The Social Dimensions of Perestroyka

The emergence of four essentially new social groups within the Soviet Union is examined in terms of its potential impacts on economic restructuring. The argument is advanced that groups of predominantly urban, professional or paraprofessional, and well educated workers will be more favorably disposed than the population as a whole to increases in material incentives, to glasnost', and to heightened participation in workplace decision making embodied in Gorbachev's reforms. It is suggested that the growing importance of these new groups in an economy undergoing structural change may strengthen the base of political support for perestroyka. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 113.     

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)--standardised investigations and classification: recommendations

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) still accounts for considerable numbers of unexpected infant deaths in many countries. While numerous theories have been advanced to explain these events, it is increasingly clear that this group of infant deaths results from the complex interaction of a variety of heritable and idiosyncratic endogenous factors interacting with exogenous factors. This has been elegantly summarised in the "three hit" or "triple risk" model. Contradictions and lack of consistencies in the literature have arisen from diverse autopsy approaches, variable applications of diagnostic criteria and inconsistent use of definitions. An approach to sudden infant death is outlined with discussion of appropriate tissue sampling, ancillary investigations and the use of controls in research projects. Standardisation of infant death investigations with the application of uniform definitions and protocols will ensure optimal investigation of individual cases and enable international comparisons of trends.     

Britain and the Working Time Regulations

It is now over a year since the Working Time Regulations entered force in Britain on 1 October 1998, during a period when the government also introduced the minimum wage. But whereas that piece of legislation appears to have faded away into the background of British industrial relations, the Working Time Regulations continue to remain a central topic. Based on a survey of British companies and organisations, this article reviews the implementation of the legislation and examines the scope of coverage. It finds that the failure of the Labour government to consult the social partners – employer and employee representatives – resulted in business being unprepared for the Regulations. The article also notes that the manner in which this legislation was introduced has meant that many of the employees who were working excessive hours continue to do so.     

Making Short Politics Placements Work

Short placements can provide an important and meaningful experience of politics in action for students who are unable to benefit from the generally lengthy placements currently on offer. This article is based on the findings of the three-year HEFCE-funded project The Scholarship of Engagement for Politics and explores the potential of short, local, research-based placements, which are embedded in modules, supported by online journaling and effectively assessed, to enrich students' understanding of politics and enhance their employability.     

Putting Dad in the Picture: fatherhood in the popular women's magazines of 1950s Australia

This article explores the shifting meaning of fatherhood within the popular women's magazines of 1950s Australia. Breadwinning fatherhood reigned throughout the decade, and magazines such as Women's Weekly and Woman's Day keenly emphasised the care of children as a mother's domain. Even in these manuals of idealised motherhood, though, this division was not inviolate. As the 1950s went on, letters, articles and advertisements make it clear that fathers—just as the breadwinner was legitimated by economic boom—were increasingly expected to do more than simply earn the bread, although these expectations fell some way short of a gender revolution.     

Work Roles,Domestic Roles,and Marital Quality: Perceptions of Fairness Among Dual-Earner Couples

Previous studies on the role of spouses' perceptions of fairness within marriage have typically dealt with the effects of those within the realm of the division of household labor. Using data from the 1993 National Survey of Families and Households, this study posits that the predominance of dual-earner couples necessitates the consideration of perceptions of fairness in both spouses' paid labor and domestic roles. Issues of fairness are shown to significantly affect husbands' and wives' evaluations of marital quality, yet these effects are limited to a noncomparative form (e.g., wives' evaluations of marital quality are not substantially affected by husbands' perceptions of unfairness). Implications of these findings for contemporary couples are discussed.     

Identity,dignity and development as trajectory: Bihar as a model for democratic progress in Nepal? Part II. Nepal’s promise

Part I of this article traced the experience of India’s Bihar state as it shifted in the last decade of the twentieth century from a region dominated by landowning upper castes and plagued by entrenched poverty to one led by newly emergent middle castes. In a two-step process, these groups first attained a significant dignity and self-respect and then it became possible in the 2000s to turn to economic growth and improvement in living standards. Part II makes a case that Nepal, long suffering under conditions similar to those hobbling Bihar until recently, might follow a similar two-stage path of dignity and then development.     

Reviews

Kazimierz Z. Poznanski, Technology, Competition, and the Soviet Bloc in the World Market, Berkeley; University of California Press, 1987, ix + 226 pp. $13.95 p/b.

Philip Hanson, Western Economic Statecraft in East West Relations, Chatham House Papers, No. 40, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1988, vi + 85 pp., £6.95 (paperback).

Iliana Zloch‐Christy, Debt Problems of Eastern Europe, Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, New York, New Rochelle, 1987, xix + 220 pp., £25.00, $37.50.

Franklyn D. Holzman, The economics of Soviet bloc trade and finance. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1988, xi + 215 pp., $33.50.

Ed A. Hewitt, Reforming the Soviet Economy: Equality versus Efficiency, Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1988, xi + 404 pp., £36.95 h/b, £16.95 p/b.

Bob Arnot, Controlling Soviet Labour: Experimental Change from Brezhnev to Gorbachev. London: Macmillan Press, 1988, xv + 305 pp., £35.00.

Elizabeth Teague, Solidarity and the Soviet Worker. London, Croom Helm Publishers Ltd. 1988, 378 pp., £30.00.

Fred Singleton ed. Environmental Problems in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Boulder, London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1987, viii + 208 pp., £24.00.

Robert J. Mclntyre, Bulgaria: Politics, Economics and Society. London: Pinter Publishers, 1988, xxii + 201 pp., £25.00 h/b, £8.95 p/b.

Ingemar Lindahl, The Soviet Union and the Nordic Nuclear‐ Weapons‐Free‐Zone Proposal. Foreward by Vojtech Mastny. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1988, xii + 227 pp., £33.00.

William Zimmerman, Open Borders, Nonalignment, and the Political Evolution of Yugoslavia. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1987, ix + 158 pp., £14.70.

Helmuth Dahm, Sozialistische Krisentheorie. Die Sowjetische Wende—ein Trugbild. Sammlung Wissenschaft und Gegenwart, Munchen: Erich Wewel Verlag, 1987, 292 pp. DM48.00 p/b.