Social Networks and Employment: Mechanisms (Part 1)

While substantial progress has recently been made in the literature on social networks and employment, this research has not been accompanied by a larger organizing framework. In this article, we attempt to provide such framework while reviewing the literature that addresses the context of work and employment from a social network perspective – that is, research based on the assumption that actors are embedded in networks of social relations and interactions. In particular, our review focuses on the primary mechanisms that help explain how networks may shape employment outcomes and processes, namely, by conveying resources and providing signals to others. Ties among social actors may transfer better or unique resources such as information, learning, influence, and support, which consequently may affect key employment outcomes. Ties may also provide signals concerning ability, legitimacy/trust, status, and relationship meaning. We conclude by presenting a number of alternative arguments in the literature and discussing future directions for the research on social networks and employment.     

International conference on Jewish civilization in eastern and central Europe,Minsk, 24–26 January 2000

A Symposium on Soviet Jewry

The Jews in Soviet Russia, Since 1917, Lionel Kochan (ed.). London, Oxford University Press for Institute of Jewish Affairs. 1970. ix + 357 pp. Index. £2.50.

Wanted: a history of Soviet Jewry

The Silent Millions: A History of the Jews in the Soviet Union by Joel Cang. London, Rapp and Whiting. 1969. 246 pp. £2.10.

Red Rose

Rosa Luxemburg, Ich War — Ich Bin — Ich Werede Sein, by Harry Wilde. Wien‐Muenchen‐Zurich, Verlag Fritz Molden. 1970. 264 pp.

A Book on Georgian Jewry

Yehudey Gruzia: Ma'avak Al Ha'shiva Le‐tsion (The Jews of Eorgia: A Struggle for the Return to Zion), by Mordecai Neishtat. Tel‐Aviv, Am Oved Publishers, Ltd. 1970. 148 pp. (in Hebrew).

Menshevism and the Jewish question

Russian Social Democracy; the Menshevik Movement. A Bibliography, by Anna M. Bourgina. Hoover Institution Bibliographical Series: XXXVI, The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University, Stanford, California. 1968. 392 pp. (no price listed), (in Russian; English introduction).

Jewish writers of Byelorussia

Pismienniki Savieckaj Bielarusi: Karotki Bijabiblijahraficny Davednik (Writers of Soviet Byelorussia: a short Biobibliography), A. Harodzicki et al (comp.). Minsk, Vydavectva ‘Bielarus’. 1970. 440 pp. 82 kopeks.     

The photo‐survey research method: capturing life in the city

Recent promotion of city centre living within UK policy has led to a commensurate interest in city centre conditions and the opinions and experiences of the people who live there. An apposite, straightforward method to capture city centre residents' experiences and views is described in this article. We successfully combined a novel, under‐utilized visual technique (self‐directed photography) with qualitative methods (log‐sheets and interviews) in the form of a ‘photo‐survey’. A background to visual methodologies is presented in this article, alongside a critique of using the photo‐survey with 84 city centre residents to investigate environmental conditions and perceptions within three of the UK's major cities. The method provided a rich, detailed set of data, but also brought a number of noticeable benefits to the data collection process. The photo‐survey not only effectively captured and documented life in the city but also acted as an ‘agent for change’, evoking thoughts and feelings which ultimately encouraged participants to reflect on their existing perceptions and urban experiences. The study also raises some important considerations for future work undertaken with this method and with using photographs as a set of data, and proposes techniques for minimising potential problems.     

Oh no! not more isms: Feminism,postmodernism, poststructuralism and social work education

In this article we explore how perspectives drawn from feminism, postmodernism and poststructuralism can usefully be applied to debates in social work education. Within this framework we highlight the centrality of issues related to power, knowledge, difference and subjectivity. We do not seek to offer a new set of ‘isms’, but to suggest a range of possibilities about the ways in which knowledge is produced and used within social work.     

Rump Britain: Englishness and Britishness, 1992–2001

Conservative adherence to the sovereignty of the Crown-in-Parliament resulted in the merging of English with British consciousness. During the 1990s, England's political nationalism expressed itself as a defence of Britishness. This defence of Britishness prevented a political English nationalism cohering at a time when political nationalisms had matured in Scotland and Wales. This merging of England and Britain was particularly evident in conservative thinking, given the conservative adherence to the concept of Crown-in-Parliament sovereignty.     

Efficiency of Microfinance Institutions in the Mediterranean: An Application of DEA

By applying the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method, even with all the limitations where error could cause significant problems, this paper attempts to investigate the efficiency of 35 Microfinance institutions in the Mediterranean zone during the period of 2004–2005. The estimated results prove that eight institutions are relatively efficient, and have a notable level of average efficiency and a potential of evolution while being referent to their technical efficiency. The survey also reveals that the size of the MFIs has a negative effect on their efficiency since the MFIs of medium size are more efficient than the eminent.

Monkey bars and ladders: The importance of lateral and vertical job mobility in internal labor market careers

This paper compares results from the empirical literature on internal labor markets with outcomes from analyzing personnel data of the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It sheds light on differences in the functioning of internal labor markets between periods of workforce growth and decline. Despite substantial variation in individual wages, careers are important as wages are strongly related to job levels. Promotion rates fall and demotion rates rise when the firm enters the stage of demise. Vertical and lateral job mobility are important in internal labor market careers as they stimulate wage growth and reduce the lay-off risk.     

A grassroots prototype for trauma-informed child welfare system change

The development of trauma-informed child welfare systems (TICWSs) that advance individual agency practice to target transformation of the system as a whole has been conceptualized but not documented. A grassroots effort to build a TICWS with key participants (e.g., Department of Human Services, Community Mental Health, Family Court, schools) in nine Michigan communities provides a field tested model for implementation. This article described what emerged as the core elements for a TICWS, which includes (1) development and support of a project champion, (2) trauma identification, (3) comprehensive assessment of traumatic impact, (4) evidence based trauma treatment, (5) establishing a common trauma language, and (6) trauma-informed decision-making. Several new instruments for assessing aTICWS are identified. Lessons learned are highlighted for consideration of communities seeking to develop TICWSs.