Income generation, local economic development and community development: paying the price for lacking business skills?

The introduction of the notion of developmental local governmentas entrenched in the South African constitution in 1994 hasrequired municipalities and cities to consider initiatives toenhance their local economies. At the same time, the socialwelfare paradigm has shifted from one of welfare to development.One way of ensuring the sustainability of this developmentalparadigm is to embark on income-generating projects or businesses.The Free State provincial government created various projectsto develop local economies and to establish income-generatingprojects with a view to making people more self-reliant andtheir livelihoods more sustainable. This article aims to evaluatelocal economic development and income-generating projects inthe Free State province from the perspective of business principles.     

Adolescent Identity Formation and Rites of Passage: The Navajo Kinaaldá Ceremony for Girls

Psychosocial and anthropological conceptions of adolescent identity formation are reviewed relative to identity formation of American Indian adolescents. The Dunham, Kidwell, and Wilson (1986) ritual process paradigm, an extension of van Gennep's (1908/1960) tripartite rites of passage model, is presented as a useful approach to examine identity transformations embedded in pubertal coming‐of‐age ceremonies. The rich array of rituals that constitute rites of passage ceremonies are argued to lead to optimal identity formation as delineated by Erikson (1968, 1987a) . To illustrate a synthesis between psychosocial and anthropological approaches, the Navajo female pubertal coming‐of‐age ceremony called Kinaaldá is described and analyzed using the published literature, observations of two ceremonies, and discussions with experts on the topic. It is concluded that through a series of complex rituals, an identity is ascribed to the young woman that connects her and transforms her into the primary female supernatural being of the culture.     

Coming to terms with inequality and exploitation in an African state: researching disability in Sierra Leone

In this article, I describe how during my anthropological research in post‐conflict Sierra Leone with a disabled community, I was confronted by experiences of inequality and exploitation. Many disabled people had previous disabling contact with other researchers, organisations and journalists. Others described difficulties surviving the disabling socio‐economic conditions and were not viewed as ‘development’ partners, despite the fact that their images and stories had played a big role in the rebuilding and ‘healing’ of the Sierra Leonean nation state. I ask whether we as researchers and an international community are still not colluding with structures and institutions that exploit disabled people in post‐conflict and post‐disaster countries.     

Interrogating the tribal: the aporia of ‘tribalism’ in the sociological study of the Middle East

In this paper, we intend to deconstruct the term ‘tribalism’ as a colonial category, which figures as a prominent concept in social studies on Kurds as well as the Middle East at large. Blithely used, tribalism has occupied a central place, especially in the existing scholarship on Kurdistan. Some earlier anthropological works have gone so far as to regard tribalism as the ‘DNA’ of Middle Eastern people. Drawing on recent studies on Latin America, Africa and Central Asia, we argue that the use of tribalism as if it is the natural constitution of Kurdish society has caused a significant misrepresentation and oversimplification of socio‐political life in Kurdistan as well as the broader Middle East. In a way, the existing body of scholarship on this region has reproduced statist‐nationalist discourses at the expense of dominated communities (e.g., Kurds). The historical context of both colonial powers and nation‐states ‘combating tribes and tribalism’ coincided with the emergence of the discourse of racial biopolitics. Thus, the use of the term tribalism to define certain nations or ethnic groups should not be viewed as merely an application of socio‐anthropological categories. Hence, we argue that the ethical aspects and implications of the use of tribalism by both colonial powers and later by nation‐states to define certain ethnic groups must not be overlooked.     

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How Process Improvements Can Help the Bottom Line New Jersey Leaders Seek to Lift Barriers to Successful Reentry for Addicts The Five Key Principles of NIATx Change Diversify Funding to Increase Agency Admissions SAMHSA: 40% of Underage Drinkers Obtained Alcohol from Adults Use Free Technology to Improve Admissions and Outcomes Health‐Education‐Labor Spending Bill Delayed Briefly Noted State Watch Names in the News Coming up     

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Health‐Care Reform: Addiction Field Starts Building a Coalition Center Offers Interest‐Free Financing; Others Cautious About Extending Credit OxyContin Settlement Funds to Benefit Virginia Providers NIDA‐NIAAA Merger to be Decided by NIH Panel RAND Study Finds Methamphetamine Cost U.S. $23 Billion in 2005 Ohio Governor Proposes Stimulus Funds to Pay for Treatment N.Y. Drug Sentencing Reform Urged with Focus on Treatment Briefly Noted State News Coming up     

Language Policy in Practice: Re‐bordering the Nation

We present findings from an anthropological field study on the role of language and language policy in migration from Poland to Norway, and the larger implications for emerging language and immigration policy in Europe. Initial fieldwork in Norway found that Polish workers without knowledge of the Norwegian language struggled to secure employment in the formal economy. The 2008 financial crisis intensified competition in the labour market and underscored fluency in Norwegian as a means of discriminating among workers. Comparative case studies of language schools revealed that these organizations are active participants in channeling Polish migrants' movements into a segmented labour market, often in ways that involve cooperation between private companies and the State. We frame the Norwegian case within the larger context of Europe and the trend there toward favoring integration over multiculturalism. The emergence of restrictive language policies in Europe may be interpreted as a legally and culturally acceptable means for discouraging access to rights associated with permanent residency or citizenship by work migrants from CEE countries, while at the same time permitting them access to the labour market for temporary work. The long‐term consequences of such policies for European society are uncertain.     

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Treatment for Child Welfare Families Continues Amid Lawsuit Over Jail Terms Governor Restores $3 Million to Florida's Treatment Programs Toll‐Free Lines Help Connect Callers to Local Treatment Programs Stimulus Package: Still no $100 Million for Block Grant Case Management Helps Substance Abusing Women on Welfare Briefly Noted State News Resources Business Names in the News Coming up     

“Politics have shown that the malays can change”: Corporate anthropology and the governing of entrepreneurial subjectivities in Malaysia

This paper analyses the interplay between anthropological epistemologies, industrial development and labour market policies, and the human technologies seeking to develop entrepreneurial subjectivities in Malaysia. It is argued that the ease with which conceptions of Malay subjectivity interacted with a series of mundane and practical managerial devices depended on the recast of the understanding of Malay subjectivity informed by developmental rationalities and anthropological epistemologies. This paper moreover addresses the apparent contradiction between the neo‐liberal and authoritarian political rationalities inscribed in the programs and human technologies seeking to develop entrepreneurial subjectivities.     

Village on the Border, anthropology at the crossroads: the significance of a classic British ethnography

Village on the Border was the seminal anthropological study of a mainland British rural community. It was written and published during a period of unsurpassed scholarship and creativity in British social science. To explain the impact it had on social anthropology, British studies and public discourse at the time, I look at the influences on Ronnie Frankenberg and his work of the then state of social anthropology; of the particular academic environment in which he was trained and worked; and of his personal background and political convictions. This analysis shows that although the book clearly bears particular historical and intellectual influences, it was explicitly set within comparative ethnographic frameworks, and in due course greatly influenced work elsewhere. Both methodologically and substantively, it should be seen as a significant contribution to the comparative study of local‐level politics, gender relations and the role of the ‘stranger’, as well as the authentic origin of modern anthropological studies of rural Britain.     

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Field Struggles to Hold on to BG‐Funded Residential Treatment in Face of ACA Murder at New York Treatment Center Shines Spotlight on Facility Safety GOP Control of House May Mean Changes, or At Least Delays, for ACA Mass. Voters Opt to Repeal Alcohol Tax, Killing Dedicated Fund Alcohol and the Workplace: The Elephant in the Room Caron Offers Free Substance Abuse Training for Pediatric Residents Briefly Noted State News Business Coming up     

The hotnot syndrome: Myth‐making in South African school textbooks

Cultural myths are important for the maintenance of political control in a hierarchial multi‐ethnic society. History is often manipulated by the ruling elite at the expense of other segments of the society. South Africa is no exception. The maintenance of these myths is supported by the educational system from a very young age. Disenfranchised people are usually at the bottom of the social ladder and have so little input into the myth‐making process that they reject their aboriginal heritage. The study offered here of South African history textbooks written from the beginning of the First World War to the 1980's shows that they are a reflection of the controlling elite's perception of history which is not consistent with current archaeological and anthropological studies by reputable scholars. The exposure of these myths now permits an acceptance by the descendants of the aboriginal inhabitants of the Cape of their indigenous cultural heritage.     

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Brain Scan Study Shows Cocaine Addicts Can Resist Craving Canada Study of DWI Offenders Could Turn Notion of Resistance on its Ear Consumption‐Based Alcohol Screens May Not Detect Dependence UNCOPE Screen New York Offers Free Tuition and Training in Addictions Field Study: Older Alcoholics Drink More than Younger Alcoholics California Health Professionals in Recovery Under New Scrutiny Briefly Noted State News Resources Call for Presentations Names in the News Coming up     

At the Edge of Chaos: Poetics of American Monsters,here and there

Although we often use the term “monster” in a self‐evident way, what that term signifies is highly varied and sometimes contradictory. What, in fact, is a monster? This paper explores various beings called “monsters,” from obese bodies on reality TV to occult lizard people in conspiracy theories. Taking off from classic anthropological theories of monsters as deconstructed and reassembled natural objects, I question their affective and meaningful associations in contemporary America, and explore why the idea of the monster, which has no stable referent, is nonetheless ubiquitous in a seemingly disenchanted world.     

Fiscal Pressure of Migration and Horizontal Fiscal Inequality: Evidence from Indian Experience

This article examines the patterns and trends in inter‐State migration across the Indian States and observes that along with the demographic factors, migration is also affected by the fiscal profile of States. Controlling for the economic prosperity of States as reflected in their per capita Net State Domestic Product and the nature of fiscal policy stance, econometric estimation using the gravity model suggests that level of vertical federal transfers and its horizontal distribution is an important determinant of the pattern of inter State migration. To correct for the extant horizontal fiscal inequality across the Indian States, the article suggests a relatively more progressive transfer system and a developmental fiscal policy stance at the State level to reduce the pressure of out‐migration to prosperous regions of the country.     

Career Decision Self‐Efficacy of Transgender People: Pre‐ and Posttransition

Transgender people often make the decision to change jobs before, during, or after making a social or medical transition. This study explores reported self‐efficacy from an online sample of transgender people. Results indicate that there are differences in self‐efficacy based on one's gender identity, transition status, and education level. This study offers insight into the important and often overlooked vocational experiences of transgender people. Results suggest ways in which the transition process may interact with career decision self‐efficacy.     

Photographs in the cultural account: contested narratives and collective memory in the Scottish Islands

‘Traditional’ photographic images of people in the Scottish islands represent them as marginal and romantic, determined survivors become quaint curiosities. The discourse of modernity has produced a dichotomy between contemporary society and a pre‐industrial Arcadia that is vividly reflected in the emphasis on the anthropological ‘otherness’ of island ways of life. Yet whilst such stereotypes are evident from the archival record, the specific uses made of photographs by local communities suggests that these pictures also provide a resource for cultural accounting. Like the ‘reckoning of kin’ or the cataloguing of place names and archaeological sites, photographs constitute a shared basis for establishing awareness of an authentic, distinctive and continuous self‐identity. The view constructed by outsiders may thus be contrasted with a competing indigenous appropriation: the one stresses the schisms rent by transformed relations of production; the other counters modernisation theory in its celebration of continuity. Although the malleability of photographs as sources renders any fmal assessment difficult, a methodology for intertextual reading is suggested.     

BANKS,FREE BANKS,AND U.S. ECONOMIC GROWTH

The “Federalist financial revolution” may have jump‐started the U.S. economy into modern growth, but the Free Banking System (1837–1862) did not play a direct role in sustaining it. Despite lowering entry barriers and extending banking into developing regions, we find in county‐level data that free banks had little or no effect on growth. The result is not just a symptom of the era, as state‐chartered banks seem to have strong and positive effects on manufacturing and urbanization. (JEL G21, N21, O43)     

Impact of Migration on Kerala's Economy and Society

This article reports results of the first migration study covering the entire State of Kerala. It encompasses both measurement as well as analysis of the various types and facets of migration. Migration has been the single most dynamic factor in an otherwise dreary development scenario in Kerala during the last quarter of the twentieth century. Kerala is approaching the end of the millennium with a little cheer in many people's homes as a result of migration which has contributed more to poverty alleviation than any other factor, including agrarian reforms, trade union activities and social welfare legislation. The study shows that nearly 1.5 million Keralites now live outside India. They send home more than Rs.4,000 million a year by way of remittances. Three‐quarters of a million former emigrants have come back. They live mostly on savings, work experience, and skills acquired while abroad. More than a million families depend on an internal migrant's earnings for subsistence, children's education and other economic requirements. Whereas the educationally backward Muslims from the Thrissur‐Malappuram region provide the backbone of emigration, it is the educationally forward Ezhawas, Nairs and Syrian Christians from the former Travancore‐Cochin State who form the core of internal migration. The article also analyses the determinants and consequences of internal and external migration. It offers suggestions for policy formulation directed at optimum utilization of remittances sent home by emigrants and the expertise brought back by the return migrants. Migration in Kerala began with demographic expansion, but it will not end up with demographic contraction. Kerala has still to develop into an internally self‐sustaining economy. The prevailing cultural milieu in which its people believe that anything can be achieved through agitation, and any rule can be circumvented with proper political connections, must change and be replaced by a liberalized open economy with strict and definite rules of the game.     

A global sense of migrant places: towards a place perspective in the study of migrant transnationalism

Contemporary transnational migrants have complex social lives in that they live in a number of different cross‐border social networks at the same time. Most transmigration scholars try to grasp this social complexity of migrant transnationalism by using a network lens. In this article, I argue in favour of adding a place lens to the analytical tool kit of transmigration scholars. Although a network lens works well for studying the internal complexity of cross‐border social networks, a place lens is more useful for gaining an understanding of their external complexity, in other words the ways these networks interrelate. By drawing on geographical and anthropological literature on open and relational understandings of place, and especially on the work of Doreen Massey and Arjun Appadurai, I shall show that interrelating migrant networks are visible in place in two ways. On the one hand, migrant places are meeting places of social networks, and on the other hand they are sites (translocalities) where transmigrants can reach out to people in other places.