursue their aims. This paper draws on a cross‐national study that explored the extent of this inter‐sectoral movement and the specific “career pathways” activists developed in relation to governmental, private and voluntary/community sector organisations. Using an analysis of 46 biographical narratives gathered from activists in Manchester, UK and Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand during 2007 we situate “the academy” in these life stories of activism. Teasing out from these accounts the motivations behind a turn towards tertiary education at particular moments we examine how “academia” supports and sustains individual activists while legitimising and professionalising their activism. In so doing, we track the tactical transfer of knowledge, skills and expertise effected by contact with “the academy” to make substantive and conceptual claims around the future role universities might play in the knowledge economy.     

Working the Spaces of Neoliberal Subjectivity: Psychotherapeutic Technologies, Professionalisation and Counselling

An analysis is presented of how a particular psychotherapeutic practice, namely voluntary sector counselling, contributes to and resists neoliberal forms of governance. Neoliberal governmentality invokes a concept of the human subject as an autonomous, individualised, self‐directing, decision‐making agent, attributes fostered in different ways by psychotherapies and processes of professionalisation. In this context I explore accounts of counselling offered by voluntary sector counsellors in Scotland, focusing on practitioners' use of the idea of empowerment to describe what they do, and on how this idea intersects with the professionalisation of counselling. I argue that empowerment and professionalisation both privilege autonomy in ways that are consonant with neoliberal subjectivity, but I also argue that there are points of resistance to the individualisation associated with technologies of calculation on which neoliberal subject formation depends.     

Possible linkage between atmospheric total ozone and solar magnetic sector boundary passage

Superposed epoch analysis of the daily values of atmospheric total ozone at 70 stations for the period 1972–1975, with solar magnetic sector boundary passage (M.S.B.) past the earth as the key day, suggests large variations in high latitudes and larger variations in winter than in summer. Similar analysis with the day on which the boundary crossed the central meridian of the sun as key day does not reveal discernible ozone variations on the day of sector crossing. It is inferred that the link between solar activity and total ozone variation may be corpuscular radiation. A speculative hypothesis is proposed that the Mev solar Protons in the solar wind may be causing the variation in atmospheric ozone in association with the solar magnetic sector boundary passage.     

Improving the use of history by the international humanitarian sector

Abstract

This article challenges the often implicit assumption by historians working on humanitarian history that their work is being read and used by present-day humanitarian workers. Key characteristics of the modern-day humanitarian sector are highlighted, including the unpredictable and often inadequate levels of funding, stressful working conditions and high staff turnover. The article argues that, to a significant degree, the humanitarian sector is ahistorical and locked into a state of ‘perpetual present’. Two principal obstacles to the greater use of historical knowledge within the present-day humanitarian sector are identified as being the limited accessibility of the available literature on humanitarian history and the perceptions that the work of humanitarian historians is of limited relevance. The paper concludes by describing recent initiatives including the planned humanitarianhistory.org website which is intended to improve the accessibility of the available literature and facilitate engagement and co-production between historians and humanitarian workers.     

Infrastructure Financing and Operation in the Contemporary City

The provision of large economic infrastructure in Australian cities is widely seen to be in crisis. This paper examines the reasons why crisis has arisen in the urban infrastructure sector and what might be done to redress this. The analysis and the argument are based on a resuscitation of the ideas and ideals of infrastructure provision and how these have been eroded. The paper shows how these ideas/ideals once underpinned the formulation of state role, governance and regulation systems, financial arrangements, and even community need and expectation. Critical to this was an acceptance of the ideals of universality, access, bundling and free positive externalities, and the belief that these should be assembled necessarily as part of any urban infrastructure roll-out. This package became instinctive in post-war economic and urban management. Yet this instinct has been lost as governments shift from models of infrastructure provision to infrastructure procurement where a major role for the private sector is now common. While such an involvement has its benefits, there are concerns for the urban condition when privatisation of infrastructure construction, delivery and operation becomes dominant. Citing Graham and Marvin (2001 ), the paper argues that, where once infrastructure was the key device for integrating the elements of the city and its people, the way it is now being delivered produces a splintered urbanism. There is an urgent need, then, to re-think what infrastructure means in today's urban context and thereafter to re-assess the criteria for deciding what infrastructure is to be provided, in what form it should be provided, who should provide it, who should pay, and who should operate it.