The Transnational Project and its Implications for Migrant Civil Society in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, overseas labor migration plays a vital role in the development strategy promoted by government agencies, international donor organizations and civil society organizations. Civil society organizations facilitate the migration process, respond to exploitation facing migrants while overseas and assist migrants upon their return to Bangladesh. Organizations in Bangladesh are pursuing a ‘transnational project,’ whereby their activities, missions, and objectives are now focused around transnational work in order to assist migrants. The transnational project is driven by foreign development agencies and the legitimating actions of local migrant organizations. This paper demonstrates the different ways transnationalism has moved from a radical concept to a banal development practice, by critically analyzing contemporary development practices of migrant civil society organizations in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Also addressed are the implications of the transnational project on migrant organizations, development, and migrant political inclusion, arguing that the transnational project creates new power structures and paradoxes within organizations.     

Two Approaches to Seeing People with Disabilities

This study tests the possibility that attitudes to people with disabilities can be divided into two types: attitudes at the societal level and attitudes at the personal level. This distinction was made with the aim of clarifying ambiguities from previous research. One test of the proposed distinction rests on the assumption that personal contact with people with disabilities will influence attitudes at the personal level but not at the societal level. Sixty subjects were assigned to either a control group or intervention groups which experienced interventions involving a person with a disability. The attitudes of all subjects were measured one month before and at the time of the intervention. Data on prior contact were also collected. The results, which supported the two level approach, are discussed in terms of their implications for improving attitudes to people with disabilities.     

Child witness support and preparation: are parents/caregivers ignored?

Over recent decades research has confirmed the sensible belief that to participate in criminal proceedings (that were designed for adults) child witnesses may benefit from support and preparation. This is so even in countries where special measures have been introduced to make it less arduous for children to give their testimony (e.g. closed circuit television to allow children to testify away from the actual courtroom; video recorded evidence‐in‐chief). Indeed, it could be argued that as more and more children provide testimony (e.g. as alleged victims or witnesses), the more comprehensive should be preparation and support programmes for them. However, while in some countries preparation and support programmes are now offered to such children, the needs of these children's (non‐offending) parents/caregivers seem to be ignored. This paper contends not only that these adults need preparation and support but also that the provision of this is likely to benefit child witnesses. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bilingual Education in the United States: A window on the Latvian situation

In this paper, we look at US experiences with bilingual education, both past and present. We especially focus on various theoretical models and their applications. After a discussion of these models and applications, we identify a number of best practices.     

Moving The Mentally Ill Into The Community: The Problem Of Acceptance And The Effect Of Contact

Community acceptance of the mentally ill is fundamental to a successful change to community-based care, now being implemented in New South Wales. This policy was based on an inquiry that viewed acceptance optimistically and postulated that contact with the mentally ill would be a favourable influence. The applicability of this extension of the ‘contact hypothesis’ from its original racial context is tested in one area of Sydney. The results indicate that the type of contact arising from community mental health facilities is not an effective catalyst of relevant attitude change, and suggest particular difficulties among the lower two socioeconomic classes.