The Determinants of Collective Coproduction: The Case of Secondary Schools in Russia

ABSTRACT

This research focuses on parents’ participation in their children’s education via self-organizing through non-profit organizations (NPOs). The aim of this article is to uncover the factors which have an impact on Russian parenting organizations participating in collective coproduction in schooling. Quantitative analysis revealed three groups of explanatory variables: a) the “economic” variables, namely GRP per capita and poverty rate; b) a “high status” of a school; and c) variables capturing the “federal district effect” on the probability of collective coproduction. Results of the quantitative analysis highlight the significant discrepancies in regional conditions for emerging NPOs in coproduction in schooling.     

Teaching Islam at a home school: Muslim women and critical thinking in Uzbekistan

In this article I describe and analyse non-institutionalized religious education among local women in Uzbekistan. I argue that while exhibiting vestiges of ‘traditional’ objectives, methods of teaching, and models of knowledge transmission, and incorporating elements of educational reforms advocated by the Central Asian reformers in the early 1900s, and of Soviet pedagogy, the dynamics of such education foster students' critical thinking. By enabling students to think critically about their lives and social environment, the non-institutionalized religious education does not have one predetermined outcome, but ensures social change that starts on an individual level, whereby a student can, but does not have to, engage politically with the state, which systematically intervenes in shaping its citizens' religious lives.     

Public sector audit and influence the investment institutional background during a pandemic

The study purpose was to assess the impact of public sector audit on investment climate formation under the COVID-19 pandemic and to develop recommendations to improve its effectiveness. For this purpose, a multistage research project was developed with the participation of auditors from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. The project was based on the primary information obtained in the course of expert interviews. Testing the methodological approach with experts from these countries allowed proving the main study hypotheses, according to which the public sector audit has an indirect positive impact on investment climate formation. Such an audit influences the main impact factors through improving public administration efficiency, the fight against corruption, and the provision of the regulatory framework. During the testing, the main directions for improving public audit for a more favorable investment climate were formulated. The developed methodological approach makes it possible to obtain an expert assessment of the impact of the public audit on investment climate formation. At the same time, partial use of statistical methods makes it possible to replicate the study in the form of an expert interview, which increases its attractiveness for researchers in conditions of shortage of qualified interviewers.     

Profiles of Child Maltreatment Perpetrators and Risk for Fatal Assault: A Latent Class Analysis

This study examined characteristics and profiles of 196 child maltreatment perpetrators in Florida, including 126 who committed fatal assaults during 1999–2002. Results of logistic regression suggest that being a biologically unrelated caregiver is the strongest predictor of fatal child maltreatment. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was used to classify perpetrators, and three classes were identified: Biological Mothers with Health Problems, Male Perpetrators with Domestic Violence History, and Multiple-Problem Perpetrators. Results of LCA showed that compared to Biological Mothers with Health Problems, Multiple-Problem Perpetrators were seven times more likely and Male Perpetrators with Domestic Violence History were 12 times more likely to commit a fatal assault. Implications of the findings are discussed.

The outcome of adolescent anorexia nervosa: Findings from Berlin and Sofia

As part of a multisite collaborative outcome study of eating disorders in adolescence, two samples from West Berlin and Sofia were compared. The study was based on a systematic evaluation of the clinical status during the first inpatient treatment after onset of the disorder, and personal interviews with the former patients at follow-up. Despite the differences in the cultural background, the clinical features, the diagnostic pattern, the developmental histories, the family background, and the follow-up findings were remarkably similar. The mortality rate was higher in the West Berlin than in the Sofia sample. However, the outcome in terms of the distribution of eating disorders was similar in the surviving patients of the two samples.Received M.D. and Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Hamburg, Germany. Major research interests are eating disorders, developmental psychopathology, and neuropsychiatry.Received M.D. at the University of Sofia. Major research interest is in eating disorders.     

Drugged drivers in Norway with benzodiazepine detections

Norwegian drugged drivers with benzodiazepine (BZD) detections have been studied with regard to drug use pattern and rearrest rate. During 1995, 3343 drivers were apprehended by the police in Norway due to the suspicion of influence by drugs. Blood samples from all drivers were sent to the National Institute of Forensic Toxicology (NIFT). The samples were analysed using a standard program covering the most commonly abused drugs on the marked in Norway. BZDs, representing some of the most frequently detected drugs, were found in approximately 30% (n = 1051) of the cases, represented by 14% (n = 150) female and 86% (n = 901) male drivers. In 8% of the cases, one BZD only was detected, half of these cases with one BZD could reflect therapeutic use. One or more BZDs were combined with illegal drug(s) (73%), other prescribed drugs (10%), and/or alcohol (24%). 62% of the drivers with BZD detections, had earlier been arrested for the same offence, or six cases per rearrested driver. The frequency of earlier arrests were lower for female (34%) than for male (67%) drivers. Alcohol was most frequently found for those arrested for the first time before 1992, while BZD or illegal drugs were most frequently found for those with their first arrest during 1992-1995. Our study shows that apprehended drivers using BZD are mainly represented by drug abusers due to frequent multi-drug use, blood concentrations representing doses above therapeutic levels and high rearrest rate for the same offence. A treatment program or other reactions, are thus necessary in addition to fines, prison penalty and suspension of driving licence.