A comment on methodological concerns: A rejoinder

This rejoinder to Professor Cohen's Comment is intended to elaborate on approaches we utilized in our original paper. Some of our specification was necessitated by data availability (e.g., the specification of the sanction process). We attempt to clarify our approach in regard to the intervention process. We provide an explanation of the modeling that could underly a test of the hypothesis that the control effect is a product of the arrest process—a test that we had regarded as informative but peripheral to our main points. As noted, a significant part of that test utilizes the full range of control variables available to us. Finally, we enumerate what we felt to be the main points of our paper—points we are afraid might otherwise be lost in this discussion of methodology.     

The Contingent Diffusion of Parliamentary Oversight Institutions in the European Union

What explains the variation in institutional adaptation of national parliaments to European integration? Whereas the existing literature has mainly focused on domestic conditions, this article explains institutional adaptation to integration by focusing on inter‐parliamentary diffusion. The argument draws on ‘learning’ mechanisms of diffusion on the demand side and on ‘emulation’ mechanisms on the supply side. Parliamentary demand for external inspiration is related to uncertainty about functional oversight institutions, and the selection of sources to perceptions of similarity and success. Demand arises in new European Union member parliaments and young democracies that then turn towards culturally alike countries and old democracies. Using spatial econometrics, support is demonstrated for the argument in the article while ruling out alternative diffusion mechanisms such as spatial proximity and learning from Scandinavian frontrunners once links along cultural similarity and democratic experience are controlled for. The results underline the limits of the ‘isolated polity’ approach in the comparative study of institutions in Europe's closely integrated political system, while also showing that, even in this favourable environment, diffusion pathways are contingent on the mechanisms generating demand among policy makers and shaping their selection of sources for external information.     

Are Europeans ready for a more democratic European Union? New evidence on preference heterogeneity,polarisation and crosscuttingness

Some scholars and policy makers argue in favour of increasing democratic contestation for leadership and policy at the European level, for instance by having European‐wide parties campaign for competing candidates for President of the European Commission ahead of European Parliament elections. But do such changes put the survival of the European Union at risk? According to the consociational interpretation of the EU, the near absence of competitive and majoritarian elements has been a necessary condition for the stability of the EU political system given its highly diverse population. This article contributes to the debate in two ways. First, it develops a more precise understanding of ‘problematic’ diversity by examining how three variables – the heterogeneity, polarisation and crosscuttingness of citizen preferences over public polices – affect the risk of democratic contestation generating persistent and systematically dissatisfied minorities. Second, it uses opinion surveys to determine whether the degree of diversity of the European population is problematically high compared to that of established democratic states. It is found that the population of the EU is slightly more heterogeneous and polarised than the population of the average Member State, although policy preferences in several Member States are more heterogeneous and polarised than the EU as a whole. Strikingly, however, policy preference cleavages are more crosscutting in the EU than in nearly all Member States, reducing the risk of persistent minorities. Moreover, policy preferences tend to be less heterogeneous and polarised, and nearly as crosscutting, in the EU as a whole as in the United States. For observers worried about how high polarisation and low crosscuttingness in policy preferences may combine to threaten democratic stability, these findings should be reassuring.     

Large‐Scale Social Protest: A Business Risk and a Bureaucratic Opportunity

The public versus private nature of organizations influences their goals, processes, and employee values. However, existing studies have not analyzed whether and how the public nature of organizations shapes their responses to concrete social pressures. This article takes a first step toward addressing this gap by comparing the communication strategies of public organizations and businesses in response to large‐scale social protests. Specifically, we conceptualize, theorize, and empirically analyze the communication strategies of 100 organizations in response to large‐scale social protests that took place in Israel during 2011. We find that in response to these protests, public organizations tended to employ a “positive‐visibility” strategy, whereas businesses were inclined to keep a “low public profile.” We associate these different communication strategies with the relatively benign consequences of large‐scale social protests for public organizations compared with their high costs for businesses.     

Think socially but act publicly: refocusing CSR as corporate public responsibility

Current literature has identified many different definitions for the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). As a result, many organizations fail to implement and measure CSR strategically. This study reviews the different theories and concepts within CSR and suggests that the current scope of CSR activities is too large that organizations are unable to find a tangible link between CSR and their bottom line. Using two case examples, this study proposes refocusing the concept of CSR as corporate public responsibility (CPR) based on which organizations utilize the concept of publics to prioritize the groups to which they must fulfill their responsibilities before attending to society as a whole. Because organizations are constrained by limited resources, the concept of CPR allows them to invest their resources more strategically. The concept also addresses the limitations of existing theories. The practical implications of this concept will be discussed in detail. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

You’re Not Alone: Mental Health Outcomes in Therapy Groups for Abused Women

Few evaluations have assessed the outcomes of group therapy for women abused by intimate partners. Most group programs emphasize support rather than offering therapy, although women abused by partners often present with significant clinical mental health issues. This paper describes, “You’re Not Alone,” a 14-week therapy group model for women abused by intimate partners informed by a narrative approach Jenkins (The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 12 (4), 186-195 1991). The results present the demographic characteristics of the 379 women who began group, and a comparison of those who completed treatment (N?=?214) versus those who dropped out (N?=?165). Women with less income and a psychiatric history were less likely to complete group, as were women with higher depression, clinical stress, and mental health symptoms. The pretest/posttest outcome evaluation for the completers used measures of mental health symptoms, self-esteem, depression, and clinical stress, finding statistically significant improvements on most measures with moderate effect sizes. Practice implications and suggestions are presented.