Response to Chemin and to Pitt

We reply to the discussion and criticisms of Matthieu Chemin (MC) and Mark Pitt (MP) to our paper ((Duvendack and Palmer-Jones (DPJ)) (all this issue). MC clarifies many issues which now make replication pure probable (but not yet achieved), and MP identifies a number of problems with DPJ (some of which are shared with Chemin, 2008). Chemin (2008) made at least one crucial undocumented and unrealistic assumption, and did not document many of his variable constructions. MP correctly identifies inappropriate members of control groups, and other problems, but his claim that his propensity score matching (PSM) results provide support for Pitt and Khandker's (1998 – PnK) most important claim is misleading as it is not robust. We see no reason to change our conclusion that PnK is limited as an evaluation of microfinance by a weak research design which cannot be convincingly mitigated by the sophisticated methods used in PnK, or by PSM.     

Cruelty to Animals and Violence to People

The topic of animal cruelty has been largely neglected by criminological researchers. However, studies suggest that children who are cruel to animals disproportionally tend to be violent to people later in life. Case histories of serial killers and mass murderers suggest that many were cruel to animals in their childhood. Furthermore, it is argued that cruelty to animals in a family tends to be associated with domestic violence, child abuse, and elder abuse. Unfortunately, much of the previous research was based on small, unrepresentative samples, with poor or no control samples and retrospective information. Prospective longitudinal surveys of large representative samples are needed. Family based prevention programs might be effective in reducing cruelty to animals, but experimental evaluations of such programs are required. The time is ripe for a major research program to advance knowledge about the causes and prevention of animal cruelty and its implications for criminology.     

India and the responsibility to protect

‘Responsibility to protect’ (R2P) is an ‘emerging norm’ of international relations, which has been invoked with the intervention in Libya in 2011. Even though this intervention was demanded by several Third World countries and organisations, these have subsequently had second thoughts about the matter and have come to regard R2P as Western neo-imperialism. This article seeks to explain this apparent paradox, with a special focus on India. It also identifies possible compromises by advocating a broader approach to R2P, stressing the responsibility to prevent and to rebuild. It also draws attention to ‘R2P lite’, including the protection of civilians in armed conflicts.     

Introduction to Special Section: Quantitative Approaches to the Measurement and Analysis of Female Empowerment and Agency

This special issue presents four novel applications of quantitative methods to address measurement and analytical issues in the appraisal of female empowerment and agency. The methods presented comprise mixed methods, dominance analysis and structural equation models. The use of these methods is illustrated with empirical applications in Cambodia, India, Mali, and Turkey.     

对《社会主义与创新》一文的评论和答复

评论一 大卫·科茨的"社会主义与创新"一文对一个重要而艰难的论题做出了非常有用的贡献.在技术创新方面,科茨对资本主义、社会主义和假想的"有计划的民主参与式社会主义"(这次学术辩论的所有参与者都以这种类型为目标)三者进行了比较.     

The Right to Connect and Internet Censorship

The new element in governance is social media. Inexorably, its fertile networks of shared information shift power from authorities to citizens and amateurs, including to the “unknown” experts in the “dorm rooms and edges of society” who drive innovation. Tweets may bust trust and undermine authority, but can social media also be a tool for building consensus through deliberation and negotiation among interests? When it comes to governance, is crowd‐sourcing any better than populism at generating collective intelligence instead of disruptive “dumb mobs?” Can networks aid the self‐administration of society, or does that take institutions with governing authority? In this section, leading Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, technologists and network theorists from Google, Microsoft and the MIT Media Lab join with political scientist Francis Fukuyama and top thinkers from Asia to address these issues.     

Cognitive Constructs and the Intention to Remit

This paper explores migrants’ motivations to remit from a new, behavioural (cognitive) perspective, based on Structural Equation Modelling. We supplement the mainstream economic analyses of migrants’ observed characteristics by analysing remitting behaviour based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). With this behavioural lens, we show that non-tangible, cognitive constructs are highly relevant in explaining the intention to remit. Results underline the fact that migrants’ attitudes and norms, the latter in particular driven by the family, are decisive for remitting. Classical socioeconomic variables also show significant results, but contribute comparatively little to explaining the intention to remit.     

预防和减少犯罪的战略举措——上海构建预防和减少犯罪工作新体系的启迪

面对社会变革时期错综复杂的社会治安形势和居高不下的刑事犯罪率,如何实现社会的长治久安,各地都在进行颇有意义的探索,并形成了许多富有创造性的对策措施,其中,上海所构建的预防和减少犯罪工作新体系,值得我们认真地思考。最近,上海针对当前吸毒人员大幅度增长、刑释解教人员重新犯罪率高居不下、闲散青少年犯罪比较突出等现状,从积极防范的要求出发,按照“政府主导推动、社团自主运行、社会多方参与”的总体思路,来推进禁毒、社区矫正和社区青少年管理工作,依托现有体制,组建禁毒、社区矫正和社区青少年事务管理等三个常设机构,作为政府…