Shaking off the neoliberal shackles: “democratic emergence” and the negotiation of democratic knowledge in the Middle East North Africa context

ABSTRACT

There is a general assumption in democracy promotion that liberal democracy is the panacea that will solve all political and economic problems faced by developing countries. Using the concept of “good society” as analytical prism, the analysis shows that while there is a rhetorical agreement as to what the “good society” entails, democracy promotion practices fail to allow for recipients’ inclusion in the negotiation and delivery of the “good society”. Contrasting US and Tunisian discourses on the “good society”, the article argues that democracy promotion practices are underpinned by neoliberal parameters borne out from a reliance on the transition paradigm, which in turn leave little room to democracy promotion recipients to formulate knowledge claims supporting the emergence of alternative conceptions of the “good society”. In contrast, the article opens up a reflective pathway to a negotiated democratic knowledge, which would reside in a paradigmatic change that consists in the abandonment of the transition paradigm in favour of a “democratic emergence” paradigm.     

Social and economic implications of family connections to prisoners

Research about incarceration has moved beyond studies of the individual prisoner to examine how incarceration impacts prisoners' families and neighborhoods. Much of the family-centered work highlights the potential benefits for the prisoner of maintaining ties to family during the incarceration period, and particularly after release. Less thoroughly considered is the potential benefits and costs to families of maintaining a relationship with an incarcerated individual. This article addresses this topic with a qualitative study of prisoners' families, as well as a review of census data in one high incarceration neighborhood. Research findings suggested that there were significant costs, both social and economic, to a prisoner's family if they desired to maintain the most basic level of connection with him. The study further suggested that families and prisoners were put in a position requiring constant negotiation of competing interests.     

Project USA: American competitiveness and what must be done to restore it

The United States today faces a loss of influence as a world power, a reduction in American independence as a policymaker, and a decline in the standard of living on which Americans have come to depend. History teaches that nations weaker and less productive than the United States can rise to become economic powerhouses and rapidly increase their standards of living. History also teaches that nations failing to recognize their fundamental problems will inevitably decline. American politicians must face what is abundantly clear: the United States is losing ground and must act quickly to reverse its course. This White Paper outlines what must be done. Information about the nation's current status must be analyzed and communicated. Incentives to improve the level of competence in government must be provided and maintained. The emphasis of government policy must be changed to reflect broad economic and technological interests as opposed to special interests. Savings must be encouraged and increased. Infrastructure must be improved Tax laws must be modified to help bring these changes about. Economic and technological issues must be elevated to the importance they require. American thinking must reflect the new realities: that the age of leadership through military power is over, that the requirements for success in the world of the 1990s and beyond require a sound and growing economy that is internationally competitive. The US can accomplish these goals only through foundation-shaking, comprehensive, fundamental changealong the lines we propose herein.This paper is the executive summary (with minor editing modifications) of a white paper that is available from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management.     

农民工权益保护与农民工加入工会的模式分析——以贵州省为例

本文通过对贵州省部分企业、社区、村庄和一些具有代表性的工会组织的调研,在深入了解贵州省农民工权益保护现状的基础上,分析了农民工权益缺乏保障及受到损害的原因,对贵州省促进农民工加入工会及保护农民工权益的经验和模式进行了总结,探索了工会组织维护农民工权益的路径。     

Time,work and money in a Tuscan co‐operative

This article describes how and why a small group of farming families in southern Tuscany collectivised their production and formed an agricultural co‐operative in 1980. The attempt to build socialism on one hillside is entirely untypical of the area, but it does provide a vantage point for examining the general post‐war transformation of Tuscan agriculture, and revealing changes in production and the household with the growth of market relations. The concluding section concentrates particularly on changes in the organisation and purpose of work.     

监察与审计合一体制的国际比较

世界上,将国家(地区)或政府监察、审计整合为合一体制并不多见,自有独到之处.合一体制的形成与发展,同国家命运息息相关,并且仍处于属极分化和功能融合之中,在提升政府效能方面扮演着重要角色.合一体制的成功范例为国际社会提供了深刻地启示和借鉴.     

慈善组织信息公开的新特征:政策研究的视角

我国慈善组织在社会转型期遭遇了诚信危机,同时社会组织的自律与他律也正在日益加强。本文采用案例分析对慈善组织信息公开的新特征进行了深入剖析。研究表明,慈善组织信息公开呈现从被动透明到主动透明、从机构本位到公众本位、从主观透明到客观透明、从结果透明到过程透明、从感性透明到理性透明的新特征。针对此,文章提出了进一步加强慈善组织信息透明度的政策建议,包括推行信息公开的标准化制度、建设慈善组织信息库、实施失信惩戒机制及建立人才培养制度等。     

Present but not prevalent: identifying the organizational correlates of researcher-practitioner partnerships in U.S. Law Enforcement

ABSTRACT

Federal funding streams, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and policing executives and scholars alike have advocated for more researcher-practitioner partnerships in American law enforcement. While a few studies have explored the growth and prevalence of research partnerships in policing, less attention has been placed on the organizational correlates of such collaborative relationships. Using a nationally representative sample of US law enforcement agencies, the current study investigated participation in what we term ‘rigorous partnerships’ – more formal, long-term relationships between researchers and practitioners with increased opportunity for interactive knowledge exchange. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed, with a specific focus on the barriers and impediments that both parties face for successful collaborative efforts and research translation.