An Interactional Perspective of Intimate Partner Violence: An In-depth Semi-structured Interview of a Representative Sample of Help-seeking Women

This article reports a study of women victimized by intimate partner violence (IPV). We describe three interactional aspects of IPV: (1) responses and conduct before, during, and after IPV episodes, (2) impact of alcohol and drug intoxication, and (3) Predictors of risk for IPV victimization in more than one partnership. A representative sample of 157 help-seeking women, recruited from family counseling offices, the police and shelters, were interviewed about physical, psychological and sexual IPV. The nature and characteristics of the IPV interactions were complex and heterogeneous. There were significant interactional differences between the IPV categories concerning the women’s responses and conduct before, during and after the IPV. The impact of alcohol and drug intoxication was relatively small on the occurrence of IPV. About 75% reported that neither the perpetrator nor the female victim had consumed alcohol or drugs before the index IPV exposure. Only 23% of the women had experienced IPV by previous partners. Women who had been subjected to sexual abuse in their family of origin were at almost 25 times increased risk of IPV victimization in more than one partnership. Childhood exposure to physical IPV between parents increased the risk of IPV victimization in more than one partnership significantly more than if the woman had been subject to childhood physical victimization.     

Berufungsbehörde,Befugnis zur Sachentscheidung

Die Berufungsbeh?rde ist nicht befugt, auf Grund der Berufung von Parteien mit eingeschr?nktem Mitspracherecht den erstinstanzlichen Genehmigungsbescheid aus Gründen aufzuheben und die Genehmigung zu versagen, hinsichtlich derer kein Mitspracherecht der berufenden Parteien besteht (hier: Der Umweltsenat durfte auf Grund der Berufung von Parteien, die kein Mitspracherecht in Bezug auf die mit dem erstinstanzlichen Genehmigungsbescheid [auch] erteilte Rodungsbewilligung hatten, den erstinstanzlichen Genehmigungsbescheid nicht wegen Rechtswidrigkeit der Rodungsbewilligung aufheben und die Genehmigung nach dem UVP-G 2000 versagen).     

Sidelining corporate human rights violations: The failure of the OECD’s regulatory consensus

This article critically assesses the effectiveness of the OECD mechanism for regulating human rights violations by private corporations. It presents a recategorization of the outcomes of OECD cases as a basis for analyzing—both quantitatively and qualitatively—precisely how such cases are resolved in practice. In doing so, the article critically evaluates two key claims made by proponents of the process: first, that the OECD mechanism is capable of encouraging mutually agreed upon, consensual outcomes; and, second, that the process has been enhanced following its 2011 revision. The article concludes by reflecting on the significance of the findings set out herein to the development of a new treaty on business and human rights that is currently under way in the UN Human Rights Council.     

Health service utilization among widows living with HIV/AIDS: an interview survey in Manipur, India

Widows living with HIV/AIDS (WLHA) are a vulnerable and often overlooked group. The North Eastern Indian state of Manipur, which has one of the highest concentrations of HIV/AIDS cases in India, is not an exception. This paper aims to describe the pattern of and factors contributing to the use of health services by WLHA in Manipur. Structured face-to-face interviews were conducted among 510 respondents. Only 49% of the respondents were aware of available health facilities. The place of residence (67.8%) and appointment at a convenient time (70.8%) were the main factors affecting the use of health services. To improve access to health services, it is imperative that the services of trained health providers are made easily available. Policy makers and organizations working on HIV/AIDs should work together to remove the barriers to the use of health services, making them user friendly for vulnerable groups such as WLHA.     

From Armed Neutrality to External Dependence: Swiss Security in the 21st Century

Abstract: Historically, Swiss identity was founded on beliefs in federalism, direct democracy and armed neutrality. Given continued popular support for autonomous self‐defense in an era of transnational threats, it is worth examining whether a small economically interdependent state, such as Switzerland, is single‐handedly capable of providing for its own security. To preview our conclusions, every facet of Switzerland’s security, whether against military threats, terrorism or natural disasters, today benefits from substantial international inputs. At base, Switzerland’s increasing security dependence has been driven by the following dynamics: 1) the general development of institutionalized international cooperation; 2) the evolving nature of the threats Switzerland faces; and 3) political efforts to “securitize” issues not hitherto considered as security problems. Because Swiss security dependence owes more to broad structural factors than deliberate choices, policymakers would be better off embracing this reality by proactively using international organizations to address transnational challenges.     

Organised Interests,Authority Structures and Political Influence: Danish and Norwegian Patient Groups Compared

The article presents a comparative analysis of the strategies applied by Danish and Norwegian patient organisations and organisations for disabled persons in order to promote the interests of their members. Three research questions are addressed: Are Danish and Norwegian patient organisations service organisations operating according to a ‘logic of membership’ or political pressure groups acting according to a ‘logic of influence’? Do patient organisations apply ‘insider’ or ‘outsider’ strategies in their efforts to influence healthcare policies? What impact do different authority structures have on the patient organisations' influencing strategies? The latter question is related to recent reforms in the public healthcare systems of the two countries. The major responsibility for public hospitals now rests with regional authorities in Denmark and central government in Norway. The study is based on a survey among nationwide patient organisations in the two countries and shows that most patient groups are ‘polyvalent’‘venue shoppers’ combining a variety of influencing strategies.     

Does Involvement in Performance Management Routines Encourage Performance Information Use? Evaluating GPRA and PART

The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 and the George W. Bush administration’s Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) established new routines that were intended to foster performance management practices. Using data from two surveys, the authors find that the involvement of agency employees in GPRA processes and PART reviews generally had little direct effect on performance information use once other factors are accounted for. The main exception is that managerial involvement in GPRA processes and PART reviews is associated with the use of performance data to refine measures and goals. This reflects the limits of government‐wide reform efforts that depend on difficult‐to‐observe bureaucratic behavior. The authors also find that a series of organizational factors—leadership commitment to results, learning routines led by supervisors, the motivational nature of the task, and the ability to link measures to actions—are positive predictors of performance information use.     

Configuration in the flesh: challenges in publicly promoted clusters

In this article, we study how the configuration of a publicly promoted clusters policy??the Global Clusters policy initiated by the Walloon Government in Belgium??influenced the behaviors of R&D practitioners. At first, we explored the background of the Global Cluster policy in an effort to make the program configuration visible. This first step was conducted through the gathering and analysis of data from official documents as well as publications, conference speeches and workshops produced by policy makers, evaluators and their academic collaborators. Then, we observed the transmission of the six resulting features from the policy level to the project level: we studied their appropriation by R&D practitioners in ??Mirage??, an R&D project associated to the mechanical engineering Global Cluster. As a result, we show that the particularities of Walloon Global Clusters make them a powerful instrument to enhance collateral assets while facing potential lock-in. We finally consider the way these Global Clusters should evolve to favor the exploitation of the emerged outcomes while exploring future opportunities. A good balance between exploitation and exploration as well as adequate networking and clustering instruments to support both objectives appear necessary to ensure sustainability and growth of the involved actors.