La coopération à I'intérieur d'une région métropolitaine: éléments d'analysey†

Sommaire. Les relations inter-municipales, à l'intérieur d;une région métropolitaine, sont abordées dam cet article sous l'angle de la coopération qu'elles impliquent. L'auteur fait un tour d'horizon des principaux concepts qui sont utilisés dans l'étude de la coopération et de l'intégration, à l'aide des nombreux travaux publiées sur le sujet. Après avoir défini l'intégration, l'auteur précise les différentes modalités d'intégration, ainsi que les conditions favorables et les avantages de l'intégration au niveau municipal. Abstract. This article focuses on the relationship between municipalities within a regional area, from the point of view of the cooperation they imply. The author reviews the major concepts utilized in the study of cooperation and integration, using research material already published. The concept of integration is defined in the first part, followed by a review of the different modalities of integration and of the conditions to and advantages of integration at the municipal level.     

Federalism and Social Policy: The Case of Domestic Violence

This paper challenges long standing critiques of federalism that suggest it stymies the development of progressive social policies. Through a case study of national domestic violence policies in Australia, this paper argues that not only can the curses of federalism – especially conservatism, duplication and overlap – be surmounted, but even more positively, under the right condition, federalism can enhance opportunities for the development of progressive social policy. While the Howard government has adopted a conservative approach to domestic violence, federal structures have made it possible to maintain an alternative discourse at the state level. Moreover, national policy coordination machinery has opened the path for policy learning and innovation between governments in this social policy area.     

Private health insurance in Uganda: bridging the gap in public health provision?

This article discusses two organisations currently providing voluntary private health insurance in Uganda and considers their contributions to bridging the gap in provision in the country's public health sector.     

The Psychological Impact of Traumatic Events on Children

The past decade has seen accumulating research detailing the psychological consequences of a range of traumatic events upon children and young people. This paper summarizes some of the psychological consequences, including posttraumatic stress disorder, and describes the presentation and course in children. Treatment studies are reviewed and the need for further research with children involved in a range of events highlighted. In particular, there is a need to develop and evaluate early interventions and to identify factors that mediate or moderate negative consequences.     

PTSD symptoms and sexual harassment: the role of attributions and perceived control

Researchers have compiled significant evidence demonstrating that sexual harassment leads to psychological harm, including the full symptom picture of PTSD, but few have examined the psychological processes involved. Research on attributions among trauma victims would suggest that causal attributions and perceptions of control may be important predictors of outcomes. The authors discuss a study involving a path model that used data from 189 women involved in sexual harassment litigation. Results indicate that both self-blame and harasser blame were positively related to PTSD symptoms. Control over recovery and the perception that future harassment is unlikely were both related to fewer PTSD symptoms. Unexpectedly, perceived control over future harassment is related to higher levels of PTSD symptoms. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Attitudes to abortion in the era of reform: evidence from the Abortion Law Reform Association correspondence

This article examines letters sent by members of the general public to the Abortion Law Reform Association (ALRA) in the decade immediately before the 1967 Abortion Act. It shows how a voluntary organisation, in their aim of supporting a specific cause of unclear legality, called forth correspondence from those in need. In detailing the personal predicaments of those facing an unwanted pregnancy, this body of correspondence was readily deployed by ALRA in their efforts to mobilise support for abortion law reform, thus exercising a political function. A close examination of the content of the letters and the epistolary strategies adopted by their writers reveals that as much as they were a lobbying tool for changes in abortion law, these letters were discursively shaped by debates surrounding that very reform.