ARE OFFICIAL POVERTY STATISTICS NECESSARY?

Caritas Switzerland has recently criticised the country's lack of official poverty statistics in strong terms, and called for the introduction of internationally accepted poverty measures. However, the fact that these measures are widely used is not a testimony to their reliability, which is more than questionable. It appears that Caritas Switzerland is actually seeking some empirical support for the interventionist social policies it supports. Given the success of Switzerland's decentralised social policies, the recommendation that the country should abandon its tradition and become a conventional European social democracy is surprising.     

The ‘reach’ of employee participation in decision‐making: exploring the Aristotelian roots of workplace democracy

This article examines the ‘reach’, or the distribution, of employee participation in decision‐making (PDM) within organisations. It makes a unique contribution to the wider employee voice literature by asking what types of employees have a ‘say’ in strategic decision‐making and, in similar vein, what types of employees are denied participation, and why. In order to answer this under‐investigated research question, the article presents an Aristotelian analysis of the concept of citizenship in the ‘best regime’. In the light of this analysis, the article concludes that some groups of employees are excluded from PDM on the basis of a perceived lack of ‘excellence’.     

From ‘start-up’ to ‘re-boot’: Product lifecycle strategies and competitive advantage in the computer industry

The PC sector, following the packaging and car manufacturing industries, will increasingly be forced to acknowledge and account for its product base throughout the commodity's life, and beyond. The environmental problems being posed by electronic waste have been recognized and both the EU and the individual Member States are discussing solutions which may or may not include legislative action. In anticipation, product take-back programmes are beginning to emerge within the industry and the economics and logistics of re-use and recycling are at the forefront of this debate. The issues in store for this sector are examined and specific initiatives by organizations considered. It is asked whether a ‘closing of the product loop’ will generate a competitive advantage for these companies and what impact an industry-led ‘consortia’ initiative may have.     

Migrants Encounter Migrants in the City: the Changing Context of ‘Home’ for Second‐Generation Greek‐American Return Migrants

This article looks at the ‘return’ migration of second‐generation Greek Americans to their parents’ homeland, Greece. It is based on interviews with, and written accounts supplied by, 40 participants in the research, all now living in the Athens region. The article addresses two main sets of questions. First, why do they relocate to Greece, what are they looking for, and how do they cope with difficulties and disappointments? Second, and more specifically, how do they react to the fact that Greece is no longer a homogenous hellenistic society, but has become in recent years a de facto multicultural one due to the presence of hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers and their families? Three hypotheses are proposed for this inter‐migrant encounter: returnees, shocked by the ‘new immigration’, view it negatively as upsetting the ‘pure Greek’ homeland they had hoped to find; returnees are more sympathetic because of their own families’ history as immigrants in multicultural America; and returnees differentiate themselves as ‘good’ migrants from Greece’s immigrants who are constructed as ‘bad’ migrants. Evidence from the migrants’ testimonies is found to support all three hypotheses; however, there is more support for the second one. In addition, a fourth outcome was voiced: that of discrimination against Greek Americans who are made to feel, in certain circumstances, outsiders by the ‘true’ Greeks. Suggestions are made for further comparative research.     

A number‐of‐modes reference rule for density estimation under multimodality

We consider kernel density estimation for univariate distributions. The question of interest is as follows: given that the data analyst has some background knowledge on the modality of the data (for instance, ‘data of this type are usually bimodal’), what is the adequate bandwidth to choose? We answer this question by extending Silverman's idea of ‘normal‐reference’ to that of ‘reference to a Gaussian mixture’. The concept is illustrated in the light of real data examples.     

‘RESILIENCE’ IN ORGANIZATIONAL ACTORS AND REARTICULATING ‘VOICE’: Towards a humanistic critique of New Public Management

Assumptions of resilience are frequently made about organizational actors, both by scholars and practitioners. It is argued that resilience is unlikely to be the usual outcome from the trauma routinely confronted in organizational life. It is suggested that ‘assumptions’ of resilience stem from either a reification of what is perceived to be a highly desirable trait in organizational actors or a lack of acknowledgement of what, if recognized, would be regarded as an ‘unthinkable’ aspect of organizational life. Managers are unlikely to recognize and admit that the pain they inflict on others in the name of efficiency, organizational down-sizing and out-sourcing will contribute to long-term changes in organizational actors. It is also likely that, while coping skills and resources may be sufficient to equip individuals for the myriad problems they routinely face, even the ‘successful’ actor may not remain unscathed. Some of the negative organizational outcomes of this unthinking ‘assumption’ of resilience are canvassed and suggestions are made as to what strategies may ameliorate the situation. A rearticulation of actors' ‘voice’ in formal organization, at a time of a hegemonic dominance of economic rationalism, is especially overdue.     

POVERTY IN BRITAIN,PAST AND PRESENT

How we view the evolution of poverty in Britain in recent decades depends largely on how we define ‘poverty’ in the first place. The widespread perception of a dramatic and lasting rise in poverty in the 1980s is largely a product of a change in the way poverty is commonly defined. The poverty figures currently used to inform public policy are largely based on annual income, with the headline figure being one of relative poverty. Indicators based on expenditure or on absolute income tell a different story and also have important implications for government anti‐poverty strategies.     

Aggregate Poverty Measures

The way poverty is measured is important for an understanding of what has happened to poverty as well as for anti-poverty policy evaluation. Sen's (1976) pathfinding work has motivated many researchers to focus on the way poverty should be measured. A poverty measure, argued by Sen, should satisfy certain properties or axioms and the desirability of a poverty measure should be evaluated by these axioms. During the last two decades, many researchers have adopted the axiomatic approach pioneered by Sen to propose additional axioms and develop alternative poverty measures. The objective of this survey is to provide a clarification on the extensive literature of aggregate poverty measures. In this survey, we first examine the desirability of each axiom, the properties of each poverty measure, and the interrelationships among axioms. The desirability of an axiom cannot be evaluated in isolation, and some combination of axioms may make it impossible to devise a satisfactory poverty measure; some axioms can be implied by other axioms combined and so are not independent; some others are ad hoc and are disqualified as axioms for poverty measurement. Based on the interactions among axioms, we identify the ‘core’ axioms which together have a strong implication on the functional form of a poverty measure. We then review poverty measures that have appeared in the literature, evaluating the interrelationships among different measures, and examining the properties of each measure. The axioms each measure satisfies/violates are also summarized in a tabular form. Several ‘good’ poverty measures, which have not been documented by previous surveys, are also included.     

Finding oneself,losing oneself: the lesbian and gay ‘scene’ as a paradoxical space

In recent years, geographers and urban sociologists have sought to map and understand the emergence and development of lesbian and gay spaces within the city — popularly dubbed ‘the scene’. It is often asserted that the city is a space of sexual liberation and that specifically the ‘scene’ can play an important part in lesbian and gay men's identity formation and development. However, despite the range and richness of the academic literature on the production and emergence of lesbian and gay urban spaces, relatively little attention has been paid to the actual role of the scene in the ‘coming out’ process and the way young lesbians and gay men negotiate transitions to adulthood. This article addresses this neglect by drawing on empirical work with lesbians and gay men in the UK to explore what the scene has meant to them. In the first half of the article we focus on the positive roles that the scene can play in helping young people to find themselves as they make the transition from childhood to adulthood. In the second half of the article we consider the risks that they can encounter in the process. We conclude by reflecting on the scene as a paradoxical space, and on the implications of this research for the youth transitions and urban studies literatures, and for social policy.     

International pharmaceutical supply prices: Definitions — problems — policy implications

In cases where the buyer and the seller of goods and services are companies belonging to the same group the prices charged for goods and services are called ‘international delivery prices’ or ‘international transfer prices’. The peculiarities of research-based companies are such that attempts to ascertain in practice what constitutes an ‘appropriate’ international delivery price are beset by a number of problems. Any scheme that is devised to solve the problems of international transfer prices should feature general ‘rules’ on how the various countries ought to share in central costs. As international transfer prices are a prerequisite for an efficient world economy based on the division of labour an agreement should be reached on the design and content of suitable delivery price systems for a research-intensive industry.     

Who is considered an ‘older worker'? Extending our conceptualisation of ‘older’ from an organisational decision maker perspective

A refinement of the construct of age, specifically ‘older’, is recognised as a critical measurement concern for experts in both ageing research and policy formation. In this context, we set out to both chronologically define an ‘older worker’ and to identify on what basis the age of ‘older’ is determined. In doing so, we draw on open‐ended survey data (collected in 2011) from a sample of 407 organisational decision makers across all industries in Ireland. Our focus was specifically on the perspective of organisational decision makers because these individuals will be instrumental in facing the challenges associated with workforce ageing. The results show that workers are considered as ‘older’ at a younger age than might be expected and that decision makers conceptualise workers as ‘older’ using various approaches in the organisational context. Our findings contribute to the literature in three ways: firstly, by providing an important empirically derived understanding of the term ‘older worker’; secondly, by empirically examining previously suggested ‘possible’ indicators of age; and thirdly, by demonstrating that these indicators are conceptually and empirically distinct, advancing theory on the concept of age in the workplace.     

Real Geographies,Real Economies and Soft Spatial Imaginaries: Creating a ‘More than Manchester’ Region

This article develops a framework for analysing region‐building processes as spatiotemporal constructs, involving competing spatial imaginaries and attempts at consolidating these through institution building. Central here is the performative role of what we refer to as ‘soft space imaginaries’ in the ‘phased’ building of regions for planning and economic development over time. We demonstrate how this understanding can be used to examine the phased enactment of successive waves of region‐building by tracing the evolution of multiple soft spatial imaginaries in north‐west England. The analysis exposes the variable logics, alliances of actors, and tactics used to build momentum and secure legitimacy around preferred imaginaries which advocates often promoted on the grounds that they somehow reflected ‘real geographies’ or ‘real economies’. In this context, soft space imaginaries are seen to play an integral role in intellectual case making about the contemporaneous form and purpose of subnational governance. Yet our analysis also exposes the durability of past soft space imaginaries and their continued impact on efforts to build new soft spaces. What emerges is an understanding of soft space imaginaries as more than just superficial representations. They can help determine where government investment is channelled and into what kinds of policies.     

‘The Substitution of One Piece of Nonsense for Another’: Reflections on Resistance,Gaming, and Subjugation

This article reflects upon Willmott's 1993 article (‘Strength is ignorance; slavery is freedom: managing culture in modern organizations’) by revisiting the idea of ‘Corporate Culturism’ and its relevance for contemporary developments in management and organization, including higher education. It incorporates a commentary on how 1984 and ‘Strength is ignorance’ have been read and some reflections on the genesis of the original 1993 article. It then expands on themes in ‘Strength is ignorance’ which are of continuing relevance, and draws out implications for our research and professional lives, as scholars, working in business schools.     

True and fair in the Czech Republic: a note on local perceptions

With the collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia’, and the subsequent desire of Czechoslovakia to join the European Union, in common with other countries in Central Europe, Czechoslovakia utilized the Fourth Directive as a ‘toolkit’ in designing part of its new accounting legislation. In incorporating the Fourth Directive, it has also included the requirement for financial statements to show a ‘true and fair’ view. Given the confusion over the exact meaning of ‘true and fair’ it is interesting to study how ‘true and fair’ has been introduced into the Czech Republic, and what it seems to signify for those who implemented it and for those who are preparing and using financial statements. Our initial findings indicate that ‘true and fair’ varies in its significance for the groups of individuals involved in preparing and using financial statements and that it may have particular significance for some groups of accountants who wish to secure specific advantage within the Czech economy.With the collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia’, and the subsequent desire of Czechoslovakia to join the European Union, in common with other countries in Central Europe, Czechoslovakia utilized the Fourth Directive as a ‘toolkit’ in designing part of its new accounting legislation. In incorporating the Fourth Directive, it has also included the requirement for financial statements to show a ‘true and fair’ view. Given the confusion over the exact meaning of ‘true and fair’ it is interesting to study how ‘true and fair’ has been introduced into the Czech Republic, and what it seems to signify for those who implemented it and for those who are preparing and using financial statements. Our initial findings indicate that ‘true and fair’ varies in its significance for the groups of individuals involved in preparing and using financial statements and that it may have particular significance for some groups of accountants who wish to secure specific advantage within the Czech economy.With the collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia’, and the subsequent desire of Czechoslovakia to join the European Union, in common with other countries in Central Europe, Czechoslovakia utilized the Fourth Directive as a ‘toolkit’ in designing part of its new accounting legislation. In incorporating the Fourth Directive, it has also included the requirement for financial statements to show a ‘true and fair’ view. Given the confusion over the exact meaning of ‘true and fair’ it is interesting to study how ‘true and fair’ has been introduced into the Czech Republic, and what it seems to signify for those who implemented it and for those who are preparing and using financial statements. Our initial findings indicate that ‘true and fair’ varies in its significance for the groups of individuals involved in preparing and using financial statements and that it may have particular significance for some groups of accountants who wish to secure specific advantage within the Czech economy.With the collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia’, and the subsequent desire of Czechoslovakia to join the European Union, in common with other countries in Central Europe, Czechoslovakia utilized the Fourth Directive as a ‘toolkit’ in designing part of its new accounting legislation. In incorporating the Fourth Directive, it has also included the requirement for financial statements to show a ‘true and fair’ view. Given the confusion over the exact meaning of ‘true and fair’ it is interesting to study how ‘true and fair’ has been introduced into the Czech Republic, and what it seems to signify for those who implemented it and for those who are preparing and using financial statements. Our initial findings indicate that ‘true and fair’ varies in its significance for the groups of individuals involved in preparing and using financial statements and that it may have particular significance for some groups of accountants who wish to secure specific advantage within the Czech economy.     

Look sharp,feel sharp,be sharp and listen — anecdotal excellence: People,places and things

While the techniques become more sophisticated, the hardware and software go through new generations and we move towards such unexplored options as internet fundraising and legal restraints, the challenges and successes in the field of fundraising and in the personality of fundraisers should not change very much: they are faced with the assignment of making the donors feel important, the causes seem attractive, and making the system move with ease and comfort for everyone concerned. The author gives strong credence to such ‘simple’ matters as appearance, health, ethics, virtue and giving attention to words as well as innuendo. The reader will learn if he or she ‘listens’ to the message of this paper; if, on the other hand, he or she is looking for a shortcut or a foolproof plan short of living and loving in the field, it will not be found — in this or any other paper. Fundraising is a synergestic system: you put everything you know together, and it comes out to equal more than the sum of its parts. Still, you keep on learning. The best fundraiser has not yet been born; the most successful campaign has not yet begun; the wisdom is still being assembled. This paper is one man's overview of where we have been, what we are doing in best practice scenarios, and what is possible if we ‘Look sharp, feel sharp, be sharp and listen’; it includes a good overview of ‘Anecdotal excellence: people, places and things’. The paper starts with a word from God and ends with a reminder for us all: ‘We must remember — to look forward!’ Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

Circuits of Knowledge and Techniques: The Transnational Flow of Planning Ideas and Practices

This article considers the conceptual and methodological tools which may help to focus the critical analysis of transnational flows of planning ideas and practices in the present period. The discussion starts from the rejection of the ‘modernization myth’ with its linear concept of a single development trajectory and reviews the philosophical background to the array of alternative conceptions which have displaced it. It then examines three, often overlapping, fields of intellectual development which offer promising concepts for exploring contemporary transnational flows of planning ideas and practices: actor‐network theory (especially with respect to the way ideas and technologies get to ‘travel’ and get ‘translated’), institutionalist versions of policy ‘discourse analysis’ (discourse structuration and institutionalization, in particular), and discussions about circuits of knowledge and hegemonic projects in the globalization and international development literatures. Drawing on these, I suggest that critical analysis of such flows should give special attention to the ‘origin stories’ of such ideas, their ‘travelling histories’ and the ‘translation experiences’ through which exogenous planning ideas and practices become ‘localized’. I conclude by commenting on what may be distinctive about transnational flows in the present period, why undertaking critical analysis of such flows is valuable, and key methodological attitudes to keep in mind in conducting such analyses.     

‘Good when they want to be’: migrant workers in the supermarket supply chain

Despite the increased attention paid to the role and effects of migrant labour in the contemporary economy, there has been insufficient attention to the role of employers and the employment relationship. Recent studies have highlighted distinctive labour power characteristics of new labour migrants from Central and Eastern Europe that make them ‘good workers’ in the eyes of employers. Drawing on multiple case studies across the supermarket supply chain, this article explores what kind of human resource migrant labour is perceived to be, particularly by employers, and what happens in practice as the dynamic tensions of the employment relationship unfolds in particular sector contexts. It argues that utilisation is conditioned more by the requirements of temporal flexibility – framed by the dynamics of employment within the supply chain – than any essential features of migrant labour power.     

‘Thinking Before Acting’ or ‘Acting Before Thinking’: Antecedents of Individual Action Propensity in Work Situations

We introduce the concept of ‘individual action propensity’ to examine the approach of individuals towards solving situations for which they lack knowledge and/or experience about what to do. We focus on a naturally contrasting pair of responses: ‘thinking before acting’ or ‘acting before thinking’, and associate low action propensity with thinking one's way into understanding how to act, and high action propensity with acting one's way into understanding such situations. We build on regulatory mode theory – with its dimensions of locomotion and assessment and the trade‐off between speed and accuracy – to examine individual characteristics as predictors of individual action propensity. We find that individual action propensity is associated with being a woman, having fewer years of formal education, not relying on help‐seeking behaviours, and having a positive attitude towards spontaneity. Our findings shed light on why individuals take action, or not, and provide implications for research on organizational action propensity.     

So what’s the news? Management strategies towards non–union employee representation at News International

In an environment of what would appear to be a widening ‘representation gap’ developing in many organisations, there has been considerable discussion on the effectiveness of non–union employee representation (NER) structures as communication devices and mechanisms for employee involvement, or as a substitute for unions in the collective bargaining process. The underlying debate centres on whether NER forms make trade unions unnecessary, or whether NER forms have a role different from, but complementary to, that of unions at the workplace. The findings of this study suggest that a ‘substitute’ or union avoidance strategy as used at News International Newspapers could have limitations. The implications of not recognising these limitations could result in greater indirect union influence in workplace issues and greater employee dissatisfaction at the workplace.