How Many Offenses are Really Committed per Juvenile Court Offender?

This article compares juvenile court petitions and self-reported offending between ages 13 and 17 for 506 boys followed up in the Pittsburgh Youth Study. There were 2.4 self-reported offenders for every petitioned offender, and 80 self-reported offenses for every petitioned offense. The prevalence of self-reported offenders stayed constant with age, but the prevalence of petitioned offenders increased with age. Conversely, the individual offending frequency stayed constant with age according to court petitions but increased with age according to self-reports. Therefore, prevalence and frequency did not vary similarly with age, and did not vary similarly in self-reports and court records. With increasing age, more and more of the self-reported offenders were formally petitioned, but they were formally petitioned for fewer and fewer of their offenses. The probability of an offender being petitioned to court increased with the number of offenses that he committed, but the probability of each offense leading to a court petition decreased with the number of offenses committed. There was little overlap between self-reported and official chronic offenders. It is concluded that researchers should always measure both self-reports and official records in studying offending, and that the juvenile court should seek to intervene earlier in delinquency careers.     

Psychological Distress,Formal Help-Seeking Behavior,and the Role of Victim Services Among Violent Crime Victims

Using data from the 2015 National Crime Victimization Survey, this research explores the characteristics related to psychological distress and formal help-seeking behavior among victims of violent crime. Logistic regression analyses indicate that psychological distress symptoms vary by victim and offense characteristics. As anticipated, for example, the odds of a victim of sexual assault reporting the highest level of psychological distress are 5.88 times higher than are the odds of simple assault victims. However, when looking at subsequent formal help-seeking behavior for psychological distress, sexual assault victims do not seek formal help for their distress more than victims of other violent crimes. The analyses reveal that only gender and disability consistently predict high psychological distress and formal help-seeking behavior. Contact with a victim service agency was shown to be a powerful predictor of formal help-seeking behavior, though the analyses illustrated that victims most in need of intervention are not always the ones who receive it. In fact, only 23% of victims sought formal help for their psychological distress. This study sheds additional light on the issue of psychological distress and the limited formal help-seeking behavior of violent crime victims, while illustrating characteristics predictive of formal help-seeking, such as intervention through victim services.     

The United States naval blockade of Iraq: a foreign policy and international law analysis

This is the second of a two part essay by Commander Rosen into the causes of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the modern law of blockade, the political wisdom and the lawfulness of imposing a limited blockade of Iraq. Defects in the current regime of blockade were explored.

In part II, Commander Rosen closely explores the legal justification for the U.S. use of force in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. It is frequently overlooked that the U.S. naval blockade (it was called a “naval interdiction”) was a U.S.-only operation from August 12th until August 25, 1990. As a pedagogical exercise, this period is extremely important because the U.S. use of force (by its naval units), in response to a written request by deposed Emir of Kuwait, must be justified under the U.N. Charter to be proper under international law. Once the U.N. Security Council authorized the use of force on August 25, 1990 to enforce the U.N. embargo, then the operation became one in which the U.N., as a corporate body, was acting. Since most low intensity conflicts since 1945, have involved lawful use of force issues outside of Security Council purview, the U.S. unilateral military action (blockade) against Iraqi shipping must be analyzed. It is reasonable to anticipate that future controversies of this sort will occur because of philosophic divisions among the U.N. Security Council permanent members or because there is anaequate time for the U.N. “Security Council to meet and obtain the forces required to insert into a region of conflict. Resurrection of the moribund U.N. Military Staff Committee might be one of the lessons learned from this particular episode.

The United States had the benefit of a U.N. resolution on August 25, 1990 to justify its naval action. Before that date, the legal issue arises whether, in the early stages, national self-defense grounds permitted the use of force against Iraq (blockade) since deprivation of assured access to critical materials (oil) can be considered an act of aggression under some theories of international law. Commander Rosen concludes that the low intensity blockade was probably not authorized, under a theory of national self-defense, because the U.S. had no hard evidence on August 12, 1990 (the day the blockade commenced) that Saddam Hussein would deprive the U.S. of access to Gulf Oil supplies. But, because of the pervasive interdepencies of world economies, world food supplies, and petroleum access, the case was extremely close.

The customary international law of intervention (protection of nationals or humanitarian) and the law of collective self-defense was explored relative to the U.S. imposition of a limited naval blockade. Commander Rosen concludes that intervention theory will not support the limited naval blockade since there was insufficient evidence that U.S. citizens were in imminent danger (as in Grenada) and the blockade operation was too limited and indirect in scope to produce the type of rapid results which have come to be associated with a humanitarian intervention (as in the Congo). But, since Kuwait’s territorial sovereignty had been grossly violated as a result of illegal aggression, Kuwait was privileged under the U.N. Charter to request and receive defense assistance from the United States under Article 51 to recover lost territory. Arguments that the right to act in collective self-defense under Article 51 is limited to the nation which itself is attacked (or a nation closely aligned with the victim) are rejected as contrary to the U.N. norms of promoting community resistance to illegal aggression.

While the Persian Gulf dispute has resulted in open hostilities, international law issues existed whether, in the early stages, the blockade was militarily necessary and whether the blockade could be extended to the Jordanian port of Aqaba, because of conflicting reports as to Jordan’s adherence with the U.N. embargo, were explored. International law would probably not support an extension of the blockade to Aqaba because it would be seen an improper interference with Jordan’s neutrality. Similarly, forbidding the passage of U.N. medical and food convoys into Iraq was seen as a breach of international law provided such shipments were specifically authorized and supervised by the U.N. security council (to ensure that the food was only distributed to civilians).     

HIV/AIDS and older women in Zambia: Concern for self,worry over daughters,towers of strength

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa has exposed the way in which gender relations can place women in a particularly precarious position in respect of health matters (Ankrah, 1991; Baylies, Bujra et al , 1999; de Bruyn, 1992; Heise & Elias, 1995; Obbo, 1993; Ulin, 1992). As it advances, it is also evident that women do not face the epidemic as a homogeneous group, but as one which is divided by varying levels of vulnerability and varieties of response. This article focuses on generational differences, as well as those defined by marital status and economic security, and identifies older women who have completed their families as positioned not just to perform a caring role but also to serve as advocates for others in articulating the dangers which gendered practices may pose for their daughters and for women in general, both married and unmarried. It will be argued that they may become spokeswomen for their communities and their families and should be seen as powerful actors around AIDS issues.     

Restoring Choice: The Relationship Between Offense Seriousness,Intervening Time,and Victims’ Responses to the Offer of Restorative Interventions

This study investigates victims’ responses to the offer of involvement in a restorative intervention. It tests the hypotheses that victims’ choices are related to the seriousness of the offense (H1), and that this relationship is moderated by how long after the offense the restorative intervention is offered (H2). A cross-sectional, between-subjects design was used, drawing on data from 256 offenses collected for operational purposes by a restorative justice service. Victims of medium-seriousness offenses were most likely to choose indirect and direct reparation. Intervening time moderated the relationship between seriousness and victim choice: victims of low-seriousness offenses became more likely to choose community reparation with time, victims of medium-seriousness offenses became less likely to choose direct or indirect reparation, and there was no change with time for victims of the most serious offenses. These results suggest nonlinear relationships between seriousness, intervening time, and victim choice. Although more complex and in different directions than anticipated, they lend some support to both hypotheses. The study highlights qualitative differences between types of restorative interventions, points to a significant disparity between victims’ choices and processes the literature suggests are of most benefit, and raises questions regarding when and how restorative interventions should be offered.     

Research and Development,Competitiveness and European Integration of South Eastern Europe

This article explores the relationship between research and development (R&D) and competitiveness of South East European (SEE) economies from the perspective of European Union (EU) integration. Specifically, the article addresses the question of whether South East Europe is a potential asset or liability to the enlarged EU. SEE countries are quite diverse in terms of levels of competitiveness, with visible effects on the role of R&D, which is confirmed by analysis of R&D demand and supply factors. Improvements in the national innovation systems of SEE countries have largely taken place through vertical linkages on the supply and demand sides. However, a wider role for R&D will depend increasingly on the strength of horizontal linkages within national systems of innovation and their key agent—the local innovative business enterprise sector. This calls for a rethinking of science and technology policy, traditionally defined as a sectoral activity.     

Microfinance and Gender: Issues,Challenges and The Road Ahead

Abstract

This special collection examines the claim that microfinance promotes gender equality. The focus is on three areas of the debate: first, the question of how successful microfinance has been in empowering women; second, whether and how negative gender discrimination operates within the sector; third, how power relations within and beyond the household shape the context and outcomes of microfinance initiatives. The papers in this collection demonstrate the divergence of circumstances and emphasise the need to go beyond the past searches for a simple narrative regarding the impact of microfinance. Rather, as the sector evolves and is incorporated into the mainstream financial system, the challenge ahead for researchers is to marshal the evidence on gendered dynamics to ensure that the gains made are built on through deeper understanding of why impact outcomes and processes differ and use this to inform new initiatives to further gender equality.     

Who Migrates? Tracking Gendered Access to Migration Within Households “In Flux” Across Time

ABSTRACT

In Indonesia, traditional gender ideals tend to depict men as legitimate migrants while women who move are deemed “out of place.” This male migrant-as-breadwinner household arrangement has been complicated in the past 30 years by gendered migration systems and practices in Asia that favor women. Drawing upon a household survey (N = 1,203) and in-depth interviews (N = 55), we use “time tracks” (Robertson, 2014 Robertson, S. (2014). The temporalities of international migration: Implications for ethnographic research. ICS Occasional Paper Series, 5(1), 1–16. [Google Scholar]) to interrogate gendered dynamics within the household “in flux” (Huijsmans, 2014 Huijsmans, R. (2014). Becoming a young migrant or stayer seen through the lens of “householding”: Households “in flux” and the intersection of relations of gender and seniority. Geoforum, 51, 294–304.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Foregrounding active negotiations within migrant households, we illustrate the continuously changing gender relations as they interact with, and respond to, the gendered migration systems and practices over time.     

Performance and Equality in Public Sector Wages

Abstract

The present paper describes how democratic values—reflected by work equality values—paired with the organizational performance characteristics—defined by the height of organizational inputs and outputs—affect gender differences in wages. It is suggested here that despite the democratic conception of the public sector's equal employment opportunities, variations in the organizational performance of 83 local authorities account for gender differences in wages. The study assumes that organizational inputs (type and level of resources) and outputs (type and level of provided services) generate gender differences in individual earnings, when controlling for human capital factors. The results show that variations in organizational performance affect women's but not men's wages. However, the effect of individual level (demographic, human capital and employment) characteristics, reflecting the meritocracy‐based and democratic nature of public sector employment rather than the level of organizational performance explains most of the variance in gender differences in wages. These results point to the slow shift from the principle of administrative values of democracy and equality to the adoption of performance‐related mechanisms in the determination of public sector wages.     

Between a Scientist and a Government Employee: Analyzing the Occupational Identity of National Research Institute Researchers in Korea

ABSTRACT

This study, using the data from the questionnaire survey of researchers working for Korean national research institutes, investigates the consequences of conflicting occupational identities. Those researchers may have two different occupational identities: as a scientist and/or a civil servant. Those with a strong scientist identity support individualist values (self-development for research capabilities, pro-incentive, and information sharing) more solidly than those with a strong civil servant identity; for public-social values (altruism, trust in other organizational members, and organizational commitment), vice versa. The study casts practical implications for balanced alignment between self-recognized occupational identities and managerial strategies (incentive, performance evaluation, and training).     

Bodies and Bullying: The Interaction of Gender,Race, Ethnicity,Weight, and Inequality With School Victimization

The problem of bullying among youth is receiving more attention because of long-lasting detrimental consequences of victimization at school. Research demonstrates that gender, race, ethnicity, and weight are separately linked to bullying victimization; however, little is known about the interaction of these factors in relationship to victimization at school. This study utilizes the 2005/2006 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) data to investigate how bodies (i.e., gender, race, ethnicity, and weight) matter with youth victimization. Drawing from the 2005/2006 HBSC sample consisting of 7,143 youth, findings indicate that interactions of gender, race, ethnicity, and weight are linked to school bullying victimization.     

Is the East European “underclass” feminized?

Results of national surveys carried out in East-European countries convincingly showed that after the fall of communism the gender gap in earnings remained substantial. Following the same analytical framework here I explore a range of issues concerning the gender gap in membership in what I define as the “underclass” in 6 post-communist societies. The basic question is to determine whether or not such a gap exits. I find considerable cross-national variation in the odds of female/male membership in the underclass: women in Poland, Russia and Hungary appear to be most heavily over-represented in this category, while in Bulgaria and Slovakia, the effect of gender does not exist. In addition, the explanation for this gap cannot be found in the intergenerational transmission of poverty, in differences in marital status, and other social–demographic attributes commonly employed in quantitative studies. It is only the lower educational status of women, living in rural areas, and older age, which significantly interact with relatively higher representation of women in the underclass. After controlling for several characteristics of a person’s socio–economic position I found that in four countries, namely in Poland, Russia, Romania and Hungary, a statistically significant net effect of gender remains which provides solid evidence for the feminization of the underclass in these societies.     

The rise and fall of employee ownership in Estonia, 1987–2001

The privatisation processes in eastern europe created ownership structures that were very different from those observed in developed Western economies. The widespread application of employee ownership in privatisation is a particularly fascinating case (Uvalic & Vaughan-Whitehead, 1997a; EBRD, 1998). The expectation of many observers was that employee ownership would prove to be temporary and a rapid convergence to more familiar ownership structures would take place (Boycko et al., 1995; Blanchard &Aghion, 1996). Subsequent evidence has partly confirmed the transience hypothesis, since the number of employee-owned enterprises was found to decline rapidly (Estrin &Wright, 1999; Jones &Mygind, 1999a). However, relatively little is known on how and for what reasons the decline is taking place. This article analyses these questions using empirical data from Estonia.     

Empirical Evidence on Human Trafficking and Migration-Debt Contracts in Bangladesh

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the payments illegal migrants make to traffickers. It covers the total amounts of these payments, the incidence of migration-debt (or shared) contracts, and the value of the deferred payment component under these shared contracts. Data on illegal migrants from three field surveys conducted in Bangladesh from April 2009 to November 2010 are used. The results show that the total payments made to traffickers vary with easily observed characteristics (gender, age, marital status) but do not vary with details of the migration process (training provided, time spent in the trafficker’s queue). These relationships are consistent with exploitation. Migration-debt contracts are more prevalent when the costs of illegal migration are relatively high, which adds empirical support to theoretical models such as Friebel and Guriev (2006). Contrary to existing reports, we document variations in fees for illegal passage across individuals.     

Management in New Public Service Systems: Reframing the Position of Managers and Their Training and Development

Management training and development (T&D) plays an important part in enabling managers to deal with complexity and change associated with new public service systems. Using a service-dominant logic approach, this paper explores the relevance of T&D in preparing managers for changing roles, responsibilities and relationships that integrated service systems demand. Exploring the views of service managers working in Community Health Partnerships, the study establishes that present management T&D does not support the delivery of integrated services which require different abilities and new ways of working. New public service systems demand new processes of learning where re-framing the position of managers and their T&D becomes increasingly necessary.     

Support for Gender Stereotypes: Does Madrasah Education Matter?

This paper examines the influence of the institutional nature of schools on gender stereotyping by exploring contrasts between non-religious and Islamic faith (that is madrasah) schools among secondary school-going adolescents in rural Bangladesh. In particular, differences in gender attitudes across school types are explored to elucidate what about schools matters. Using a uniquely designed survey to assess the influence of school type on student characteristics, we find large differences in stereotypical gender attitudes by school type and student gender. Madrasah students in general, and unrecognised madrasah students in particular, show unfavourable attitudes about women and their abilities compared to their peers in non-religious schools. However, these differences are diminished considerably in ordered probit models suggesting that school-level differences are explained by teacher characteristics such as the nature of teacher training and average family size of teachers. These estimated effects are robust to conditioning on a rich set of family characteristics.     

The Gender Gap in African Political Participation: Testing Theories of Individual and Contextual Determinants

Abstract

This article aims to test whether existing theories of what factors underlie the gender gap in political participation apply in an African context. Empirical estimations drawing on recent data covering over 27,000 respondents across 20 African emerging democracies suggest that whereas several of the investigated factors – structural differences in individual resource endowments and employment, and cultural differences based in religious affiliations – are found to be important determinants of participation, they explain only a very modest share of the observed gender gaps. Suggestive evidence instead points to the role of clientelism, restricted civil liberties, economic development and gender norms.     

Religion and Reconciliation in Bosnia & Herzegovina: Are Religious Actors Doing Enough?

The article explores the question of whether and how religion is being used in Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH) to promote and foster reconciliation. Based primarily on 20 semi-structured interviews with representatives of the three main faiths in BiH—Islam, Orthodoxy and Catholicism—the article's central contention is that religion is a potentially valuable, yet fundamentally under-utilised peace-building tool in BiH.     

The Impact of Microcredit on the Poor in Bangladesh: Revisiting the Evidence

Abstract

We replicate and reanalyse the most influential study of microcredit impacts (M. M. Pitt & S. R. Khandker’s, ‘The impact of group-based credit on poor households in Bangladesh: Does the gender of participants matter?’, published in the Journal of Political Economy, 106, 1998). That study was celebrated for showing that microcredit reduces poverty, a much hoped for possibility (though one not confirmed by recent randomised controlled trials). We show that the original results on poverty reduction disappear after dropping outliers, or when using a robust linear estimator. Using a new program for estimation of mixed process maximum likelihood models, we show how assumptions critical for the original analysis, such as error normality, are contradicted by the data. We conclude that questions about impact cannot be answered in these data.     

Victims Speak: Comparing Child Sexual Abusers' and Child Victims' Accounts, Perceptions, and Interpretations of Sexual Abuse

This article presents findings from a longitudinal study¹ that sought to evaluate a treatment program for child sexual abusers. A triangulated methodological approach was adopted drawing upon quantitative and qualitative methodological techniques. The focus here is upon one element of this research.² Ninety-one in-depth interviews were conducted over a four-year period with a small, nonrandom sample of twenty-one male offenders who had been convicted of sexual offenses against children. All of the men were subject to probation orders with a psychiatric condition (Criminal Justice Act, 1991). One of the aims of this element of the research was to explore the extent to which evidence of denial could be found in offenders' accounts of offense circumstance and also to explore the extent to which offenders minimized the nature and extent of abuse perpetrated. Offenders' accounts of offense circumstances were compared to victim statements, and stark differences emerge. These findings have considerable implications for treatment practice with sex offenders, where victims' perceptions could be used to directly confront offender denial and minimization.