Regional Inequalities,Decentralisation and the Performance of Local Governments in Post-Communist Romania

The economic growth that has occurred in post-communist Romania has polarised society and greatly increased existing inequalities. The aim of this paper is to investigate regional disparities, to underline the role of governmental mechanisms in smoothing out territorial inequalities, and to examine the possible effects of regional economic disparities on the performance of regional administrations in delivering public services, in the light of the new regionalisation debate. The conclusion is that Romanian counties' institutional performance does not completely correlate with regional wealth; but regional disparities and the mechanisms used to smooth out inequalities have to be taken into account in the public debate concerning further decentralisation.     

Detecting concealed information: The role of individual differences in executive functions and social desirability

The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between deception efficiency and individual differences in executive functioning (EF) and personality, with a particular focus on the influence of social desirability. A mock crime scenario was used, followed by a Concealed Information Test based on reaction times (RT-based CIT). Individual measures of EF (inhibition, shifting, and working memory [WM]) and personality (the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire – Revised, EPQ-R), plus a measure of social desirability (Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding, BIDR) were collected in a distinct session. Results indicated that better executive functions were associated with faster responses to irrelevant items in the RT-based CIT. In a regression analysis, individual differences in shifting and spatial WM were significant predictors of the extra-time taken to lie, compare to truth-telling. No significant relations between deception outcomes and personality measures were noted. Looking at social desirability, the Impression Management scale predicted a further portion of variance in the extra time required to lie, beyond the contribution of executive functions. The utility of an individual differences approach to deception is advocated.     

Beyond Formal Equality: Closing the Gender Gap in a Changing Labour Market – A Study of Legislative Solutions Adopted in Canada

This article looks at the position of women in the Canadian labour market and at the legislative measures adopted to address their segregation in terms of occupation, wages and working conditions. Federal and provincial legislators have, with relative success, attempted through a series of measures to respond directly to the issue of discrimination against women in the workplace and in the labour market. They have, however, remained relatively insensitive to other factors that make the situation of working women precarious, such as the rise of ‘non-standard’ work. These inequalities are not peculiar to Canada and legislative responses to these questions vary according to specific national realities and legal traditions. A study of the legislative evolution in Canada serves to illustrate some of the challenges faced to redress this gender gap.     

The effect of being conflict non-avoidant: linking conflict framing and political participation

Abstract

The news media’s ability to mobilise citizens to participate politically by emphasising elite conflict in politics is not well understood. This article argues that citizens may gain knowledge when exposed to conflict news framing. It further theorises that whether they translate their knowledge into political participation is conditioned by their orientation towards conflict. Individuals who avoid conflict participate less frequently than individuals who do not. The proposed moderated mediation process was tested using a content analysis of news media coverage and a three-wave panel survey (n?=?2,061). Results show that the effect of exposure to conflict news framing on (changes in) political participation is positively mediated by knowledge. This mediation effect is moderated by conflict avoidance, where the effect is more positive among conflict non-avoiders than conflict avoiders. This study shows that understanding the news media’s mobilising effect on political participation requires attention to both news content and individual motivational factors.     

Gated communities: The new ideal way of life in natal,Brazil

Abstract

Gated communities have been growing quickly in Brazil's urban and suburban areas since the 1980s, bringing challenges to society through their privatization of public space, conflict with planning norms, and interference with the integrated planning of the cities in which they are built. My article analyzes this phenomenon to establish a clear basis for purposeful public policies in Brazil. The analysis is based on a case study of the first three closed condominiums in Natal. It involves 31 semistructured interviews focusing on legal, urban/architectural, and segregational factors and their implications.

Federal and local governments have contributed, deliberately or unwittingly, to the development of such enclosed complexes, which have social and spatial impacts and guarantee that the upper class will remain wealthy. There also seems to be a close relationship between the spread of fortified residences and the promotion of a “culture of fear.”     

Multiple Worlds in a Single Street: Ethnic Entrepreneurship and the Construction of a Global Sense of Place

Doreen Massey's rethinking of space and place has made a significant contribution to the understanding of place development. In this paper, a reading of Massey's work is applied to the issue of place-making; in particular, to the question of how to improve the social and economic position of an ethnically diverse neighbourhood. The case study is of the Willemsweg, a multiethnic shopping street in Nijmegen, Netherlands, which has recently received support for a major uplift. It is pointed out that each of the place meanings adhered to by different local actors embodies a specific global sense of place, yet the consequences of this plurality of ‘trajectories’ for actual place-making remain difficult to grasp empirically. For this reason, a relational approach is elaborated which joins Massey's notion of ‘throwntogetherness’ with various meso theoretical concepts which shed light on specific trajectories.     

A Macro–Micro Analysis of the Effects of Electricity Reform in Senegal on Poverty and Distribution

This paper uses a computable general equilibrium (CGE) macro–micro model to explore the distributional effects of price reform in the electricity sector of Senegal. In the first part of the paper we analyse the distribution of electricity in Senegal by income quintiles, between 1995 and 2001. The analysis demonstrates that poor and rural households are not the main beneficiaries of the expanded network. The results of the CGE model show that direct price effects are weaker than general equilibrium effects on poverty and inequality. Moreover, compensatory policies tested can help attenuate some adverse effects.     

Filicide: A Comparison by Sex and Presence or Absence of Self-destructive Behavior

The purpose of this study was to identify sociodemographic, contextual, situational, and individual variables, as well as certain behavioral warning signs, associated with filicide as a function of sex of the agressors and the presence or absence of self-destructive behaviours. The data cover all officially registered filicides committed in Quebec from January 1, 1986, to March 31, 1994, against youths under the age of 18 years. For the group of individuals who have self-destructive behaviours, results indicate that men compared to women are more likely to commit spousal homicide, to kill a higher number of victims, to be going through a conjugal separation, to have committed conjugal violence, to have threatened suicide, and to have threatened to kill their spouse. For the group of individuals who commit no self-destructive acts, women are more likely to present with a depressive disorder, whereas men are more likely to maltreated their children. Men who do not commit a self-destructive act are characterized by a significantly higher likelihood of maltreatment against their children and of tyrannical discipline, whereas men who commit a self-destructive act perpetrate filicide as a means of reprisal against their spouse. Results underscore the importance of considering the different groups of individuals who commit filicide as a function of sex as well as presence or absence of self-destructive behaviour.