'Tell All the Truth, but Tell it Slant': A Poetics of Truth and Reconciliation

There is a voice that tries to speak the truth. This essay will suggest that the discourse on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission [TRC] has perhaps ignored this most invisible of things, and has looked for the truth of the Commission everywhere except where it might be found, if indeed it can be found at all. To the extent that it is possible to oppose the truth of the voice to another truth, it may be useful to make use of a notion of poetics; even a sublime poetics.     

Sociocultural causes of family violence: A theoretical comment

During the past decade, family violence has been increasingly reported and discussed by the mass media, as well as having become a subject of scholarly investigation in several academic disciplines. While there is an impressive number of empirical studies dealing with various aspects of family violence, they tend to focus on samples of the victims of such physical and sexual abuse. This paper seeks to supplement their findings by presenting a theoretical analysis of certain major sociocultural changes that have seriously weakened the moral standards that are the primary sociocultural deterrents of family and other interpersonal forms of violence. These changes include widespread residential mobility, the weakening of parental authority, and the impact of the themes of violence and sexuality that are emphasized by the mass media and popular culture.     

Mediating the War of Olives and Pines: Consensus-Based Land-Use Planning in a Multicultural Setting

The proposed Nahal Tzalmon national park lies in the Galilee region of northern Israel. It encompasses land of unique natural beauty, some of which is occupied by Arab-Israeli families. Statutory plans defining the park's boundaries were enacted more than twenty years ago. Despite ongoing preparation, however, the park has not yet opened to the public, in part because of continuous conflict between the Israeli government authorities and the resident families over property rights affecting construction, land use, and nature preservation.
In 2000, after a long period of stagnation and discord, the Joint Environmental Mediation Service ( JEMS), guided by its founding organizations — the Consensus Building Institute and the Israel–Palestine Center for Research and Information — led a mediation process in the region. This was the first such process in the history of Israeli land-use planning. The mediation resulted in a settlement that was agreed to and signed by nearly all parties on July 8, 2004. The agreement allows residents to remain on their land and it includes incentives, such as park employment, to ensure that they help preserve the natural environment. Plans based on this agreement are currently undergoing state ratification, although several implementation challenges are yet to be resolved.
This case points to the importance of having a mediation team knowledgeable about and sensitive to local cultural norms and the difficulties of ensuring appropriate representation in the absence of a strong civic culture and organized advocacy groups. It also highlights the requisite for ensuring that all parties thoroughly understand the consensus building process and how it fits in with established bureaucratic procedures, as well as the critical need to secure strong support from implementing agencies at the outset.     

Advancing police use of force research and practice: urgent issues and prospects

Leading police scholars and practitioners were asked to reflect on the most urgent issues that need to be addressed on the topic of use of force. Four themes emerged from their contributions: use of force and de-escalation training needs to improve and be evaluated; new ways of conceptualizing use of force encounters and better use of force response models need to be developed; the inequitable application of force, and how to remediate biases, needs to be more fully understood; and misconceptions about police use of force need to be identified and corrected. The highlighted topics serve as an agenda for future research. Such research should provide greater insight into when, where, and why force is used by police officers, and how it can be applied appropriately. If implemented, the practical recommendations included in the contributions should have a positive impact on police performance, public trust and confidence in the police, and citizen and officer safety.     

Pension Programs Around the World: New Comparative Global Policy Data

Abstract

Income protection during old age is a universally recognized human right. Are nations fulfilling their responsibility for income support for older adults? Using a new global dataset on social protection conceptualized and built by two of the authors, this paper examines whether countries have legislated for national pension systems, and the characteristics and adequacy of those systems.     

Toxicological findings in military aircraft fatalities from 1986-1990.

Toxicological findings in all military aircraft fatalities investigated by the Division of Forensic Toxicology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology from 1986-1990 are presented. Carbon monoxide saturation levels greater than 10% were found in 4% of the 535 cases where appropriate specimens were collected. Positive ethanol findings were more indicative of postmortem formation than antemortem consumption. In only 1 case were abused drugs (cannabinoids in a passenger) detected. Other drugs identified included nicotine, chloroquine and over-the-counter analgesic agents, antihistamines and sympathomimetic drugs.     

TRIVIOCRACY: SAYRE'S LAW REVISITED

Triviocracy is a generalized organizational phenomenon; to the outsider or casual participant, the goals or issues which members of the organization pursue have little or no overt relationship to the well-being of the organization; and once attained, these goals do not appear to help individuals in pursuit of their professional goals in any easily desirable way. In this paper will will explore the concept of triviocracy in some depth, describe the process that unfolds and examine the dynamics of triviocracy and its functions and dysfunctions.