Reviews : Participation ANN RICHARDSON RKP, 1983; £4.95, pb; pp 151
| DOI | 10.1177/026455058403100213 |
| Author | Bryan Taylor |
| Date | 01 June 1984 |
| Published date | 01 June 1984 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
74
REVIEWS
.
Contributions,
comments
and
suggestions
to
Peter
Simpson,
5
Derby
Lane,
Old
Swan,
Liverpool
L13
6QA,
tel
051-220 4221.
Participation
ANN
RICHARDSON
RKP,
1983;
£4.95,
pb;
pp
151
Is
participation
a
significant
means
of
increas-
ing
the
influence
of
those
who
otherwise
lack
power,
thereby
legitimating
existing
structures?
Or,
is
it
designed
to
manipulate
people
into
accep-
tance
of bureaucratically
deterrmned
policies,
and
so
absorbs
dissent?
This
book,
which
gives
an
overview
of
‘consumer’
participation
schemes
in
different
areas
of
social
policy,
asks
but
does
not
answer
these
questions.
Acknowledging
that
ideological
positions
give
nse
to
varymg
expectations
about
participation
the
author
goes
no
further
than
noting
that
conflicting
claims
for
its
consequences
occur
because
it
is
an
ambiguous
concept
open
to
different
interpreta-
tions.
Her
analysis
eschews
definitions
of the
con-
cept
which
take
account
of
the
influence
it
has
on
social
policy
or
of the
extent
to
which
those
results
reflect
power
imbalance
between
the
state
and
’consumers’.
She
does
not
examine
the
way
in
which
conflict
emerges,
overlapping
interests
are
identified,
or
incorporation
of
community
protest
occurs
The
book
tends
to
focus
upon
participatory
processes
promoted
by
’service
providers’
rather
than
those
conceded
by
the
state
in
response
to
popular
demands
and
consequently
gives
little
emphasis
to
the
pol itical
struggles
of the
1960’s
m
the
USA
and
Europe
as
a
key
to
the
subsequent
fashionability
of
participation
In
short,
the
book’s
neutral
stance
on
the
political
context
within
which
participation
occurs
means
that
it
will
be
of limited
relevance
to
those
engaged
m,
say,
community
work
initiatives
or trade umon
activities
who
are
looking
for
a
framework
for
understandmg
processes
m
which
they
are
mvolved.
BRYAN
TAYLOR
Probation
Officer,
Nottingham
The
Married
Homosexual
Man:
A
Psychological
Study
MICHAEL
W
ROSS
RKP,
1983.
pp
184;
pb
£5 95
Although
homosexuality
is
a
well-chronicled
phenomenon,
there
is
little
available
research
on
the
sub-group
of
married
homosexuals.
Ross
studied
a
sample
of
married
homosexual
males
m
Scandinavia
and
Australia,
which,
by
the
nature
of
his
selection,
is
unrepresentative,
but
never-
theless
interesting
m
qualitative
terms.
He
fmds
that
gay
men
generally
marry
to
hide,
reject,
or
repress
their
natural
sexual
orientation,
and
that
they
have
a
higher
expectation
of societal
censonousness
than
do
their
unmarried
counterparts
There
is
little
m
the
research
which
would
help
a
marital
counsellor
to
identify
a
homosexual
male
partner,
but
certam
details
of the
study
have
useful
implications
for
therapy
Gay
inclinations
do
not
decrease
m
marnage,
and
m
a
quarter
of the
sample
they
became
stronger
Behaviour
modification
is
not
generally
a
viable
technique
and,
on
the
con-
trary,
it
is
crucial
for
a
couple
to
work
on
and
accept
the
gay
partner’s
sexual
feelings.
If
mutual
love,
commumcatlon,
incentive,
and
a
potential
for
resolution
of
guilt
and
resentment
are
present,
then
there
is
a
reasonable
chance
of
a
couple
success-
fully
adjusting
to
the
situation.
It
is
particularly
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