Legal Development and Privatization in Russia: A Case Study

An American attorney and political scientist presents a study focused on managerial efforts to reorganize the corporate structure of a large aviation conglomerate with 14,000 employees. The conversion of properties from state to collective ownership and organizational shifts to a joint-stock company are detailed and analyzed. Managerial strategies to streamline the privatization are traced from corporate documents and procedures designed internally to devise orderly regulations not rooted in parliamentary legislation or presidential decrees. Broader implications are noted in light of possible trends to develop laws at the grassroots level and to establish precedents that may be assimilated. journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: K22, L21, P13, P31.     

Unexpected narratives in conservation: Discourses of identity and place in Šumava National Park,Czech Republic

Abstract

In ?umava National Park, dominant actors dispute appropriate conservation strategies habitually overlooking ?umava's residents and their socioeconomic concerns. Routinely disregarded, ?umava's residents invoke narratives of identity and place that undermine the conservation paradigm by constructing the local population ‘quality’ as insufficient to make conservation a success. This paper examines the circumstances in which such a discourse emerges, how it responds to the asperity of conservation in a post-socialist setting and gains credence for implausible conclusions by appealing to broadly recognised Czech and European narratives of identity and place. What emerges is a discursive fragmentation of the subject simultaneously lends the discourse credibility and frustrates the redistribution of power in the area.     

Character ethics and the transformation of governance

A focus on character ethics has the power to transform public adminstration, and transform governance as we know it. Virtue demands of us many things that professionalism, efficiency, effectiveness, and ordinary bureaucratic practices do not. It requires that we be perceptive and discerning, and that we have a predisposition to make judgments and act with courage. Focusing on character ethics would transform governance because a public service characterized by virtue and the attending fundamental respect for the dignity and worth of others, would not deny the public their rightful role in self-governance. A virtuous public servant will be an enabling and empowering force in our institutions of governance, helping reinvigorate civic virtue among both public administrators and the general citizenry. But if an ethic of character is to take hold in public administration, we need to design organizational environments and management practices more conducive to the development of virtuous habits. Fortunately such changes are also likely to foster productivity, creativity, and effectiveness.     

Alcohol Outlet Density and Young Women’s Perpetration of Violence Toward Male Intimate Partners

This paper examines the relationships between alcohol outlet density, alcohol use, and perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) among young adult women in the US. Data were from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health; N?=?4,430 in present analyses). Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine occurrence of past year IPV perpetration toward a male partner based on tract-level on-premise and off-premise alcohol outlet density, controlling for individuals’ demographic, alcohol use, and childhood abuse characteristics and neighborhood socio-demographic factors. Higher off-premise alcohol outlet density was found to be associated with young women’s perpetration of physical only IPV, controlling for individual-level and ecological factors. Alcohol use had an independent association with IPV perpetration but was not a mediator of the outlet density-IPV relationship. Findings suggest that considering alcohol-related environmental factors may help efforts aimed at preventing young women’s use of physical violence toward partners.     

Seeking Systemic Change: Risk and Protective Factors Affecting Low-Income Urban Youth

This themed issue presents five articles tackling the topic of risk and protective processes affecting children and adolescents living in urban poverty. Through their research, the authors seek understanding of the particular challenges that low-income urban youth face, with the ultimate goal of understanding how best to intervene at various levels of the ecological system. Within this broad theme, studies examine specific stressors, mediators, and moderators that impact the mental health of youth living in urban poverty. The final article presents a data-driven, community-based intervention for this population.     

Stress and Somatic Complaints in Low-Income Urban Adolescents

The present study examined (1) rates of somatic complaints and (2) the association between stress and somatic complaints in low-income urban youth. Participants were 1030 low-income urban 6th–8th grade adolescents. Results indicate that, for both boys and girls, somatization was the most commonly reported internalizing symptom in this sample, and that heightened rates of urban stress predicted heightened rates of somatic complaints. In addition, a significantly higher percentage of youth in this sample reported clinically elevated levels of somatic complaints (17%) relative to that reported by normative samples (5%). The 2 most common somatic complaints were stomachaches and headaches, and females reported higher rates of somatic complaints than males. These findings suggest that somatic complaints are the most common expression of internalizing symptoms among low-income urban youth, and that exposure to heightened rates of stress places low-income urban adolescents at heightened risk for somatization. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

Youth perceptions of violence in Western Honduras

Abstract

Youth violence is a growing challenge worldwide, particularly in countries that are experiencing extreme social disorganisation. This is exemplified in Honduras which has been one of the top five countries in the world for intentional homicides for over 20 years. While many studies have examined youth violence in urban cities, few have researched youth violence in rural zones. This study presents a case study using social disorganisation theory to investigate the perceptions of 40 youth in rural and peri-urban Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras, regarding what drives violence and the potential solutions. Consistent with social disorganisation theory, our results demonstrate that youth view violence as an opportunity pathway resulting from economic deprivation, disruptions to the family and neighbourhood, lack of or poorly functioning external agencies and conflicting moral values. There are significant gender differences in the results, with young men pointing to several issues that challenge masculine hegemonic gender norms such as the desire for love and belonging, participation in education and the role of policing.     

From Population Control to Reproductive Rights: Understanding Normative Change in Global Population Policy (1965–1994)

This article examines the process of normative change and nascent norm emergence in areas of global policy making through the convening of UN global conferences. Specifically, the article is a case study of how the norms and discourse undergirding and legitimising global population policy have changed from population control to reproductive rights through the passing decades. The United Nations, as a main site of discursive and normative contestation, provides opportunities for global social movements to lodge oppositional claims against states and other actors in world politics. A constructivist approach is used to identify five processes integral to understanding mutually constitutive and fluid agent-structure processes of normative change and nascent norm emergence in global population policy. This research contributes to the extant constructivist literature on the process of norm emergence by suggesting one processual model that can illuminate other cases of norm formation, maintenance, and change regarding other transnational issues.     

A Cross-Cultural Assessment of Posttrauma Reactions Among Malaysian and US Women Reporting Partner Abuse

Information on partner abuse in women from non-Western cultures and resulting psychological morbidity are scant. The present study examined these issues among women who experienced partner violence and sought refuge at a domestic violence shelter in Malaysia. These women completed a semi-structured interview and standardized measures to assess posttrauma morbidity. Responses by Malaysian shelter residents were compared with a sample of US women who also reported partner violence. The majority of women in both samples reported severe levels of distress and met criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These findings suggest that psychological problems that women face after partner abuse may be similar in many respects, despite political, geographical, or cultural differences.     

The two faces of nation‐building: developing function and identity

Nation‐building is an age‐old process being implemented in new ways. It consists of two separate aspects: state‐building implemented by external actors and identity‐building implemented by grassroots actors within the state itself. However, a functioning state is a necessary precondition for identity‐building because it allows for the development of a civic identity that can incorporate group identities and create a shared sense of community. When a unifying and legitimate state structure is absent, group identifications will remain strong and counteract internal efforts at nation‐building. Unfortunately, the record of nation‐building when understood as both state‐ and identity‐building is relatively poor. The failure of international efforts to create stable states inhibits development of a civic identity and reinforces fragmentation. That in turn brings the longevity of the state into question by raising the possibility that dissatisfied groups will again turn to violence. Learning how to develop both aspects of nation‐building more effectively is an important challenge for international actors.