Racism and xenophobia experienced by Polish migrants in the UK before and after Brexit vote

In recent years the public discourses on Polish migration in the UK have rapidly turned hostile, especially in the context of economic crisis in 2008, and subsequently after the EU referendum in 2016. While initially Poles have been perceived as a ‘desirable’ migrant group and labelled as ‘invisible’ due to their whiteness, this perception shifted to the representation of these migrants as taking jobs from British workers, putting a strain on public services and welfare. While racist and xenophobic violence has been particularly noted following the Brexit vote, Polish migrants experienced various forms of racist abuse before that. This paper draws on narrative interviews with Polish migrant women illustrating their experiences of racism and xenophobia in Greater Manchester before and after the Brexit vote, and how they make sense of anti-Polish discourses and attitudes. This paper illustrates the importance of the interplay between the media and political discourses, class, race and the local context in shaping relations between Polish migrants and the local population.     

Les producteurs roumains de l’habillement à la recherche de clients : une analyse sociologique des rencontres d’affaires

This article analyzes business encounters in the garment industry of post-communist Romania. It shows how the structural uncertainty that characterizes the “transition” from a planned economy to a market economy forces the choice of Romanian manufacturers, particularly in terms of clientele. Thus, in the early 1990s, these actors were mostly caught up in figuring out their short-term profits, and their ability to get a firm foothold in the market was seriously challenged. However, many of the bifurcations experienced by individual manufacturers paradoxically participated in stabilizing (at least temporarily) a way of doing business in that industry: the “choice” of international outsourcing became the only possible reasonable choice during the “transition”.     

Social assistance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: Does faith-based approach matters?

This paper aimed to examine the role of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in the distribution of social assistance (SA) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. The paper adopts a qualitative case-study approach to explore the best practices in the distribution of SA by five (5) organizations including FBOs, governmental organizations (GOs), Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), political groups, and private voluntary groups. In this study, 14 beneficiaries of SA were selected by stratified proportionate random sampling method, and five (5) key personnel were selected purposively based on their experiences in the management of SA distribution. The study found that “no-move, no touch” approach followed by FBOs is more likely to establish human rights and social justice and reduce the transmission of diseases. In contrast to the modern idea, which undermines the faith-based charity, the study proved that faith-based charity is gaining attraction as an effective approach combating global pandemic. The findings of this paper will be useful for policymakers, voluntary service workers, GO, and NGO workers to ensure the distribution of SA in a more productive and disciplined way during and after an emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic.     

The Impact of Bandung City's Rapid Development on children's Independent Mobility and Access to Friendly Play Environments

This study explored the extent to which the enormous development in Bandung City, Indonesia has some bearing on local children as the youngest inhabitants. In particular, it focused on the issue of children's independent mobility and the availability of friendly play environments in children's neighbourhoods. The result of this study showed that the development of Bandung City has created a disparity in access regarding children's opportunities for mobility as well as participation in friendly play environments. This study identified that many children were allowed to visit two places — local shops and the local mosque — without accompanying elders. This study also recognised children's desires to have appropriately designed play spaces, such as parks that are equipped with play equipment and rich in nature. Thus, this study argues the necessity to preserve the remaining and add a significant number of new, free, outdoor play spaces in the city.     

Entering a Dialogue: Positioning Case Study Findings towards Theory

Demonstrating a theoretical contribution is seen as a central challenge in case study research; however, the literature provides little guidance on the crucial step of positioning the study's theoretical claims in relationship to prior theory. This paper addresses the question of how to enter into a dialogue with extant theory in theory building case study research in the field of management. We present three ways of positioning to demonstrate a theoretical contribution, illustrating each with examples from recent case studies drawing on the dynamic capabilities approach. By distinguishing between seeking complementarities and dissimilarities in theory building, we add to this discussion and shed light on the benefits of entering a synergistic, antagonistic and pluralistic dialogue for making a significant theoretical contribution. Methodologically, we more fully specify how case study researchers can elaborate upon their theoretical claims in relation to prior theory.     

Human Resource Development in Asia – Thriving on dynamism & change: Reflections from 2006 Asian HRD conference

This article discusses the experiences of the conference management team and the host (Universiti Putra Malaysia -UPM) of the Fifth Asian Conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development, held in Putrajaya, Malaysia from 2 to 5 December 2006. In reviewing the conference, the following sub-topics are used for organizing the contents of the article: HRD in Malaysia; conference theme & overview; participations/country representations and paper streams; keynote addresses; conference assessment; and conclusions. At the end, brief perspectives of the next Asian HRD conference to be held in China are also provided.     

Impact of networking on career development: Experience of high-flying women academics in Malaysia

The article reports a study the objective of which is to explore the experience in networking of a group of high-flying women academics (HFWAs) and its impact on career development. Data were gathered using in-depth interviews to 31 women professors who have been identified as high-flyers. Networking had brought them to fast upward career mobility. The themes that relate to the influence of networking to their career are: (i) graduate study paved the way for international networking; (ii) networking created win-win situation for both individuals and institutional partners; and (iii) personal factors contributing to networking. Findings are significant to other academics particularly women who are aspiring to be in the fast-track career.     

Influences of individual-related factors and job satisfaction on workplace deviant behaviour among support personnel in Malaysian public service organizations

Workplace deviance has become pervasive in most organizations today. This cross-sectional study examines the influences of individual-related factors and job satisfaction on workplace deviance behaviour among 429 support personnel in Malaysian public service organizations. Samples were randomly selected using multi-stage cluster sampling. The findings of the study indicated that agreeableness, negative affectivity, conscientiousness, emotional intelligence and job satisfaction predicted the organizational deviant behaviour. The same variables, except for emotional intelligence, also correlated to interpersonal deviant behaviour. Implications and suggestion for future research are discussed.     

Indigenous land rights and dynamics of the land market in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This paper raises a number of important issues relating to legal and economic development concepts. It concentrates on the supply constraints affecting land development decisions of both private and public landowners in releasing land for development purposes. With reference to the indigenous land rights in Kuala Lumpur, this paper focuses on the restrictions in interest, which may limit the land from being transferred in the open market. With a limited market, the indigenous land achieves a lower value in the market place because transactions are limited within a particular group of people only. As a result, the market forces are restricted and the land development process for urban regeneration often comes to a halt. In examining the role of the indigenous land market in the redevelopment process of Kuala Lumpur, the study uses an institutional analysis to show the way in which these restrictions in interest affect landowners’ decisions and, thus, restrict the supply of land to real estate redevelopment. In conclusion, the paper shows various causes for land supply constraints and ways to improve these with the aim to undertake urban redevelopment initiatives considering pressure for more land in the market.     

Islamic perspectives in social work education: Implications for teaching and practice

In the field of further education, social work is beginning to be accepted as an academic and vocational discipline in many countries across the world. Indigenous practice has greatly contributed to a plurality of perspectives adding to diversity of social work knowledge and adding new facets to traditional social work values and interventions. The authors predict that the current dearth of academic material on Islamic perspectives in social work will be more fully addressed in the near future. In the meantime, a personal viewpoint of the dilemmas and ambiguity in social work education in the Islamic context of Malaysia is offered.