A women's international quarterly over 30 years. Are the arguments to be feminine or feminist?

Women Speaking (first entitled Speaking of Women) was published from 1951 to 1982. Its aim—to encourage women to make their voices heard on public issues—involved discussion of legal, educational and occupational discriminations, evidenced internationally by contributors involved in the struggle to overcome such handicaps in their own countries and through the United Nations Organisation. ‘East’ or ‘West’ the problems are found to be the same, even if immediate priorities differ, and the Journal's stance became radical feminist: ‘…sexism underlies all other ims, and Nationalist, socialist, communist, “Churchist” (Christian or Islamic) movements are at best peripheral and at worst deadly to human progress unless the universal problem of women's oppression is faced’ (editorial July 1980). Patterns of thought which from infancy undermine women's self-confidence stem from belief in a male God; hence a central interest in the struggle for ordination of women to the priesthood. At the outset the editors posited the achievement of peace between nations as the ultimate goal of women's emancipation and their prominence in movements towards this end have been consistently chronicled. The question, however, remains: is it in women's nature, any more than in men's, to seek peace? In the earliest and the last issues may be found the answer ‘Yes’, expressed in almost identical terms. But the last editor argues that in the sum total of interrelated issues we should rather affirm the human need and potentiality in both sexes for cooperative living.     

Book reviews

Mikhail S. Gorbachev, On My Country and the World, George Shriver (Translator). New York: Columbia University Press, 2000. Pp.308, index. $29.95 (cloth). ISBN 0–231–11514–8.

Simon Duke, The Elusive Quest for European Security: From EDC to CFSP. New York: St. Martin's, 2000.Pp.xvii + 406, notes, list of abbreviations, acronyms and conventions, index. $69.95 (cloth). ISBN 0–312–22402–8.

Hugh Miall, Oliver Ramsbotham and Tom Woodhouse, Contemporary Conflict Resolution. Oxford: Polity Press, 1999. Pp.xviii + 270, table of abbreviations, bibliog., index. $69.95 (cloth). ISBN 0–7456–2034–5.     

Book reviews

Chalmers Johnson, Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2000. Pp.287, biblio., index. $26. ISBN 0–8050–6238–6.

Heinz Kramer, A Changing Turkey: The Challenge to Europe and the United States. Washington DC: Brookings Institute, 2000. Pp.xv + 304, notes and index. $18.95 (paper). ISBN 0–8157–5023–4.     

Transforming Public Health Law: The Turning Point Model State Public Health Act

Law is an essential tool for improving public health infrastructure and outcomes; however, existing state statutory public health laws may be insufficient. Built over decades in response to various diseases/conditions, public health laws are antiquated, divergent, and confusing. The Turning Point Public Health Statute Modernization National Collaborative addressed the need for public health law reform by producing a comprehensive model state act. The Act provides scientifically, ethically, and legally sound provisions on public health infrastructure, powers, duties, and practice. This article examines (1) how statutory law can be a tool for improving the public's health, (2) existing needs for public health law reform, (3) themes and provisions of the Turning Point Act, and (4) how it is being used by public health practitioners.     

La collaboration internationale: un element essentiel dans la conception des programmes de formation en sécurité aeroportuaire

Sommaire: Cet article explique la façon dont les informations provenant de la coopération internationale sur la prévention du terrorisme influencent le design des programmes de formation des agents de contrôle préembarquement à 1'Administration canadienne de la sûireté du transport aerien (acsta). 11 expose comment l'integration de ces informations a conduit au développement d'une méthodologie de formation qui suit les principes de la formation par compétences. Cette réflexion marque Ie cinquiéme anniversaire de la fondation de I'acsta et le sixiéme des attentats du 11 septembre 2001. Les auteurs présentent les grands enjeux de la sécurité aéroportuaire, les contraintes et opportunités du contexte international, ainsi que les méthodologies et stratégies utilisées dans le programme de formation. Abstract: This article describes how information provided by the international community influences the design of training programs for airport security officers at the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (catsa). It explains how the integration of this information was instrumental in selecting a training program that follows the principles of a competency‐based methodology. This review coincides with the fourth anniversary of the creation of catsa and the fifth of the tragedy of September 11th, 2001. The authors identify major airport security issues, opportunities and constraints dictated by the international context, and the main strategic and methodological alternatives.     

Linkages between Decentralisation and Inequalities in Neonatal Health: Evidence from Indonesia

This study uses five waves of the Indonesian Demographic Health Surveys to analyse decentralisation and geographical inequality in health services delivery. Accounting for unobserved community-level heterogeneity with random effects and correlated random effects models, we link facility-based birth delivery to the period of decentralisation and Indonesia’s major island groups using a pooled sample of 71,815 children. We also generate direct estimates of neonatal mortality from 1990 to 2007. The results show that the implementation of decentralisation has accorded with a marked expansion in both health service and outcome inequalities in Indonesia, at least with respect to neonates. Systemic funding failures for health and decision-space issues resulting from decentralisation are likely to have greater impact in disadvantaged regions where local capacity is weakest. The need to address these fundamental issues to reduce inequalities and improve general health outcomes appears supportable.