Letters to the Editor

Editor's Note: The following letter is a response to the correspondence between Michael Caroe, son of Sir Olaf Caroe, and Professor Parshotam Mehra, author of The North-West Frontier Drama, 1945–1947. The previous letter from Michael Caroe appeared in the October 2002 edition of Asian Affairs, Vol. XXXIII, Part III (p. 425). This was a response to a letter from Professor Mehra, which appeared in the June 2002 edition, Vol. XXXIII, Part II (p. 247).     

Perceived Social Support and Early Adolescents’ Achievement: The Mediational Roles of Motivational Beliefs and Emotions

Although a bulk of literature shows that perceived social support (PSS) influences academic achievement, the mechanisms through which this effect operates received little empirical attention. The present study examined the multiple mediational effects of motivational beliefs (competence beliefs and subjective value) and emotions (anxiety and enjoyment) that may account for the empirical link between PSS (from parents, peers and teachers) and mathematics achievement. The participants of the study were 238 grade 7 students (average age = 13.2 years, girls = 54%, predominantly native Dutch middle class socioeconomic status). A bootstrap analysis (a relatively new technique for testing multiple mediation) revealed that the motivational beliefs and the emotions, jointly, partially mediated the effect of PSS on achievement. The proportion of the effects mediated, however, varied across the support sources from 55% to 75%. The findings lend support to the theoretical assumptions in the literature that supportive social relationships influence achievement through motivational and affective pathways.     

Genetic and environmental contributions to stability and change in levels of self-control

Purpose

There has been an emerging body of research estimating the stability in levels of self-control across different sections of the life course. At the same time, some of this research has attempted to examine the factors that account for both stability and change in levels of self-control. Missing from much of this research is a concerted focus on the genetic and environmental architecture of stability and change in self-control.

Methods

The current study was designed to address this issue by analyzing a sample of kinship pairs drawn from the Child and Young Adult Supplement of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (CNLSY).

Results

Analyses of these data revealed that genetic factors accounted for between 74 and 92 percent of the stability in self-control and between 78 and 89 percent of the change in self-control. Shared and nonshared environmental factors explained the rest of the stability and change in levels of self-control.

Conclusions

A combination of genetic and environmental influences is responsible for the stability and change in levels of self-control over time.     

Poverty in Bangladesh: Measurement,decomposition and intertemporal comparison

This article, using the methodology developed by Foster, Greer, and Thorbecke to measure and decompose poverty, provides estimates of the levels of poverty in rural and urban areas in Bangladesh. It investigates in the context of Bangladesh, the most powerful effect of poverty in terms of a shortfall in food for daily calorie intake by the poor. It provides intertemporal comparison of poverty and its decomposition among subgroups. It also makes comparisons between the results obtained in this study with those currently available. The results of the study show a significant improvement in poverty situations in rural areas from 1982 to 1986. The article also discusses the policy implications of its findings.     

A Cross-Country Comparison of Corruption and Public Expenditures: A Panel Data Approach

Corruption is an especially serious problem for all countries, and has damaging effects on sustainable economic growth. Although there is a significant relationship between corruption and public expenditures, the degree and way of this relationship is changed according to countries. The main objective of this article is to analyze the relationship between corruption and the level and composition of public expenditures, using data from 21 countries which are classified as countries in above and below average corruption perception indices. In empirical analysis, panel data were used in modeling of the effects of corruption on public expenditures. The empirical results show the findings support the hypothesis that the composition of public expenditures has an important element on corruption for countries.     

Organization design and effectiveness: a study of anti-crime organizations in Hong Kong

There are various methods of designing organizations to adjust to the needs of the circumstances, clients and administrators. The literature on organizations highlighted various aspects as it developed and the emphasis shifted over time. Different approaches were tried in two cases in Hong Kong where organizations were designed to deal with specific problems of corruption and organized crime. While the social approach appeared to be more sensitive to the needs of the target group, the institutional approach emerged as a more effective option. In designing organizations, it is necessary to consider the social and psychological aspects, but the nature of structure, stability of environment and regularity of procedures have a profound impact on the effectiveness.     

Civil service reforms in British India and united Pakistan

Nearly 200 years of British rule of the Indian sub-continent clearly and significantly affected the society and people in the region. One of the continuing legacies of the British rule has been in the area of civil administration. The Indian Civil Service (ICS) characterized by centralization of authority and elite nature symbolized the British domination of the Indian people. From time to time attempts were made to reform the ICS. These reforms included introduction of competitive examination as a mode of entry, provision for systematic training and Indianization of the service. Pakistan inherited and continued with the British administrative system. The Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) was modelled after the ICS. A number of attempts were made to reform the CSP but all failed due to lack of political will and bureaucratic resistance to major administrative reforms.