Don't Stand So Close to Me: Spatial Contagion Effects and Party Competition

In this article, we bring together elements from the literatures on economic voting and spatial voting to gain theoretical leverage on the combined role of clarity of responsibility, party policy positions, and economic performance in elections. Building on evidence of voter knowledge, we develop a theory of spatial contagion effects to explain how factors drawn from both of these literatures combine to shape changes in support for political parties. We test this theory with a spatial autoregressive model of party competition in 23 nations from 1951 to 2005. As expected, we find evidence of strong spatial contagion effects in elections with low clarity of responsibility.     

Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument for mental health needs of youths in residential welfare/justice institutions: identifying gender differences across countries and settings

This study examines the use of the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-Second Version (MAYSI-2) for mental health needs among 1643 youngsters in residential welfare/justice institutions in Europe and the USA, identifying gender differences across countries and settings. Overall, the MAYSI-2 appeared to be a reliable instrument among these youngsters, with only some scales falling (slightly) below the threshold of acceptable internal consistency. Girls (vs. boys) in Belgian/USA justice institutions and Swiss mixed welfare/justice institutions displayed higher scores for the angry–irritable, depressed–anxious, somatic complaints, suicide ideation scales. Also, detained girls from Belgium and Switzerland reported higher scores for traumatic experiences. No gender differences were revealed among adolescents in German welfare institutions. Our findings suggest that the MAYSI-2 may serve as a useful mental health screening instrument among youngsters in welfare/justice institutions and that girls in justice institutions and mixed welfare/justice institutions form a particularly vulnerable population with regard to mental health problems.     

Family and Peer Relationships in a Residential Youth Sample: Exploring Unique,Non-Linear,and Interactive Associations with Depressive Symptoms and Suicide Risk

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Close relationships are consequential for youth depressive symptoms and suicide risk, but nuanced research examining intersecting factors is needed to improve...     

The role of mobile computed tomography in mass fatality incidents

Mobile multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) scanners are potentially available to temporary mortuaries and can be operational within 20 min of arrival. We describe, to our knowledge, the first use of mobile MDCT for a mass fatality incident. A mobile MDCT scanner attended the disaster mortuary after a five vehicle road traffic incident. Five out of six bodies were successfully imaged by MDCT in c. 15 min per body. Subsequent full radiological analysis took c. 1 h per case. The results were compared to the autopsy examinations. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of imaging with mobile MDCT in relation to mass fatality work, illustrating the body pathway process, and its role in the identification of the pathology, personal effects, and health and safety hazards. We propose that the adoption of a single modality of mobile MDCT could replace the current use of multiple radiological sources within a mass fatality mortuary.     

Teachers’ Conditional Regard and Students’ Need Satisfaction and Agentic Engagement: A Multilevel Motivation Mediation Model

Teachers’ conditional positive regard and conditional negative regard are common motivational techniques in the classroom. This study investigated their respective effects on adolescent students’ agentic engagement, while considering students’ basic psychological needs for autonomy and relatedness as potential mediators. Data collected from 30 teachers and 651 7th to 10th graders (52% female) were used to test a multilevel mediation model. The results indicated that teachers’ conditional negative regard undermined students’ agentic engagement by frustrating both of their autonomy and relatedness needs. Teachers’ conditional positive regard thwarted students’ sense of autonomy, which consequently undermined their agentic engagement. The findings are discussed in terms of conditional positive and negative regard as undesirable classroom motivational practices and the mechanisms through which they operate. The discussion also notes the importance of investigating contextual factors at the classroom level.

     

Further resources for participatory research and gender analysis

So much work has been done on participatory research and gender analysis – their implementation, evaluation, and institutionalisation – that it is difficult to recommend a limited set of resources. The context here is ‘challenges to operationalising participatory research and gender analysis’, so we have sought out resources which shed light on some new practical issues and are based on empirical evidence. Some of the classics in the field have also been included. Readers will find additional resources in and through the bibliographical references of articles included in this issue.

This list was compiled by Guy Manners from annotated submissions by contributors to this special issue.     

We are here,they are there: between peace and exclusion in Israel/Palestine

The purpose of this work is to offer a critique of partition, not on the basis of its impact on the relations between the sides to the dispute, but on its implications for majority-minority relations inside the (non-homogeneous) state. Using the Israeli-Palestinian example, the paper argues that the dynamics of partition idealize the notion of a homogeneous nation-state and, consequently, marginalize minorities and accentuate internal political divisions. Specifically, Israeli policymakers' ‘demographic trade-off’ between territorial compromise and a ‘Jewish state’ underscores some of the recent national tensions within Israel over the citizenship status of the minority Palestinians.     

Building ties across the Green Line: the Palestinian 15 March youth movement in Israel and occupied Palestinian territory in 2011

In 2011 Palestinian youth joined together across the Green Line, demonstrating grassroots solidarity and a challenge to the elite consensus in favour of the two-state Oslo process. The movement drew inspiration from the concurrent Arab Spring and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, organising joint demonstrations in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. However, the movement struggled to develop as a result of challenges regarding its objectives, strategy and representation, and of external threats from Israel and Palestinian political elites.