Multicultural Policies and Female Immigration in Europe

In this paper the author focuses on some of the topics in the debate on multiculturalism, applying them to the issue of immigration, particularly female immigration, in Europe. She then illustrates how the individual/group relationship is a particularly complex one where women are concerned. In this framework she considers the various roles of a multicultural law and the thorny relation between women immigrants and their official representatives. She concludes by asserting the need to place individual rights before group rights and to ensure that women obtain autonomous access to both sets of rights.     

Efficient Influence Activities with Endogenous Rent

This paper analyzes the effects of influenceactivities on organizational efficiency ina principal-agent framework with endogenousrent. It shows that, with endogenousrent, influence activities canimprove efficiency even if theirinformative value is low. Effects on thedissipation rate of rent are alsoconsidered. In particular, it is shownthat, with endogenous rent, more powerfulincentives on influence activities only increasethe dissipation rate when the sum ofthe elasticities of the influence costsfunction and of the production function isgreater than one.     

“Educating for citizenship, reconstructing the identity of our city,”

The constituted powers should fear those who travel far less than those who want to get to know their home territory excessively well, because at any moment they could reveal the material basis of a new appropriation, a change of power. (Dematteis, 1985)     

Clans,politics and organized crime in Central Asia

This paper investigates the role of transnational organized crime in the democratisation process in the Central Asian area. It examines the inherent connections that exist between the leading tribal families, political elites and organized crime, and explores how criminal networks have proliferated in society and consequently in politics. The complete absence of a ruling élite and striking economic issues left unsolved were the legacy that Soviet rule would leave to the newly independent Central Asian Republics. After the fall of the former Soviet Union other, more profitable forms of transnational organized crime flourished. According to the official statistics of the UNODC and the American State Department, 92% of the world’s heroin is produced in Afghanistan. Of this, around 65% is smuggled into Europe and America along the Silk Road, and therefore through the five Central Asian Republics and Russia. High levels of corruption in Central Asia heavily affect political and economic life. The economies of the region have progressively become dominated by criminal activity with smuggling, trafficking and other activities linked to transnational organized crime as the major source of income. Central Asia’s strategic location makes this a global security concern.

Seclusion: the association with diagnosis,gender, length of stay and HoNOS-secure in low and medium secure inpatient mental health service

The use of seclusion is controversial. Using routinely collected data from low and medium secure service provider in the United Kingdom (n = 347) this study compared secluded and non-secluded Asperger’s syndrome, paranoid schizophrenia, organic personality disorder and emotionally unstable personality disorder patients. Analysis revealed that secluded patients were younger but did not differ on length of stay. Scores on the HoNOS-secure improved from entry to discharge on all diagnostic categories, indicating sensitivity to change. However, secluded patients with paranoid schizophrenia did not improve on the secure scale or personal and emotional well-being sub-scale factors, indicating HoNOS-secure should be used with caution in discharge decisions. Findings indicate that HoNOS-secure do not capture the factors linked to the use of seclusion in organic personality disorder and Asperger’s syndrome. HoNOS secure results outline differing needs and progress in the four diagnostic groups. Seclusion did not affect recovery as measured by HoNOS-secure clinical scale, providing evidence opposing the view that seclusion plays a major contribution to delaying recovery.