Alternative Regionalism from Below: Democratizing ASEAN's Migration Governance

Most literature on migration governance has addressed the global level, and it has done so primarily from a state‐centric and top‐down perspective, with little regard to the role of civil society organizations in shaping its direction. Moreover, in an institutional sense, except for the EU, the regional level has only received scant attention, which is surprising given the significance of intra‐regional migration flows elsewhere. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a case in point. Although there are few direct channels of engagement for civil society, the vibrant migrant rights community in Asia has been capitalizing on, and creating, opportunities at multiple levels including the regional. Our argument is that this creative use of channels of engagement in combined form at multiple levels can have democratizing potential.     

A preliminary study of some broad disability related themes within the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the inspiration for this article which offers an initial consideration of some broad disability related themes (by disabled performers and by others). Comedy is covered in most detail with some concentration on a particular performer. Reference is made to other performance categories, such as drama, and to some influences from beyond the fringe. Disablism, othering and the freak show genre are amongst the themes which emerge from this exploration which includes consideration of whether disabled comedians can be disablist and whether disability equality legislation is impacting on what happens in performance. From the perspective of a disability aware audience member, unreconstructed disablism in comedy appeared to be fairly widespread within the fringe, mainly manifesting itself via the idle use of othering language such as the word ‘spaz’. This paper represents a snap shot from a huge and varied festival and is presented as a starting point which has inspired future deeper research.     

The Impact of Temporary Migration on Source Countries

We quantify the home country effects of different types of temporary and permanent migration patterns using a global integrated model for three developing countries. Our results suggest that migration (whether permanent or temporary) is beneficial for income as well as for poverty reduction in the home countries as it raises remittances, labor productivity, trade, and foreign direct investment and it provides incentives for human capital accumulation. These channels offset the negative impact of “brain drain.” In the simulations, temporary migration programs yield better outcomes than permanent migration due to the productivity gains induced in the home countries by returning migrants.     

The Sociology of Traditional,Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and traditional medicine (TM) are important social phenomena. This article reviews the sociological literature on the topic. First, it addresses the question of terminology, arguing that the naming process is a glimpse into the complexities of power and history that characterize the field. Second, focusing on the last 15 years of scholarship, it considers how sociological research on users and practitioners of TM/CAM has developed in that time. Third, it addresses two newer strands of work termed here the ‘big picture’ and the ‘big question’. The big picture includes concepts that offer interpretation of what is happening at a societal level to constrain and enable observed patterns of social practice (pluralism, integration, hybridity and activism). The big question, ‘Does it work?’, is one of epistemology and focuses on two developing fields of critical enquiry – first, social critiques of medical science knowledge production and, second, attempts to explain the nature of interventions, i.e. how they work. Finally, the article examines the role of sociology moving forward.     

Cost‐Benefit Analysis of Passive Fire Protections in Road LPG Transportation

The cost‐benefit evaluation of passive fire protection adoption in the road transport of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was investigated. In a previous study, mathematical simulations of real scale fire scenarios proved the effectiveness of passive fire protections in preventing the “fired” boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE), thus providing a significant risk reduction. In the present study the economical aspects of the adoption of fire protections are analyzed and an approach to cost‐benefit analysis (CBA) is proposed. The CBA model is based on the comparison of the risk reduction due to fire protections (expressed in monetary terms by the value of a statistical life) and the cost of the application of fire protections to a fleet of tankers. Different types of fire protections were considered, as well as the possibility to apply protections to the entire fleet or only to a part of it. The application of the proposed model to a real‐life case study is presented and discussed. Results demonstrate that the adoption of passive fire protections on road tankers, though not compulsory in Europe, can be economically feasible, thus representing a concrete measure to achieve control of the “major hazard accidents” cited by the European legislation.     

The emotional abuse of elite child athletes by their coaches

This study investigates the prevalence of emotional abuse of elite child athletes by their coaches in the UK. Previous research has focused primarily on the parent–child relationship, with little attention given to date on the sports environment. Participants were 12 former elite child athletes who competed as internationals in their respective age groups. All participants had been identi?ed as elite athletes between the ages of 8 and 16 years (M = 13.1 yr, SD = 2.4 yr) and had competitive careers of between 6 and 10 years. Participants were from the sports of diving (N = 2), football (N = 3), gymnastics (N = 4), hockey, netball and track and ?eld athletics (N = 1 each). The study was a retrospective analysis of their experiences as elite child athletes. (Age at interview: M = 22.9 yr, SD = 0.9 yr. male = 4, female = 8.) Thus, participants were re?ecting on experiences from about 10 years previously, so their responses represented the residual impact of their experiences that had survived over this period. Data were collected using semi‐structured interviews and response‐coding techniques. Abusive behaviours were categorized under eight headings: belittling, humiliating, shouting, scapegoating, rejecting, isolating, threatening and ignoring. Results showed that all (N = 12) of the participants reported experiencing belittling and shouting by their coach, nine athletes reported frequent threatening behaviour, nine reported frequent humiliation, seven reported scapegoating, six reported rejection or being ignored and four reported being isolated when they were elite child athletes. All participants reported that the behaviour of their coaches changed and became more negative after they were identi?ed as elite performers. Participants reported feeling stupid, worthless, upset, less con?dent, humiliated, depressed, fearful and angry as a result of the behaviour of their coaches. The results provide tentative evidence that the behaviour of some coaches is a threat to the psychological well‐being of elite child athletes. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

PATHOLOGIST AS GATEKEEPER: DISCRETIONARY DECISION-MAKING IN CASES OF SUDDEN INFANT DEATH

In many cases of unexpected infant death the cause of death cannot be ascertained. It has become convention to call such cases ‘SIDS’ (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). A simulation study of pathologists' decision-making found that there were significant differences in the procedure adopted and the diagnosis of cause of death in such cases. It was found that their decision-making was influenced by factors such as experience, training and most importantly, pathologists' own perception of their professional role. In an emotive area such as infant death the application of the SIDS label is frequently part of the social process of defining disease.     

Test-retest reliability on nine tasks of the Physical Work Performance Evaluation

The Physical Work Performance Evaluation (PWPE) is one of many functional capacity evaluations (FCEs) currently available to assist with determining injured workers' physical potential to return to work. Previous research has explored interrater reliability, construct and predictive validity of the PWPE. This research examined test-retest reliability on a sample of 24 clients with stable physical injuries who were participating in vocational rehabilitation. Nine of the 21 main tasks of the PWPE were evaluated: lifting floor to waist, bilateral carrying, pushing, sitting, standing, kneeling, stair climbing, repetitive squatting and walking. Kappa scores ranged from 0.19 (error) to 0.77 and percent agreement from 66.7% to 87.5%. The results for kneeling, lifting floor to waist, bilateral carrying and pushing tasks suggest substantial test-retest reliability with moderate reliability also suggested for the standing and repetitive squatting tasks. Self-limiting behavior and alterations in pain scores, position adjustments and movement deviations are seen to be the main contributors to affect scoring between the first and second tests.