‘still raving’: social reaction to Ecstasy

In the late 1980s and early 1990s there emerged in the UK a new youth cultural phenomenon, the rave. Subsequently transformed into clubbing, it is now a significant part of the leisure activities of young people well into their 20s. Reconstructing its history reveals the development of rave culture through the confluence of innovations in music, drugs and dance and the largely negative social reaction from media, police and government. Three perspectives are evaluated for their utility in analysing these processes: the moral panics framework, theories of risk and ethnographies of clubbing. Each has a contribution to make but they also indicate some substantive unresolved issues, all relevant to leisure studies. There is a need for a revised sociology of youth, case study material on moral regulation and greater sustained attention to music, dance and drugs as central to the formation of contemporary youth cultures in leisure.     

Industrial Relations in the Privatized Mining Industry

This article examines the impact of privatization on industrial relations in the UK coal industry. It focuses on aspects of continuity and change in the transition to privatization, assessing how far the processes of trade union exclusion and decollectivization, begun by British Coal, have been extended or modified in the first year of private operation. The paper argues that the segmentation of trade union interests has been exacerbated in a variety of ways, not least by the fragmentation of the industry under different forms of ownership and control. It concludes that, while the likelihood of industrial action in the smaller companies is remote, RJB Mining is more vulnerable to sanctions than was its predecessor. However, it remains debatable to what extent future cost-cutting and closures might precipitate such action, given the extent of decollectivization that has occurred.     

Greening the environment: National and local economic issues

Friends of the Earth (UK), 1989: The Environmental Charter for Local Government. London: Friends of the Earth, no price stated.

Association of Metropolitan Authorities, 1989: Action for the Future - Priorities for the Environment. London: AMA, £10.00.

Local Government Training Board, 1990: The Environmental Role of Local Government. Luton: LGTB, no price stated.

SEEDS (South East Economic Development Strategy), 1990: Green Plan — Interim Report. Stevenage: SEEDS, no price stated.

The Local Authority Associations, 1990: Environmental Practice in Local Government. London: Association of District Councils, £20.00 (£15.00 to local authorities).

Opschoor, J.B. and Vos, H.B. 1989: Economic Instruments for Environmental Protection. Paris: OECD, no price stated.     

Comparing the Explanatory Capacity of Three Constructs in the Prediction of Engineers’ Proficiency,Adaptivity, and Proactivity

Advances in the research of work performance have been due in large part to the conceptualization of performance as a multidimensional construct. Recently, Griffin, Neal, and Parker (2007), have identified three different dimensions of work role performance: proficiency, adaptivity, and proactivity. Social effectiveness constructs (i.e., political skill) have been receiving increased attention in research and there have been recent calls for further research in the area. This study compares the explanatory capacity of political skill, professional experience and intrinsic motivation in the prediction of engineers' proficiency, adaptivity, and proactivity. The relationships were tested with structural equations analysis of 180 supervisor‐engineer dyad data. Results indicate that the three dimensions of individual work performance are significantly influenced by political skill and professional experience, but not by intrinsic motivation. The results also indicate that political skill is the strongest predictor. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Harvest Decisions and Spatial Landscape Attributes: The Case of Galician Communal Forests

In recent years, forest management has moved towards a landscape approach reflecting a mix of social, environmental and economic values. In this paper, we evaluate the effect on harvesting decisions of the spatial attributes of communal forests in Galicia. We first model the forest landscape management problem within a bioeconomic framework, which allows the identification of optimal clear-cutting strategies. This framework makes it possible to model a Faustmann-type rotation at the landscape level. The empirical analysis uses data from communal forests in Galicia, Spain. Under communal ownership, members of a rural community have rights to forest resources, but not rights to the forest itself. The management of communal forests integrates multiple forest uses within the decision making process. Given the communal nature of forest rights, and given these multiple uses, we show that landscape patterns—fragmentation, diversity and clumpiness—determine rotation periods.     

Reviews

GRAND STRATEGY OR DRAINING LAKE WINDERMERE WITH A TEASPOON?

Chandler, J.A. and Lawless, P. 1985: Local Authorities and the Creation of Employment. Aldershot: Gower, £14.50 hardback only.

HOW IT'S DONE IN HAMMERSMITH.

Allan, M., Fenton, M. and Flockhart, A. 1985: Creating a local economic development network. A case study of Hammersmith and Fulham. Dundee Park Place Publishing/The Planning Exchange, £7.50 paperback.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR THE UNEMPLOYED?

Nabarro, R., Davies, R., Cobbold, C. and Galley, N., 1986: Local enterprise and the unemployed. London: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. £4.00 plus 60p postage.

THE CO-OP BANK LOOKS AT CO-OPS.

P. A. Management Consultants Ltd. and Co-operative Bank plc, 1985: Workers Co-operatives Past, Present and Future. Manchester: P. A. Management Consultants (Manchester), £20.00.

HOUSING LAND: ARE PLANNERS LOSING THEIR GRIP?

Rydin, Yvonne, 1986: Housing Land Policy. Aldershot: Gower, £15.00 cloth.

MONETARISTS LOOK AT LIVERPOOL.

Liverpool Research Group in Macroeconomics, 1986: Merseyside Economic Prospect Vol. 1, No. 1 February 1986. Liverpool: University of Liverpool, £6.00.

THE FORGOTTEN DEPRIVATION OF RURAL AREAS.

Association of District Councils, 1986: The Rural Economy At The Crossroads—A Review of Rural Needs and Problems in the '80s. ADC,

9 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6LE. £5.00.

THE LONDON FINANCIAL STRATEGY.

Greater London Council, 1986: London Financial Strategy London: Greater London Council, £3.50 (now available from London Strategic Policy Unit, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1).