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This contribution to the symposium focuses on those facets of Martin Bulmer's work that sought to analyse the role of race and ethnicity in the development of sociological research. It highlights, in particular, his continuing interest through much of his scholarship with the work of the Chicago School and of key figures within it in the development of both conceptual and empirical research agendas in this field. This interest was intimately linked to his long-standing curiosity about the origins of sociological research and the links between sociology and social and public policy. The paper also explores Bulmer's engagement with questions about race and ethnicity. It also highlights his contribution to the development of the journal Ethnic and Racial Studies as a key forum for the publication of empirical and theoretical research on race and ethnic issues, linking the contributions of diverse national scholarly traditions together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweden is reputed, not least among Swedes themselves, for having achieved with its social welfare society a singular and, perhaps, outstanding position among industrial societies, somewhere between the "socialist" and "capitalist" concepts of social organization. Commonly the particular, marginal geopolitical position of the country, the high degree of centralization and integration of its society, and relatively early detachment from the European theatre of imperialistic wars of the Great Powers have been seen as the reasons for Sweden's particularity. This paper argues that above all the configuration of a) relatively late industrialization, b) the intimate link between industrialization and a concerted social policy which put family policy at its centre, and c) the crucial role of a highly differentiated legal system to support this process, is responsible for the singularity of the Swedish society. The issue of children's rights can be made the test-case for both Swedish welfare achievements and the hypothesis advanced in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two decades of New Public Management have placed agencifiction high on the agenda of administrative policy-makers. However, agencification (and de-agencification) has been one of the enduring themes of public administration. Agencies organized at arm's length from ministerial departments have fairly often been located outside of the capital or political centre. Although practitioners tend to assign some weight to central versus peripheral location as regards political-administrative behavior, this relationship has been almost totally ignored by scholars in the field. In this paper, based on a large-N elite survey, we show that agency autonomy, agency influence and inter-institutional coordination seem to be relatively unaffected by agency site. This study also specifies some conditions under which this finding is valid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of social capital has acquired some currency amongst policy analysts to refer to the social norms, networks and trust that facilitate co-operation and provision of mutual support within or between groups. As yet there is no agreed definition of the concept; however influential Australian policy bodies are developing measures to track changes in social capital and relate these to policy changes. Most research is concerned with exploration of the concept in locality-based communities and its application to developing societies. This paper reviews research undertaken in Australia and overseas to determine the elements of social capital that may have importance in relation to policy development in response to an ageing population. It concludes that the concept could be of considerable value in understanding the determinants of policy success or failure, but that further research is required to understand the nature of social capital as it relates to older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social capital and community capacity have become key concepts in social policy responses to marginalised individuals and communities. Policy making has occurred in the context of heated debate about the roles of government and business institutions in strengthening community capacities. In this paper, we wilt explore theoretical positions about the role that these institutions play in building local social capital. We argue that the dominant conceptions of social capital in Australia fail to recognise the potential for non-local institutions to strengthen local community capacity. Drawing on a study of four geographically diverse communities we show that a substantial proportion of community members were disconnected from non-local government and business institutions. We conclude with some initial suggestions for extending the social capital discourse to recognise and build the role of non-local institutions in strengthening local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]