Reflections on mentoring experiences for evidence-informed decision-making in South Africa and Malawi

This article is based on the consensus that the availability and utilisation of research enhances policy discussions. The article reflects on the experiences within one approach: capacity building through mentoring. The UJ-BCURE programme aimed to increase the capacity of decision-makers to use evidence in decision-making via mentoring models. Mentoring is described as an interactive, facilitated process that promotes learning. The features of the models that have contributed to the programme’s success are orientation workshops with mentees combined with participatory, needs-led, and flexible approaches. UJ-BCURE experiences are relevant to the field of evidence-informed decision-making in an African government context.     

Portfolio Allocation within Parties: The Role of Regional Party Branches

One of the most persistent findings in coalition research is the proportionality rule (‘Gamson's Law’) that guides the allocation of portfolios between parties. This article tests the assumption that a similar rule is at work within parties. More specifically, it examines the allocation of ministerial posts to regional party branches in 25 post-war cabinets in Austria between 1945 and 2008. Drawing on the literature on party organisations, three types of resources (membership, vote and population shares) are identified, all of which account for a substantial part of the variation in the shares of cabinet seats awarded to each party branch. The analysis thus bears out the proportionality proposition to a significant degree. Furthermore, it is shown that there is considerable cross-party variation in the allocation patterns, which reflects differences in the organisational structure of the parties.     

Cleavage of 2-phenylpropan-1-ol and 2-phenylpropan-2-ol-glucuronide, 2 metabolites of isopropylbenzol (Cumol)

The behaviour of 2-phenyl-1-propanol (I) and 2-phenyl-2-propanol (II) and their glucuronides with HCl has been investigated. While I shows a high acidic constancy, II undergoes a partial conversion into 2-phenylpropane (III) which itself yields numerous products. The glucosidic bond of glucuronide I is quantitatively split by 10.0% HCl, whereby an aglucone yield of nearly 100% is obtained. The second glucuronide behaves otherwise: the recovery of II is very low (only 40% to 45%) with HCl concentrations of 1.0%-20.0%, although with 1.0% HCl 100% of the glucuronide is hydrolysed.     

Strategic Considerations and Judicial Review: The Case of Workers' Compensation Laws in the American States

Whether state supreme court justices votesincerely or strategically depends upon:(1) justices' sincere preferences; (2)ideological differences between a justiceand other state actors, which affect the willingness of actors tosanction justices; and (3) institutionalrules and political settings, which affect the ability of otheractors to retaliate against justices forobjectionable decisions. Since institutional rules do notvary for the U.S. Supreme Court but do forthe 50 states, state supreme court cases are thebest site for testing conditions underwhich justices are likely to vote strategically. Moreover,amendment of state constitutions isrelatively easy, which permits systematic examination of theextent to which strategic behavior manifests in judicialreview cases. Using data on docketing anddecisions on workers' compensation laws for1970–1993, this research offers a broaderunderstanding of strategic behavior byjudges.     

Risk and Protective Factors for Recurrent Intimate Partner Violence in a Cohort of Low-Income Inner-City Women

The purpose of this study was to identify longitudinal predictors of any (versus no) episodes of recurrent intimate partner violence (IPV) and their severity among low-income inner-city women. A secondary analysis was conducted on data from an inception cohort of 321 previously abused women from the Chicago Women’s Health Risk Study. In a multivariable logistic regression model, pregnancy, frequency of IPV in the year prior to the baseline interview, and the partner’s use of power and control tactics increased the odds of recurrent IPV during the follow-up period and leaving an abusive partner reduced the odds. In a multivariate proportional odds logistic regression model, partner violence outside the home was associated with higher severity of recurrent IPV, but leaving an abusive partner was not. The results suggest that, for low-income women, leaving an abusive partner may reduce the risk of recurrent victimization without increasing severity of the recurrent attacks that do occur.     

Killing People,Dividing a Nation? Analyzing Student Perceptions of the Boko Haram Crisis in Nigeria

The causes and consequences of the Boko Haram insurgency as well as its possible solutions have been subjected to different interpretations among scholars, politicians, and journalists. Little is known, however, about how the Nigerian populace thinks about the uprising. The present study contributes to the literature on Boko Haram by analyzing the perceptions of Nigerian students vis-à-vis Boko Haram's agenda and the government's response. The results demonstrate a north–south divide with Christians or Igbo and Muslims or Hausa-Fulani holding different ideas on the causes of the crisis, being differently affected by it, and slightly disagreeing on the desirability of military government responses. In conclusion, perceptions on Boko Haram lay bare ethno-religious fault lines reflecting existing grievances, thereby possibly undermining efforts at nation-building and peaceful coexistence in the multi-ethnic Nigerian society.