Other Attractions in Vietnam

This paper analyses the place of highland ethnic minorities in Vietnamese visual culture. For decades, artists have appropriated markers of ethnic difference in propaganda posters about national unity and progress. Vietnamese notions of ethnic groups draw on a historical trajectory that involves colonial racial classifications as well as the anti-colonial notion of 'the people'. The inclusion of ethnic minorities in official portrayals of the people draws on the historical conditions of nation building and an armed struggle for independence. Equally important, the visual appropriation of the markers of ethnic and national difference projects national progress through the mapping of backwardness on highland ethnic groups. The recent emergence of the same ethnic markers as an international tourist attraction draws on similar progressivist narratives, and the growing market in souvenirs recycles visual exercises in national unity as a just-discovered Other Vietnam.     

Liability in child welfare

Child welfare workers and agencies are vulnerable to lawsuits. Recent court rulings have more clearly defined the liability of workers. The distinguishing variable is custody. Children injured while in the custody of the state are entitled to sue for damages. Children injured by their parent, even if under the supervision of a child welfare agency, are not entitled to claim a violation of their 14th Amendment rights. These cases are reviewed and strategies designed to minimize vulnerability are offered.     

The Ecology of Family Guidance in Low-Income Mexican-American and European-American Families*

This two-part study applied an ecocultural perspective to socialization of daily and long-term goals in low-income Mexican-American and European-American families with children in third, fifth, and seventh grades. The first part of the study examined family members' participation and parents' socialization goals and guidance strategies for their children's daily household chores and homework activities. The second part of the study examined parents' long-term aspirations and guidance strategies for their children's educational, vocational, and moral development. For daily activities, results showed that in Mexican-American families both parents and siblings played important roles, whereas in European-American families parents were the primary socialization agents. As predicted, in both groups parents' expertise influenced their guidance strategies. Finally, Mexican-American and European-American parents differed in their relative endorsement of gender, relational, and self-reliance goals for household chores. For long-term goals, parents in both groups held high educational, vocational, and moral aspirations for their children. However, some parents of seventh-graders had lower educational and vocational aspirations than those of fifth- and third-graders. Although expertise consistently influenced Mexican-American parents' guidance strategies, the pattern for European-American parents was mixed. The discussion highlights between- and within-group differences in daily and long-term socialization practices with an emphasis on resources and vulnerabilities in the families.     

Naturalizing Korean ethnicity and making ‘ethnic’ difference: a comparison of North Korean settlement and foreign bride incorporation policies in South Korea

This article compares North Korean immigrants and foreign bride policies in South Korea. Despite being constructed as distinctive policy target groups, North Korean settlement and foreign bride incorporation policies exhibit striking similarities. The similarities result from the way policy problems are identified and certain solutions are justified; both North Korean immigrants and foreign brides are constructed a burden on welfare and as potential threats to social stability. Policy solutions are justified as they are designed to transform North Korean immigrants and foreign brides into ‘normal’ South Korean citizens. The major difference between two sets of policies lies in assumptions regarding cultural differences. Foreign brides are assumed to carry practices that are foreign and alien to Koreans, while North Korean immigrants are presumed to carry ‘authentic’ and ‘traditional’ Korean culture. Foreign brides’ cultures are visible and alien to South Koreans, and therefore are addressed under the banner of multiculturalism policies. North Korean immigrants are excluded from such policies. This exclusion reflects and reproduces the view of a Korean nation bounded by ethnic and cultural homogeneity.     

Inheritance,poverty, and disability

Inheritance is a significant means of transferring wealth from one generation to the next, and therefore increasingly attracts attention from researchers and policy-makers working on intergenerational and multidimensional poverty. However, until now disabled persons have been overlooked in these discussions. This oversight is particularly unfortunate because, as a group, the estimated one billion people with disabilities (some 15% of the world’s population) are among the poorest and most marginalized of the global population. Over the past decade, a small but growing literature has examined the recursive connections between poverty and disability throughout the developing world. In this paper, we argue that disabled individuals are routinely denied inheritance rights in many low-income and middle-income countries, and that this is a significant and largely unrecognized contributor to their indigence. The denial of inheritance is both a social justice issue and a practice that can no longer be overlooked if disabled persons are to be brought into the development mainstream.     

How Similar Are Cohabitation and Marriage? Legal Approaches to Cohabitation across Western Europe

Although cohabitation and childbearing within cohabitation have increased in Europe over recent decades, the variation across Europe remains remarkably wide. Most studies on union formation have not explicitly addressed the role of state policies in the development of cohabitation or discussed how countries have responded to changes in union formation by passing legislation. Here we discuss historical and theoretical issues relevant to the relationship between state policies and union formation and describe policies relating to cohabitation and marriage in nine Western European countries. Drawing on secondary sources and legal documents, we examine the quantity of regulations that mention cohabitation and the approach to cohabitation in 19 policy dimensions. We then place the countries along a continuum, from those that have equalized cohabitation and marriage to those that only regulate marriage. As a whole, this overview raises questions about the changing institution of marriage, as well as the increasing institutionalization of cohabitation.     

Institutionalization or Decoupling? An Exploratory Analysis of the UN Global Compact LEAD Initiative

Institutionalization occurs when organizations adopt policies and practices in an attempt to increase their legitimacy and competitive position. This process assumes that an organization's formal policies (macro‐level) are translated into organizational practices (micro‐level). This translation, however, can fail to occur, resulting in organizational decoupling and de‐institutionalization. Drawing on an institutionalization typology based on different levels of legitimacy (macro) and taken‐for‐grantedness (micro), the article draws on data from an assessment of the United Nations Global Compact LEAD initiative, assessing the extent to which this initiative is being institutionalized in the member firms and examining the implications for the LEAD initiative and our thinking about institutionalization.     

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF BITCOIN

The recent proliferation of bitcoin has been a boon for users but might pose problems for governments. Indeed, some governments have already taken steps to ban or discourage the use of bitcoin. In a model with endogenous matching and random consumption preferences, we find multiple monetary equilibria including one in which bitcoin coexists with official currency. We then identify the conditions under which government transactions policy might deter the use of bitcoin. We show that such a policy becomes more difficult if some users strictly prefer bitcoin because they can avoid other users holding the official currency in the matching process. (JEL C78, E41, E42, E50)     

A Framework for Enabling Evidence-based Practice in Allied Health

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is upheld as best practice in health and human services but there is a need for more research on how this approach can be enabled in day-to-day practice. This qualitative study examined EBP with allied health managers and practitioners in a health service network (n = 17). The findings highlight the systemic nature of EBP and the extent to which it involves both individual and environmental attributes. Individual attributes include clear understanding of EBP, relevant knowledge and skills, and motivation and passion. Environmental attributes are the presence of an organisational culture that values and prioritises EBP and an integrated mix of research support services, professional development activities, supervision and mentorship, and university partnerships. Theoretical frameworks can be useful for making sense of complex processes, planning, and evaluating change. Therefore, the findings are presented as a framework incorporating reflective questions relating to the elements identified as enabling EBP.