Express

This paper describes an integrated approach to teaching social policy within a unique experience-based social work education program. It argues that the teaching of social policy should not be separate within the social work curriculum and provides an example of the integration of policy and practice in teaching students about child protection. It examines the teaching of policy practice using a strengths perspective where it is seen as a bottom-up, inductive process rather than an activity carried out by social work experts with or without the participation of their client groups.     

Enabling SMEs to take full advantage of e-business

Electronic business is rapidly changing the relationships between supply chain partners. This paper looks at what is needed to allow SMEs to participate fully in supply chain integration. First, current trends in supply chain integration, electronic commerce, and Internet support are examined. Next, the goals and results of a study are presented which addressed SME needs in fast moving consumer goods supply chains. These concepts are then integrated to determine a way forward for SMEs to participate in e-business. It is found that current Virtual Markets (web-sites or on-line communities that facilitate finding a buyer or seller and track orders) address some customer - supplier relationships but need many enhancements before they can support fully integrated supply chains.     

Manufacturing in the Nineties By H.J. STRUDEL and P.DESRUELLE(Van Nostrand Reinhold,New York, 1992). £31.50.

Abstract

Looking for a world model for the manufacturing information flow diagram has brought us to the conclusion that it is impossible to build an all-encompassing, all-inclusive system. The redundancy and overlap would make the system excessively complex and ineffective. The best way to generalize a model of this type is to simplify. The result is that we eliminate nearly the entire production control mechanism that is found in the labour intensive MRP system (Fig. 1). We come up with a system that is much closer to the material intensive JIT system (Fig. 2). The conclusion is that effective production control requires that you choose which resource you wish to optimize, and then select a system that controls the plant around the selected resource base. This is the function of books like International Management and Production. A second conclusion would be that complexity (MRP—Fig. 1) gains very little over simplicity (JIT—Fig. 2 or World Model—Fig. 4) in productivity or efficiency. As Shozo Hibino says in his book Breakthrough Thinking, we need to run our plants smarter, not harder.     

Commercial sex between men: A prospective diary‐based study

This paper describes the results of a self‐reporting dairy completed by 186 male sex workers (MSWs) over a 2‐week period in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, Australia. The diary was completed following each commercial sex encounter by the MSW. The results reveal that MSWs reported 2088 commercial sex encounters during the study period, with an average of 11.2 encounters per MSW. The majority of sex encounters took place in either the client's or the MSW's residence, with significant variations by city. The average sexual encounter lasted 70 minutes, and comprised two sexual acts, masturbation and oral sex. Condom use was reported in 67.4% of all the encounters. Using the AIDS Council safe‐sex classification system, the majority of the commercial sex encounters fell in the “safer sex” category; however, there were significant differences by source of clients and place of the encounter. Use of drugs and alcohol reveal interesting patterns: Clients were more likely to use alcohol, while MSWs had significant differences of usage of the different drugs. This study demonstrates that the majority of MSWs are offering and practicing safe sex behaviours, however, MSWs working in the street setting are still likely to be practising unsafe sex. Male sex work is becoming an organised business and this provides opportunities to implement further public health interventions.     

Going on tilt: Frequent poker players and control

This paper is based on three years of participant observation in California's legal commercial card parlors and one year observation at an open meeting of Gamblers Anonymous (G.A.). The grounded concept, tilt, is advanced to describe the process of losing control in the gambling situation. Although some problem gamblers and most compulsive gamblers (members of G.A.) did not use this term, they, nonetheless, described the same process. Tilt is defined and broken down into its various components. Paths to, or ways of going on tilt and the means used to avoid tilt are spelt out. Hochschild's concept, emotion work, is used to describe how successful professionals stay off tilt. The major contention of the paper is that all gamblers experience tilt, and their reactions to tilt and to tilt-inducing situations partly determine whether or not gambling becomes a major problem. The implications of tilt are also discussed.I would like to thank Bob Yamashita, Ernie Fong, and Professor Troy Duster for comments on an earlier draft of this paper. I, however, am responsible for the final product. This is a revision of a paper presented at theSeventh International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking in Reno, Nevada, August 1987. Requests for reprints should be sent to the author at the Institute for the Study of Social Change, University of California, 2420 Bowditch Street, Berkeley, CA 94720.     

Scheduled and charter impairment in North Atlantic air services

The intent of the paper is to: (1) review the material leading to President Nixon's request that the Civil Aeronautics Board prepare economic criteria for judging degrees of impairment that exist in either charter or scheduled air services: (2) construct a model for interpreting the economic relationships between scheduled and charter services; (3) provide evidence that impairment currently exists and is causing market distortions; and (4) indicate that recent board decisions provide corrective influences on the distorted conditions in the passenger market.