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The paper uses key themes from Fox’s writing to reflect on the wave of public sector industrial action that developed in the UK since the early 2020s: specifically the relevance of (1) radical pluralism, (2) historical context, (3) understanding the effects of high inflation and (4) (a breakdown of) trust relations.

The paper draws primarily on evidence from broad public debate but is informed by discussions held with senior union leaders both for a research project and in delivering development training.

Radical pluralism is used as a lens through which to understand declining trust in institutions of pluralist collective industrial relations in the UK public sector, arguing that current developments need to be understood in historical context. An analysis of the industrial action in the early 2020s highlights the ways that a period of high inflation can stress institutions of collective employment regulation, rendering visible the limits of conventional, pluralist industrial relations.

The paper could be extended by more detailed empirical data collection, both in the UK and other national institutional contexts.

Unions need to more consistently focus on issues of power. A stronger focus on power might identify the limitations of pluralist institutions of collective regulation and embed a commitment to building union influence to challenge those existing structures in favour of mechanisms to build workers' power more broadly.

Understanding these disputes as, at least in part, being about the limits to and undermining of trust in collective institutions that regulate work and employment allows us to better understand the forces at play and potential outcomes of these disputes.

The paper makes three key contributions: first, applying Fox’s work in a practical way to contemporary UK industrial relations; second, extending his analyses to public sector industrial relations and third, arguing that power needs to be more centrally located within union objectives in order to reshape industrial relations to radical pluralist ends.

Drug trafficking in the tiny state of Manipur, located in the northeastern part of India bordering Myanmar, has drawn attention from all over the globe looking at the scale and varieties of drugs trafficked, ranging from plant-based opiates to synthetic-based amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS). Moreover, drug trafficking in the region also comes with many socio-political dynamics such as high per-capita drug consumption, local drug manufacturing units, terror funding from drug money, politician–drug lord nexus, police–peddler nexus.

The study is based on data from the years 2007 to 2023 accessed from the Narcotics and Affairs of Borders, a specialized branch of Manipur Police, Government of Manipur. The study also tries to estimate the state’s drug economy using the Financial Action Task Force and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime methodology.

The study finds seizure of a massive cache of heroin/brown sugar, and ATS in the past 4–5 years. The study also finds large-scale destruction of poppy plants in the state. The study also finds a high percentage of ethnic minority communities involved in drug trafficking. The study found the value amounting to US$62m in 2022. The study also comes across low conviction rates of drug traffickers in the state.

The study emphasizes the need for expediting the War on Drugs campaign in the state curtailing poppy cultivation and conviction of drug lords so that the nerve center of terror funding in India’s eastern front is kept under control.

An increase in informal job advertisements has been attributed to high unemployment. However, less scholarly attention has been placed on the experiences of victims of advertised job scams.

This explorative study investigates the lived experiences of victims of advertised job scams in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, adopting Durkheim’s Functionalism and Anomie Theory. Around 35 victims were purposively engaged in in-depth and telephone interviews.

The findings of the study indicated the link between functionalism and anomie, an increasing rate of advertised job scams and a high rate of unemployment and poverty as well as the desperation of victims in getting jobs. The value orientation of an individual is determined by the dynamics of the social institutions. The pattern of job scammers revealed extremists conditioned by the large number of youths seeking employment. The advertised scam jobs are usually unavailable. In addition, employers, through informal job advertisements, subject victims to extortions, exploitation, street begging, kidnapping and rituals as well as sexual harassment and rape. Owing to the high rate of unemployment, many genuine job offers are characterised by bribes, besides trivializing merit.

The government should design measures to tackle the rate of corruption and unemployment. This can be achieved by introducing entrepreneurship and skill acquisition programmes in the nation’s education system.

This paper presents an historical reconstruction of the radicalisation of Alan Fox, the industrial sociologist and a detailed analysis of his early historical and sociological writing in the classical pluralist phase.

An intellectual history, including detailed discussion of key Fox texts, supported by interviews with Fox and other Biographical sources.

Fox’s radicalisation was incomplete, as he carried over from his industrial relations (IR) pluralist mentors, Allan Flanders and Hugh Clegg, a suspicion of political Marxism, a sense of historical contingency and an awareness of the fragmented nature of industrial conflict.

Recent academic attention has centred on Fox’s later radical pluralism with its “structural” approach to the employment relationship. This paper revisits his early, neglected classical pluralist writing. It also illuminates his transition from institutional IR to a broader sociology of work, influenced by AH Halsey, John Goldthorpe and others and the complex nature of his radicalisation.

This study aims to examine how veganism is “seen” by young adult non-vegan consumers and how prevailing attitudes reinforce or challenge stigmas around veganism.

Photovoice methodology was used to explore young non-vegan consumers’ attitudes and beliefs towards veganism. Data was collected from students studying advertising at a major university in Australia, who produced images and narratives reflective of their own attitudes towards veganism. Polytextual thematic analysis of the resulting visual data was then undertaken to reveal the dominant themes underpinning participants’ attitudes. Participant narratives were then reviewed to confirm whether the ascribed meaning aligned with participants’ intended meaning.

Participant images were reflective of first, how they saw their world and their place within it, which showed the interplay and interconnectedness between humans, animals and nature, and second, how they saw vegans within this world, with both positive and negative attitudes expressed. Interestingly, vegans were simultaneously admired and condemned. By situating these attitudes along a spectrum of moral evaluation, bounded by stigmatisation and moral legitimacy, participants saw vegans as being either Radicals, Pretenders, Virtuous or Pragmatists. For veganism to become more widely accepted by non-vegans, there is an important role to be played by each vegan type.

This study offers a more nuanced understanding of how and why dissociative groups, such as vegans, become stigmatised, which has implications for messaging and marketing practices around veganism and associated products/services. Future research could use a similar methodology to understand why other minority groups in society are stereotyped and stigmatised, which has broader social implications.

This paper takes a contemplative analysis of non-violent activism in a hyperlocal context that is historically marked by violent clashes. It emphasizes the importance of placing nonviolent activities within leadership frameworks that prioritize collectivity, collaboration, adaptiveness, authenticity, and community interactions. It argues that non-violent activism can serve as a cornerstone of democratic practices, and plausible to a myriad of challenges in civic spaces. The assertion that violence is not a prerequisite for gaining the attention of authorities capable of enacting societal change is supported by several studies. This paper advocates for a reorientation of collaborative efforts between those in positions of authority and civil society leaders to foster progress. There is power in the decibel of voices of the people, to correct acts of omission and commission that is impacting negatively on the citizens. In context characterized by volatility and fragility, the paper suggests prioritizing the process of influencing, mobilizing and organizing responsive interventions rather than solely focusing on the ends or outcomes. Process-oriented approach creates containers for curiosity, relational, and experimental practices that interweave multi-dimensional perspectives. The social change actors navigated cultural and structural barriers to implement non-violent strategies, offering a compelling example of grassroots peace building. Overall, this paper findings underscores the significance of understanding both direct and structural violence in shaping citizen’s right within specific context. It highlights the efficacy of context-based leadership practices in promoting non-violent organizing for peace, particularly in hyperlocal settings. Moreover, it suggests that these findings could inform indigenous peace building that is inherently influenced by contextual factors.

Adopting a case study, I was able to elucidate a context-based leadership model advanced by local women that averted a probable political violence in Nigeria. A case study approach was adopted because it is a phenomenon that is bounded in time, context and advanced by a particular group of change agents. A case study with a constructivist approach was utilized to understand the context and sense making of the “why” and the “what”. In situatedness, the natural occurring data was cultivated, including one-on-one indepth interviews. Data was analyzed using a narrative analysis, which raised themes on resilience, collectivity, collaboration, risk and sustainability. The findings pivot a culturally based experience of leadership by women in a fragile context. First, I provided a contextual background, explaining the local context, including the socio-economic, cultural, political and historical factors that contributed to the emergence of the conflict. In addition, I explained the scope and nature of the conflict, describing the grievances and issues that led to the tensions within the community, and highlighting the key actors and stakeholders involved. Secondly, I analyzed the non-violent strategies and tactics employed by a group of social change actors to address the issue which involved non-violent protest, tactical community organizing, dialogic engagements and creative forms of interventions. Thirdly, I evaluated and explained the role of leadership in coordinating non-violent activities and actions, the effectiveness of their leadership style, relational and processual, that sustained the non -violent approach, and the challenges the group encountered. In addition, I explained the outcome from such leadership practice and lessons learned, with evidence of a dismantling of power dynamics, and shift in attitude to a non-violent disposition. Lastly, I explained how this approach may have broader implications for understanding nonviolent conflict resolution, social movements, and the promotion of peace and justice in local contexts and beyond.

A leadership practice that is relational and collective should have consideration for both the context where the leadership is exercised and deliberate on the processes necessary to hold containers for everyone to engage. This is gradually dismantling the hegemonic conceptualization of peace building, with a gradual shift of co-construction and sense making of peace building, with implication for more diversity and inclusion of persons and perspectives. It also underscores a system that deconstructs and departs form colonized thinking and contributes to conditions that enables and inspires alternative approaches to addressing oppressive power structures. (1) In unstable situations, leadership frequently arises from within communities, driven by individuals and groups intimately connected to their realities. The Nassarawan women embody this grassroots leadership, marked by wisdom, resilience, and a dedication to creating positive change despite significant obstacles. They embrace non-violent strategies, inspired by past successes, recognizing their potency in effecting change. (2) The leadership of these women illustrates the importance of mobilizing collective strength for justice and equality, showcasing how local leadership can catalyze transformative change for the better. (3) Indigenous styles of leadership possess the capacity to go beyond conventional concepts and embrace intricacy, flexibility, and inclusiveness. A multi-faceted leadership strategy becomes especially pertinent as it enables individuals to navigate complexity, confront challenges, and cultivate resilience within their communities, rather than depending solely on traditional methods.(4) The practice of peace leadership isn’t necessarily linked to official positions, titles, or authority. Rather, it appears as a continuous, intentional effort within community interactions, often arising from unexpected situations and sources.

Most of the women engaged in this leadership activity are located in remote areas, and this research had access to only a few who storied their experiences in ways they understood how to.

With the rapid shift and call for more non-violent activism, we must be open to sample the different textures relevant for varied conditions. This holds a huge implication for understanding the psychology of communities expressing the full human agency in exercising leadership that is contextually driven. The connection between local struggles and global movements for social justice and human rights is profound and multifaceted. Firstly, there’s a shared value across movements for equity, equality, justice, dignity, and human rights, spanning issues like environmental protection, gender equality, racial justice, and indigenous rights. Local movements increasingly emphasize building solidarity across borders, collaborating with similar movements worldwide through actions like protests and social media campaigns. This amplifies local voices on a global stage and underscores the interconnectedness of struggles. The leadership of the women’s group holds significant implications for global movements, offering insights into grassroots perspectives on social issues. Their localized knowledge enriches global discourse on social change, providing tangible examples of challenges faced by marginalized groups and culturally relevant solutions. Additionally, their commitment to nonviolent methods establishes a platform for marginalized voices and fosters solidarity across diverse communities. The group’s innovative approaches, drawing upon local resources and grassroots networks, demonstrate the power of community-driven solutions to address social problems. Moreover, their grassroots empowerment shifts power dynamics within communities and influences broader systemic transformations, all while advocating for justice through peaceful means. These practices not only spark global solidarity but also shape public discourse and policy agendas at state and national levels, highlighting the human rights implications of local issues like political corruption. Overall, the women’s group exemplifies the transformative potential of grassroots activism in effecting lasting change on a global scale.

The power for everyday peace leadership rests with the people and it is translated into meaningful outcomes when everyone has the opportunity to lead.

Research has been done on many women led movement in Nigeria, but this is unique, as it changed the narrative for an approach that was successful in shifting cultural boundaries in very fragile and uncertain context.

This paper contributes to the broad aim of this special issue, reflecting on the relevance of the writing of Alan Fox to the contemporary industrial relations field. It offers an original reflection from a feminist perspective on Fox’s classic insights around frames of reference.

We concentrate on Beyond Contract, Work, Power and Trust Relations (1974a) and Man Mismanagement (1974b, 1985) as the texts setting out Fox’s influential frames of reference theory, before moving on to subsequent literature in the field making use of Fox’s frames. In undertaking this review from a feminist perspective, we specifically look at the extent to which work considers standpoint, gender relations and political engagement. We draw further on wider feminist scholarship within industrial relations, critical race theory and intersectionality perspectives.

Despite the concept of inequality forming the core of Fox’s analyses, there is a lack of attention to gender or to other diversity strands in his work and, notwithstanding the weight of feminist scholarship within the industrial relations field since, this neglect has been carried forward into subsequent use of Fox’s work. We argue there is space for the frames to be interpreted and used in ways that leave space for attention to feminist concerns and call on academics to approach their use of Fox from a more critically-informed perspective.

The paper’s argument has implications for the field of industrial relations in terms of conceptual understanding and methodological approaches. With space, it would have been useful to apply our revised understanding of Fox’s key concepts to empirical cases.

Greater clarity in what constitutes “unitary” and “pluralist” perspectives and categories will help employment relations actors.

We present a novel feminist re-framing of Fox’s work, providing new understandings of the strengths, weaknesses and applicability of the frames of reference within contemporary industrial relations research and practice. We advocate for methodological and scholarly approaches which advance theoretical and empirical justice in the field, moving beyond gender to draw on critical race theory and intersectionality frameworks.

In Africa, recent data show that Nigeria is the second top remittance recipient behind Egypt, but welfare seems deteriorating. Most related reviewed literature is micro-based with surveys, giving credence to the dearth of macro-based literature whose gap this study attempted to fill. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to examine remittance flows and its welfare implications in Nigeria.

The study used quarterly data (1980Q1–2020Q4) from World Development Indicators (2020) and applied the dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) model.

Remittance flows were found to be significantly improving the welfare of Nigerians by about 0.04% for a percentage remittance increase. Financial sector development results show that while loans decrease welfare per individual significantly by 0.25% given a 1% increase in the loans accessible by the private sector, a percentage increase in broad money supply in circulation raises welfare per individual significantly by about 0.43%.

Since remittance is found to improve welfare, the study recommends that relevant stakeholders should endeavor to eliminate all form of bottlenecks (payment delays, remitting costs, transfer delays, poor policies and policy inconsistencies) inherent in remitting funds back to Nigeria. The implication of this is that if the impediments are minimized, remittances are bound to rise which will ultimately lead to improved welfare.

The existing literature revealed that there exists very limited or no macro-based study in this context, hence this novelty study.

The field of library and information sciences (LIS) is crucial to our educational system. Across the globe, the LIS systems operate at varying levels and rates of efficiency. One of the developing nations is Pakistan, which has LIS systems in all of its colleges, universities and schools. This multimethod study aims to identify and quantify elements that are detrimental to LIS progress as well as evaluate the faculty and infrastructure profiles of universities that offer LIS undergraduate and graduate level programmes.

Data was collected from the study's participants, who were mainly LIS professionals and faculty at 17 different universities, using survey questionnaires and in-person interviews. This study used a descriptive survey methodology, gathering information through a Google Survey and filling it out with a premade survey proforma. The survey responses were examined using content analysis. The development of LIS instructional and scholarly output is influenced by a variety of factors, which were investigated using a generalized linear model (GLM). To determine whether there was a statistically significant difference in opinion between faculty members and working professionals, as well as between men and women, the outcomes of an independent sample t-test were examined.

According to our data, the factors that have the biggest impact on the caliber and output of LIS research are “poor writing skills” (3.43), “lack of journal publication fees” (3.51) and “lack of research skills” (3.78). The top GLM model identified poor writing skills, a lack of publication fees and a lack of research expertise as bottleneck characteristics for producing high-quality LIS research. The aforementioned factors were 3.62, 2.41 and 2.19 times more significant than the average factor, respectively, to put it another way.

This study’s analysis revealed that there is no real distinction between the two groups' viewpoints. The results of this study can be applied to problems and challenges associated with LIS education in Pakistani educational institutions.