A Theory of International Conflict Management and Sanctioning

In this paper we analyze sanctioning policies in internationallaw. We develop a model of international military conflictwhere the conflicting countries can be a target ofinternational sanctions. These sanctions constitute anequilibrium outcome of an international political market forsanctions, where different countries trade politicalinfluence. We show that the level of sanctions in equilibriumis strictly positive but limited, in the sense that highersanctions would exacerbate the military conflict, not reduceit. We then propose an alternative interpretation to theperceived lack of effectiveness of international sanctions, byshowing that the problem might not be one of undersanctioningbut of oversanctioning.     

Mandating Social Change: The Business Struggle Over National Health Reform

This article explores the conditions under which business managers endorse human resource investment policy drawing from the recent national health reform episode. In order to generate corporate support, a business community must develop corporate policy capacity, or the ability to grasp complicated social issues and to act in support of this social agenda. Corporate support is also influenced by the business–related strategies of government leaders who can encourage businesses to organize around legislative issues. The bid for national health reform met neither condition. Corporate policy capacity was inadequate to sustaining business support for health reform at the point of translating general corporate anxiety into specific legislation. Because U.S. business groups are weak, fragmented, and compete for members, they tend to cater to strong, vocal minorities and are often unable to act on majority positions. In health reform although a majority of business groups' members wanted reform, minority objections prevailed. In addition, where the Clinton administration's business mobilization efforts were complicated by its campaign for mass support, the Republicans organized a formidable corporate lobby against the bill.     

‘Bringing the state back in’: A political economy analysis of Portuguese immigration policy

Southern European states are recurrently represented as ‘safe havens’ for irregular immigration in face of powerless national governments. Drawing from an interdisciplinary approach combining the domestic politics approach and the political economy of migration, this investigation explores the effectiveness of the Portuguese policy towards labour and irregular inflows during the 1990s and the 2000s. Against the increasing exclusion of politics and national governments in immigration studies, this research focuses on the agency of the Portuguese state. This article associates the intensity of irregular inflows with the covert expansive approach towards immigration adopted by the Portuguese state, driven by economic objectives.     

A Novel Method for Removing a Spinal Cord with Attached Cervical Ganglia from a Pediatric Decedent

A diagnosis of child abuse is dependent on a comprehensive and accurate assessment of injury in the context of a thorough investigation. However, signatures of trauma are often subtle and interpretation can be very difficult. Recently, researchers have refocused their attention from the head to the neck in search of traumatic signatures of abusive head trauma. HCIFS has developed a technique to remove the cervical spinal cord with the ganglia attached that is less destructive and more time and cost efficient than alternative methods previously published. Once removed, the dorsal nerve roots and ganglia are evaluated for the presence of hemorrhage. The authors performed a small pilot study using the novel method to evaluate 20 decedents with a history of blunt force trauma and eight without a traumatic history. Fifteen of the traumatic deaths and two of the nontraumatic deaths were found to have dorsal nerve root and/or ganglia hemorrhage.     

The perspective of multi-religious Society on Islamization policy in Malaysia

Support for Islam has often been described as part of the Malaysian government’s drive for Islamization, commonly known as ‘Islamization policy’. The concept of an ‘Islamization policy’ is contested, open to various interpretations since it is not officially defined in any government blueprint. This paper highlights the perspectives of a number of religious groups on Islamization policy. The study covered the period from 1981 until 2009, which includes the Mahathir Mohamed and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi administrations. Using a policy analysis lens, the paper focuses on the perspective of the groups regarding the idea of Islamization as a public policy; the meaning and status of Islamization policy. The patterns indicate that the views are more complex than just ‘for’ and ‘against,’ although the patterns of perception are based on two divergent views: those who support the policy (the proponents) and those who oppose it (the opponents). This diversity is significant in that it helps to provide a better understanding of some multi-religious perspectives towards Islamization policy, as well as highlighting the different interests and concerns of both Muslim and non-Muslim communities towards the policy.     

Gender flexible pedagogy in early childhood education

Early childhood education (ECE) has long been recognized as one of the most gendered professions. This paper aims to examine how far ECE can become a space to deliver ‘gender flexible pedagogy’, a concept that incorporates ideas about staff modelling of alternative forms of masculinities and femininities, the value of a mixed gender workforce, and explicit gender teaching within curricula. The theoretical underpinnings of this concept are discussed drawing on data collected in discussions with pre-school teachers in order to understand the potential of this principle and identify how it can be practiced. The paper is based on two different interview based studies, one conducted in an Indonesian kindergarten and the other with Swedish preschool pedagogues. The findings suggest that gendered practices in ECE are rooted in teachers’ implicit gender beliefs influenced by larger socio-political discourses. Early childhood educators must develop an explicit gender consciousness before they can deliver a gender conscious pedagogy.     

Trauma as Site of Identity: The Case of Jeanette Winterson and Frida Kahlo

B y taking gender seriously, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party in South Africa appeared to reverse the trend set by many liberation movements elsewhere: namely, women being mobilized as agents in struggles around class and race, yet denied the imperative of addressing gender subordination. Shortly after coming to power, the ANC adopted a national strategy for advancing gender equality. By doing so it demonstrated that it could rise above the limitations of its erstwhile 'woman question' position (Beall et al. 1989) and learn from the experience of other countries that had tried to institutionalize gender policies and structures. This in turn served to place South Africa at the cutting edge of experience in state-initiated gender policies and 'national machineries' for women. Nevertheless, South Africa's National Machinery for Advancing Gender Equality merits critical scrutiny, both in terms of its intrinsic aims and objectives and in relation to its potential for making an impact, given the development policy context of contemporary South Africa. Drawing on research conducted in South Africa over a number of years--during the 1980s (Beall et al. 1987) and, more recently, since 1997 (Beall 1997, 1998), it is possible to consider what lessons are to be learned from the institutionalization of gender-sensitive policy and practice in a complex institutional environment.