Migration,citizenship and autochthony: strategies and challenges for state-building in Côte d'Ivoire

Although migration has for some time been an important topic in African studies, the ‘politics of migration’ remain relatively under-examined. While there is a substantial body of literature on migration and economic development, we know much less about the impact of migration on other state-building processes. The upsurge of autochthony discourses throughout much of Africa is a recent phenomenon and an alarming trend that reveals the increased politicisation of migration and the challenge these discourses pose to state-building. This article uses Côte d'Ivoire as a case study to shed light on the complex relationship between migration and state-building. It also provides a fresh perspective on a new chapter in Ivoirian politics as it re-examines this relationship in light of the recent political developments following the 2010 elections. In so doing, it provides new insights into the enduring nature of autochthony, highlighting the contemporary challenges that these discourses pose for both migrants and state-building.     

Morphological changes in human head hair subjected to various drug testing decontamination strategies

Morphological changes in hair subjected to decontamination protocols were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as part of the National Laboratory Certification Program's (NLCP) efforts to develop proficiency testing materials in support of Federal Workplace Drug Testing programs. Hair from five different donors was evaluated. Hair samples were subjected to three decontamination protocols: (1) aqueous phosphate buffer, (2) methanol or (3) methylene chloride as models for aqueous, alcohol and polar organic solvent protocols, respectively. Under these protocols, samples of hair were treated for 225 min (aqueous), 15 min (alcohol), or 15 min (polar organic). After decontamination, hair strands were sputter coated with gold/palladium (AuPd) and observed by SEM. Modest lifting of cuticle scales was observed in hair treated with methanol and methylene chloride consistent with some changes to the cell membrane complex (CMC) between cuticle scales. Damage resulting from aqueous buffer treatment ranged from substantial degradation to apparent complete loss of cuticle scales. Fracture structures consistent with cuticle damage were also observed. Each decontamination protocol had a different impact on the cuticle of the hair shaft.     

The Consequences of Victim Physical Attractiveness on Reactions to Injustice: The Role of Observers’ Belief in a Just World

Two studies explored Dion and Dion’s (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 775–780, 1987) suggestion that the belief in a just world may contribute to the “beauty is good” stereotype. In Study 1, we found that participants rated the death of a woman as more tragic and unfair when she was physically attractive than less attractive. Participants were also more punitive towards agents of harm when the victim was physically attractive. In Study 2, we varied the extent to which a woman suffered from a house fire and asked participants to later recognize the woman’s picture among several choices varying in physical attractiveness. Participants who learned that the woman suffered a great deal remembered her to be less physically attractive than when her suffering was minimal. The results are discussed in terms of how the justice motive contributes to the evaluative and moral importance attached to physical attractiveness.

Uncontestable favoritism

Public Choice - One might obtain special favor or avoid disfavor by winning a competitive contest, a socially wasteful process that has been studied extensively in the rent-seeking literature. But...     

Enhancing and Measuring Organizational Capacity: Assessing the Results of the U.S. Department of Justice Rural Pilot Program Evaluation

A significant goal of public administrators in this era of shrinking public funds has been to find ways to enhance and measure organizational capacity and sustainability with minimal outlays of resources. One attempt to address this goal was the Rural Pilot Program, funded by the Office of Violence Against Women in the U.S. Department of Justice. Based on the evaluation of the program, this article (1) describes how capacity was measured, (2) discusses the validation and utility of a self‐administered instrument, and (3) examines whether and to what extent organizational capacity is enhanced by an intermediary funding model. Modest positive changes were found in two areas—organizational staffing and information technology—but no changes were found in other areas. The article concludes with recommendations for designing future programs to enhance capacity and sustainability and for public administrators and grant makers in utilizing self‐administered capacity instruments.     

It's About Time: The Lifespan of Information Effects in a Multiweek Campaign

I advance a theoretical and empirical framework that puts time and thus the temporal dynamics of candidate evaluation front and center in order to advance our understanding of the lifespan of information effects while enhancing the external validity of our experimental approaches. With these temporal properties in mind, I designed a “panel experiment” with research conducted over 12 weeks. This represents the first experimental approach to combine control over information exposure with attention to information processing throughout the course of a multiweek campaign. Against the backdrop of partisanship, empirical tests assess the ability of transient exposure to issue and character information to produce effects that endure beyond the moment the information is encountered either via memory‐based or on‐line processes. Findings reveal a remarkably limited role for enduring information effects and suggest a “rapid displacement” model of information processing where new information quickly displaces the accumulated stockpile of old information.     

Community involvement in constructing village health buildings in Uganda and Sierra Leone

Three public health projects in Uganda and Sierra Leone are used to illustrate a new approach to construction of health buildings in villages. Emphasis is placed on community involvement. The health projects were comprehensive and relied on health education, employment of local village health workers, and establishment of village health committees. The objective of community involvement was described as encouragement of people to change their own diets and living conditions. This approach to primary health care is considered to be a strong basis for sustainable social development. Each of the three communities initiated the building projects slightly differently. There was a range of structures: traditional meeting halls, simple rooms with imported materials and a pit latrine, new buildings combining local and imported materials and labor, new nontraditional buildings, rehabilitated existing nontraditional buildings with imported labor and materials, and temporary mobile clinics. Community involvement was at different levels. All three projects were the result of a combined effort of national governments or mission hospitals, nongovernmental organizations, and the host community. The following should be considered before beginning construction: a suitable site, appropriate staff accommodation, the likely motivation of the host community, seasonality, local materials available, availability of skilled labor, and design. A plan of work during construction should include a building design, site supervision, transportation of local and non-local materials, unskilled labor, and skilled labor. Village health committees with or without government help would be responsible for maintenance of buildings after construction. A key feature of this approach is the assessment of the community's ability and capacity to contribute.