Book review

Wildavsky, Aaron. Speaking Truth to Power: the art and craft of policy analysis, little, Brown, and Company, Boston and T oronto, 1979, 431 pp. $12.00.     

WHAT IS A “GOOD” SOCIAL NETWORK FOR POLICY IMPLEMENTATION? THE FLOW OF KNOW‐HOW FOR ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

This study concerns how intraorganizational networks affect the implementation of policies and practices in organizations. In particular, we attend to the role of the informal subgroup or clique in cultivating and distributing locally adapted and integrated knowledge, or know‐how. We develop two hypotheses based on the importance of intraorganizational coordination for an organization's capacity for change. The first emphasizes the importance of distributing know‐how evenly to potential recipient subgroups. The second emphasizes the importance of restricting know‐how to flow from high know‐how subgroups. We test our hypotheses with longitudinal network data in 21 schools, finding stronger support for the second hypothesis than the first. Our findings can help managers cultivate know‐how flows to contribute to organizational change.     

Women's Micro-Entrepreneurial Homeworking

Enabled by the global distribution affordances of the Internet, increasing numbers of creative producers of the handmade—the majority of whom are women—are working from home as sole traders. Selling their wares via online marketplaces such as Etsy, such women often do so as a means by which to balance caring responsibilities with paid employment. In this article I argue that rather than seeing the exponential growth of an online craft economy as a ‘back to the future’ moment for the status of women, these business practices are best seen as part of the process of the folding of the economy into society, a process which Lisa Adkins has located as positioning the home as an increasingly productive space for both men and women.     

The implementation of case formulation by probation officers: service user and carer views

Background: The recent UK Government strategy on high-risk offenders with personality disorders (PD) proposes improved identification of this group, assessment of their treatment needs through case formulation (CF) and the subsequent provision of treatment pathways. Little is known about service user and carer views on this strategy. Aims/Hypotheses: This study sought to identify the views of personality-disordered (PD) offenders and carers on the proposed role of Probation staff in CF. Methods: Three focus groups were carried out, two with service users and one with carers, with a total of 10 participants overall. Results: Five themes emerged: ‘power’, ‘conflicting roles’, ‘trust’, ‘building a relationship through consistency of care’ and ‘hope and possibility’. Conclusions/Practical implications: Offenders and carers were sceptical regarding the proposed role of Offender Manager (OMs) in CF and this could pose a potential barrier to the successful implementation of the strategy.     

Job Expectations and Career Goals of Title IV-E Child Welfare Social Workers with Varying Levels of Work Experience: How Do They Differ?

A comparison of three groups of Title IV-E child welfare workers revealed significant differences among all groups on job expectations and career goals. New workers reported most positive expectations for their jobs, and greatest interest in child welfare careers and in pursuing educational goals. Seasoned workers expressed least positive expectations and least interest in future child welfare careers and educational goals. Findings may assist universities in student selection and curriculum. Child welfare agencies may benefit in areas of recruitment, training, and policies. Realistic job previews might moderate high expectations for new workers and reduce unmet expectations for experienced workers.