Financial Liberalisation in Southern Africa: An Assessment

In the early 1990s many Southern African economies embarked on financial liberalisation. Although it is too soon to carry out sophisticated econometric analysis of this change in policy, the available empirical evidence may be inspected to see whether it lends support to advocates of financial liberalisation. In this article we explore the avenues through which financial liberalisation might be expected to exert an influence. Consistent with much of the existing literature, we discover that a degree of agnosticism is warranted. Financial liberalisation is no panacea and will not improve economic performance unless accompanied by sound economic policies. It remains difficult to isolate the effects of financial liberalisation from the data available.     

Book reviews and books received

Abstract

Occupational medicine: Principles and Practical Applications, Edited by Carl Zenz, Chicago, Year Book Medical Publishers Inc., 2nd edn, (1988). [Pp. xxiii + 1273.] £ 94. ISBN 0-8151-9865-5.

Working Lives in Catering, By Yiannis Gabriel, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul (1988). [Pp. viii + 190.] £ 19.95. ISBN 0-7102-0923-1.

Stress and Breast Cancer, Edited by Cary L. Cooper, Chichester, Wiley (1988). [Pp. x + 219.] £ 22.50. ISBN 0-471-91744-3.

Managing organisational change: human factors and automation, By Fred Fallik, London, Taylor & Francis (1988). [Pp. xiv + 157.] £ 28.00, ISBN 0-85066-363-6 (hardback); £ 14.00, ISBN 0-850366-363-8 (paperback).

Managing organisational change: human factors and automation, By Fred Fallik, London, Taylor & Francis (1988). [Pp. xiv + 157.] £ 28.00, ISBN 0-85066-363-6 (hardback); £ 14.00, ISBN 0-850366-363-8 (paperback).

The Indebted Society. Credit and default in the 1980s, By Janet Ford, London, Routledge 81 Kegan Paul, (1988). [Pp. xi + 208.] £ 12.95. ISBN 0-415-00757-7.     

“Newsworthy” Victims?

More than 500 Aboriginal women have gone missing or been murdered in Canada since the 1980s yet press attention to this violence is relatively minimal. This paper compares local press coverage of matched cases: three missing/murdered Aboriginal women from Saskatchewan and three missing/murdered White women from Ontario. Quantitative and qualitative content analyses indicate stark disparities in the amount and content of coverage between groups. The Aboriginal women received three and a half times less coverage; their articles were shorter and less likely to appear on the front page. Depictions of the Aboriginal women were also more detached in tone and scant in detail in contrast to the more intimate portraits of the White women. Drawing on feminist media studies and theories of intersectionality, this paper argues that the simultaneous devaluation of Aboriginal womanhood and idealization of middle-class White womanhood contributes to broader systemic inequalities which re/produce racism, sexism, classism, and colonialism. This paper raises concerns about the broader implications of the relative invisibility of missing/murdered Aboriginal women in the press, and their symbolic annihilation from the Canadian social landscape.     

An evaluation of retail outlets as part of a community prevention trial to reduce sales of harmful legal products to youth

Communities across the nation have become increasingly concerned about inhalant use and use of harmful legal products among youth because of increasing prevalence rates and deleterious health consequences from abusing these products. The increasing concern of communities about inhaling and ingesting legal products has been coupled with increasing awareness and concern about ability of youth to access and abuse a variety of other legal retail products. There are few examples of scientifically designed community prevention projects that seek to reduce youth abuse of such legal products. This article describes a community prevention trial that is designed to reduce sales of inhalants and other harmful legal products to youth and demonstrates how the retailer component of the trial can be rigorously evaluated. It also shows how data from youth purchase attempts can complement survey data from retailers.     

A midwife program of newborn resuscitation

A very small proportion of newborns fail to establish a normal respiratory pattern without some assistance at birth and newborns requiring resuscitative measures at birth should have a skilled practitioner able to provide it. In this small hospital midwives felt unskilled in newborn resuscitation and paediatricians were not always immediately available. A stakeholder group gathered to discuss the problem. A training program was implemented that improved the skills, confidence and support of the attending midwife to resuscitate the newborn effectively. The aim was to improve the outcome for the infant whilst maintaining the mother's choice of birthing in a small local hospital close to family and friends.     

What’s in a yardscape? A case study of emergent ecosystem services and disservices within resident yardscape discourses in Minnesota

Urban Ecosystems - Residential yardscapes are at the forefront of human interaction with nature for those living in urban areas across Europe and North America. In recent years a significant amount...     

Rural Appalachian High School Students’ College‐Going and STEMM Perceptions

The authors examined perceptions of key social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) variables related to college‐going and science, technology, engineering, math, and medical (STEMM) careers in 10th and 11th graders (N = 892) attending 3 rural Appalachian high schools. The authors examined differences in perceptions related to gender, prospective 1st‐generation college student status, and the presence or absence of aspirations to pursue a STEMM career. Young women and young men scored similarly on all but 1 dependent variable, college‐going self‐efficacy (young women scored higher). Students who had STEMM career aspirations had higher scores on every measure than those who did not. Results suggest examining a 3rd prospective 1st‐generation college student status group—students who are unsure of their parents’ education level—as a distinct group in future research. By examining the college‐going and STEMM attitudes of rural Appalachian high school students, this study advances the literature and informs practitioners on reducing educational and vocational inequalities in this region.     

Ending Sexual Harassment: Protecting the Progress of #MeToo

ABSTRACT

How can we best protect and safeguard the progress of the #MeToo movement? This article presents 11 reforms designed to ensure the movement’s drive toward justice. These fall into three areas. The first concern process reforms designed to (a) protect all those involved—accusers and the accused—in investigations of sexual harassment, (b) end differential treatment of those found guilty, and (c) ensure punishments are commensurate with the crime and proportional in terms of other transgressors. The second set of reforms focus on transparency of the process, including clarifying (a) how to file charges, (b) who makes decisions, (c) relevant public information on how charges and procedures are followed, (d) what transgressions result in which punishments, and (e) how complaints are investigated to protect the rights and privacy of all. Finally, I address cultural issues that address (a) our portrayal of women, (b) our societal attempts to prepare young people so they can better protect themselves, and (c) attempts to encourage bystanders to intervene in the face of sexual harassment of others.