Reviews

Gert Leptin and Manfred Melzer, Economic Reforms in East German Industry, London, OUP, 1978, xxv + 200 pp. £12.00.

Jiri Kosta, Abriss der sozialökonomischen Entwicklung der Tschechoslowakei 1945–1977 (An Outline of the Socio‐Economic Development of Czechoslovakia 1945–1977), Edition Suhrkamp No. 974, Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1978, 217 pp.

Vladimir V. Kusin, From Dub?ek to Charter 77: A study of ‘normalisation’ in Czechoslovakia 1968–1978. Edinburgh: Q Press, 1978. x + 353 pp. £8.50.

Leon Boim and Glenn G. Morgan (ed. & trans.), The Soviet Procuracy Protests: 1937–1973; A Collection of Translations. Alphen aan den Rijn: Sijthoff & Noordhoff, 1978. xvi + 603 pp. Dfl. 190.00/$88.50.

Gordon B. Smith, The Soviet Procuracy and the Supervision of Administration. Alphen aan den Rijn: Sijthoff and Noordhoff, 1978. xii + 154 pp. Dfl. 55.00/$25.50.

Peter Kenez, Civil War in South Russia, 1919–1920: The Defeat of the Whites. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977. $17.50; £12.25.

Kendall E. Bailes, Technology and Society under Lenin and Stalin: Origins of the Soviet Technical Intelligentsia, 1917–1941. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton U.P., 1978. xiii + 472 pp. £20.10.

Delia W. Sheldon (ed.), Dimensions of Détente, New York: Praeger Publishers, 1978, 221 pp.

George Ginsburgs and Alvin Z. Rubinstein (eds.), Soviet Foreign Policy Toward Western Europe, New York: Praeger Publishers, 1978, 295 pp.

Malcolm Lader, Psychiatry on Trial, Penguin Books Ltd., 1977. 201 pp. 80p.

George F. Putnam, Russian Alternatives to Marxism: Christian Socialism and Idealistic Liberalism in Twentieth‐Century Russia. Knoxville: University of Tennessee, 1977. xii + 233 pp. $13.50.

A. Nekrich, Otreshis’ ot strakha. Overseas Publication Interchange Ltd., London, 1979. 414 pp.

Aron Katsenelinboigen, Studies in Soviet Economic Planning. New York: M. E. Sharpe, 1978. xiii + 229 pp. $22.50.

Walter D. Connor & Zvi Y. Gitelman (eds.), Public Opinion in European Socialist Systems. New York & London: Praeger Special Studies, 1977. ix + 196 pp.

Mervyn Matthews, Privilege in the Soviet Union: A Study of Elite Life‐Styles under Communism. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1978. 193 pp. £6.95.

Barbara Evans Clements, Bolshevik Feminist. The Life of Aleksandra Kollontai. Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, 1979. 352 pp. $15.00.     

Municipal Government Financial Reporting: Administrative and Ethical Climate

This article examines financial disclosure in U.S. cities. It considers factors that affect the level of municipal financial disclosure, in particular the effect of administrative factors. It finds that participation in the Government Finance Officers Association Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting program, and the Chief Financial Officer's familiarity with the activities of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board are positively associated with more disclosure. These latter factors are interpreted as measures of professionalism and are furthered by the adoption of municipal codes of ethics which stress openness and responsiveness to stakeholder interests. Such general policies are indirectly associated with heightened levels of financial disclosure. Financial disclosure is also associated with city size and demands from capital markets.     

Real Solutions for Fake News? Measuring the Effectiveness of General Warnings and Fact-Check Tags in Reducing Belief in False Stories on Social Media

Political Behavior - Social media has increasingly enabled “fake news” to circulate widely, most notably during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. These intentionally false...     

Cognitive Vulnerabilities Amplify the Effect of Early Pubertal Timing on Interpersonal Stress Generation During Adolescence

Early pubertal timing has been found to confer risk for the occurrence of interpersonal stressful events during adolescence. However, pre-existing vulnerabilities may exacerbate the effects of early pubertal timing on the occurrence of stressors. Thus, the current study prospectively examined whether cognitive vulnerabilities amplified the effects of early pubertal timing on interpersonal stress generation. In a diverse sample of 310 adolescents (M age = 12.83 years, 55 % female; 53 % African American), early pubertal timing predicted higher levels of interpersonal dependent events among adolescents with more negative cognitive style and rumination, but not among adolescents with lower levels of these cognitive vulnerabilities. These findings suggest that cognitive vulnerabilities may heighten the risk of generating interpersonal stress for adolescents who undergo early pubertal maturation, which may subsequently place adolescents at greater risk for the development of psychopathology.     

Active living as an institutional challenge: lessons from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's "Celebrate Fitness" program

Native American youth suffer disproportionately from a range of adverse health conditions. Empowering youth leaders to work on community-based solutions has proved effective in reducing tobacco use and gun violence and is now emerging as a promising approach to improving fitness and health. This article, based on direct observation and interviews with key informants, examines the implementation of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded project that gave tribal youth councils minigrants to design and run diverse projects that encourage physical activity in their communities. The article highlights the institutional challenges that confront health-promotion strategies for disadvantaged populations. Unless they take proper account of organizational, political, environmental, and cultural forces, funders' interventions have limited chances for success and sustainability.     

ASIO and the Monitoring of Irish Republicans in Australia during the “Troubles”

After the “Troubles” broke out in Northern Ireland in 1969, the Australian government became increasingly concerned that these international tensions would manifest themselves within the Irish diaspora. Sympathy for Irish Republicanism was identified in a number of nationalist and socialist groups in Australia which were monitored by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). Although chiefly focused on the Communist Party of Australia, ASIO monitored Irish Republicans alongside other left-wing groups and social movements. Based on recently released ASIO files, this article explores the extent to which they were surveilled. The article argues that the monitoring of the Irish Republicans can fit into two periods. The first period, from the outbreak of the “Troubles” in 1969 to 1972, was when Irish Republicanism was seen as an extension of the Communist and Trotskyist groups in Australia. The second period, from 1972 through to the late 1970s, saw security services much more concerned about Irish Republicanism as terrorism, as international terrorism and the expansion of the IRA's bombing campaigns outside of Northern Ireland became an increasing concern. This shift in perceptions of Irish Republicanism demonstrates a wider shift in focus for ASIO and the Australian authorities from Cold War counter-subversion to counter-terrorism.     

Spending the Golden Years Behind Bars: Predictors of Mental Health Issues Among Geriatric Prisoners

Mental illness in older inmates remains an underexplored topic of interest for prison research. The present study addresses gaps in extant literature, using a nationally representative sample of 1,907 male and female geriatric inmates in the United States (age range 50–84 years; M = 56) to analyze the association between mental health and predictors, such as gender, victimization, physical illnesses, and protective/ameliorative factors. The authors discuss their findings in relation to a theoretical framework that integrates the importation and deprivation models, as well as provide discourse on policy implications and future directions for research on older prison inmates.