Strategies for the Management of Stigma through Social Work

Summary Stigma management should be part of social work practice, inaddition to attempts to combat stigma by social policy initiatives.The objectives of stigma management are to reduce awarenessand length of dependence on social services, to demonstrateclients' contribution to society, and to reduce social and spatialdistance between clients and others. Strategies are identified,which include the selection of various combinations of targetsfor intervention from three aspects of stigma (the attribute,the stereotype and the relationship between them) and from thepossibilities of work with the audience, both public and professionaland the stigmatised person, or both. Factors to evaluate inassessment; methods of intervention, including help in passing,group identification, social exchanges, public reviews, theuse of agents, benefactor relationships and elevation ceremonies;and reducing stigma at the end of social work intervention areconsidered.     

The Freedom of the State? Recent NDP Governments and a Reply to the Globalization Sceptics*

Un grand nombre d'anciens partisans du Nouveau Parti démocratique, particulièrement les organisations syndicales et les défenseurs des pauvres, ont déclaré avoir été abandonnés par les gouvernements NPD en Ontario et en Colombie‐Britannique pendant les années 1990. Cet article examine cette critique à la lumière du meilleur argument théorique disponible pour penser que les politiques du NPD auraient pu être beaucoup plus sociales sans aboutir à réduire L'investissement privé. L'article avance que ce cas théorique alternatif, avancé par quelques importants «sceptiques de la mondialisation », est imparfait sur plusieurs points, et conclut alors que le NPD n'était pas capable de mieux servir les intérêts des travailleurs et des pauvres dans ces deux provinces. Many erstwhile supporters of the New Democratic Party, particularly organized labour and poverty advocates, claimed that they were betrayed by NDP governments in Ontario and British Columbia in the 1990s. This paper considers this charge in light of the best available theoretical case for thinking that the NDP's policies could have been significantly more social democratic without leading to reduced private investment. The paper finds this alternative theoretical case–articulated by leading “globalization sceptics”–to be flawed in several ways, and so concludes that the NDP could not have served workers and the poor in these two provinces much better than they did.     

FIGHT,FOLD OR SETTLE?: MODELLING THE REACTION TO FTC MERGER CHALLENGES

This paper models the reaction of firms to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) decisions which seek to block proposed horizontal mergers. We find that firms' responses to the FTC's decisions depend on a number f factors, but only weakly on the structural merits of the FTC's challenge. For a large number of the FTC's merger challenges, we find that firms have strong incentives to settle with the Commission, regardless of the relevant competitive concerns. Therefore, in these matters the FTC appears to have powers more like a regulatory agency than a prosecutor.     

Connecting Anti-racist and Anti-oppressive Theory and Practice: Retrenchment or Reappraisal?

Correspondence to Charlotte Williams, Centre for Applied Community Studies, University of Wales, Bangor, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK. Summary In this paper the author offers a review of some of the majorcritiques of anti-racist theory and practice within social workand critically examines the trend towards anti-oppressive theoryand practice as the ‘way forward’. She argues thatthe uncritical acceptance of the move away from specificallyanti-racist perspectives towards the broader approach of anti-oppressivepractice may lead towards the retrenchment of all such criticalperspectives within social work rather than their regeneration.The author concludes that such a rigorous review will more fullyground the moves towards anti-oppressive practice as a paradigmfor social work.     

Leveraging symbolic capital: the use of blat networks across transnational spaces

In this article, we contribute to debates on how social networks sustain migrants' entrepreneurial activities. By reporting on 31 interviews with Eastern European migrants in the UK, we provide a critical lens on the tendency to assume that migrants have ready‐made social networks in the host country embedded in co‐ethnic communities. We extend this limited perspective by demonstrating how Eastern European migrants working in the UK transform blat social networks, formulated in the cultural and political contours of Soviet society, in their everyday lived experiences. Our findings highlight not only the monetarization of such networks but also the continuing embedded nature of trust existing within these networks, which cut across transnational spaces. We show how forms of social capital based on Russian language use and legacies of a shared Soviet past, are just as important as the role of ‘co‐ethnics’ and ‘co‐migrants’ in facilitating business development. In doing so, we present a more nuanced understanding of the role that symbolic capital plays in migrant entrepreneurial journeys and its multifaceted nature.     

GRADUATE EDUCATION IN QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN THE AACSB SCHOOLS

The status of Quantitative Methods in business education is perhaps less “standard” and less understood than any other field. This is probably even more true at the graduate than at the undergraduate level. Courses which are normally considered to be Quantitative Methods courses are often housed in a wide range of departments. Some courses which would normally be classified as Quantitative Methods courses are also housed in colleges other than Business Administration. In order to determine the current status of graduate quantitative methods curricula in schools of business, a survey was made of the member institutions of the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business. This paper presents the survey findings.     

A Role for a Support Person for Child Witnesses in Criminal Proceedings

Correspondence to John Williams, Department of Law, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Hugh Owen Building, Penglais, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 3DY Summary The 1989 Children Act greatly extends and enhances the roleof the guardian ad litem (GAL) as the officer appointed by thecourt to safeguard and protect the welfare of the child in civilchild protection proceedings. But how do children fare whenthey are involved as witnesses in criminal proceedings? Sincethe latter part of the 1980s it has been recognized that theirimmatunty requires a more sensitive and caring approach thanthat adopted for adults in the criminal courts. As a resulta number of innovative procedures intended to alleviate stressin child witnesses have been introduced. But one outstandingissue of major importance, that of providing support for childrenbefore and during an appearance in a criminal court, needs tobe addressed urgently: the GAL is only available to childrenin civil proceedings. Drawing on the experience of the UnitedStates, where Victim Assistants are used to provide help andsupport for child victims and witnesses, and where the appointmentof GALs for child victims in criminal proceedings is gainingincreasing acceptance, the authors argue that the American exampleoffers much that may usefully be adopted in tailoring the Britishsystem to the special needs of child witnesses. A number ofmodels for the role of the Support Person for child witnessesin the British system are put forward for consideration.     

Face à l'économie informelle au Mozambique: volontarisme ou maintien du statu quo?

L'économie informelle fournit l'essentiel de l'emploi dans nombre de pays émergents. Selon la théorie de la régulation, l'activité économique est régie par un ensemble complexe de règles formelles et informelles. Les auteurs examinent, à partir du cas du Mozambique, les éléments qui favorisent ou entravent la transition vers l'économie formelle, ainsi que les diverses formes de régulation, en s'appuyant sur une enquěte qualitative conjuguant observation directe et entretiens avec des personnalités locales. Les données recueillies font apparaître un rôle ambivalent de l'Etat, qui se montre parfois volontariste et soucieux de réformer la réglementation et les institutions et parfois partisan du statu quo.     

EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON FTC ENFORCEMENT OF THE MERGER GUIDELINES

The Justice Department's 1982/1984: merger guidelines identify various factors – concentration, entry barriers, ease of collusion, efficiency –that would thereafter determine whether the government will challenge a merger. Analysts have criticized enforcement agencies, however, for not following the guidelines, and criticize the guidelines themselves for not identifying the weights attached to the factors. Using a 1982-86 sample of seventy horizontal mergers, we examine which factors influenced Federal Trade Commission decisions to challenge mergers. The relative importance of the guidelines and other factors in merger challenges is measured, and related empirical issues are also explored.