Planning for institutional capacity building in war-torn areas: the case of Jaffna, Sri Lanka

This paper examines an attempt to build capacity and empower local institutions in war-torn Jaffna,, on the northern tip of Sri Lanka. A participatory approach that is aimed at social empowerment is seen to be possible even under the most restrictive of political environments. However, whether or not the development intervention provides a foundation for longer-term improvement depends on the extent to which institutional capacity is built. Through an examination of the Jaffna Reconstruction Project, it is argued that if any of the ingredients of this institutional capacity are missing, not only will the 'islands of participation and empowerment' that are built by the development initiative be short-lived, but there may also be a negligible contribution to building a foundation for longer-term improvement in quality of life. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Communities of the postindustrial city

The authors discern the community structure of the postindustrial city, with reference to Australia. They focus empirically on three major types of Australian urban center: urban regions. metropolitan areas that are not part of urban regions, and other major cities. These three account for almost three-quarters of the Australian population. The authors draw on a conceptualization formulated by Marcuse and van Kempen to guide the analysis, with a combination of cluster analysis and discriminant analysis being applied to aggregate (essentially census) data to identify the communities. Nine major Australian urban communities are identified-four are affluent. four are disadvantaged. and one is a working-class community. The communities found, however, differed greatly from those cited in the Marcuse and van Kempen schema.

Exploring the role of market learning capability in competitive strategy

It has been argued that a firm's capacity to learn from its market is a source of both innovation and competitive advantage. However, past research has failed to conceptualize market-focused learning activity as a capability having the potential to contribute to competitive advantage. Prior innovation research has been biased toward technological innovation. However, there is evidence to suggest that both technological and non-technological innovations contribute to competitive advantage reflecting the need for a broader conceptualization of the innovation construct. Past research has also overlooked the critical role of entrepreneurship in the capability building process. Competitive advantage has been predominantly measured in terms of financial indicators of performance. In general, the literature reflects the need for comprehensive measures of organizational innovation and competitive advantage. This paper examines the role of market-focused learning capability in organizational innovation-based competitive strategy. The paper contributes to the strategic marketing theory by developing and refining measures of entrepreneurship, market-focused learning capability, organizational innovation and sustained competitive advantage, testing relationships among these constructs.

Consequences of feeling dissimilar from others in a work team

This study extended the current literature on group diversity by examining the moderating influence of perceived group openness to diversity on the relationships between perceived individual visible, informational, and value dissimilarity; individual task and relationship conflict; and work group involvement. A survey was administered to 129 public service employees who worked in intact teams. Results revealed that value dissimilarity had a positive association with task and relationship conflict and a negative association with work group involvement. Perceived group openness to diversity moderated the associations between visible and informational dissimilarity and work group involvement, and between value dissimilarity and task conflict. These results highlight the importance of managing differences by introducing norms promoting diversity and the involvement of all team members.

Moderating effect of allocentrism on the pay referent comparison-pay level satisfaction relationship

Pay referent comparisons (comparisons of one's salary to that of others) such as other-inside (salary of other people in the organisation), other-outside (the market rate), and cost-of- living, have been shown to influence pay level satisfaction. Bordia and Blau (1998) identified family as another referent that had a significant effect on pay level satisfaction in a sample of public and private sector employees in India. The finding was interpreted in view of the importance of family in collectivistic cultures. In the study reported here, the moderating influence of an individual differences variable, allocentrism-idiocentrism (the individual level conceptualisation of collectivism-individualism) on pay referent comparison-pay level satisfaction relationship was investigated. A sample of 146 employees from three public sector organisations in India participated in the study. In line with the predictions, results showed that after controlling for age, tenure, and pay level, pay referent comparisons explained more variance in pay level satisfaction for allocentrics than for idiocentrics. Family and pay level were stronger explanatory variables of pay level satisfaction for allocentrics and idiocentrics, respectively, while cost of living was a significant explanatory variable for both sub-groups.

Prometheus unbound: 20 years of communication policy research

In this article I review 20 years of writing on communication policy in Prometheus. I examine the contribution Prometheus has made to three areas of knowledge about communication policy: communication itself, its histories, and broad notions of communication policy; telecommunications; and new communication technology. I suggest that it is in the latter two areas focusing on the technological dimensions of communication policy, that the journal has consistently contributed genuinely innovative work. Here the journal has fostered interdisciplinary writing and enquiry where policy and technology developments most required critique and new ideas.

Attributional analysis of rumour denials

Politicians do it, corporations do it, and defendants in court do it. Many social encounters involve denials of rumours or accusations of wrongdoing. However, denials are not always effective. Sometimes, denials lead to an even more negative evaluation of the target of the rumour (in other words, the denial 'boomerangs'). We argue that this is more likely to happen in situations where people only hear the denial and are not aware of the rumour. Denial in the absence of a rumour leads to uncertainty about the reasons for the denial and the audience attributes the denial to internal reasons ('there must be something wrong about you') instead of external masons ('you are just responding to false rumours'). We conducted two studies comparing conditions involving denial in the presence of a rumour (rumour + denial) versus denial in the absence of a rumour (denial only). Study 1 found greater uncertainty about the reasons for denial and negative evaluation of the rumour target in denial-only condition, confirming the boomerang effect. Study 2 replicated the boomerang effect. Further, as predicted, the denial was attributed more to internal rather than external causes in the denial-only condition. Finally, mediation analysis revealed that attributions underlie the boomerang effect.

Wired communities in the city: Sydney, Australia

Questions relating to the ability of particular groups in society to access information and communications technologies (ICTs) have become a growing part of the academic and policy literature. The issues raised in this literature have revolved around a number of themes, many of which can be subsumed under concerns about a growing digital divide whereby society is being divided into information rich and information poor sectors. This differentiation can be between particular social groups irrespective of place, or between people in particular places be these large regional areas (e.g. metropolitan versus non-metropolitan) or localities and communities within an urban area. This paper focuses on the existence of a 'digital divide' across the Sydney metropolitan area. Using ABS 2001 census data the paper presents an analysis of computer and internet access and use for clusters of local communities and focuses on how usage differs across communities as differentiated by socio-economic status, household and family status and ethnic background

A self-categorization explanation for the third-person effect

Three studies tested a self-categorization theory explanation for the third-person effect. In Study 1 (N = 49) undergraduate students judged the influence of the National Enquirer, Wall Street Journal, and TV show Friends on themselves, relative to low- and high-status outgroup members, and other undergraduate students. The profile of first- and third-person perceptions was largely consistent with predictions, and the size of the third-person effect decreased as perceived similarity to target others increased-but only for media that were normative for comparison others. Study 2 (N = 49) provided evidence for this process with different media and showed that the profile of first- and third-person perceptions matched closely with perceived norms of media consumption-but not the social desirability of those media. Study 3 (N = 64) showed that the third-person effect for the same media and target other shifts with the frame of reference in which the judgment is made. Taken together, the findings are consistent with self-categorization theory and difficult to reconcile with other explanations.