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This paper undertakes an exploration of the nature of employment and development practices in a sample of companies in Kenya. A contemporary 'Western' model of human resource management (HRM) is adopted as an analytical tool as well as an aid in the search for comparability between the popular beliefs in the conception of HRM and the extant managerial practices of these companies. The findings suggest that the adoption of HRM will be mediated by various contextual circumstances as well as the internal coherence of the concept of HRM itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mulder's Transcending Capitalism is an exciting book that not only provides case studies of five very different worker self-directed enterprises (both actual and would-be WSDEs) and a credit union but also analyzes these case studies, applying the theory of New Marxian Class Analysis (NMCA). As with all good scholarship, this study leaves us with many questions, especially about other kinds of exploitation these WSDEs address or could be mitigating (such as racism); deeper inequality issues to explore; how to significantly impact and strengthen the labor union–WSDE relationship; how to strengthen WSDEs' ability to thrive and support their member-owners, other employees, and communities in ways that reflect solidarity-economy values and practices; and financing challenges. Some questions, however, Mulder could have answered or explored more, especially about her methodologies, about multiple forms of exploitation, and about the intersectionality of race and class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews the book "Developments in Political Geography," edited by M.A. Busteed.

Reviews the book "Regional Planning: Evolution, Crisis and Prospects," edited by Gill C. Lim.

The article reviews the book "Singing Our Praises: Case Studies of Evaluation," by Suzanne Callahan.

The article reviews the book "Statistical Methods for Environmental Epidemiology With R: A Case Study in Air Pollution and Health," by Roger D. Peng and Francesca Dominici.