Book reviews

Bryan S. Turner, Orientalism, Postmodernism and Globalising (Routledge, London 1994). 208pp. ISBN 0–415–10861–6, 0–415–10862–4 (pb).

Mir Zohair Husain, Global Islamic Politics, (Harper Collins, London 1995). 282pp. ISBN 0–06501484–7 (pb).

Sondra Farganis, Situating Feminism: From Thought to Action, (Sage, London 1994). 195pp. ISBN 0–8039–4650–3

Tom Mayer, Analytical Marxism, (Sage, California 1994). 371pp. ISBN 0–8039–4681–3 (pb).

Ian Adams, Political Ideology Today, (Manchester University Press, Manchester 1995). 369pp. ISBN 0–7190–3347–0.

Geoffrey Pridham and Tatu Vanhanen, Democratization in Eastern Europe: Domestic and international perspectives, (Routledge, London 1994). 274pp. ISBN 0–415–11063–7(hb), 0–415–11064–5(pb).

Ash Amin (ed), Post‐Fordism: A Reader, (Basil Blackwell, Oxford 1994). 435pp. ISBN 0–631–18857–6 (pb).     

Information technology and economic recovery in Western Europe

This article sets out to analyse the response of West European governments and of the European Community to the challenge of information technology (IT). European countries have joined the race among industrial nations to restructure their economies around the industries of the future (micro-electronics, computers and advanced telecommunications). The race is currently led by Japan and the United States with Western Europe following a poor third. In order to catch up, West European governments have for some time pursued national strategies and are now attempting to develop a common approach with the assistance of the European Commission. This attempt has been bedevilled, however, not only by national chauvinism, but by conflict between the ambitions of governments and the goals of private sector strategies. Eureka - Europe's response to America's Strategic Defence Initiative - marks a step towards resolving such differences. But as this article suggests, it will not resolve the deeper tensions between the major aims of current policies: the concentration of research and production resources while also creating an open and fully competitive market for IT in Western Europe.This article is part of a wider project on new technology policies in Western Europe, funded by the Leverhulme Trust and directed by Professor J.J. Richardson. The main findings will be published in Information Technology and the State, Oxford University Press, forthcoming.     

An experimental investigation of the double standard in the perception of international affairs

Eighty-eight male college students evaluated a Vietnam War peace proposal that was attributed to one of four sources (United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Viet Cong) or to no source. The proposal attributed to the United States was evaluated significantly higher than the same proposal attributed to North Vietnam. Enhancement of the United States' proposal contributed most to this double standard effect (i.e., the proposal attributed to the United States was judged significantly more positively than in the no source condition), but derogation of a proposal by the enemy was also a factor (i.e., the North Vietnam—no source differential approached statistical significance). Consistency theory predictions were partially supported. When attributed to the United States' ally, South Vietnam, the peace proposal was evaluated significantly more positively than it was in the North Vietnam condition, but the South Vietnam—Viet Cong comparison was not significant.     

犯罪学的国际比较研究(上)

一、引言一定意义上说，所有的犯罪学研究实质上应当是比较性的。比如，关于一国有记录的犯罪率的涨落等趋势的任何评价或判断都需要与其他国家的数据进行对照检验。许多最初基于一国范围的研究诞生的犯罪理论，后来被引入其他国家或在其他国家得到验证。     

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CHILD SAFETY SEAT LAWS IN THE FIFTY STATES

This study evaluates the effectiveness of state child safety seat laws in the United States. Data for all fifty states for the period 1975 to 1994 are used. Pooled time series analysis is employed to estimate a model of the rate of fatalities suffered by children ages 0–5 years as occupants in automobile crashes. The occupant fatality rate for children 6–11 years of age is used as a comparison group to control for other trends not introduced in the estimated models. The results show that child safety seat policies have significantly reduced fatality rates among children 0–5 years of age. For each additional year of age covered by a state statute, this fatality rate drops 4.8%. A similar reduction in the fatality rate of the older age cohort (6–11 years old) was not observed.     

Poland's politics and the travails of transition after 2001: The 2005 elections

As previously, the 2005 election in Poland saw the defeat of the incumbent government, but unlike previous elections, it marked the end of the Solidarity – successor party divide that had characterised Polish politics since 1989. The near simultaneity of parliamentary and presidential election campaigns made the campaigns indistinguishable, and each interacted with the other. Party programmes were similar; transition-related issues dominated the election. Its unexpected victor was Law and Justice (PiS), which sought a radical break with the trajectory of post-communist development and a moral revolution in a new ‘Fourth Republic’. PiS successfully appropriated the welfare mantle of the discredited social democrats and mobilised traditional conservative and religious values. Despite formal plans for a PiS coalition with Civic Platform, the election resulted unexpectedly in PiS's coalition with the radical parties Self-Defence and the League of Polish Families.     

Interdepartmental coordination and northern development

Abstract. This paper examines the relationship of past and current federal structures for northern policy development to existing federal northern policy requirements. Current policy-making machinery, arguably appropriate to an earlier era of northern development, now serves neither the interests of any constituency - native or non-native northerners or the northern resource development industry - nor the national interest. On the basis of a critical analysis of present arrangements, available institutional options for reform are identified and assessed. Far-reaching structural reforms are recommended including the abolition of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND). Sommaire. Les auteurs de cet exposé examinent le rapport entre les structures fédérales, anciennes et présentes, et les exigences actuelles de la politique fédérale dans le Nord. Le mécanisme actuel de la détermination des politiques, qu'on pouvait justifier à une époque plus ancienne du développement du Nord, nesert plus maintenant ni les intérêrs de groupes particuliers - habitants du Nord, autochtones ou non, industries développant ses ressources - ni l'intérêt national. A partir d'une analyse critique des dispositions actuelles, les auteurs identifient et évaluent les options institutionnelles existantes. Ils recommandent des réformesde grande envergure, dont l'abolition du ministère des Affaires indiennes et du Nord.