bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Metropolitan Estates of the Middle Class, 1800–50: Probates and Death Duties Revisited*
Authors: Green David R. , Owens Alastair
Published: March 2003

This article compares the nature of probate records with the death duty registers and explores some of the ways in which these data can be used to analyse wealth‐holding in London in the first half of the nineteenth century. Shortcomings of the probate data are discussed and suggestions made as to how such data can be interpreted in relation to wealth‐holding in the urban middle class. In the context of London, the paper demonstrates how probate records can be used to examine the geography of wealth, the relationships between occupations and wealth, and the role of gender.
Stalinism and British Politics
Authors: Thorpe Andrew
Published: March 2003

One of the crucial lines of demarcation between the two main parties of the British left in the period between the 1920s and the 1960s was their attitude towards the Soviet Union and, in particular, towards what became known as ‘Stalinism’. The precise effect of these attitudes on the politics of the Communist and Labour parties, however, is often assumed rather than investigated. The Communists were, on the whole, extremely favourable. However, they cannot be described as ‘slaves’ of Moscow. While the influence of the latter was significant, it was not overwhelming. However, the willing self‐identification of the Communists with Stalinism caused the party problems once ‘destalinization’ began in the Soviet Union in the 1950s. Labour was generally anti‐Bolshevik from the start. Although there were enthusiasts for Stalinist Russia, they were essentially isolated and relatively powerless within the party itself. The prevailing Labour suspicion of the USSR and Stalinism was tempered in the early 1930s by enthusiasm for Soviet planning, but even this interest was mitigated by a realization that planning would have to be along radically different lines in a liberal democracy, and by the emergence of alternative paradigms during the 1930s. By the time of Stalin's death in 1953, the lines were very well drawn.
America and the French Revolution
Authors: Cogliano Francis D.
Published: March 2003

Books reviewed in this article:

American Aurora: A democratic‐Republican Returns. The Suppressed History of our Nation's Beginnings and the Heroic Newspaper that tried to Report it. By Richard N. Rosenfeld

Transatlantic Radicals and the Early American Republic. By Michael Durey

Parades and the Politics of the Street: Festive Culture in the Early American Republic. By Simon P. Newman

In the Midst of Perpetual Fetes: The Making of American Nationalism 1776–1820. By David Waldstreicher.
Reflections on Retelling a Renaissance Murder
Authors: Cohen Thomas V.
Published: March 2003

This mischievously artful essay plays out on several levels; think of them as storeys of an imaginary castle much like the real, solid, central Italian one it explores and expounds. On its own ground floor, the essay recounts a gruesome murder, a noble husband’s midnight revenge upon his wife and upon her bastard lover, his own half–brother, in her castle chamber, in bed. In sex. Of course. The murder itself is pure Renaissance, quintessential Boccaccio or Bandello, but the aftermath, in fort and village, is more singular, more ethnographically delightful, as castle and village trace a ceremonious passage from frozen limbo to fluid grief and storytelling, finally set in motion by the arrival of the dead wife’s brother. Meanwhile, one flight up, the essay retells my own investigation of the real castle’s geometry, as I clambered through rooms, peered out windows, prowled the roof, and scanned blueprints seeking the places of the plotters’ plots. In an expository attic, I lodge reflections on my teaching stratagems, as I led a first–year seminar into detection’s crafts and exposition’s ploys. All the while, on its rooftop, this essay dances among fantastical chimneys and turrets of high theory and literary practice, musing on the patent irony of artful artifice, which evokes both the irony and the pathos of scholars’ cool histories about hot deeds and feelings. Art suggests we authors had best hide ourselves, unlike normal essayists, so as not to spoil the show. But, I posit, our self–effacement is so conspicuous that it proclaims our presence, as in fact it should, and, by so doing, trumpets the necessary tensions of our artifice and craft. Thus artfulness itself nicely both proclaims and celebrates the bittersweet frustrations of historians’ and readers’ quest for knowledge and, especially, for experience of a lost past.
Diversion in a Culture of Severity
Authors: Hughes Gordon , Pilkington Andrew , Leisten Ruchira
Published: March 2003

This paper focuses on the recent history and current operation of a well‐established multi‐agency diversion and crime prevention unit in Northamptonshire in Britain. Four themes are addressed specifically. First, we examine the place of diversionary initiatives in the context of a central government‐driven ‘get tough on crime’ agenda. Second, the local conditions and struggles over the fate of multi‐agency diversion in Northamptonshire are outlined. Third, we present an empirical overview of the current rationale and routine work of the Diversion Unit. Fourth, we examine the nature of multi‐agency practices on the ground and, in passing, test the claims of the influential academic ‘net‐widening’ and ‘denial of justice’theses on multi‐agency diversion. In conclusion, we argue that a multi‐agency case‐driven approach to diversion has emerged in response to the renewed ‘culture of severity’around crime control issues.
Offender Literacy and the Probation Service
Authors: Caddick Brian , Webster Alec
Published: March 2003

This article argues the case for greater probation service involvement with the literacy needs of offenders under supervision. It draws attention to the high levels of poor literacy amongst offenders and discusses the significance of literacy intervention in relation to current probation objectives. Consideration is given to the need for policy development and changes in both agency procedures and practice perspectives in order to promote a suitable response to the problem.
Electronic Tagging of Offenders: Trials in England
Authors: Richardson Francoise
Published: March 2003

The high cost of keeping an offender in prison and the inadequacies of other options have led governments to look into community sentencing for a solution. The Criminal Justice Act 1991 sanctioned a new community sentence, a curfew order with electronic monitoring, popularly known as ‘tagging’’. In Britain, this new and controversial form of electronic supervision is currently undergoing trials in three locations. Sophisticated electronic equipment is used for the monitoring of the offenders'whereabouts, recording whether they are present at, or absent from a specified place. One of the aims of the trials is to assess the effectiveness and viability of the electronic monitoring of curfew orders if they were to be extended nationally. This article explores the historical background of the previous trials using electronic monitoring in England, the Criminal Justice Act 1991 with the introduction of community sentences, especially the new curfew orders with electronic monitoring and the current trials, reviews the author’s personal experience of tagging and assesses its viability.
Male Prison Rape: A Search for Causation and Prevention
Authors: Knowles Gordon James
Published: March 2003

This research utilises a content analysis methodology to examine the issue of male rape among prison populations within the United States. The physical and psychological aspects of rape are described by professionals, victims, and aggressors. The inmate terminology related to prison rape such as Punk and Jocker are defined to show the social structure of the prison sexual subculture. Previous theories of prison rape concerning racism, power, and sexual deprivation are discussed and analysed. Racism perpetrated against white inmates by black inmates is indicated to be the single causal factor in prison rape. Both quantitative and qualitative data indicate a prevalence of predominantly black rapists and white victims nationwide for the last 40 years. The controversial issues of conjugal visits, home furlough release, or allowing homosexual behaviour in prisons are debated as possible solutions to remedy prison sexual assault. The debate concerning the issuance of condoms in prison to prevent the transmission of the AIDS or HIV virus during rape attacks is discussed. The inmate classification system is presented as one viable solution to reduce the number of prison rapes. The scheme of inmate classification is to identify violent sexual aggressors and separate them from the general non‐violent prison population. The author also considers separation by racial and ethnic categories since literary evidence shows ‘lack racism'’ to be the common denominator in most prison sexual assaults and rapes of predominantly white inmates.
Prison Lives: Critical Issues in Reading Prisoner Autobiography
Authors: Morgan Steve
Published: March 2003

The voices of prisoners are seldom heard as contributors to the evaluation of imprisonment. Official discourse is hostile to their accounts. Prisoner autobiography is a small but established genre in prison writing. The article presents a critical introduction to the study of these texts. Two groups of authors are identified in a sample of post‐war British autobiographies. Several key themes are identified and it is argued that, although problematic, prisoner autobiography should receive more systematic attention as a contribution to the penological archive.
Drug Injectors and Prison Mandatory Drug Testing
Authors: Hughes Rhidian
Published: March 2003

Mandatory drug testing (MDT) is a policy that requires people in prison to provide a sample to be tested for the use of illicit drugs. Drug injectors are one group of individuals who spend time in prison. Drawing on qualitative research carried out with male and female drug injectors this article considers their views and experiences of MDT. Five broad themes arose from the analysis of these data. These themes include people's experiences of the test, their strategies to evade drug detection, punishments for testing positive, the effect of MDT on patterns of drug use, and, finally, the notions of power and risk are considered in relation to MDT. The article concludes with a discussion on the worth of this policy.
The Effect of Gender on Pre‐Sentence Reports
Authors: Horn Rebecca , Evans Martin
Published: March 2003

This study analysed the information contained in 6,972 pre‐sentence reports. The allocation of cases was found to be influenced by gender: male probation officers were allocated more male clients, and female officers more female clients. Male and female officers also seem to be allocated cases with different types of current offences, but with similar offence‐related characteristics. Differences were found between male and female subjects on reports in terms of offending history and type of current offence. The type of problems experienced by male offenders and their motivations for offending were perceived as different to those of female offenders.
Regulation, White–Collar Crime and the Bank of Credit and Commerce International
Authors: Spalek Basia
Published: March 2003

This article presents the findings of a study exploring the consequences and impacts upon a group of employees who worked for an organisation in which white‐collar violations took place. Former employees of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) were interviewed, and the financial, emotional, and psychological effects of the closure of this bank upon their lives documented. Results reveal that the issue of ‘secondary victimisation’ is of particular importance in this case study, since former BCCI employees considered the detrimental effects upon their lives as a result of the closure of BCCI to be linked to regulatory and media responses to the bank rather than to any crimes which had been committed. This case study illustrates the importance of considering the actions of regulatory authorities and the media in cases of ‘white‐collar crime’ and their impact upon the individuals whose lives are caught up in ‘white‐collar scandal’.
Reporting Violence in the British Print Media: Gendered Stories
Authors: Naylor Bronwyn
Published: March 2003

News reporting of violence reflects neither the ‘reality’ of the occurrence of violence nor the portrayal of violence in official statistics. The analysis of all reports of violence in four national British newspapers over six months illuminates the processes of selection, and the ways in which the news media promulgate and naturalise gender in the daily reporting of violence. This study found significant differences in the nature and intensity of reporting of violence by men and by women. Different explanatory narratives were also employed; women's violence was more likely to be reported as irrational or emotional, with real ‘wickedness’ ascribed in a few high‐profile cases, whilst men's violence was more likely to be presented as ‘normal’ or rational.
Power, Knowledge and ‘What Works’ in Probation
Authors: Robinson Gwen
Published: March 2003

This article examines the implications of the quest for knowledge of ‘what works’ in the context of probation, both at the level of professional practice and the broader level of the power base of the service as a whole. It is argued that the pursuit of knowledge of ‘what works’ in probation practice has had interesting and paradoxical implications for the probation service and its personnel, being associated with increasing credibility, whilst also exposing the service to a number of risks. The article concludes that the paradox of ‘what works’ has been magnified by its appropriation by the political centre in the form of the Effective Practice Initiative and, more recently, the ‘what works’ programme.
The Performance of Volunteer Appropriate Adults: A Survey of Call Outs
Authors: Pierpoint Harriet
Published: March 2003

The ‘appropriate adult’ is intended to safeguard the interests of the young suspect in the police interview. This article discusses the criticisms of social workers' and parents' performance of the role and then considers the findings from a survey that explores volunteers' performance. The findings suggest that, when the volunteers surveyed contributed in the interview, they fulfilled the role as intended. This article also examines the implications of employing the survey method as a means of data collection in this field. The author concludes that further research is required in order for the survey findings to be considered conclusive and generalisable and suggests two further methods.
Drug Misuse in Prisons: Some Comments on the Prison Service Drug Strategy
Authors: Hucklesby Anthea , Wilkinson Christine
Published: March 2003

This article draws on the findings of a research study conducted on behalf of the Directorate of Health Care of the Prison Service. The study involved conducting a needs analysis of drug misuse in three Leicestershire prisons. The aims of the project were: (i) to assess the level of drug misuse in three prison establishments; (ii) to assess the level of staff knowledge of drug misuse and staff management of drug misuse; (iii) to assess current staff training in drug misuse, and (iv) to explain how effective multi‐disciplinary working with prison staff and staff in community based facilities may be developed. The article presents some of the findings from the research which show how they have informed the current drug strategy while at the same time crucial findings and important issues have been sidelined. We will be arguing that the 1998 strategy is a small improvement on the previous policy but the continued emphasis on the supply side approach to tackling drug misuse will ultimately fail to reduce drug misuse in prison. Not only do we wish to question the approach which the strategy adopts but also whether or not the extent of the problem requires the level of response envisaged and the resources involved.
Imprisoned Fathers: The Children’s View
Authors: Boswell Gwyneth
Published: March 2003

Children are frequently the forgotten victims of a parent’s imprisonment. Their relationships with their imprisoned fathers have been particularly neglected in research and their own voices seldom represented. National research which examined in depth the parenting role of imprisoned fathers contained an important investigation of children’s views and experiences and this is summarised here with brief reflections on the implications for sentencers, prison visiting, school and social support systems.
Long‐Term Absences from Probation: Officers' and Probationers' Accounts
Authors: Farrall Stephen
Published: March 2003

Despite the renewed interest in the outcomes of community disposals and the role of such sentences in reducing offending, little is known about those people given probation orders, community service and other community sentences who fail to comply with the requirements of their sentence. Given that rates of orders terminated for non‐compliance in England and Wales have been rising steadily, this represents something of a shortfall in current knowledge. Drawing upon the insights of probation officers and, to a lesser extent, some of those probationers who did not maintain contact, this article seeks to address this shortfall of knowledge. The data come from a recently completed longitudinal self‐report study of probation supervision undertaken whilst the author was a research officer at the Probation Studies Unit, Oxford University.
The Role of Community Service in Reducing Offending: Evaluating Pathfinder Projects in the UK
Authors: Rex Sue , Gelsthorpe Loraine
Published: March 2003

Pathfinder projects in community service have been funded in ten probation areas under the Crime Reduction Programme with the aim of exploring whether this intervention can be effective in reducing recidivism. This is an important development for community service, classically a ‘fine’ on time which offers incidental reparation to the community. The projects incorporate the following elements: pro–social modelling, developing and providing awards for employable skills, and using community service to help tackle the problems contributing to offending. This article outlines preliminary findings from an evaluation of the projects and draws out possible implications for future practice and research in community service.
‘The Ties that Bind’: Feminist Perspectives on Self–Help Groups for Prisoners’ Partners
Authors: Codd Helen
Published: March 2003

Recent research has recognised the role of self–help groups in helping women cope with the imprisonment of a male partner. However, little research has explored the benefits of membership, beyond the pragmatic recognition that the groups meet an unmet need for support and information. With reference to the findings of recent qualitative research conducted by the author in the UK, this article integrates interdisciplinary perspectives drawn from criminal justice research, family theory and gender studies to construct a gendered theoretical framework for understanding the significance and value of group membership, exploring gendered ideologies of caring and questioning the role of self–help groups in empowering women.
Prose and Cons: Offender Auto/Biographies, Penal Reform and Probation Training
Authors: Nellis Mike
Published: March 2003

‘The life history approach is peculiarly ignored in teaching contexts’ wrote Ken Plummer in 1983 (p.74). Things may have changed on ordinary social science degrees, but offender/prisoner autobiographies — akin to the life story approach — are a still underused resource in the training of probation officers. The criminological importance of such autobiographies was recently affirmed by the late Steve Morgan (1999), adroitly re–therorised by Goodey (2000) and used constructively by Wilson and Reuss (2000) in a study of prison(er) education. This article describes, from experience, how they can be used at the beginning of a probation training programme, to develop a preliminary understanding of desistance, and to open up debate on what works with offenders and what doesn’t, in and out of prison. An historical background to British prisoner autobiographies is provided to ground this approach to teaching in a distinctive criminological discourse, to provide a resource for those who wish to take debate on prisoner autobiographies further, and to indicate the kind of impact that the best of this writing has had on the penal reform process. The article should be read both as a contribution to an overdue, and at present meagre, debate on how an academically sound and vocationally relevant curriculum for trainee probation officers can be constructed, and as an at least partial substantiation of the deeper argument that probation training can draw productively on traditions of penal reform which it has hitherto neglected.
The Use of Information Technology by National Unions: An Exploratory Analysis
Authors: Fiorito Jack , Bass William
Published: March 2003

Exploratory factor analysis and correlation techniques are applied to survey data to examine national unions’ use of information technology (IT). We identify common dimensions in current and planned use of IT forms, its applications, and implementation issues. Finally, relations among these dimensions and selected union characteristics are examined.
Cell Production and Workplace Innovation in Japan: Toward a New Model for Japanese Manufacturing?
Authors: Isa Katsuhide , Tsuru Tsuyoshi
Published: March 2003

This article investigates the current trend toward cell production and other workplace innovations in Japan using a large–scale sampling survey of manufacturing firms and in–depth interviews with four leading electrical and electronic establishments. The quantitative analysis reveals the correlation between the use of cell production and the ratio of female to male workers and production strategy variables, as well as the positive effect of cell production on operating profit rates and ordinary profit rates. The case studies reveal the following points: First, processes and organizations have been decentralized to the degree that individual workshops move toward taking primary responsibility for customer relations, production decisions, and delivery. Corporate headquarters increasingly play a coordinating rather than decision–making role. Second, firms have steadily implemented make–to–order systems by tightening links to suppliers and customers and developing new inventory and cost–control systems. Third, firms have started to implement more performance–based personnel practices. However, considerable variance among firms is observed in complementary changes, particularly personnel innovations.
Employment Adjustments in Japanese Firms During the Current Crisis
Authors: Chuma A. Hiroyuki
Published: March 2003

In this article we describe the severity of the current recession and depict the resultant harsh modes of employment adjustments. As a benchmark for comparison, we refer as frequently as possible to the recession that followed the first oil crisis. Macro indices include the extent of various employment adjustments, the roles of “shock–absorbing” industries, and the impact of public employment polices. As sources of micro–level data, we examine some 30 publicly owned, large–scale firms during both the current recession and the 1970s crisis. To further clarify the situation, we detail employment adjustments carried out by two “seriously wounded” firms.
Union Participation, Job Satisfaction, and Employee Turnover: An Event‐History Analysis of the Exit‐Voice Hypothesis
Authors: Iverson Roderick D. , Currivan Douglas B.
Published: March 2003

This study examines the exit‐voice hypothesis by applying event‐history analysis to data from a sample of 674 unionized public school teachers from 405 schools. Union participation (i.e., voice) and job satisfaction had significant negative main effects on turnover. In contrast to the original formulation of the exit‐voice hypothesis, a test for interaction revealed that union participation had significant negative effects on quit behavior for members displaying both low and high satisfaction.

 The existing conclusions regarding the role of unions in reducing employee quits by providing voice mechanisms implicitly assume that union members actually use these mechanisms. Mechanisms such as attending union meetings and serving on a committee provide opportunities for members to express how they feel about their wages and working conditions. In this article we examine the influences of union participation and job satisfaction on individuals’ decisions to quit working for an organization using event‐history analysis. Unlike existing research, the present study focuses on member participation in a range of union activities (i.e., voting in union elections, attending union meetings, serving in a union office or on a committee, and seeking assistance from the union) to analyze the effect of union voice on employee quits.1 We further investigate how union participation and job satisfaction may interact to influence employee turnover over time, controlling for demographic, job‐related, environmental, and contextual variables across 405 research sites.
Aggregation Bias in Elasticities of Substitution and the Minimum Wage Paradox
Authors: Teulings Coen N.
Published: March 2003

While the employment effects of minimum wages are usually reported to be small (suggesting low substitutability between skill types), direct estimates suggest a much larger degree of substitutability. This article argues that this paradox is largely due to a bias induced by the aggregation of skill types into broad categories. An assignment model is applied where skilled workers have a comparative advantage in complex jobs. The implied pattern of substitutability reveals the sources of the bias. Estimation results for the United States show elasticities of complementarity to be underestimated by up to a factor 2.5. The methods laid out likewise can be applied to other markets where different quality types are close substitutes, such as the housing market.
Consumer Information and Firm Pricing: Negative Externalities from Improved Information
Authors: Anderson Simon P. , Renault Régis
Published: March 2003

We analyze the effect of consumer information on firm pricing in a model where consumers search for prices and matches with products. We consider two types of consumers. Uninformed consumers do not know in advance their match values with firms, whereas informed consumers do. Prices are lower the greater the proportion of uninformed consumers. Hence uninformed consumers exert a positive externality on the others, in contrast to standard results. This leads to socially excessive investment in gathering prior information when aggregate demand is price‐sensitive.
Rationality of Migration
Authors: Tunali Insan
Published: March 2003

The paradigm of a rational individual acting on the earnings‐enhancing benefits of migration is subjected to statistical scrutiny, using data from Turkey. Results with robust selectivity correction support the rationality hypothesis: Both migrants and nonmigrants chose the option in which they had comparative advantage. However, the estimated gain from moving is negative for a substantial portion of migrants, whereas a minority realize very high returns. This suggests that migration is a lottery: Individuals are willing to invest in a proposition that has a high probability of yielding negative returns because of the potential for a very large payoff.
Growth and Agglomeration
Authors: Martin Philippe , Ottaviano Gianmarco I. P.
Published: March 2003

This article presents a model in which growth and geographic agglomeration of economic activities are mutually self‐reinforcing processes. Economic agglomeration in one region spurs growth because it reduces the cost of innovation in that region through a pecuniary externality due to transaction costs. Growth fosters agglomeration because, as the sector at the origin of innovation expands, new firms tend to locate close to this sector. Agglomeration implies that all innovation and most production activities take place in the core region. However, as new firms are continuously created in the core, some relocate their production to the periphery.
Crawling Bands or Monitoring Bands: How to Manage Exchange Rates in a World of Capital Mobility
Authors: Williamson John
Published: March 2003

This paper discusses the choice of exchange‐rate regime. It is argued that in general floating is undesirable, because of the extreme weakness of the economic mechanism that holds the exchange rate close to a level consistent with the fundamentals. Of the alternatives, fixed rates can occasionally make sense, where several conditions are all satisfied. But under current conditions of high capital mobility the more prudent choice will in most cases be a system of limited flexibility, in the form of a ‘crawling band’ (a wide band that is adjusted in small steps so as to keep it in line with the fundamentals, but is defended in the traditional ways) or possibly a ‘monitoring band’ (a wide band with similar properties, which is defended only when the rate goes outside the band).
The Impact of Foreign Equity Ownership on Emerging Market Share Price Volatility
Authors: Coppejans Mark , Domowitz Ian
Published: March 2003

We ask whether foreign equity ownership affects the stability of share prices in an emerging economy. We address the effect of ownership restrictions exogenously imposed on stock ownership and the impact of introducing or widening foreign ownership through cross‐listing. A methodology for variance ratio analysis is introduced that corrects for liquidity and volume differences across stock series experiencing different degrees of foreign ownership. We find that foreign ownership does not affect volatility in the absence of cross‐listing. Foreign ownership introduced or accompanied by cross‐listing of a stock series raises the variance of returns. This effect is found to operate in part through increases in volume traded on the domestic market following the listing, and through an identifiable increase in the volatility of information net of volume effects.
Assessing knowledge assets: a review of the models used to measure intellectual capital
Authors: Bontis Nick
Published: March 2003

This paper reviews the literature pertaining to the assessment of knowledge assets. Since knowledge assets are at the crux of sustainable competitive advantage, the burgeoning field of intellectual capital is an exciting area for both researchers and practitioners. Unfortunately, the measurement of such intangible assets is difficult. A variety of models have surfaced in an attempt to measure IC and this paper aims to highlight their strengths, weaknesses and operationalizations.
Toward a capabilities perspective of the small firm
Authors: Yu Tony Fu‐Lai
Published: March 2003

This paper attempts to explain the competitive advantages of the small firm in the capabilities perspective. It begins by identifying the kinds of strategic assets possessed by small firms. It argues that entrepreneurship and a simple capital structure are the sources of dynamism for small firms. The relationship between the small firm's resources and its capabilities are then critically examined. In particular, the analysis focuses on the influences of strategic assets on the organizational flexibility – a significant source of competitive advantage enjoyed by small firms. The competitive attributes of small firms are further discussed in terms of firm's internal and external capabilities. Finally, the relationship between the small firm's capabilities and the choice of technology strategies is examined.
The impact of culture on best‐practice production/operations management
Authors: Hope C. A. , Mühlemann A. P.
Published: March 2003

Significant work has been completed in arriving at what have been put forward as `best practices' for a variety of facets of production/operations management (POM). Organizations are becoming global in their operations. In this environment, there is a desire to learn from this ‘proven’ best practice and to use the generic ideas, concepts and techniques ‘world‐wide’. However, it is becoming apparent from a range of fragmented evidence that ‘best practices’ developed and successful in one context are not necessarily directly transferable to a comparable alternative. More detailed examination suggests that national culture has a significant role to play in determining the precise nature of a best practice in POM, and how universal it might be in its application. This paper examines structures within which to view facets of POM in order to identify one that will facilitate exploration of cultural issues. There follows an identification of what might be considered to be an appropriate range of cultural dimensions along which POM best practices may be considered. A review of the evidence from the literature of cultural impacts on aspects of POM is presented. This is used to support the development of a generic framework to examine this interface more comprehensively.
Time for a revival? Public policy implementation: a review of the literature and an agenda for future research
Authors: Schofield Jill
Published: March 2003

This paper argues that there is not a vigorous contemporary literature in the UK which addresses implementation studies as part of the public policy process, whereas this is not the case in the USA. A review of the literature is presented, and a critique of the more traditional thematic groupings used to review the literature is given. A revised thematic review of the literature is presented based on the four themes of: (1) the role of knowledge and learning in policy implementation; (2) the processes of policy implementation; (3) the role of actors and agents in implementation; and (4) the role of bureaucratic discretion. The paper argues for a revival of research into public policy implementation and suggests a research agenda for the future which can use the aforementioned themes from the literature.
Identification in organizational contexts: linking theory and research from social and organizational psychology
Authors: Van Dick Rolf
Published: March 2003

Research in organizational psychology has shown that commitment to the organization correlates with different criteria of work effectiveness. This paper argues that social psychology and, particularly, the Social Identity Approach to intergroup relations extend the concept of commitment theoretically. Above that, it provides a broader conceptual framework for the understanding of underlying processes in the relation between organizational identification and job‐related attitudes and behaviours. This theoretical analysis is completed with a review of empirical findings in different fields of application (group performance, work‐related attitudes, group norms).
Applicant Perceptions of Test Fairness: Integrating Justice and Self‐Serving Bias Perspectives
Authors: Chan David , Scmitt Neal , Jennings Danielle , Clause Catherine S. , Delbridge Kerry
Published: March 2003

The justice perspective is the current dominant framework for research on applicant perceptions of test fairness. Recently, an emerging perspective suggests that self‐serving bias mechanisms may be operative in the development of test fairness perceptions. Using data from 494 actual applicants to an entry‐level State Police Trooper position, this study integrates both the justice and self‐serving bias perspectives to achieve a better understanding of test fairness perceptions. Results from structural equation modeling show that perceived job‐relevance affects perceived fairness. In addition, test performance affects both perceptions indirectly through perceived performance.
An Analysis of Federal Court Cases Involving Nine Selection Devices
Authors: Terpstra David A. , Mohamed A. Amin , Kethley R. Bryan
Published: March 2003

A content analysis of US federal court cases was conducted to assess the relative frequency of litigation associated with nine selection devices: 1) unstructured interviews; 2) structured interviews; 3) biographical information blanks; 4) cognitive ability tests; 5) personality tests; 6) honesty tests; 7) physical ability tests; 8) work sample tests; and 9) assessment centers. The outcomes of the cases (whether the devices were ruled to be discriminatory) for each of the nine types of selection devices were also examined. The possible implications of the current findings for organizations and researchers are discussed.
Specification of Scales in Biodata Form Development: Rational vs. Empirical and Global vs. Specific
Authors: Stokes Garnett S. , Searcy Cynthia A.
Published: March 2003

Although empirical keying has been the most popular scoring strategy with biodata, researchers have increasingly argued that rational approaches are better for advancing theory. Higher validities and less faking with empirical keys, however, have made many reluctant to abandon them. Research in the personality field provided support for the notion that many rational biodata scales may be multi‐faceted. Development of more specific scales was suggested as a technique for creating rational scales with validities that more closely approximate that of empirical keys. Three different strategies (rational, internal, and external/empirical) were used in the scoring of a biodata inventory for use with mechanical equipment franchise owners. The rational and internal approaches were investigated within two samples and at two levels ‐ very specific constructs and global constructs. In addition, two types of criteria were used, including an objective measure of sales and supervisory performance ratings. The specific rational scales were as predictive as the empirical item key. Strategies for developing and scoring a biodata form using a rational approach are discussed.
Construct‐oriented Biodata: Capturing Change‐related and Contextually Relevant Future Performance
Authors: Allworth Elizabeth , Hesketh Beryl
Published: March 2003

This study highlights an approach to the development of performance and predictor constructs that has the potential to permit context and culture relevant selection. Task, contextual and adaptive measures of performance were used as criterion data in a selection study involving 325 staff in the hotel industry. Construct‐oriented biodata were developed to predict adaptive and contextual performance and the validities were contrasted with measures of cognitive ability and personality. The results provided construct support for the separation of adaptive performance from task and contextual performance and for the predictive validity of change‐related biodata after controlling for cognitive ability. The pattern of correlations among the personality measures, biodata scales and cognitive tests supported the construct validity of the biodata scales. Results are discussed in relation to the context in which the data were collected, and the general relevance of the procedure across countries or cultures.
Biodata: Meeting Clients’ Needs for a Better Way of Recruiting Entry‐level Staff
Authors: West Julie , Karas Michelle
Published: March 2003

Biodata as a selection technique is gaining greater acceptance in Australia and interest in the technique appears to be growing. There are a number of reasons for its rise in popularity, including particular advantages afforded by the technique such as enhanced validity and decreased adverse impact. This paper presents an overview of the development of a biodata instrument for large‐scale recruitment and focuses specifically on how clients' needs were met by incorporating biodata in a revised recruitment system. The reader is also referred to another article in this issue by Karas and West that reports on this project, but covers technical aspects of the rational‐empirical approach taken to instrument development.

The biodata technique was chosen to meet specific requirements of a new selection system for entry level clerical and graduate staff of the Australian Public Service. Broadly, the system sought to assess a range of job‐related skills encompassing both cognitive and noncognitive abilities and to maximize the validity and fairness of the recruitment process. The addition of a biodata questionnaire, as an integral part of the selection system, assisted in meeting these aims and providing clients with a more comprehensive process which offered greater flexibility and the reliable assessment of noncognitive attributes that are critical to success in today’s workplace.
Pitfalls of Ability Research
Authors: Carretta Thomas R. , Ree Malcolm James
Published: March 2003

Ability research in psychology can be fraught with pitfalls that lead to inappropriate conclusions. We identify several issues that lead to potential misinterpretation of results and suggest corrective solutions. These issues include lack of construct validity of the measures, misinterpretation of correlations and regression weights, lack of statistical power, failure to estimate cross‐validation effects, and misinterpretation of factor analytic results.
Extra‐Role Behavior among Mexican Employees: The Impact of LMX, Group Acceptance, and Job Attitudes
Authors: Tierney Pamela , Bauer Talya N. , Potter Richard E.
Published: March 2003

The current field study took place within a Mexican work setting, consisting of 100 white‐collar employees representing a variety of professional job categories. The study investigated the direct effect of the supervisor–employee relationship (leader–member exchange) quality and group acceptance on employees' propensity to engage in activities beyond their formal work roles (extra‐role behavior). The mediating influences of the employees' job satisfaction level and organizational commitment were also taken into consideration when accounting for extra‐role behavior. Results suggest that relationships Mexican employees share with their supervisor have a direct impact on their extra‐role behavior. Social exchange, key to both extra‐role behavior and leader–member exchange, is proposed as the operating mechanism associating the two constructs. Results also indicate that organizational commitment plays a partial mediating role between leader–member exchange and extra‐role behavior.
Incorporating Gender Inequality into Income Distribution Research
Authors: Fritzell J.
Published: March 2003

Income distribution research assumes equal sharing of resources within the household. This assumption has been criticized for leading to an underestimation of the extent of gender inequality in modern societies. In this paper two alternative methods of deriving an income distribution are presented, both of which make other assumptions about the extent of sharing of resources within households. The first is a partial sharing distribution modelled from survey data; the second is a distribution of individual income, i.e. no sharing of resources. The methods are then applied to income distribution data from the 1991 Swedish Level of Living Survey and the respective distributions are compared with the baseline distribution, assuming equal pooling of resources. As expected, the results indicate that differences between men and women increase but the extent of this increase is somewhat less than expected. Nevertheless, the analysis highlights how gender inequality can be brought into the field of income distribution.
Social Background and Placement Course – The Case of Denmark
Authors: Hestbæk A.‐D.
Published: March 2003

The scope of this article, founded on a nationwide survey in Denmark, is first to describe the social characteristics of families with a child placed outside home, and, further, to examine whether differences in regard to the parents’ social background are correlated with different placement courses. A range of hypotheses on the correlation between social background and the course of placement are examined. It appears, for example, that children from low‐resource families come into contact with the social system earlier, and are placed outside the home at an earlier age than children from high‐resource families. Low‐resource children are more often placed in foster care, and are more often subject to contact restrictions. The article discusses whether these differences reflect a socio‐cultural discrimination. Secondly, a discussion is raised whether the supportive measures available are adequate in relation to the serious problems of the families concerned.
The politics of case management and social work
Authors: Payne Malcolm
Published: March 2003

A case study analysing the introduction of case management into British social services supports the argument that social work is constructed through political processes. In such processes, the interaction among the interests of stakeholders within service innovations influences the construction of the role of social work. Case management was introduced to Britain, but developed in three different forms: social care entrepreneurship, brokerage and multiprofessional case management, including assertive outreach. The forms adopted were affected by the political interaction of stakeholders rather than the professional possibilities offered by case management itself. Evidence for the politics of case management is drawn from analysis of professional literature, the texts of official documents and empirical research outcomes. The introduction of case management led to a debate about how the nature of social work was affected by the innovation. Three alternative views were that social work was improved, or attacked by case management, or made a valid contribution to case management as a different form of practice. It is proposed that to understand the impact of a service innovation on social work, four factors must be considered: the character of the innovation itself; the economic, political and social contexts in which it is introduced; the political and social interests of the stakeholders themselves; and the political and social processes that take place during the introduction of the innovation.
Sense of coherence and social support – Resources for subjective well‐being and health of the aged in Finland
Authors: Elovainio Marko , Kivimäki M.
Published: March 2003

In this study we explored if the psychological and social resources of aged people (over 75 years) in Finland predict their subjective well‐being and experienced state of health (n = 348). Data were taken from a larger Finnish survey on living conditions. Based on previous research on younger people we formed a model where morbidity, experienced quality of social support and sense of coherence together with economic resources are the predictors of both experienced state of health and subjective well‐being. LISREL (8) path analysis was used to test the model. The model providing the most parsimonious explanation of the data suggested that a strong sense of coherence and high experienced quality of social relationships are strongly related to subjective well‐being. Experienced state of health was associated with morbidity and subjective well‐being, but there was no significant relationship between subjective well‐being and morbidity.