France and NATO from 1966 to Kosovo: Coming full circle?

This article traces the relationship between France and NATO from the 1960s to the 1990s. It focuses on the reasons for the France‐NATO rapprochement of the 1990s, but also underlines the very real tensions between France and the Alliance during these years. It analyses the question of French reintegration into the Integrated Military Structure (IMS) which seemed probable in the summer of 1997, and suggests that this issue in itself is a useful illustration of wider misunderstandings between France and NATO. The article also investigates the reaction of the French military to the closing of the door to possible French reintegration into the IMS in the aftermath of the NATO Madrid Summit of July 1997 and comments briefly on France's participaiton in the conflict in Kosovo.     

Utah legislation and systems change

Juvenile and family court judges know bureaucratic delays pose serious harm to child development and that extended stays in foster care can result in juvenile delinquency. Utah judges and legislators together searched successfully for new ways to improve court systems and to better serve the children and families of their state.     

中国安全挑战和大战略的演变

自1949年中华人民共和国成立以来,在中国安全观和大战略的发展演化进程中,既有历史连续性的一面,也有发展变化的一面。其中变化性更为明显,主要体现在中国的实力大幅度提高,其面临的国际环境也发生了深刻的变革,而这种双重变化影响了中国历任领导人为保障政权安全对大战略所做出的巨大战略抉择。在长达数十年的冷战时期,中国相对弱小,面对强大对手的严峻军事威胁居于绝对弱势,因此中国共产党人在很大程度上采用了以应对明确外部安全威胁为中心的大战略。与此形成鲜明对比的是,冷战结束后,特别是进入21世纪后,中国日益强大,但面临的国内国际问题日益复杂化,中国领导人在大战略抉择中面临着新的挑战。在这样的环境下,中国成立中央国家安全委员会具有重大意义。21世纪中国面临国内外新的安全挑战,这是冷战时期国际秩序终结的结果,这也是中国1979年以来现代化事业取得成功的结果。     

University Students' Attitudes About Attributing Blame in Domestic Violence

This study examined university students' attitudes about attributing blame in incidents of domestic violence. The Domestic Violence Blame Scale (DVBS), which measures the attribution of blame for domestic violence to situational, perpetrator, societal, and victim factors, was used. The DVBS was administered to a voluntary sample of university students. Significant gender differences were found, with male students more likely to attribute blame to the victim for domestic violence than female students. Significant differences were also found between students with and without a prior history of violence in their family of origin. Students with prior experience of violence were more likely than their counterparts to ascribe blame for domestic violence to societal factors.     

Escaping loneliness in adolescence: The case for androgyny

The purpose of the present study was to assess the relationship between sex-role orientation and loneliness in adolescence. Two hundred and twenty-five junior and senior high school students completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory Short Form (Bem, 1981) and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell et al., 1978). Results indicated that androgynous individuals were significantly less lonely than masculine, feminine, and undifferentiated individuals. An assessment of the independent contributions of masculinity and femininity indicated that both masculinity and femininity significantly predicted loneliness. Additional analysis revealed that the impact of sex-role orientation on loneliness varied by sex and tended to be greater for males than females. The need to further examine the relationship between androgyny, sex-role development, and adjustment in adolescence is discussed.Received his M.S. and Ph.D. in human development and family studies from The Pennsylvania State University. Research interests are social competence, interpersonal skills development, and adjustment.     

FEMININE SEXUALITIES IN CHICK LIT

Feminists have offered highly contested readings of whether the depiction of active feminine sexual subjectivities in some popular cultural genres is progressive or regressive in feminist terms. This article aims to contribute to these debates by exploring representations of women's sexualities in a selection of texts by Marian Keyes, a popular Irish writer of contemporary fiction for women, known as chick lit. Following Charlotte Brunsdon, our study looks specifically for evidence of feminine sexual agency in these texts. The analysis reveals that Keyes's women are proactive in trying to stake out their own sexual territory in an assertive and fun-loving way. Their final efforts, though, look remarkably conventional in the form of heterosexual monogamous relationships, suggesting in feminist terms that these cultural shifts in representations are neither straightforwardly progressive nor regressive.     

Knocking on the Door: Juvenile and Family Courts as a Forum for Facilitating School Attendance and Decreasing Truancy

While there is debate about whether courts should be involved in truancy reduction efforts, less recognized is how courts can impact school attendance without lengthening their reach or further penalizing children and families. Courts are already involved with school‐related decision making in child welfare and delinquency cases. This article reports on data from a qualitative study of stakeholder perspectives (N = 64) on school attendance in Maryland. Respondents suggested that courts adopt engagement‐focused approaches to guide their work such as family assessments, school attendance plans, monitoring coordination and delivery of services, and ensuring that agencies meet their obligations to children.     

Race,Partisanship, and Political Trust Following <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bush versus Gore</Emphasis> (2000)

In contrast to what we know about the sources of political trust among whites, recent research suggests that political mistrust among blacks indicates discontent with the political system. The current study adds to research investigating racial differences in political trust by examining racial differences in the influence of the 2000 United States presidential election on political trust. Specifically, I test for whether whites and blacks adjusted their trust in government in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Bush versus Gore (2000) and whether the influence of the Court’s decision on trust was dependent on partisan identification. The findings indicate that blacks perceived the Court’s decision as illegitimate, reinforcing their mistrust in their political system.