Global Governance,neoliberalism and national responses: The case of Bangladesh’s ready‐made garment (RMG) sector

This article on the ready‐made garment (RMG) sector of Bangladesh shows how over‐reliance on foreign capital for development financing and deregulated investment—a hallmark of neoliberal economic arrangements—undermines the incorporation of SDGs’ and INGOs’ equity principles, contributing to biased policy responses yielding unequal outcomes. The article cautions that while countries prioritize economic growth over social and environmental nourishment and continue to adopt neoliberal economic policies to promote economic growth, inequity is unavoidable, if not inevitable. Thus, the way forward may be to shift the focus of ‘development’ from the economy to society, to building ‘good societies’ where institutions and strategies, including those that contribute to economic growth, are organized such that these complement not compromise the evolution of such societies.     

Transition probabilities and ARL performance of Six Sigma zone control charts

In this article, Six Sigma zone control charts (SSZCCs) are proposed for world class organizations. The transition probabilities are obtained using the Markov chain approach. The Average Run Length (ARL) values are then presented. The ARL performance of the proposed SSZCCs and the standard Six Sigma control chart (SSCC) without zones or run rules is studied. The ARL performance of these charts is then compared with those of the other standard zone control charts (ZCCs), the modified ZCC and the traditional Shewhart control chart (SCC) with common run rules. As expected, it is shown that the proposed SSZCC outperforms the standard SSCC without zones or run rules for process shifts of any magnitude. When compared to the other standard ZCCs and the Shewhart chart with common run rules, it is observed that the proposed SSZCCs have much higher false alarm rates for smaller shifts and hence they prevent unwanted process disturbances. The application of the proposed SSZCC is illustrated using a real time example.     

Shall we follow the money? Anti-mafia policies and electoral competition

Building upon the evidence that the mafia increases the degree of vote concentration, we use data on regional elections in Sicily to estimate the impact of anti-mafia policies on electoral competition. We find robust evidence that the reassignment for social purposes of property and assets seized to the mafia reduces the degree of electoral concentration. This result supports the hypothesis that policies that create social value, such as the reallocation to social-driven organizations, are more effective than those targeted to public and political institutions.     

Negotiating Gendered Subjectivity in the Enterprise Culture: Metaphor and Entrepreneurial Discourses

An enterprise culture is one in which ‘certain enterprising qualities — such as self reliance, personal responsibility, boldness and a willingness to take risks in the pursuit of goals — are regarded as human virtues and promoted as such’. Work is not seen as a constraint upon the individual but rather as an opportunity for self‐fulfilment. The pervasiveness of enterprise culture has led to observations that it influences aspects of social life beyond the workplace. However, the kind of self that is imagined in enterprise culture is also a male self, with female entrepreneurship measured against a male norm. In this article, then, we present evidence of metaphor as a strategy for coping with the gendered expectations embodied by life in enterprise culture. We show how metaphor is simultaneously an index of and a resource for understanding gendered subjectivities in enterprise culture.     

Building relationships through websites: A content analysis of Turkish environmental non-profit organizations’ (NPO) websites

This paper provides insight into the dialogic potential of Turkish environmental NPO websites, including social media adoption. However, 23 of 50 websites examined failed to meet half the criteria for building relationships (n 35). Of 19 sites with connections to social media, 16 used new media potentialities, however only four met all social media adoption criteria.     

Assessment of Task-Centered Interventions with Families in Israel

The study describes and evaluates the effectiveness of task-centered interventions performed with families in two new neighborhoods in Jerusalem, Israel. Thirty-five low-income nondelinquent families experiencing financial, personal and family problems were treated by 11 social work trainees. Each worker performed a single-case time-series design to evaluate 2 to 4 families, using the Clinical Rating Scale and a Goal Attainment Scale. The families were interviewed at termination of treatment. Both practitioners' and families' assessments indicated improvements in the majority of clients. Improvements were associated with young age of spouses and with the application of the techniques of task assignment, focusing and guidance. The validity, generalizability, and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Chapter 5 Impacts of Profit Status of Assisted Living Facilities

Abstract

Florida is a bellwether state in terms of the need for assisted living among elderly persons and has more than 2,000 of the nation's estimated 11,459 assisted living facilities (ALFs). The authors of this article surveyed 140 ALFs in Florida in order to examine the relationship of profit status to ownership of other facilities, willingness to serve low income groups, formal policies, and persons involved in decisions about resident retention. Significant differences were found between for-profit and non-profit facilities in terms of ownership of nursing homes and resident involvement in retention decisions. A discussion of how the profit motive and formal policies can impact residents concludes the article.     

Books Received

No abstract available for this article.     

自治区自治条例研究

民族自治地方自治机关拥有法律规定的立法权。自治机关的立法权主要是制定和变动自治条例和单行条例的权力,自治条例是民族自治地方立法机关和政府行使自治权力的法律标志。自治机关制定自治条例是全面实施民族区域自治制度的需要,是自治机关行使自治权的根本体现。由于多方面原因,到目前为止我国5个自治区无一出台自治区自治条例。制定和出台自治区自治条例必须严格遵循法律规范、法定原则和法定程序,新修改的《民族区域自治法》和西部大开发战略的实施是促成自治区自治条例尽快出台的契机。     

农村社会组织参与基层民主治理能力培育

在推进社会主义新农村建设的背景下,基层民主治理已成为人们关注的焦点,培育农村社会组织参与基层民主治理的能力,对促进农村社会发展具有重要意义.基于参与式民主视角,探讨农村社会组织形成的三条路径:行政化路径、转型化路径、自主化路径,分析制约其发展的“四大不足”:公益性不足、自主性不足、新元素不足、参与度不足.从政府、农村社会组织、村民三个方面培育农村社会组织参与基层民主治理的能力,建构“多主体”治理模式促进村民自治,以求实现农村社会善治的目标.