Programme full

Friday 17 April 2015 09:00 - 10:30
ROUNDTABLE SESSIONS
Sociology and Social Capital: Bridging the Micro-Macro Gap
Gelderblom, D.
(UNISA)
One of the enduring contributions of the social capital literature is that it provides insight into the agency of the poor,
with social capital being one of the few resources that the poor have to further their agency. This strength has to be
counterbalanced however with a consideration of the constraints to the agency of the poor, and the ways in which the
wealthy and powerful often have more agency than the poor. Social capital theorists also sometimes make the
problematic assumption that an analysis of the requirements for cooperation on the level of small groups and
communities answers the question about the requirements for cooperation on the level of society as a whole. It is
consequently necessary to address issues of both structure and agency on the one hand and the micro-macro
connection on the other.
Using Nicos Mouzelis's theories, this paper tries to develop a framework in which both the strengths of social capital
theories and their weaknesses can be accommodated. Such an investigation into the limits and possibilities of the
concept of social capital will hopefully pave the way for more effective and realistic policies.
Work, Employment and Economic Life 1
ROUNDTABLE 28, CONFERENCE HALL, HAMISH WOOD BUILDING
Uncertainty about Role Identity: Care Home Nurses Practicing at the Intersection of Health and Social Care
Thompson, J., Cook, G., Duschinsky, R.
(Northumbria University)
Background
450,000 older people reside in care homes in the UK. It is estimated that by 2030, this figure will rise by 49% to
670,000. Consequently, there is an increasing need for registered nurses to work in care homes. However, the care
home nurse role has proven to be unattractive to potential nursing staff.
Aim
This study investigated experiences and views of care home nurses, in order to identify and appealing/unappealing
aspects of the role.
Methodology
The methodology was hermeneutic phenomenology. 13 nurses from 7 care homes were each interviewed 5 times
using an episodic interview technique. Interviews were analysed using a literary analysis approach.
Findings
A major emerging theme concerned participants' uncertainty about role identity. As healthcare professionals trained to
deliver healthcare interventions, participants felt unsure about their function in an environment that is located at the
intersection of health and social care. This lessens the appeal of the care home nurse role. Uncertainty arose from
three causes:
•The inclusion of business matters within the remit of the nurse when care is no longer necessarily 'free-at-the-point-of
care'.
•The high proportion of social care provision that is involved in care home nursing.
•The nature of long-term care does not usually require care home nurses to become proficient in a diverse range of
advanced clinical skills.
Conclusion
Care home nursing should be a specialist role and nurse educators need to acknowledge and address the business
and social care aspects inherent within the role when developing education programmes.
Taking Care: Employment Experiences of Care Workers
Moriarty, J., Manthorpe, J., Harris, J., Samsi, K., Hussein, S., Stevens, M., Cornes, M.
(King's College London)
Writing about her report Taking Care looking at working conditions within the care sector, Baroness Kingsmill rightly
predicted that it would receive less attention than her previous one, popularly known at the Skinny Models Inquiry.
When the sector does come under scrutiny, media representations are dualistic, ranging from reports portraying
workers whose behaviour is unkind or even abusive to those in which hapless care workers are exploited and under
BSA Annual Conference 2015 254
Glasgow Caledonian University