Reflections of African-American Women on their Careers in Urban Policing. Their Experiences of Racial and Sexual Discrimination

This article examines the social organizational relationships and interactions that position African-American policewomen as outsiders within their own department. Their exclusion arises not only from dominant white males but from other subordinated groups such as white female and black male officers. The authors found persistent and pervasive patterns of sexual and racial discrimination. This qualitative research is based on data obtained from a population of all 21 black female police officers in a large urban city. The work experiences of black women in policing highlight several problematic areas. These women often experience gender discrimination related to professional abilities, job performance, and supervisory responsibilities. They experience racism in the form of derogatory remarks, and in the areas of hiring and promotion. Their marginality based on gender and race also is readily apparent in relationships among officers.     

The Final Frontiers of Healthcare Universalisation in Costa Rica and Panama

This article explains how Costa Rica and Panama, two Central American countries with nearly universal public healthcare programmes, have come to enjoy such broad coverage. It then describes the distinct paths each is taking towards reaching the populations still left out of healthcare coverage. Costa Rica is seeking to bring all residents under the umbrella of its ILO‐style social security plan. Panama is targeting the rural poor with a package of defined interventions aimed at maternal and child mortality. The article frames these cases within the literature on the varieties of universalism.     

Deterring Sex Sales to International Tourists: A Case Study of Thailand,South Korea,and the Philippines

In developing areas, large-scale international tourism often offers a market for illegal goods and services. Unable to directly control sex sales, governments may decide to discourage prostitution by making the industry less profitable. Sex is sold to international tourists in Thailand, South Korea, and the Philippines through the oligopolistic hotel/travel agency and competitive streetwalker markets. Applying legal sanctions prices change and sales decrease in both markets. The per unit cost of law enforcement is borne more heavily by customers on the street and by firms in the hotel/agency market owing to the markets' respective inelastic and elastic demand segments. If enforcement against sellers in both markets represents a fixed cost, initially sales will not decline, but firms will experience diminishing profits. The optimum short- and long-run effects result from applying enforcement against firms in the hotel/agency market.     

The impact of class on political attitudes

Abstract. This study examines the impact of class self-identification and class position on political attitudes in Great Britain, West Germany, Australia and the United States. The results show a basic similarity in the class structure of these four western nations, differences in patterns of class identification, and significant effects of class structure and class identification on political attitudes. Despite recent projections of its demise, for these four countries at least, class identification and class position are an important, albeit secondary, factor in explaining political attitudes. Of these class measures, class self-identification is the more salient in predicting political attitudes.     

Fathers,Families and Work: Putting ‘Working Fathers’ in the Picture

This article is a review of Fathers, Families and Work, one of a series of reports published as part of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)'s ‘Working Better’ programme. The article examines Fathers, Families and Work in the context of the wider conclusions and recommendations of the ‘Working Better’ programme and considers the extent to which these recommendations will translate into public policy. It concludes that there is a gap between parents' desire for both mothers and fathers to be involved in caring for children and the reality of long hours and inflexible workplaces that limits the time men can spend caring for children.