Southern Europe and the Eurozone Crisis Negotiations: Preference Formation and Contested Issues

South European countries were severely hit by the eurozone crisis. Adopting the theoretical framework of prospect theory, this article conducts an empirical analysis of the interpretation of the situation by the South European political leaders in terms of gains and losses. After discussing the stances of South European countries vis-à-vis a number of contested issues which emerged during the 2010–2013 negotiations, the article goes on to provide a comparative account of the determinants of national preference formation with respect to the eurozone crisis reforms in Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain, paying special attention to the relationship between governments and parliaments.     

The Extent,Nature, and Consequences of School Victimization: A Review of Surveys and Recent Research

ABSTRACT

The authors present a comprehensive overview of the current literature on the extent, correlates, and consequences of school-based incidents of victimization in the United States. The primary sources of data on crime and victimization in schools, including periodic, nationally representative surveys, are reviewed. These data are used to describe the scope and types of victimization most frequently encountered by students while in school, as well as historic shifts in trends. The authors also summarize the main correlates of school victimization both at the individual and school levels; describe the health, psychological, behavioral, and peer-network consequences of school victimization; and discuss the factors that can mitigate its consequences for youths. The discussion concludes by outlining future directions for this important line of research.     

Another invasion: Lessons from international support to East Timorese NGOs

This article seeks to contribute to the debate on collaboration between national and international NGOs. It argues that it is vital for the development of stable, independent, and viable civil societies that international NGOs promote a bottom-up approach in their support to and collaboration with local NGOs, especially among those emerging from situations of conflict or other profound social disruptions. From a study carried out in East Timor, the author concludes that there is a noticeable discrepancy between rhetoric and practice with regard to such support. The multiple challenges the international NGO community faces on this front persist despite the existence of abundant learning opportunities accumulated through years of development work. The author argues that such challenges are less a question of standards and rules than of basic approach, attitudes, and power relations. She maintains that if international NGOs and the wider international community do not alter their approach, they will suffocate rather than foster the development of a viable and autonomous civil society in the countries in which they operate.     

Perspectives of young adult males who displayed harmful sexual behaviour during adolescence on motive and treatment

ABSTRACT

Few studies have examined the subjective experiences of young people following interventions for sexually abusive behaviour. To learn more about how this population experienced these interventions and how these interventions, affect their adult life, 22 adult males (m?=?22 years) who were assessed as teenagers (m?=?15 years) for sexually abusing children or peers were interviewed, on average six years after the assessment of their offence. Three main themes were identified: something sexual happened (recalling memories of the sexual acts and motives of the behaviour), societal actions (interventions offered), and life has been affected (memories and feelings associated with the abuse still being present). Seven respondents (32%), who all had a cognitive disability, had sexually reoffended by follow-up. If the respondents received interventions that focused on their abusive behaviour, they were likely to find the interventions helpful. Interventions that did not address abusive behaviour, were perceived as less helpful for dealing with their behaviour, and the short- and long-term consequences associated with this behaviour. Respondents reported feelings of sadness and guilt associated with their sexually abusive behaviour and these feelings remained into adulthood. These findings suggest that interventions for this population need to address the individual needs of the adolescent as well as sexual behaviour problems. In addition, interventions should include opportunities for follow-up.     

Social Policy and Social Control： Case of San Joso del Rincon in the State of Mexico

This study sets out to analyze and evaluate the implementation of a system for the regulation and control of social policies （＂Social Comptrollership＂） involving civil society so as to reinforce the mechanisms for ensuring transparency and responsibility in the government＇s operation of social programs and the execution of public works Here is presented the analysis of the Federal Rural Housing Program （in Spanish： ＂Programa de Vivienda RuraF＇） that is aimed at providing accommodation to families in situations of severe poverty living in communities described as suffering from ＂high or very high levels of marginalization＂. The main conclusion of this research, which is based on a series of interviews with aid recipients, the officials and the social organizations involved, is that the regulatory aspects of this system for controlling social policies are not effective, since they lack mechanisms for enforcing the sanctions set down for participants who do not respect the agreements they have entered into.     

Economic Explanations for Opposition to Immigration: Distinguishing between Prevalence and Conditional Impact

What explains variation in individuals’ opposition to immigration? While scholars have consistently shown cultural concerns to be strong predictors of opposition, findings regarding the labor‐market competition hypothesis are highly contested. To help understand these divergent results, we distinguish between the prevalence and conditional impact of determinants of immigration attitudes. Leveraging a targeted sampling strategy of high‐technology counties, we conduct a study of Americans’ attitudes toward H‐1B visas. The plurality of these visas are occupied by Indian immigrants, who are skilled but ethnically distinct, enabling us to measure a specific skill set (high technology) that is threatened by a particular type of immigrant (H‐1B visa holders). Unlike recent aggregate studies, our targeted approach reveals that the conditional impact of the relationship in the high‐technology sector between economic threat and immigration attitudes is sizable. However, labor‐market competition is not a prevalent source of threat and therefore is generally not detected in aggregate analyses.     

Credit Availability and Internal Migration: Evidence from Thailand

This study investigates the relationship between borrowing and internal migration. Exploiting the micro-finance scheme Village Fund in Thailand, it investigates the short- and medium-term effects of borrowing since the policy’s introduction. Employing an instrumental variables approach, borrowing is instrumented using the inverse number of households per village at the beginning of the policy to capture potential credit availability. The findings suggest that internal migration in Thailand is not credit constrained and its interaction with credit is time-related. Borrowing reduces internal migration in the medium-term, but is found not to affect migration when the policy is first introduced.