Regional Identity and Support for Europe: Distinguishing Between Cultural and Political Social Identity in France

Much has been written about the “crisis of the nation state” in Europe. The shifting of state competencies to the European and regional levels is expected to generate new loyalties to these levels, possibly at the expense of national solidarity. While numerous studies show that individuals with an exclusive national identity are less likely to support integration than those with an inclusive identity, much less is known about the interaction between regional identity and European identity. Using public opinion data collected in 16 French regions, I show that exclusive regionalists are less likely to feel attached to Europe and support the EU. However, I also find that the impact of regional identity on European identity varies by the type of identity invoked—cultural versus political. While cultural regional identity lowers support for European institutions, political regional identity has the opposite effect.     

Reforming and Performing the Informal Economy: Constitutive Effects of the World Bank's Anti-informality Practices in Kosovo

The World Bank has for over a decade tried to formalize the informal economy in Kosovo. However, local journalists and businessmen among others provide an alternative understanding of informality that problematizes the World Bank’s view and actions. Against this backdrop, the article analyses the constitution and the constitutive effects of the World Bank’s anti-informality operations in Kosovo between 1999 and 2014. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s power analytics, the article claims that the Bank’s agenda, and the economic ideas enacted through it, does structure and shape informal economic practices on the ground. Yet this structuring involves two forms of misrecognition. As a result, informality is paradoxically constituted (in novel ways) and reconstituted through the World Bank’s imposed anti-informality agenda. The article concludes with a discussion of how this underlines the need for policy solutions that depart from liberal peacebuilding’s subject–object distinction to form instead around an acknowledgement of informality as emergent and transforming throughout international interventions.     

Public policy measures in support of knowledge transfer activities: a review of academic literature

Despite the wealth of academic studies that analyze different policy measures and initiatives implemented by national or regional governments to support knowledge transfer from academia to industry, scant systematization efforts seek to integrate these disparate lines of research. The systematic review of academic studies on public policy measures in support of technology transfer presented by this article suggests a literature classification based on two dimensions: the type of policy measure analyzed, and the focus of the study (i.e., policy design vs. impact assessment). On the basis of this comprehensive review, we summarize the lessons learned thus far, identify research gaps that continue to limit insights into public policy measures for technology transfer, and highlight directions for further research.     

The “net” of the Internet: Risk Factors for Cyberbullying among Secondary-School Students in Greece

Cyberbullying is one of the most common threats an adolescent might face online with serious negative consequences at the social, emotional and educational level. Despite the intense study of the phenomenon over the past decade, most researchers ask for new directions in research that will focus on risk and protective factors. This study attempted to investigate the predictive effect of internet use, parental mediation, school-bullying and victimisation, gender and empathy on cyberbullying and cybervictimisation in two measurements, 4 months apart. Data collection was conducted using a self-report questionnaire. Four hundred and forty secondary school students, aged 12–14, participated in the study. The students were randomly selected from six public schools located in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Thessaloniki in Greece. Results showed that involvement in traditional bullying as a victim or as a perpetrator is the factor with the highest predictability for cyberbullying and cybervictimisation, which also remains stable across time. This finding points to the urgent need for designing and implementing programmes against all forms of bullying both offline and on line.     

Characterization of Printing Inks Using DART‐Q‐TOF‐MS and Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) FTIR

The rise in improved and widely accessible printing technology has resulted in an interest to develop rapid and minimally destructive chemical analytical techniques that can characterize printing inks for forensic document analysis. Chemical characterization of printing inks allows for both discrimination of inks originating from different sources and the association of inks originating from the same source. Direct analysis in real‐time mass spectrometry (DART‐MS) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR‐FTIR) were used in tandem to analyze four different classes of printing inks: inkjets, toners, offset, and intaglio. A total of 319 samples or ~ 80 samples from each class were analyzed directly on a paper substrate using the two methods. DART‐MS was found to characterize the semi‐volatile polymeric vehicle components, while ATR‐FTIR provided chemical information associated with the bulk components of these inks. Complimentary data results in improved discrimination when both techniques are used in succession resulting in >96% discrimination for all toners, 95% for all inkjets, >92% for all offset, and >54% for all intaglio inks.     

Does money have a conservative bias? Estimating the causal impact of Citizens United on state legislative preferences

Public Choice - Recent work has suggested that the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United (2010), eliminating restrictions on independent campaign expenditures, increased the election...     

Acute Influence of Alcohol,THC or Central Stimulants on Violent Suicide: A Swedish Population Study

Alcohol and substance abuse in general is a risk factor for suicide, but very little is known about the acute effect in relation to suicide method. Based on information from 18,894 medico‐legal death investigations, including toxicological findings and manner of death, did the present study investigate whether acute influence of alcohol, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), or central stimulants (amphetamine and cocaine) was related to the use of a violent suicide method, in comparison with the nonviolent method self‐poisoning and alcohol‐/illicit drug‐negative suicide decedents. Multivariate analysis was conducted, and the results revealed that acute influence of THC was related to using the violent suicide method–– jumping from a height (RR 1.62; 95% CI 1.01–2.41). Alcohol intoxication was not related to any violent method, while the central stimulant‐positive suicide decedent had a higher, albeit not significant, risk of several violent methods. The study contributes with elucidating suicide methods in relation to acute intoxication.     

Crooked Lessons from the Indian Wars

One aim of this article is to chide the U.S. military—and Americans overall—for not paying sufficient attention to our historic relations with American Indians. After all, American Indians are the non-Westerners we Americans should know best. A review of American Indian history can shed important light on our current encounters with tribal peoples elsewhere. At the same time, however, great care needs to be taken. Instead of just citing similarities—as analogies lead us to do—we must also take note of differences, which we can best do by using history as a foil.     

From philanthropy to corporate social responsibility in Guatemala: assessing shifts through Alianzas

Latin American firms are moving from narrow philanthropy to broader engagement with development priorities. We examine this shift with data from Alianzas, a development programme promoting private contributions to health and education in Guatemala. We use Solomon's (2010) dimensions of proliferation, professionalisation, and partnering to compare firms' pre-Alianzas efforts with programme activities. Both firms with established and new philanthropic programmes engaged with Alianzas (proliferation). Most participants were willing to steer efforts towards public priorities (professionalisation) and collaborate with government (partnering). Given chronic underfunding of health and education priorities in Guatemala, we suggest that private contributions to public programmes be institutionalised.

De la philanthropie à la responsabilité sociale des entreprises au Guatemala : évaluer les changements obtenus à travers les Alianzas

Les entreprises latino-américaines sont en passe de s'éloigner de la philanthropie étroite et choisissent plutôt une approche large du travail sur les priorités de développement. Nous examinons cette évolution à partir de données émanant des Alianzas, un programme de développement qui favorise les contributions privées à la santé et à l'éducation au Guatemala. Nous employons les dimensions de Solomon (2010) de prolifération, professionnalisation et établissement de partenariats pour comparer les efforts des entreprises pré-Alianzas aux activités de programme. Des entreprises dotées de programmes philanthropiques établis ainsi que nouveaux ont collaboré avec des Alianzas (prolifération). La plupart des participants étaient disposés à orienter les efforts vers les priorités publiques (professionnalisation) et à collaborer avec le gouvernement (établissement de partenariats). Étant donné le sous-financement chronique des priorités en matière de santé et d'éducation au Guatemala, nous proposons que les contributions privées aux programmes publics soient institutionnalisées.

De filantropia à responsabilidade social corporativa na Guatemala: avaliando mudanças através do programa Alianzas

Empresas latino-americanas estão mudando de filantropia limitada para engajamento mais amplo com prioridades de desenvolvimento. Examinamos esta mudança com dados do Alianzas, um programa de desenvolvimento que promove contribuições privadas para a saúde e educação na Guatemala. Utilizamos as dimensões de Solomon (2010) de proliferação, profissionalização e parceria para comparar os esforços das empresas pré-Alianzas com atividades do programa. Tanto as empresas com programas filantrópicos estabelecidos quanto as empresas com programas filantrópicos novos engajaram-se com a Alianzas (proliferação). A maioria dos participantes desejava dirigir esforços para prioridades públicas (profissionalização) e colaborar com o governo (parceria). Tendo em vista o baixo investimento crônico nas prioridades da saúde e educação na Guatemala, sugerimos que contribuições privadas para programas públicos sejam institucionalizadas.

De la filantropía a la responsabilidad social corporativa en Guatemala: cómo se evalúan los cambios a través de Alianzas

Las empresas latinoamericanas están abandonando sus prácticas exclusivamente filantrópicas para asumir un mayor compromiso con las prioridades del desarrollo. Los autores analizan esta transición a través de la información obtenida de Alianzas, un programa de desarrollo que promueve el financiamiento privado en las áreas de salud y educación en Guatemala. Utilizan las categorías de Solomon (2010) –difusión, profesionalización y construcción de acuerdos– para comparar las actividades de las empresas antes y después de participar en el programa Alianzas. En el programa Alianzas participaron tanto las empresas con experiencia en actividades filantrópicas como las que no la tenían (difusión). La mayoría de las empresas que participaron encaminó sus esfuerzos hacia las prioridades públicas (profesionalización) y hacia la colaboración con el gobierno (construcción de acuerdos). Dada la escasez crónica de financiamiento para la salud y la educación en Guatemala, los autores sugieren que se institucionalicen las donaciones privadas para los programas públicos.