Provide a general contemporary overview of street vending around the world, focusing on the major issues underlying its permanence as a phenomenon, and the ambivalent attitudes…
Abstract
Provide a general contemporary overview of street vending around the world, focusing on the major issues underlying its permanence as a phenomenon, and the ambivalent attitudes displayed towards it by governments and off‐street business communities. Focuses on street vendors as an occupational group ad includes arguments for and against their existence, the impact of their geographical and economic location, and role of the government.
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This article uses the case of paid domestic work in Los Angeles to argue that affluent and middle‐class members of U.S. society constitute important participants in the informal…
Abstract
This article uses the case of paid domestic work in Los Angeles to argue that affluent and middle‐class members of U.S. society constitute important participants in the informal economy. In‐depth, tape‐recorded interviews conducted with thirty‐five employers of nannies and house cleaners, and survey responses of 154 Latina house cleaners and nannies shows that compliance with government regulations, as indicated by payment of Social Security, Medicare and federal tax withholdings, are rare. Affluent citizens may not directly depend on informally generated income, but as employers of paid domestic workers and nannies, they do depend on informally organized and remunerated services. Employers of paid domestic workers rely on three major narrative strategies to distance themselves from the regulations, arguing that the standards should be followed by certain categories of people (attorneys, celebrities, the very wealthy), that the regulations apply only to those employing full‐time help, and that the regulations are illegitimate because both undocumented workers and the state lack legitimacy. These rationalizations allow them to simultaneously condemn Zoe Baird and yet follow the same practices. Upgrading the occupation requires state support and the education of employers. This process would lead to greater recognition of paid domestic work as an occupation, one that merits the protections and regulatory guidelines governing other jobs.
Looks at some assumptions of street vending such as its individualistic nature, inefficiencies and irrationality. Uses research into the market traders in Ankara, Turkey. Shows…
Abstract
Looks at some assumptions of street vending such as its individualistic nature, inefficiencies and irrationality. Uses research into the market traders in Ankara, Turkey. Shows that important differences exist between different street vendors in terms of their goals, and their resulting strategies. Compares how traders make economic decisions in a competitive environment. Considers economies of scale, ethnicity and localism as three important characteristics.
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One of the most important debates within the literature on the Urban Informal Economy (UIE) focuses on whether self‐employed individuals operating informally are “entrepreneurs”…
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One of the most important debates within the literature on the Urban Informal Economy (UIE) focuses on whether self‐employed individuals operating informally are “entrepreneurs” who should be aided by development planners or “disguised workers” who are super‐exploited by firms within the formal economy. While some authors have argued that the (UIE) may include both, there is little agreement on how to distinguish “entrepreneurs” from “disguised workers” so that the policies designed to promote the former while discouraging the latter can be developed. This article proposes a set of “scales of independence” to measure the relative dependence of self‐employed informal workers on specific suppliers and clients, and proposes several different categories of dependence/independence that should improve our understanding of the economic activity within the UIE.
John C. Cross and Bruce D. Johnson
Attempts to theorize the relationship between the informal and the illegal sectors of the economy. States that there are significant behavioural similarities. Proposes an emergent…
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Attempts to theorize the relationship between the informal and the illegal sectors of the economy. States that there are significant behavioural similarities. Proposes an emergent paradigm based on dual labour market theory to explain the similarites and differences in order to guide future research in each area. Applies the theory to the production and marketing of crack cocaine and shows how the model helps us to understand issues of exploitation and risk makagement within the drug market.
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Presents findings from a case study into official attempts to change street vending into an “appropriate” form for tourists in Barbados. Suggests this has had a negative effect…
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Presents findings from a case study into official attempts to change street vending into an “appropriate” form for tourists in Barbados. Suggests this has had a negative effect ont he vendors. Focuses on a market relocation scheme and shows how the image and the reality of street vending have clashed in a way which has harmed many of the vulnerable vendors.
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Street vendors, modernity and postmodernity: conflict and compromise in the global economy explores street vending within the context of the shift from modernism to postmodernism…
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Street vendors, modernity and postmodernity: conflict and compromise in the global economy explores street vending within the context of the shift from modernism to postmodernism, suggesting that the former implied crackdowns on the trade because of the ideals of public order and control whilst the latter is more open to such methods. Questions whether this new approach brings fresh dilemmas for the informal sector. Proffers the idea that the policy makers should allow deregulated sectors of informality in the economy to function as incubators for new industry.
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Autonomy has long been established as a critical component of professional work. Traditionally, autonomy has been examined as the extent to which an individual or a professional…
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Autonomy has long been established as a critical component of professional work. Traditionally, autonomy has been examined as the extent to which an individual or a professional group controls the decisions and knowledge used in their work. Yet, this framework does not capture the additional work activities that professionals are increasingly expected to perform. Therefore, this chapter argues for theoretically expanding our understanding of professional autonomy by bringing in the concept of articulation work. Using the case of healthcare organisational change, this study assesses how shifts in work practices impact autonomy. Data come from longitudinal ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews conducted at a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit as it underwent significant structural changes. Findings show that professionals were forced to change articulation work strategies in response to new organisational structures. This included changes in the way professionals monitored, assessed, coordinated and collaborated around patient care. Furthermore, these shifts in articulation work held important implications for both workplace and professional autonomy, as professionals responded to changes in their work conditions.
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“OH, that socialist fellow” would have been the rejoinder of older members of the Bromley establishment up to 1950 to any mention of H. G. Wells. It was not held to be an honour…
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“OH, that socialist fellow” would have been the rejoinder of older members of the Bromley establishment up to 1950 to any mention of H. G. Wells. It was not held to be an honour for the town to have been the birthplace of H. G. Wells nor was it felt that he should be honoured by the town. No plaque marked the site of his birthplace and there was no greater stock of his books in the Bromley Library than in any other.
Victor Ray and Danielle Purifoy
This chapter connects colorblind ideology to organizational processes. Despite advances in our thinking about colorblindness as the current dominant racial ideology, scholars are…
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This chapter connects colorblind ideology to organizational processes. Despite advances in our thinking about colorblindness as the current dominant racial ideology, scholars are reluctant to tie this ideology to organizational processes – creating the impression that colorblindness is an individual attribute rather than a structural phenomenon. Because the frames of colorblindness are usually interpreted through interviews – as opposed to organizational practices – focusing on the frames reinforces the sense that ideologies are free-floating prejudices unconnected to social structures. In this theoretical piece, we draw on the organizational literature, to tie Bonilla-Silva’s colorblind frames – abstract liberalism, cultural racism, the minimization of racism, and naturalization – to organizational processes, showing how mundane organizational procedures reinforce structural inequality. We argue that organizational policies and practices rely on normative Whiteness, devaluing the cultural norms of nonwhites, and passing those practices to successive administrations. Ostensibly nonracial procedures such as hiring, promotion, and performance reviews are rife with racialized meanings.