Rural governance and local involvement: assessing state—community relations in the Scottish Highlands

Questions of rural governance have been attracting growing interest in recent years as rural analysts turn their attention to the institutional transformations that are taking place in and around the local state. This paper is concerned with the relationships between new governance agencies and rural communities. It follows recent contributions to the rural studies literature by adopting a ‘governmentality’ perspective which views the current emphasis on community involvement and empowerment as part of a broader neo-liberal strategy of ‘governing through community’. In the paper, I address a particular gap in the governmentality literature by examining how the underlying shift towards community action and local involvement is mediated and implemented by local and regional agencies in the Scottish Highlands, focusing specifically on the relationship between local enterprise companies and local communities. As such, the paper explores the tension between the concern with local participation and the reliance upon a set of managerial ‘technologies’ such as targeting and financial controls which reflect a need to ensure that local agencies are accountable to (central) government. The paper argues that while local state agencies must be analysed within wider circuits of power, local agencies and community groups retain some capacity to influence processes of rural governance. In conclusion, I suggest that the governmentality approach provides some critical insights for re-interpreting and analysing rural governance as a particular field of research.     

Unpacking “the system”: Multi-level governance gaps in the labour market integration of highly skilled refugees

A plethora of government- and non-government actors are involved in the labour market integration of highly skilled refugees, forming a complex “system” that is difficult to navigate for integration actors and refugees. Based on interviews with 32 labour market integration actors in Sweden, this article examines multi-level governance gaps in the wake of the simultaneous centralization and decentralization of labour market preparation services. It examines various “steps” in the labour market integration process to gain a more holistic perspective of “the system”, and identifies governance gaps in each step. The article finds that the devolution of services has opened up participatory spaces for non-government actors, but narrowly defined mandates and short-term funding mechanisms hamper cooperation within and between territorial levels of policy implementation.     

The role of the voluntary sector in the provision of rural services — the case of transport

The voluntary sector has become more fully involved in service provision in rural areas over the last 10 years and this paper attempts to assess its impact with respect to one particular group of services, namely transport. The importance of the initiatives which have taken place is outlined in a statement of recent policy changes, including the radical provisions in the 1985 Transport Act, and through a national review of the three principal kinds of voluntary transport services in rural areas — social car schemes, dial-a-ride and community buses. This review is followed by an in-depth analysis of the extent of the voluntary sector involvement in transport provision in Norfolk and Suffolk. Extensive tables are presented and the characteristics of the schemes outlined together with an assessment of the essential ingredients for success or failure.The conclusion reached is that the scope and scale of voluntary sector initiatives in rural areas is small, and they form no alternative to a more general and systematic provision of transport services. Further, voluntary sector activities may even increase the inequalities in service provision. Suggestions are made as to how the scattered developments could be brought together and developed through the parish councils, parish transport groups and the rural transport broker.     

For the Prosperity and Democracy of the Motherland——Women Members of the Democratic Parties in Jiangsu Province

EVER since the Chinese Communist Party came into power, there have been eight democratic parties working alongside it, helping and sharing happiness and hardship together. The Chinese Communist Party considers them devoted friends.     

Exit,voice and loyalty in the course of corporate governance and counsel’s changing role

Striking changes in the norms and practices of corporate governance have occurred since the 1980s. Corporate directors have become more independent and diligent and institutional investors have become more activist. If we apply Albert O. Hirschman’s insights about the interactions of exit, voice and loyalty, we find that over-reliance on exit as the remedy of choice of shareholders failed to discipline and educate managers effectively. After the wave of hostile takeovers, the extent of management failure became apparent and the increased power of voice was an important factor in accelerating changes in conduct and norms. The new Team Production Model is useful in describing how public corporations are increasingly being governed. The model helps to explain why corporate boards should function as independent arbitrators among the corporate constituents that have invested in the entity. Mechanisms to increase stakeholder voice and loyalty can help the board function effectively and may increase both efficiency and fairness. The role of corporate counsel, as co-agent with corporate management, and having an independent fiduciary duty to the entity and not its management, is essential to assist the corporate board in meeting its obligations within the Team Production Model. Lawyers, as honest brokers with duties to the enterprise can play an important role in increasing stakeholder voice and loyalty.     

Assertiveness in the Managerial Role of the College Health Nurse—Leadership and Change in the Role

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to introduce ways in which health professionals can improve their self-image and gain professional satisfaction. The intention of this paper is to familiarize health professionals with assertive skills. The paper highlights several examples of assertive, nonassertive, or aggressive behavior. Two short tests are included to help the individual become more aware of how to behave and perform. Health professionals in management roles should realize the need for talents such as leading, communicating, and motivating. The skills of assertiveness will help to develop talents in management.     

Supervision in the face of no cure— working on the boundary

Abstract

This paper considers how the trauma of child sexual abuse and the roles of victim and abuser affect not only those directly involved in the abuse but also those who work with it, their institutions and the wider network. It suggests that the emotional impact of such work should not be underestimated and that good supervision which considers the emotional impact of this and similar life crisis interventions, is vital for everyone working in this field     

Safeguard Rights and Interests of Women in Accordance with the Law——the Five-Year Anniversary of the Implementation of the Law of the PRC on the Protection of Righ Is and Interests of Women

ON April 3, 1992, the Law of the PRC on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women (Protection Law), the first basic law for protecting rights and interests of women and promoting equality between men and women in China, was adopted at the fifth session of the Seventh National People's Congress (NPC), and entered into force on October 1 of the same year.     

Parish councils,partnership and governance: the development of ‘exceptions’ housing in the Malvern Hills District,England

Partnerships between public, private and voluntary sectors have been feted as an effective strategy to broaden engagement with policy delivery. However, their legitimacy has been questioned as some of the power relations within and between partnerships raise doubts over their inclusiveness and effectiveness. In light of these concerns, this paper examines ‘partnerships projects’ established to build affordable housing for local people in rural Worcestershire. Particular emphasis is given to the role and power of parish councils within these partnerships. It is argued that far from leading to greater participation, such partnerships can give voice and power to those who seek to exclude particular groups from rural spaces.     

Households’ precautionary behaviors—the effects of the introduction of National Health Insurance in Taiwan

By reducing risk of large out-of-pocket medical expenses, comprehensive social health insurance may reduce households’ motivation to engage in precautionary behaviors such as saving, procurement of private insurance, and spousal labor-force participation. We use the natural experiment provided by the 1995 introduction of National Health Insurance in Taiwan to examine these effects, using pre-existing differences in access to health insurance (tied to the household head’s and spouse’s joint employment status) to identify the effects of increasing insurance coverage. We find that comprehensive health insurance has a statistically significant and large effect on household savings, but no significant effects on purchase of private accident insurance and spousal employment.

Inequality in new global governance arrangements: the North–South divide in transnational municipal networks

Networks are often portrayed as more equal governance arrangements because of their horizontal character. Power relations within networks are neglected as the collaborative activities receive the bulk of attention. However, from a critical reading of the network and flows literature we know that networks are not free of power relations, and that they create new inequalities and even intensify existing ones. Using Manuel Castells's conceptual framework on power in networks, this article studies power relations in two transnational municipal networks that address urban environmental challenges: the World Association of the Major Metropolises and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. Power relations that result from informational and ideational flows are at the core of attention. The paper reveals contributor/receiver linkages and their consequences. The conclusions are framed by reflections on the significance of cities from the Global South in new global governance arrangements.     

Gender and the blurring boundaries of work in the era of telework—A longitudinal study

This longitudinal study analyses gender and the blurring boundaries of work during prolonged telework, utilising data gathered during the different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic caused a major change in the knowledge work sector, which has characteristically been more prone to work leaking into other parts of life. The study examines the blurring boundaries of telework: between time and place, care and housework, and emotional, social, spiritual and aesthetic labour. The experiences of different genders regarding the blurring boundaries of work during long-term telework are scrutinised using a mixed methods approach, analysing two surveys (Autumn 2020: N = 87, and Autumn 2021: N = 94) conducted longitudinally in a consulting company operating in Finland. There were several gendered differences in the reported forms of labour, which contribute to the blurring boundaries of work. Some boundary blurring remained the same during the study, while some fluctuated. The study also showed how the gendered practices around the blurring boundaries of work transformed during prolonged telework. Blurring boundaries of work and attempts to establish boundaries became partially gendered, as gender and life situation were reflected in knowledge workers' experiences of teleworking.     

Lay actions in the face of crisis—Swedish citizens’ actions in response to the global financial crisis of 2008

This study goes beyond attitudes and behavioral indications as response to risk perceptions and focuses on actual behavior of laypeople. We report the results from a survey, conducted among a sample of Swedish citizens in the spring of 2009, looking at lay actions as responses to the financial crisis of 2008.In total, 3138 respondents were asked whether they had done something to protect their money during the recent financial crisis or not. The total sample, 1053 respondents, was divided into two comparable groups and a binary logistic regression tested a model with nine factors hypothesized to be predicting the choice to act or not as a response to the financial crisis. Among the eight factors predicting likelihood to act were gender, age, education, ethnicity, possession of assets affected of the financial crisis, worrying about the everyday household finances, the perception of others’ actions, and importance put on being knowledgeable and up-dated about financial matters. The ninth factor—respondents’ perception of the crisis to be a greater threat to the U.S. and global economy than to their own personal finances—did not contribute significantly to the model.A second aim of the study was to determine whether any individuals acted rashly and, if so, whether this group differed in any statistically significant way from the group of individuals that acted in a more financially circumspectly manner. In the group of individuals that acted rashly there is a higher propensity of: individuals who do not think they have assets affected by the crisis: individuals who have a lower level of education; and individuals who consider it important to be knowledgeable and up-to-date about financial matters. It should be of interest to policymakers and researchers to further explore features of this group of laypeople because it is the most important target group for consumer information and protection.     

Women at the Change of Life——Comparisons of Menopausal Symptoms of Women in Urban and Rural Areas

IT is very important to talk about women's life quality when they approach the age of menopause. The results of a research investigation on the "Mental and Health Condition of Rural/Urban Women at Menopause" and the "Common Mental and Health Problems of Women at Menopause and its Treatment in Nanjing," reveal that the incidence of     

Public governance of information asymmetries—The gap between reality and economic theory

There are numerous situations where governments take action due to systematic information asymmetries in society, while economics textbooks do not offer an integrated theory to justify these interventions in terms of utility. This paper starts with a taxonomy of situations where governments try to correct for information asymmetries. A distinction is made between government interventions due to information asymmetries between market partners, within political markets and between the government and citizens. It is then shown that Public Choice Theory offers only few and Public Finance Theory not enough explanations for the prevalence of such government interventions. Further explanations for government actions are given by Institutional Economics and Cultural and Behavioural Economics. The latter will probably generate the best progress towards creating better explanations.     

Social care stakeholders' perceptions of the recruitment of international practitioners in the United Kingdom—a qualitative study

Mobility of labour is common within Europe and globally, particularly in social and health care. This article examines the findings from a qualitative study of 15 expert or stakeholder views that explored supply and demand factors in international social care staff recruitment to the United Kingdom (UK). Findings are that international social care workers have a better reputation and are perceived as being harder workers, more productive, more reliable, more focused and more likely to stay in a post longer than local workers. However, there is also the perception that employment in social care is a stepping-stone into other forms of employment both in the UK and when returning to home countries, through access to training, experience and improved job opportunities. The impact of migration policies on the composition of international workers is further noted because greater numbers of social care staff are coming to the UK from the European Union and fewer from Commonwealth states. Changes in the profile of international workers are discussed, with a need identified to address cultural and language differences to ensure good outcomes for service users.     

Thirty years of physical activity in oncology in Germany—from the birth of the first rehabilitative cancer sports group until today

Since 1978, exercise and sport therapy for oncological patients is a research and education focus at the German Sport University of Cologne. Back then, the top priority for almost all oncological patients was to “rest”. Therefore, uncharted territory was entered. Aside from acute care hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals especially for oncological patients exist in Germany. In terms of the rehabilitation chain, which consists of acute care hospital, rehabilitation center, and home-based training, and the aspect of exercise therapy for breast cancer patients, the following progress could be observed in the last 30 years: In the 1980s, less than 50 % of the breast cancer patients received supervised exercise therapy during their 2- to 3-week hospital stay. Today, the length of hospital stay was reduced to 4 to 6 days and some hospitals have gym equipment to increase strength and endurance. In the beginning of the 1980s, passive applications (physiotherapy, massages, bubble baths, short hikes) were still dominant. While the rehabilitation stay took 6 weeks back then, it was reduced to 3 weeks today. Further, mainly group-based and active measures are applied today. The aim is to encourage and motivate patients to long-term physical exercise. In the meantime, mainly exercise and sports therapists are employed, in order to meet the holistic bio-psychosocial requirements. The first cancer sports groups for breast cancer patients in the aftercare were founded in 1981 in Germany. Today, nearly 1,000 groups exist. Breast cancer and 15 other entities are represented, however mainly women take part. In the early days, research focused on the influence of physical activities on psychosocial aspects. Lately the effects on molecular, biological, and immunological parameters are also examined, in order to explore canceroprotective mechanisms.     

Direct,Facilitate, Enable—the Juxtaposition of the Duty of Care and the Duty of Disclosure in Social Work Field Education

This article examines the significance of field education placements within contemporary social work field education, particularly considering the increasingly complex issues of the duty of care (to student, agency and field teacher) and the duty to disclose (to student, to field teacher) which schools of social work must negotiate. The dilemmas facing schools and field educators, and the steps taken to resolve them at the University of Melbourne (Australia), are considered to highlight the ongoing liability and accountability difficulties which continue to face social work education.     

The Man in the Red Coat—Management in the Circus

Authored by a circus performer/manager and an academic, this paper uses concepts from the work of Alasdair MacIntyre to interpret ethnographic material from the traditional circus. The paper outlines MacIntyre’s conceptual architecture of goods, practices and institutions in which exercise of the virtues by those who manage the institution is required to maintain the integrity of practices. Such exercise is one defining feature of what MacIntyre calls ‘practice‐based communities’. Following a discussion of method it uses ethnographic material to describe the organisation of work in the circus and the self‐understanding of the managerial role of ringmaster. A series of incidents illustrate the use of the virtue of phronêsis, practical judgement in this role to maintain the integrity of the practice. The paper concludes by considering the extent to which travelling circus may be considered an example of the practice‐based community.     

Editorial—On the role of the humanities in urban ecology: The case of St. Petersburg

Urban ecology is increasingly interdisciplinary, with biophysical and social scientists joining forces to study how human and built environments and processes interact with non-human nature. Humanistic disciplines that study high culture and intellectual currents also bear upon urban ecology, since cities are not simply aggregates of human and non-human factors but seats of civilization and loci of concentrated creative energy. The Russian city of St. Petersburg, which Dostoevsky called the most abstract and intentional city in the world, offers an example of the way individual acts of intellectual and artistic creation affect the energy balance of a city and its interaction with ecological forces. Such concentrated creative energy may be a key to making cities sustainable, and it should not remain outside the calculus of urban ecology.