Reviews

Silvana Malle, The Economic Organization of War Communism, 1918–1921. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985, xv + 548 pp. £30.00.

Nicholas Lampert, Whistleblowing in the Soviet Union: Complaints and Abuses under State Socialism. (In association with the Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University of Birmingham) New York: Schocken Books, 1985, xi + 221 pp. £25.00.

Christian Schmidt‐Häuer, Gorbachev: The Path to Power. London: I. B. Tauris, 1986, v + 218 pp. £12.95.

Zhores Medvedev, Gorbachev. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1986, ix + 272 pp. £15.00.

Paul Dibb, The Soviet Union: The Incomplete Superpower. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan (in association with the International Institute for Strategic Studies), 1986, xiii + 293 pp. £27.50.

Mark Harrison, Soviet Planning in Peace and War, 1938–1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985, xiv + 315 pp. $44.50.

Peter Rutland, The Myth of the Plan. Lessons of Soviet Planning Experience. Hutchinson and Co. (Publishers) Ltd., London‐Melbourne‐Sydney‐Auckland‐Johannesburg, 1985, 286 pp. £15.00.

Stanislaw Gomulka, Growth, innovation and reform in Eastern Europe. Brighton: Wheatsheaf Books Ltd, 1986, viii + 305 pp. £28.50.

Mark E. Schaffer, ed., Technology Transfer and East‐West Relations. London: Croom Helm, 1985, 273 pp. £22.50.

Jonathan Alford, ed., The Soviet Union: Security Policies and Constraints. London: Gower for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 1985, xii + 180 pp. £16.50.

Daniel S. Papp, Soviet Perceptions of the Developing World in the 1980s: The Ideological Basis. Lexington, Mass: Lexington Books, 1985, xii + 176 pp. £22.00.

Jerry F. Hough, The Struggle for the Third World. Soviet Debates and American Options. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, 1986, x + 293 pp. $32.95 h/b, $11.95 p/b.

Mark N. Katz, Russia and Arabia. Soviet Policy toward the Arabian Peninsula. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986, xvi + 279 pp. £24.45.

James P. Scanlan, Marxism in the USSR: A Critical Survey of Current Soviet Thought. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1985, 362 pp. $35.00.

Rasma Karklins, Ethnic Relations in the USSR: The Perspective from Below. Boston, London, and Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1986, xvi + 256 pp. £18.00.

S. Enders Wimbush, ed., Soviet Nationalities in Strategic Perspective. London & Sydney: Croom Helm, 1985, xxviii + 253 pp. £19.95.

Rosalind J. Marsh, Soviet Fiction Since Stalin: Science, Politics and Literature. London: Croom Helm, 1986, 338 pp. £25.00.

Ludmilla Alexeyeva, Soviet Dissent. Contemporary Movements for National, Religious, and Human Rights. Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, Connecticut, 1985, xxii + 522 pp. $35.00.

Omer Bartov, The Eastern Front, 1941–45, German Troops and the Barbarisation of Warfare. Basingstoke/Oxford: MacMillan/St. Anthony's, 1985, xvi + 214 pp. £27.50.

Donald J. Raleigh, Revolution on the Volga. 1917 in Saratov. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1986, 373 pp. $35.75.

Janos Kornai and Xavier Richet, La Voie Hongroise: Analyses et Experimentations Economiques. Paris: Caiman‐Levy, 1986, 319 pp. 174F.

Maria Hirszowicz, Coercion and Control in Communist Society: The Visible Hand in a Command Economy. Brighton: Wheatsheaf Books, 1986, vii + 226 pp. £25.00.

Irwin L. Collier, Connections, Effective Purchasing Power and Real Product in the German Democratic Republic. Heft 135, Reihe Wirtschaft und Recht, Berichte des Ost‐Europa‐Instituts an der Freien Universitä Berlin, 1985, ix + 216 pp.

Jan Jozef Lipski, KOR: A History of the Workers’ Defence Committee in Poland, 1976–1981. Translated by Olga Amsterdamska and Gene M Moore. Berkeley and London: University of California Press 1985, x + 561 pp. £33.95.

Patrick F. R. Artisien, Joint Ventures in Yugoslav Industry. Brookfield, Vermont: Gower, 1985, xv + 223 pp. h/b £16.50.

Barbara Holland, ed., Soviet Sisterhood. Bloomington, Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1985. 272 pp. £17.95 h/b, £5.95 p/b.

Sharon L. Wolchik and Alfred G. Meyer, eds., Women, State, and Party in Eastern Europe. Durham: Duke University Press, 1985, xiv + 453 pp. h/b $42.50, p/b $16.95.     

Introduction: contact and domestic abuse

ABSTRACT

This article introduces the special issue of the Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law on contact disputes and allegations of domestic abuse. It first describes the aims and findings of the International Symposium on Contact Disputes and Allegations of Domestic Violence – Identifying Best Practices at which the papers in the special issue were originally presented. It then outlines the position in England and Wales regarding allegations of domestic abuse in child arrangements cases, highlighting the difference between the ‘law in the books’ and the ‘law in action’. Thirdly, it discusses the research evidence on another prominent international approach to domestic abuse allegations – legislative presumptions against custody or unsupervised visitation/contact for abusive parents. The experience of presumptions in the USA and New Zealand suggests that a similar gap between ‘law in the books’ and ‘law in action’ exists, together with potential problems of legislative drafting. Finally, the article outlines the contributions of the other papers in the special issue to our understanding of international approaches to ensuring safety for children and resident parents in family proceedings where allegations of domestic abuse are raised.     

Conclusion: international best practices

ABSTRACT

Three approaches presented at the International Symposium on Contact Disputes and Allegations of Domestic Violence – Identifying Best Practices offered the possibility of overcoming the limitations identified in the preceding papers in this special issue. A human rights framework, trauma-informed practice and integrated services taking a whole-of-family approach can all help to achieve cultural change in contact proceedings and to ensure the availability of the resources needed to address the issue of domestic abuse holistically. Four Australian initiatives are described as examples of trauma-informed practice and integrated services: Legally Assisted Family Dispute Resolution (LAFDR), the Family Safety Model (FSM), the Family Violence Courts Division of the Victorian Magistrates Court (FVCD), and the Family Advocacy and Support Service (FASS). FSM and LAFDR are out-of-court initiatives which aim to address a family’s abuse-related needs before they get to a court. The FVCD and FASS pick up families whose cases have entered the court system, and at that stage attempt to offer a wrap-around service which addresses both legal and non-legal needs. Lastly, the article describes the European human rights framework, which is designed to operate in cases which are ultimately adjudicated by a court.     

Psychological Distress Following Suicidality Among Gay,Lesbian, and Bisexual Youths: Role of Social Relationships

Longitudinal relations between past suicidality and subsequent changes in psychological distress at follow-up were examined among gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) youths, as were psychosocial factors (e.g., self-esteem, social support, negative social relationships) that might mediate or moderate this relation. Past suicide attempters were found to have higher levels of depressive symptoms, anxious symptoms, and conduct problems at a later time than youths who neither attempted nor ideated. Psychosocial factors failed to mediate this relation. The interaction among past suicidality, social support, and negative relationships was associated with subsequent changes in all 3 psychological distress indicators 6 months later. Specifically, high levels of support (either from family or friends) or negative relationships were found to predict increased psychological distress among those with a history of suicide attempts, but not among youths without a history of suicidality. The findings suggest that GLB youths who attempt suicide continue to have elevated levels of psychological distress long after their attempt and they highlight the importance of social relationships in the youths psychological distress at follow-up.Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the biannual meeting of the European Association for Research on Adolescence, Oxford, UK, September 2002; and, at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, San Francisco, CA, November 2003.Associate Professor of Psychology, The City University of New York—The City College and Graduate Center. Received PhD in psychology from New York University. Research interests include the relation of identity to health, the intersection of multiple identities, and the relation of violence to health.Doctoral candidate in Social/Personality Psychology and Health Psychology, The City University of New York—Graduate Center. Research interests include the role of social relationships in the preservation of health and well-being.Research Scientist, HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, New York State Psychiatric Institute; and Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University. Received doctorate in social welfare (DSW) from The City University of New York—Graduate Center. Research and clinical interests include the design and implementation of interventions for gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents.     

Intimate Partner Violence and Child Adjustment: Moderation by Father Contact?

Little is currently known about father-child contact in families with histories of intimate partner violence (IPV), despite important implications of father contact for these families. The current study of 219 ethnically diverse children aged 6 to 12-years-old and their abused mothers examined relations between father contact, IPV, and children’s internalizing and externalizing problems. Approximately 30 % of the children had no current in-person contact with their father, while another 15 % saw their father every day of the past year. Child internalizing and externalizing problems were positively correlated with frequency of IPV, but unrelated to father contact. Controlling for marital status and mother education, father contact moderated relations between IPV and child externalizing, but not internalizing problems. While father contact was not associated with child adjustment across the entire sample, it did moderate relations between IPV and child behavior problems, suggesting that child contact with a less violent or nonviolent father or father figure might have a buffering effect on behavior problems in children exposed to IPV. Recommendations around father contact in families with IPV are discussed.     

Say cheese! Privacy and facial recognition

The popular social networking site, Facebook, recently launched a facial recognition tool to help users tag photographs they uploaded to Facebook. This generated significant controversy, arising as much as anything, from the company’s failure to adequately inform users of this new service and to explain how the technology works.The incident illustrates the sensitivity of facial recognition technology and the potential conflict with data privacy laws. However, facial recognition has been around for some time and is used by businesses and public organisations for a variety of purposes – primarily in relation to law enforcement, border control, photo editing and social networking. There are also indications that the technology could be used by commercial entities for marketing purposes in the future.This article considers the technology, its practical applications and the manner in which European data protection laws regulate its use. In particular, how much control should we have over our own image? What uses of this technology are, and are not, acceptable? Ultimately, does European data protection law provide an adequate framework for this technology? Is it a framework which protects the privacy of individuals without unduly constraining the development of innovative and beneficial applications and business models?