Egypt versus Ethiopia: The Conflict over the Nile Metastasizes

Egypt and Ethiopia continue to oppose one another over the allocation of the waters of the Nile River basin, despite a succession of provisional multilateral agreements. Officials in Cairo insist that Egypt be guaranteed its “historic rights” to two-thirds of the river’s flow, while their counterparts in Addis Ababa demand an “equitable” distribution of water among all of the riparian countries. More important, Sudan’s shift in alignment from Egypt to Ethiopia has injected new tension into the dispute, and the sustained involvement of South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda and Eritrea heightens the likelihood that periodic crises will escalate into armed confrontations. Consequently, existing studies that offer sanguine assessments of the potential for a compromise settlement fail to address the key dynamics that drive the conflict.     

加拿大面对的北极挑战:主权、安全与认同

由于全球暖化对北极地区产生的影响,使得北极资源开采与航运的战略价值再度成为人们关注的亮点。西北航道开通的可能性,以及北极蕴藏的丰富石油、天然气与矿物,让观察家认为加拿大北极主权问题将再度成为争议的核心。美加之间多年来关于西北航道控制权的争议,以及环北极国家之间因大陆架延伸的重叠而发生纠纷,并非一定会导致冲突,相反地,透过协调与外交斡旋或许对各方更有利。加拿大北极主权问题,其实也是认同问题,而加拿大必须展现对北极地区更多的投入意愿。     

Thinking Outside the Plot: Insights on Small-Scale Mechanisation from Case Studies in East Africa

The changing agricultural sector and the challenges faced by smallholders call for the need for farm mechanisation suited to smallholder farming. Conventional four-wheeled tractors (4WTs) are not feasible for many smallholders owing to their high capital costs, unsuitability for fragmented holdings as well as topography and slope. More appropriate technologies are needed such as two-wheeled tractors (2WTs) and their requisite accessories. Our findings show that opportunities exist for the introduction of 2WTs in maize based systems through service provider models combining a number of operations that can be offered throughout the year and targeted to niche areas where 4WT access is unlikely. The paper also suggests that attention needs to be given concurrently to development of the 2WT supply chain to ensure that its profitability is sustainable.     

Using wilderness therapy in treating adolescent sexual offenders

Abstract

This article describes a follow-up study of 14 adolescent sexual offenders who had attended a community treatment programme. A core component of their treatment included outdoor wilderness group therapy. Interviews were conducted with adolescents and parents and tapped several areas including social skills and peer relationships, victim empathy, cognitive distortions, safety plans and coping with high risk situations, sexual offending cycle, perceived level of risk, intimacy and sexuality. The study also examined the child protection service records of the It adolescents. Data from child protection service computer records showed that none of the adolescents had reoffended. Interviews with adolescents and families focusing particularly on the wilderness component of the programme showed positive changes.     

Validation of a short aggression inventory for law enforcement

This study cross-validates a short aggression inventory using a sample of 250 law enforcement professionals. The instrument under investigation is the 12-question modified version of the Buss-Perry Aggression Scale (Buss & Perry, 1992). Statistical and external validation methods were used to ascertain the appropriateness of this scale's use with law enforcement professionals. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that both the firstorder, four-factor model, {ie12-1}, GFI=.94, NFI=.84, NNFI=.88, and CFI=.91, and the second-order model with a single, global Aggression “super” factor, {ie12-2}, GFI=.94, NFI=.84, NNFI=.89, and CFI=.91, provided a reasonable goodness-of-fit to the data. Subscales of this instrument correlated meaningfully with departmental measures of citizen complaints for physical and verbal aggression by officers, as well as the number of shooting incidents in which the officers were involved. The need for a short measure of aggression is discussed and applications in law enforcement are offered.     

Public choice theory and antitrust policy

We survey the pioneering contributions of Robert Tollison to the theory and practice of antitrust law enforcement. Inspired by his period of service during Ronald Reagan’s first administration as Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Economics, Tollison was the first scholar to apply public choice reasoning to the question why antitrust frequently fails to achieve its stated goal of protecting consumers against unwarranted exercises of market power. In supplying evidence that the outcomes of antitrust processes are shaped more by special interests than by the public’s interest, he was instrumental in launching a wholly new research program.