SPECTACULAR COMPASSION

ABSTRACT

China's “Olympic Year” (2007–2008) was a watershed moment for the country and its ruling Chinese Communist Party. In this article, the author draws on her fieldwork experience as one of the few foreigners living in rural Tibetan regions during the Tibetan unrest in spring 2008 to consider the implications of the Olympic year from the margins of the state. Taking inspiration from recent anthropological debates about the nature of humanitarianism and sovereignty in neo-liberal and post-socialist states, the author considers the Tibetan unrest and the Sichuan earthquake that occurred just three weeks later on 12 May as particularly emblematic disastrous events linked by a new biopolitics of “charity” or “compassion” (Ch. aixin) in the context of state-led disaster relief. To get at the contested nature of morality and sovereignty in practice, the author focuses on nationally televised post-quake death rituals in which statist abstract compassion for lost Chinese citizens confronted the universalized compassion of embattled Tibetan Buddhist monastic communities.     

Alternative measures for the financial condition of the multifamily housing stock

Abstract

Indicators of the financial condition of the multifamily housing stock can potentially inform several policy issues, such as the loss of affordable rental units, multifamily developers’ access to capital, and the emerging secondary mortgage market for multifamily properties. Several rules of thumb exist for assessing financial condition. This article uses the Residential Finance Survey to investigate whether it matters, from a practical standpoint, which one is employed. Specifically, we ascertain how five measures—loan‐to‐value, debt coverage, rent‐to‐value, net operating income—to‐value, and vacancy loss ratios—relate to each other and rank properties.

We found that Pearsonian correlations among the measures varied dramatically. Factor analysis produced two factors, one corresponding to a rent‐flow measure and the other to a debt‐burden measure. Spearman rank‐order correlations revealed that with one exception, measures yielded noticeably dissimilar financial condition rankings. We conclude that single‐dimensional measures of financial condition should not be used in isolation.     

Associations between Dating Aggression Involvement and Subsequent Relationship Commitment

Little is known about how an individual’s commitment to their romantic partner evolves over the course of a relationship following involvement in dating aggression (DA). The present study explored longitudinal associations between both psychological and physical DA involvement and subsequent changes in commitment. We hypothesized that experiences of physical and psychological DA may be related to decreased feelings of commitment (including both dedication and constraint) in a relationship, and that gender may moderate the link between DA and changes in commitment. One-hundred and twenty (60 female) young adults (ages 18–25) in a romantic relationship completed electronic questionnaires each month for 6 months, (M age Wave 1?=?22.44, SD =?2.20). DA involvement and commitment were measured by the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale, and the Revised Commitment Inventory, respectively. Using multilevel modeling, the current study examined shifts in commitment (dedication and constraint) following DA involvement. As hypothesized, physical and psychological dating aggression involvement were both associated with declines in relationship commitment. Analyses also tested for potential gender interactions with physical and psychological dating aggression involvement for both constraint and dedication. No significant gender interactions emerged. These findings add to the accumulating evidence for the deleterious effects of dating aggression on relationships, including on relationship commitment, and illustrate important implications for interventions aimed at reducing dating aggression among young adults.

     

After-School Programs as a Prosocial Setting for Bonding Between Peers

This study reports on the longitudinal analysis of a structured after-school arts program for Canadian youth, ages 9 to 15 years, from low-income communities where the relationship of peer social support, family interactions, and psychosocial outcomes is evaluated. Multi-level growth curve analyses suggest an increase in prosocial development with peer social support and a decrease in prosocial development when negative family interactions are present. Comparisons between matched controls, using estimated linear propensity scores, revealed significant improvement in prosocial behaviors for the intervention group. The structured after-school arts program was found to increase prosocial behaviors and bonding with peers for youth from low-income communities.     

Urbanization,education, and the politics of space on the Tibetan Plateau

This article provides an introduction to a special collection of five articles showcasing the work of rising scholars in the geography and anthropology of Tibetan regions in China (Eveline Washul, Andrew Grant, Tsering Bum, Huatse Gyal and Duojie Zhaxi, published in Critical Asian Studies 50: 4 and Critical Asian Studies 51: 1). It contextualizes the authors’ contributions in the recent promotion of planned urbanization in Tibetan regions as the key to achieving the “Chinese Dream” under President Xi Jinping. The paper calls attention to these authors’ focus on Tibetan experiences of new urbanization policies and practices, as well as their less-appreciated entanglement with shifting education priorities. Providing brief summaries of each author’s case study and arguments, it points to the ways in which all five articles address the relationship between space and subjectivity, as well as the issue of constrained agency (versus simple notions of “choice”), in statist urbanization processes.     

Examining the Behavior of a System: An Outcome Evaluation of a Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence

One goal of a coordinated community response (CCR) to domestic violence is to create an infrastructure that will facilitate systems-level, and ultimately societal-level change. This study evaluated whether a CCR implemented in two counties in Georgia would be effective at increasing criminal justice system sanctions for male domestic violence offenders (i.e., arrests, prosecutions, convictions, sentencing, and referrals to batterer intervention programs). Time series analyses revealed that, in both counties, there was a significant increase in arrests of male offenders; however, law enforcement agencies also arrested more women following the intervention. More men were sentenced to probation and to attend a batterer’s intervention program post-intervention in one county; in the second county, there was no change in these outcomes. Results highlight the importance of examining how a CCR may affect the behavior of criminal justice systems, especially in terms of the unintended consequences for women.