Book reviews

ACHIN VANAIK, The Furies of Indian Communalism: Religion, Modernity and Secularization (Verso, London, 1997), 374 pp., ISBN 1–85984–016–7

EDWARD REISS, Marx: a Clear Guide (Pluto Press, London & Chicago, 1997), 180 pp., ISBN 0–7453–1014–1 (pb)

ERNST FISCHER, HOW to Read Karl Marx (Monthly Review Press, New York, 1997), 192 pp., ISBN 0–85345–974–6 (pb)

CAROLINE KENNEDY‐PIPE, The Origins of the Present Troubles in Northern Ireland (Longman, Harlow, 1997), 204 pp., ISBN 0–582–1073–9

DUNCAN WATTS, Political Communication Today (Manchester University Press, Manchester and New York, 1997), 228 pp., ISBN 0–7190–4792–7 (hb), 0–7190–4793–5 (pb)

JACK HAYWARD (ed), Elitism, Populism and European Politics (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1996), 257 pp., ISBN 0–19–828035–1

JOHN GRAY and DAVID WILLETTS, IS Conservatism Dead? (Profile Books, London, 1997), x + 186 pp., ISBN 1–86197–042–0     

Another hospital saga: the chronicles of Professor Kossmann and Bayside Health

There is almost a tradition in Australia for the suspect practices of hospitals to be exposed by whistleblowers rather than official governance or accreditation processes. The Bundaberg, King Edward, Canberra, Campbelltown and Camden hospitals have been investigated as a consequence of whistleblowing, but it seems the lessons learnt fail to travel beyond the subject institution. For five years, a number of senior surgeons at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne complained about the clinical and billing practices of their colleague, Professor Thomas Kossmann, head of the trauma unit. Amid intense media interest, The Alfred eventually convened a peer review panel to investigate their concerns. Around the same time, two surgeons made disclosures to Ombudsman Victoria. The Ombudsman subsequently released two reports expanding on the findings of the peer review panel. The situation at The Alfred was remarkable for the numerous and diverse issues raised and the involvement of several external agencies. This article provides an overview and analysis of the peer review panel and Ombudsman's reports and the outcomes of the referrals and recommendations.     

A fast ultrasound-assisted extraction procedure for trace elements determination in hair samples by ICP-MS for forensic analysis

An ultrasound-assisted extraction method is proposed for the determination of trace elements in hair samples by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for forensic investigation. Prior to analysis, 25 mg of hair samples were accurately weighed into (15 mL) conical tubes. Then, 2 mL of 20% HNO₃ is added to the samples, sonicated at 2 min (50 W, 100% amplitude), and then further diluted to 10 mL with Milli-Q water. Resulted diluted slurries are centrifuged and the analytes are directly determined in the supernatant. Calibrations against aqueous solutions were carried out with rhodium as internal standard. The method was successfully applied for the extraction of Al, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Pb, Tl, U, V and Zn with a method detection limit (3 s, n = 20) of 0.1, 0.4, 0.2, 0.09, 0.08, 0.04, 0.1, 2.9, 1.0, 0.9, 0.04, 0.05, 0.1 and 4.2 ng/g, respectively. Method accuracy is traceable to Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) 85 and 86 human hair from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Additional validation data are provided based on the analysis of hair samples from the trace elements intercomparison program operated by the Institut National de Sante’ Publique du Quebec, Canada. The proposed method is very simple and can be applied for forensic purposes with the elimination of sample digestion step prior to analysis. Then, a considerable improvement in the sample throughput is archived with the use of the proposed method.     

‘Walking in two worlds’: A qualitative review of income management in Cape York

The Cape York Welfare Reform (CYWR) initiative aims to reduce ‘passive dependence’ on welfare and restore ‘positive social norms’ to revitalise cultural and social networks and support economic engagement in Indigenous communities in the Cape York Region of Australia. Critics of the initiative and, in particular, its income management (IM) policies have associated it with a broader neoliberal reform agenda that delineates social ‘problems’ from their historical and structural context. This paper discusses key qualitative findings from a strategic review of CYWR, paying particular attention to the ways in which Cape York IM (CYIM) straddles both Indigenous and settler social norms, while perpetuating neoliberal conceptualisations of welfare ‘dependency’. We situate these findings within the existing literature on Australia's other IM models and also consider them in relation to subsequent government responses to the review and associated policies. We argue that CYIM represents a unique initiative, the subtle nuances of which have been largely ignored or misunderstood by critics. Further, we conclude that any extension or revision of this initiative should be considered with respect to deep and wide-ranging consultation of the Indigenous communities subject to CYWR. However, such consultation has not been the standard practice in Australian contexts.     

NGO–business collaboration following the Indian CSR Bill 2013: trust-building collaborative social sector partnerships

The CSR Bill of 2013 introduced systematic corporate participation into social development in India. In the light of this law, this article argues that NGOs will play a decisive role in determining the benefits of corporate involvement and recommends that NGO–business partnerships are needed for meaningful social change. The article identifies a trust deficit between NGOs and businesses in India as a key obstacle to the success of NGO–business collaborations in the social sector. It suggests practices that could be adopted by NGOs to build trust in their partnerships with business partners, using a case study of one NGO, SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action).     

Wench Tactics? Openings in Conditions of Closure

Picking up the question of what FLaK might be, this editorial considers the relationship between openness and closure in feminist legal studies. How do we draw on feminist struggles for openness in common resources, from security to knowledge, as we inhabit a compromised space in commercial publishing? We think about this first in relation to the content of this issue: on image-based abuse continuums, asylum struggles, trials of protestors, customary justice, and not-so-timely reparations. Our thoughts take us through the different ways that openness and closure work in struggles against violence, cruel welcomes, and re-arrangements of code and custom. Secondly, we share some reflections on methodological openness and closure as the roundtable conversation on asylum, and the interview with Riles, remind us of #FLaK2016 and its method of scattering sources as we think about how best to mix knowledges. Thirdly, prompted by the FLaK kitchen table conversations on openness, publishing and ‘getting the word out’, we respond to Kember’s call to ‘open up open access’. We explain the different current arrangements for opening up FLS content and how green open access, the sharedit initiative, author request and publisher discretion present alternatives to gold open access. Finally drawing on Franklin and Spade, we show how there are a range of ‘wench tactics’—adapting gifts, stalling and resting—which we deploy as academic editors who are trying to have an impact on the access, use and circulation of our journal, even though we do not own the journal we edit. These wench tactics are alternatives to the more obvious or reported tactic of resignation, or withdrawing academic labour from editing and reviewing altogether. They help us think about brewing editorial time, what ambivalence over our 25th birthday might mean, and how to inhabit painful places. In this, we respond in our own impure, compromised way to da Silva’s call not to forget the native and slave as we do FLaK, and repurpose shrapnel, in our common commitments.     

“I was a homo thug,now I'm just homo”: Gay gang members’ desistance and persistence

In a growing body of research, the methods of and motivations for gang desistance are being investigated, spurred in part by concerns about the long-term negative effects of gang membership. Despite recent calls for scholarship that is more inclusive of LGBTQ populations and attentive to issues of sexual identity, however, most gang research remains overwhelmingly heteronormative. In this study, I use in-depth interviews with 48 self-identified gay male gang members to explore how and why they have desisted from or persisted in their gangs, as well as explore how desistance or persistence has affected their self-perceptions, lives, and activities. Because not all have left their gangs, I examine the markers in young men's narratives that signal shifts away from—but sometimes also toward—their gangs, as well as their zigzagging paths out of gang involvement. As gang structure and composition hold importance for their members’ experiences, I use a comparative approach by contrasting men in predominantly straight gangs with those in gay gangs. Set within a heterosexist cultural context, the structure of the gang combines with individual shifts in identity to encourage pathways out of straight gangs and pathways into continued involvement with gay gangs.     

Addressing avoidable vision impairment in Mozambique and the Africa region

The Mozambique Eyecare Project was an international partnership to implement and research eye health education in Mozambique and the Africa region. An optometry degree was developed at Universidade Lúrio, Mozambique. In addition, existing eye health workers were upskilled with training. Researchers from various disciplines evaluated the project and its potential for impact on eye health in the region. The body of evidence generated from the research provides useful lessons for development programmes in general, as well as specific lessons for delivering eye health education and service delivery models for low-income settings.     

“Ask Me About My Goals!” Challenging Pervasive Assumptions of Gang Members’ Fatalism by Exploring Gay Gang Members’ Goals

Critical Criminology - Research on gangs and urban communities has often focused on gang members’ alleged fatalism and corresponding lack of aspirations for the future. Relatedly, theories...