Money after Blockchain: Gold,Decentralised Politics and the New Libertarianism

ABSTRACT

Blockchain technologies are central to what has been described as a new ‘smart social contract’. With blockchain, individual cryptographic identity becomes the basis for new forms of money and for a whole suite of restructured social, political and financial transactions. But what do these developments signal for feminist engagements with the money economy? The transparency and pseudonymity that the blockchain provides has been welcomed as a ‘feminist weapon’. But the decentralised technology also legitimises many longstanding assumptions of libertarianism, especially competitive individualism, naturalised social inequality and the stability of value associated with the gold standard. Drawing on popular culture texts, Goldfinger and The Mandibles, this article considers this history, examining the gendered, racialised and sexualised discursive practices that attend representations of gold along with the ‘metallism’ surrounding blockchain-based cryptocurrencies in the contemporary conjuncture. By claiming to represent non-negotiable certainty derived from technology/nature rather than social convention, the fantasy of fundamental value returns, together with related associations of essentialism and authenticity, but anchored in this new context in the technocratic authoritarianism of FinTech. This is part of the background for the ‘new libertarianism’ whose ascendency now overshadows the neoliberalism that has been the focus of critical attention for some decades.     

Enabling Middle Managers as Change Agents: Why Organisational Support Needs to Change

Change efforts frequently fail to achieve their desired outcome with failure often attributed to employee resistance to change. Literature on resistance indicates it can emerge from ineffective change management. This article argues that change management could be improved through middle managers actively undertaking a change intermediary role, thereby enabling employees to make sense of, and reframe, the change. Qualitative data is used to explore the extent to which middle managers had the capacity and support necessary to effectively implement change. The article concludes by proposing that managers who are actively engaged change agents, who frame and make sense of the change with employees, can reduce resistance. However, for this to be realised, organisations need to actively support the systematic development of middle management change management capabilities.     

Structural Changes to the Public Sector and Cultural Incompatibility: The Consequences of Inadequate Cultural Integration

Structural changes are commonly undertaken to achieve gains, such as enhanced efficiency and performance. In this paper, we explore the cultural issues associated with a structural change in the Australian Public Service. We argue that cultural differences across merged functions were disruptive and challenging to overcome. We posit, however, that these challenges were exacerbated by the lack of systemic effort to integrate cultures, thus impeding synergy realization. Our findings are consistent with the private sector literature that warns mergers and acquisitions undertaken with too much haste and without adequate planning can lead to cultural issues when not managed appropriately.     

At-Home Environment, Out-of-Home Environment, Snacks and Sweetened Beverages Intake in Preadolescence, Early and Mid-Adolescence: The Interplay Between Environment and Self-Regulation

Obesity-related behaviors, such as intake of snacks and sweetened beverages (SSB), are assumed to result from the interplay between environmental factors and adolescents’ ability to self-regulate their eating behaviors. The empirical evidence supporting this assumption is missing. This study investigated the relationships between perceptions of at-home and out-of-home food environment (including SSB accessibility, parental, and peers’ social pressure to reduce intake of SSB), nutrition self-regulatory strategies (controlling temptations and suppression), and SSB intake. In particular, we hypothesized that these associations would differ across the stages of preadolescence, early and mid-adolescence. Self-reported data were collected from 2,764 adolescents (10–17 years old; 49 % girls) from 24 schools in the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Path analysis indicated that direct associations between peers’ social influence and SSB intake increased with age. Direct negative associations between at-home and out-of-home accessibility and SSB intake as well as direct positive associations between parental pressure and intake become significantly weaker with age. Accessibility was related negatively to self-regulation, whereas higher social pressure was associated with higher self-regulation. The effects of the environmental factors were mediated by self-regulation. Quantitative and qualitative differences in self-regulation were observed across the stages of adolescence. The associations between the use of self-regulatory strategies and lower SSB intake become significantly stronger with age. In preadolescence, SSB intake was regulated by means of strategies that aimed at direct actions toward tempting food. In contrast, early and mid-adolescents controlled their SSB intake by means of a combination of self-regulatory strategies focusing on direct actions toward tempting food and strategies focusing on changing the psychological meaning of tempting food.     

Book reviews

The following books are reviewed.

Men of letters, writing lives: masculinity and literary auto/biography in the late victorian period TREV LYNN BROUGHTON, 1999 London: Routledge. 213 pp., ISBN 0 415 08211 0 hardback, £60.00 0 415 08212 9 paperback, £19.99

Adapting to Capitalism: working women in the English economy, 1700–1850 PAMELA SHARPE, 1996, 2000 London: Macmillan. xi + 226 pp., ISBN 0 333 91901 7

Women, Gender and Industrialisation in England, 1700–1870 KATRINA HONEYMAN, 2000 London: Macmillan. vii + 204 pp., £15.50

Breadwinning: New Zealand women and the state MELANIE NOLAN, 2000 Christchurch: Canterbury University Press. 386 pp., ISBN 0 908812 97 3, NZ$39.95

Working-class Culture, Women and Britain, 1914–1921 CLAIRE A. CULLERTON, 2000 London: Macmillan. xii + 221 pp., ISBN 0 333 91290 X

Austerity in Britain: rationing, controls, and consumption 1939–1955 INA ZWEINIGER-BARGIELOWSKA, 2000 Oxford: Oxford University Press. xiii + 286 pp., ISBN 0 19 820453 1, £40.00

Seeing History: public history in Britain now HILDA KEAN, PAUL MARTIN, SALLY J. MORGAN (Eds), 2000 London: Francis Boutle. 193 pp., ISBN 0 9532388 9 X, paperback, £10.00

Migrant Daughter: coming of age as a Mexican American woman FRANCES ESQUIBEL TYWONIAK & MARIO T. GARCIA, 2000 Berkeley: University of California Press. 237 pp., ISBN 0 526 21915 5

The Matriarchs of England's Co-operative Movement: a study in gender politics and female leadership, 1883–1921 BARBARA J. BLASZAK, 2000 London, Greenwood Press. ix + 209 pp., ISBN 0 313 30995 7

Dirt and Desire: reconstructing Southern women's writing, 1930–1990 PAULINE YAEGER, 2000 Chicago: University of Chicago Press. xvii+324 pp., ISBN 0 226 94491 3 paperback, £12.53     

Fimag: The United Kingdom Disaster Victim/Forensic Identification Imaging System

Abstract:  Imaging is an integral diagnostic tool in mass fatality investigations undertaken traditionally by plain X-rays, fluoroscopy, and dental radiography. However, little attention has been given to appropriate image reporting, secure data transfer and storage particularly in relation to the need to meet stringent judicial requirements. Notwithstanding these limitations, it is the risk associated with the safe handling and investigation of contaminated fatalities which is providing new challenges for mass fatality radiological imaging. Mobile multi-slice computed tomography is an alternative to these traditional modalities as it provides a greater diagnostic yield and an opportunity to address the requirements of the criminal justice system. We present a new national disaster victim/forensic identification imaging system—Fimag—which is applicable for both contaminated and non-contaminated mass fatality imaging and addresses the issues of judicial reporting. We suggest this system opens a new era in radiological diagnostics for mass fatalities.     

Intraprofessional Competition and Earnings Inequalities Across a Professional Chasm: The Case of the Legal Profession in Québec,Canada

Intraprofessional rivalry has a long history. This article examines earnings disparities as a dimension of intraprofessional competition among avocats and notaires in the civil law system of Québec, Canada. Drawing on two large‐scale surveys and in‐depth interviews with legal professionals, I examine three competing perspectives of earnings inequalities: human capital, social‐symbolic capital, and organizational‐structural explanations. Through this analysis I seek to examine whether similar causal processes shape earnings across the two spheres of legal practice in Québec. The findings of this study clearly demonstrate that these two professional groups are equipped with differential stocks of capital, and conversion rates differ drastically. Avocats receive greater exchange on their investments in human and social‐symbolic capitals. These disparities are most pronounced in sectors of the profession where jurisdictional frictions abound: among notaires and avocats working as solo practitioners and in small firms within competitive urban contexts. The article concludes with a discussion of theoretical extensions and future directions for the study of legal professionals in civil law systems and blended jurisdictions.     

Quantifiler observations of relevance to forensic casework

The Quantifiler (QF) kit is regularly used by forensic scientists for DNA quantitation. We performed in-house validation studies which revealed some interesting observations. The QF standard displayed a two-fold difference between two different lot numbers which suggests that every standard should be tested prior to use. The Promega K562 DNA standard works well with the QF kit. c. 41% of samples that inhibited the internal PCR control (IPC) system within the QF kit still produced good Profiler Plus reactions. QIAquick was effective at removing inhibitors. The presence of dyes within casework samples were observed not to inhibit QF amplifications. Template DNA greater than 100 ng/muL appeared to inhibit the IPC. Close to identical concentration results were obtained when alternative analysis settings were used. These validation findings will assist DNA processes involved in forensic casework.     

The Unintended Consequences of Structural Change: When Formal and Informal Institutions Collide in Efforts to Address Wicked Problems

Significant restructuring of bureaucracies has occurred to facilitate joined-up working. This article draws on new institutionalism to explore the rationale behind the use of structural change for the promotion of joined-up working. It argues that a strong institutionalized myth has emerged which has created isomorphic pressures in the public sector to instigate structural changes in the name of vertical integration. These combine with informal institutions in ways that can be both productive and unproductive, highlighting the need to find a balance between formal institutional change and informal institutionalized practices, which often go unacknowledged as a powerful influence on policy.