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1 – 10 of 944Racism in the United States is complex given the cultural logics that uphold notions of “post-race” or “colorblindness” as a means for understanding racialized events. The various…
Abstract
Racism in the United States is complex given the cultural logics that uphold notions of “post-race” or “colorblindness” as a means for understanding racialized events. The various forces at play within media institutions create paradoxes in the power that the media wields in society. Utilizing the concept of “media spectacle” and putting it into dialogue with colorblind racism, the author looks at local coverage of the 2009 arrest of Henry Louis Gates. The author’s primary concern is to identify not only the narratives that uphold or challenge colorblind racism during racialized events, but also the dynamic in which racialized events are mediated in contemporary society. Through a critical discourse analysis of two Boston newspapers, the author demonstrates the way colorblind racism adapts during a racialized event. This study demonstrates the contested nature of the media and nuance to the ways we understand colorblind racism in an increasingly mediated society.
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MANY delegates were plainly astonished when they heard in Dublin that next year the gathering of the European Work Study Federation will take the form of a World Congress on…
Abstract
MANY delegates were plainly astonished when they heard in Dublin that next year the gathering of the European Work Study Federation will take the form of a World Congress on Productivity Science. The reaction was not surprising, for to distend a continent into a globe within the space of seven years is a feat of truly Napoleonic proportions.
This chapter suggests that social justice for African Americans during the era of Obama presidency will advance less from what Mr. Obama does and more from what social scientists…
Abstract
This chapter suggests that social justice for African Americans during the era of Obama presidency will advance less from what Mr. Obama does and more from what social scientists and others do. President Obama is not expected to provide much leadership on this issue for at least four reasons. First, presidents and other high-level elected officials do not tend to make policy without strong public advocacies for such policies. Second, Mr. Obama has put forth a universal rather than a targeted approach to dealing with issues concerning African Americans. Third, he is unlikely to use his bully pulpit to advance social justice for African Americans because he has been reluctant to use the bully pulpit to advance his major legislative agenda. And fourth, the Obama administration has made a habit of fumbling on teachable moments about race. See the missteps in the Henry Louis Gates affair, and the timidity in the Shirley Sherrod and the Van Jones affairs.
The purpose of this paper is to examine how the combined crime rate and staffing levels of a patrol area affect patrol officers’ productivity. Specifically, the author identified…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how the combined crime rate and staffing levels of a patrol area affect patrol officers’ productivity. Specifically, the author identified and analyzed two macro-level correlates of patrol officer productivity: reported violent crimes per officer and reported property crimes per officer (a beat’s “crime-to-cop” ratios).
Design/methodology/approach
Using hierarchical linear modeling, the author estimated the effects of a patrol area’s violent crimes per officer ratio and property crimes per officer ratio on the annual number of traffic citations, warrants, misdemeanor arrests, and felony arrests generated by patrol officers (n=302). The author also examined the effect of these crime-to-cop ratios on a more advanced productivity metric.
Findings
The results suggest that a patrol area’s rate of property crimes per officer is associated with a moderate decrease in an officer’s annual number of traffic citations, warrant arrests, and misdemeanor arrests; a patrol area’s rate of violent crimes per officer is also associated with a moderate decrease in an officer’s annual number of traffic citations; and a patrol area’s rate of violent crimes per officer is associated with a moderate increase in an officer’s annual number of warrant and misdemeanor arrests. Notably, the crime-to-cop ratios are not correlated with a more sophisticated patrol productivity metric.
Research limitations/implications
The author analyzed data from a mid-sized US police department that uses a generalists policing style. It is unknown if these results translate to smaller or larger police departments, as well as those agencies practicing a specialized policing style.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that police scholars should not only recognize how the crime-to-cop ratios of a patrol area might impact patrol officer productivity, but also incorporate more sophisticated metrics of patrol officer activity in future studies. These findings likewise signal to police practitioners that an area’s crime-to-cop ratios should be considered when allocating officers and other resources across patrol areas.
Originality/value
To the authors knowledge, this is the first study to identify and examine the link between a patrol area’s crime-to-cop ratios and patrol officer productivity.
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Apryl A. Williams, Ruth Tsuria, Laura Robinson and Aneka Khilnani
Saji K. Mathew and Robert Jones
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role of non‐violent protest (satyagraha) in a multinational automobile plant in India that has suffered from considerable employee…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role of non‐violent protest (satyagraha) in a multinational automobile plant in India that has suffered from considerable employee relations problems.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs a case study of a Japanese‐owned company using data obtained from 30 personal interviews and from internet media sources.
Findings
It is found that workers initially pursued their protests through satyagraha‐style methods before taking on a more violent posture when company management refused to accept any notion of jointly seeking a new harmony. The reasons for these developments are explored.
Practical implications
The paper has implications for the manner in which scholars and practitioners view the respective roles, significance, and management of satyagraha and non‐satyagraha protest in Indian companies.
Originality/value
The importance of satyagraha in Indian employee relations is under‐researched in comparison with other factors, and is especially significant for culturally‐unaware multinational companies in successfully understanding and managing protest in the workplace context.
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Forced eviction is a topic of growing importance globally, and the purpose of this article is to investigate a much‐publicised recent case involving Gypsies and Travellers in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Forced eviction is a topic of growing importance globally, and the purpose of this article is to investigate a much‐publicised recent case involving Gypsies and Travellers in the United Kingdom (not usually a country associated with such actions).
Design/methodology/approach
After setting the context of planning enforcement law in the UK, Green Belt and other planning policies, and the status of Gypsies/Travellers as a disadvantaged minority group, the paper traces the history of the Dale Farm eviction over a 25‐year period and analyses the legal arguments put to the High Court in unsuccessful attempts to defer and over‐turn the eviction, against the context of internationally agreed guidelines.
Findings
The research found that the judiciary gave full consideration to all aspects, in accordance with ECHR case law, and upheld the Green Belt and planning objections. The UK government was determined to proceed, resisting various offers of mediation, and the site was cleared even though no appropriate alternative accommodation was available, and notwithstanding that the occupiers owned their own plots.
Originality/value
The case is a new development in a long‐running history of forced eviction of Gypsies by local authorities, and is of interest in comparative study of treatment of Gypsies in other European countries, particularly in the context of the recent European Union Roma Inclusion Strategy.
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Eduardo Bonilla-Silva and Louise Seamster
This essay tackles the Obama “phenomenon,” from his candidacy to his election, as a manifestation of the new “color-blind racism” that has characterized U.S. racial politics in…
Abstract
This essay tackles the Obama “phenomenon,” from his candidacy to his election, as a manifestation of the new “color-blind racism” that has characterized U.S. racial politics in the post-civil rights era. Rather than symbolizing the “end of race,” or indeed a “miracle,” Obama's election is a predictable result of contemporary U.S. electoral politics. In fact, Obama is a middle-of-the-road Democrat whose policies since taking office have been almost perfectly in line with his predecessors, especially in terms of his failure to improve the lot of blacks and other minorities. In this essay, I review the concept of color-blind racism and its application to the Obama phenomenon. I also revisit some of my past predictions for Obama's presidency and evaluate their accuracy halfway through his term. Finally, I offer suggestions for constructing a genuine social movement to push Obama and future politicians to provide real, progressive “change we can believe in.”
This chapter is based on a chapter I added for the third edition of my book, Racism without Racists. Louise Seamster, a wonderful graduate student at Duke, helped me update some material, locate new sources, and rework some sections, as well as abridge some of the many footnotes (interested readers can consult the chapter). I kept the first person to maintain the more direct and engaged tone of the original piece and because the ideas (the good, the bad, and the ugly ones) in the chapter are mine, and thus, I wish to remain entirely responsible for them.