A User's View of the Polls

The treatment of polls and surveys by the New York Times haschanged from casual to extensive use, both in its internal decision-makingand its political and social reporting, with many obvious benefits.But some implications of poll proliferation, especially theirdistorting effects on the political process, raise troublingthoughts.     

Centralisation and Local Autonomy: The Experience of English Prisons 1820–1877

Abstract This article examines English prisons in the light of debates among historians about centralisation in the nineteenth century. The author argues that central state influence over prisons grew substantially from the 1830s onwards and that this was in line with the general view of administrative change advanced by such diverse writers as David Roberts and Philip Corrigan. However, the establishment of a central command structure under the 1877 Prisons Act was an extreme outcome which can only in part be explained by reference to general trends between 1820 and 1877. The takeover was also the result of manoeuvres by highly placed civil servants, intense pressure from particular interest groups, and guarantees given by the Conservative Party leadership to such groups.     

Sources of farm labour in contemporary Quebec*

La présente étude porte principalement sur des données concernant les diverses sources et activités du travail agricole dans une petite paroisse du Québec. On y démontre l'importance du travail non-rémunéré de la famille au niveau de la production agricole, l'étendue de l'utilisation de travailleurs marginaux comme source de travail rémunéré, ainsi que l'importante contribution des membres du foyer a la reproduction de cette unite par leur travail à l'exterieur de la ferme. On considere le foyer familial comme etant une unité d'analyse appropriée pour l'étude de la production agricole, qu'il ne peut être étudié que comme un type d'entreprise d'affaires, et que sa reproduction se trouve soutenue par un mode de travail agricole spécifique, du moins dans le type de région étudiée. This paper presents data regarding the sources and activities of farm labour in a small Quebec parish. The data demonstrate the important role of non-paid family labour in agricultural production, the extent to which marginal workers are used as paid labour, and the important contribution which non-farm work by household members makes to the reproduction of that unit. It is argued that the household is an appropriate unit of analysis for investigating agricultural production, that such units cannot be treated simply as a type of business enterprise, and that the reproduction of this unit is well supported by a work-farm pattern, at least in the type of region under study.     

Guardianship of the Person in Scotland

Correspondence to Bill Whyte, Lecturer in Social Work, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, Adam Ferguson Building, University of Edinburgh, George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LL. Summary There has been a renewed interest in recent years on the purposeof Guardianship but only limited empirical data on how it isbeing used under the current Mental Health legislation. Thispaper attempts to address both issues. The paper presents someof the findings of a Scottish study which examines the implicationsof this legislation and covers a range of issues including usesof Guardianship; a profile on the Mental Health Officers (ApprovedSocial Workers) involved and their role in assessment; who becamethe guardian and how they exercised their role; and broaderlegal issues. Unlike a recent paper (Evans, 1989) the authorsbelieve the legislative framework is inadequate to promote initiativeand good practice in this field and that there is a need fora new debate on the purposes of Guardianship with particularreference to the powers needed to care for and protect a rangeof adults with differing needs who might be considered ‘atrisk’ in the community.     

At the Menin Gate

Abstract This essay reports an historical and sociological journey through family memories to the battlefield of World War I. It follows the short military career of a working class lad through the Territorial Army (Northumberland Fusiliers) to his death on the Ypres Salient in 1915. It builds on the bridges of memory, soldiers' diaries, and newspaper reports to link the past to the present and explore the logic of war from the point of view of the ordinary soldier. The method employed generates new questions about World War I and is an accessible one for non-specialists to use to organise their own journeys to the past.     

Discrimination in Social Work--An Historical Note

Correspondence to Dr. Bill Forsythe, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, 3rd Floor, Amory Building, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4RJ. Summary It is important to examine the historical tradition of anti-discriminatorytheory and practice in social work in the light of current emphasison this aspect. There were several traditions, one anti-discriminatory,one non-discriminatory and one selfconsciously discriminatoryin nineteenth-century charitable and philanthropic work in England.There was considerable tension between these traditions andthe matter was further confused in that some workers, like ThomasBarnardo, represented an anti-discriminatory stance and yetin some of their work they clearly discriminated on such groundsas religious belief. It is concluded, therefore, that anti-discriminatorypractice can plainly be located in the pioneer phase of socialwork, illustrated by reference to such figures as JosephineButler and Elisabeth Fry.     

Organizational Antecedents of a Mining Firm's Efforts to Reinvent Its CSR: The Case of Golden Star Resources in Ghana1

This article reports a case study of how organizational antecedents, specifically leadership choices, decisions, culture, and organizational learning, impact and construct the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of a Canadian mid‐tier mining firm operating in Ghana. The primary objective of the article is to demonstrate, through an in‐depth study of a single case, that organizational‐ and firm‐level antecedents are a powerful tool for understanding how ethical, socially responsible, and community‐relevant behaviors of a mining firm in a developing area come to be constructed. The article thus contributes to the conceptual and applied literatures on CSR by suggesting that much as the voice of moral suasion, advocacy, and critical censure have been important motive forces behind CSR efforts, it seems that the sustainability and community relevance of CSR efforts are linked to identifiable internal response mechanisms that dispose or enable firms to behave in responsible ways.