Who riots? An empirical examination of the “new urban black” versus the social marginality hypotheses

Much of the research on the socioeconomic characteristics of rioters has centered around the question of whether rioters were the dispossessed fringes of the black community who rioted for fun and profit or the more upwardly mobile segments of the black community who used civil violence as a means of political influence. This study presents evidence that willingness to participate in civil violence is fairly evenly distributed across income, educational, and occupational strata, thereby disconfirming the social marginality hypothesis. However, militancy involves nonviolent protest as well as civil violence. In order to explore the complexities of this concept, the authors use discriminant function analysis to demonstrate that, while violence propensity is related to age but not socioeconomic status, the willingness to participate in nonviolent protests is associated with higher socioeconomic status. A tentative explanation of this pattern of relationships is offered, with the more politically motivated militancy of higher status groups being linked to their desire to eliminate various forms of racial discrimination.     

Manufacturing Trust: Community Currencies and the Creation of Social Capital

In this study I examine whether an innovative government program in Ichikawa, Japan has been successful in increasing the level of generalized interpersonal trust in the community by rewarding civic participation by local citizens. Japan has sponsored the development of a number of “community currency” programs at the local level that are designed to create social capital. A community currency is a local “money” that is only useable within a neighborhood or town. In a typical community currency program, a town rewards civic volunteers with credits to barter with other citizens, use at participating stores, or pay for town services. These programs are specifically designed to stimulate generalized trust by rewarding civic engagement and encouraging social interaction. I evaluate whether the new Tekona community currency program in Ichikawa, Japan has been successful in raising levels of trust among participants, as compared to a randomly selected control group of town residents. I find that community currency involvement increases general trust, which demonstrates that it is possible to institute government programs that create social capital.

Buck-passing,Chain-ganging and Alliances in the Multipolar Indo-Asia-Pacific

ABSTRACT

Christensen’s and Snyder’s neorealist-based theory of buck-passing and chain-ganging uses offence-defence balance to predict state security policy choices under multipolarity. This approach is applicable to the US-led alliance system in the multipolar Indo-Asia-Pacific. Given regional Sino-US rivalry, hedging opportunities for US ‘hub-and-spoke’ allies will dissipate, increasing the likelihood of allies choosing to buck-pass or chain-gang in the face of conflict. With defence superior in the region, it is more likely that US allies will buck-pass rather than chain-gang. Beyond Indo-Asia-Pacific states, this has implications for global actors – such as the EU – seeking to raise their security profile in the region, as buck-passing behaviour gives greater time to adjust to potential conflict scenarios than chain-ganging.     

Detection of Malingered ADHD Using the MMPI-2-RF

This study examined the utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) validity scales for detecting feigning and exaggeration of attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) among college students. Under a simulation study design, participants with and without ADHD were assigned to perform honestly or to feign or exaggerate deficits related to ADHD while completing self-report symptom inventories. Participants instructed to feign produced symptom profiles similar to honest clinical profiles and more severe than honest nonclinical profiles. Participants with ADHD instructed to exaggerate produced less severe profiles than those instructed to feign and more severe profiles than clinical controls. MMPI-2-RF scale Fp-r showed potential for use in malingered ADHD detection at a revised cut score, which was significantly lower than the cut score suggested in the test manual; use of the revised cut score will require further validation. Scales F-r, Fs, and FBS-r did not classify well, but should be assessed in future studies of malingered ADHD. Detection of exaggeration was consistently poorer than detection of feigning.     

冷战初期美国与印尼关系中的中国因素分析

冷战格局形成后,在东南亚具有重要战略地位的印尼成为美国力图拉拢的对象,但美国以冷战思维为主导的遏制战略与印尼"积极和独立"的不结盟政策的差异却导致双方在外交事务,尤其是在中国问题上分歧严重。中国是美国在亚洲推行遏制政策的主要对象,同时也是印尼不得不面对的重要邻国,中国问题因此成为美国与印尼外交战略冲突的焦点,以及检验两国外交关系的试金石。本文通过对1950年至1954年间美国与印尼交往过程的历史考察,探讨中国因素在美国与印尼关系变动中的作用及影响。