Opium and Empire: McCoy on Heroin in Southeast Asia

Abstract

More and more, as scholars search to understand the history of U.S. intervention in Southeast Asia, they are forced to study the largely submerged operations of crime. The tripartite symbiosis which A. J. Liebling a generation ago described in Chicago—between local government, the Syndicate, and less visible economic interests—operates with the same brutal efficiency in the Far East as well. There too the tightly-knit, ruthless bagmen and enforcers from narcotics and other vice operations become the indigenous local cadres for venal and demoralized regimes, which in turn are fronts for more powerful imperial and economic forces. Al McCoy has written a fascinating and exhaustive analysis of the interpenetration between crime and local government in Southeast Asia. But, as we shall see, he has less to say about U.S. influence behind the scenes, and as to economic interests he is largely silent.     

Ecological determinants of volunteerism among Asian and Latinx immigrants in California,US

ABSTRACT

Volunteerism offers various health benefits and increases the level of cohesion among communities. Connectedness to communities may be particularly important for immigrants to promote their integration into the host society. However, research that systematically examines factors that contribute to volunteerism, particularly among immigrants, remains scarce. The purpose of this study is to investigate the associations between the ecological determinants and volunteerism among Asian and Latinx immigrants. The authors used the 2009 California Health Interview Survey Multicultural Discrimination Module, the most recent and state-representative data available, and found the similarities and differences of those associations between Asian and Latinx immigrants. The authors discuss the implications of results and recommend that strategies to promote volunteerism among immigrants should be accompanied by consideration of their race and ethnicity, family, neighbourhood, and life experience.     

Serdyukov Promotes Systemic Russian Military Reform

Despite the manifold problems in Russian Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov's radical reform agenda, there is clear evidence that such a program is being implemented regardless of opposition from those in uniform, especially on the General Staff. It is no exaggeration to suggest that depending on how fully it is implemented, this reform could have an impact on the lives of all Russian officers no matter where they serve now. The mass mobilization principle has been abandoned and the transition from a division-based system to the new brigade structure is complete. Meanwhile, despite careful planning by the General Staff, we do not believe the Russian military will emerge as a modern fighting force until 2020, if then. Budget cuts, production inefficiencies, poor maintenance and sloppy work will all inhibit the construction of a modern Russian army.

This is essentially a totally different army, the foundation of which was laid this year. And this is the country's organizational victory.(Colonel (retired) Vitaliy Shlykov, Liliya Biryukova, Aleksandr Sargin, Denis Telmanov, Gazeta, November 20, 2009.)

     

Personality and Job Satisfaction: Evidence from a Sample of Street-Level Bureaucrats

Job satisfaction is an important component of bureaucratic success. In this article, we build on the emerging literature on the five-factor model of personality and argue that basic personality characteristics can help us understand why certain employees are more satisfied with their jobs than others. Multivariate analysis of personality and job satisfaction data from over 1,000 public servants supports this argument. We conclude with a discussion about how personality can add to our theoretical understanding of public personnel management, and help public managers identify applicants who are likely to be satisfied with work in the public sector.     

Restraining mandated service costs: Innovative diffusion of transplant technologies in arizona's medicaid program

Medical technological innovations while usually beneficial are inevitably costly to the medical profession, to government, to the economy, and to society in general. Organ transplantations are prime examples of this dilemma. Such services are mandated by the federal government to state Medicaid programs. A cost-saving effort in Arizona's Medicaid program involving negotiation and competitive bidding with providers of transplantation services could have broad positive implications for states willing to copy Arizona's approach. The approach may even have implications for general health care reform.     

Continuity and Pathways from Aggression in Childhood to Family Violence in Adulthood: A 30-year Longitudinal Study

Literature suggests that early patterns of aggressive behavior in both girls and boys are predictive of later violent behavior, including violence that takes place within family contexts. Utilizing the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, a study of individuals recruited as children in the 1970s from inner-city schools in Montreal, this study examined different pathways whereby aggressive behavioral styles in childhood may place individuals at risk for continuing patterns of violence towards children and spouses. Childhood aggression directly predicted self-reported violence towards spouse for both sexes, with indirect routes through lowered educational attainment and marital separation. Aggression in childhood was also found to predict parents’ self-reports of using violence with their children. For mothers, educational attainment and current absence of the biological father from the child’s home also played important roles in predicting violent behavior towards offspring. These findings provide evidence of both continuity of aggressive behavior and indirect risk paths to family violence, via lower educational attainment and parental absence. In both men and women, childhood aggression may be an identifiable precursor of family violence and child abuse.     

公安法律文书中说明方式的特点及运用

公安法律文书．主要是运用叙述、议论、说明的表达方式。叙述、议论这两种表达方式比较容易辩别，而说明与描写的表达方式有时就容易混淆。有的民警不能准确地把握这两种表达方式，往往将描写与说明混为一谈。用错了表达方式就会给工作带来不良的影响，甚至可能带来严重的后果，所以，我们必须重视表达方式的正确运用。