Power,Transparency and Control: Hong Kong People’s Adaptations to Life

This paper attempts to examine how the concepts of power, transparency and control are perceived in the life of ordinary Hong Kong people, and how the latter have been adapting to their perceptions and evaluations. The 2008 global financial tsunami and its aftermath will likely have a serious impact on their values. Hong Kong people’s experiences may in some ways represent those of modern men, especially those in East Asia. Democracy is premised on the ideal that life is meaningful through political participation. For most Hong Kong people, this is too demanding an ideal and they instead opt for economic power at the micro-level to secure an optimal measure of control over the socio-economic aspects of their own life. But even this objective has proven extremely difficult to fulfil because of the asymmetry in power between the individual on one hand, and authoritarian regimes, big businesses, organized interest groups, etc. on the other. Very often exit is not a viable option. There may be a tendency to seek satisfaction from religious pursuits, voluntary work, or other external agencies.     

Prior Victimization, Region, and Neighborhood Effects on Fear of Crime in Mumbai, India

Research in Western countries has found that prior victimization, region, and neighborhood effects, such as high population density, residential instability and low social cohesion as well as related characteristics such as litter, public drunkenness, and abandoned storefronts, are all significant predictors of fear of crime. The present study examined the extent to which these factors were associated with predicting fear of crime in one of the fastest growing economies in the world – India. Data from the International Crime Victimization Survey (ICVS), conducted under the auspices of the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Institute, suggest that, similar to findings from Western literature (with the exception of car theft and burglary), prior victimization is strongly related to fear of crime. However, contrary to findings from the Western literature, fear of crime appeared to be stronger among the middle classes than among the lower and higher classes. Moreover, limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also discussed.     

Can peace be purchased? A sectoral-level analysis of aid��s influence on transnational terrorism

Does foreign aid reduce terrorism? We examine whether foreign aid decreases terrorism by analyzing whether aid targeted toward certain sectors is more effective than others. We use the most comprehensive databases on foreign aid and transnational terrorism??AidData and ITERATE??to provide a series of statistical tests. Our results show that foreign aid decreases terrorism especially when targeted toward sectors, such as education, health, civil society, and conflict prevention. These sector-level results indicate that foreign aid can be an effective instrument in fighting terrorism if allocated in appropriate ways.     

A Bayesian Multilevel Modeling Approach to Time-Series Cross-Sectional Data

Joseph Bafumi Department of Government, Dartmouth College,6108 Silsby HallHanover, NH 03755 e-mail: joseph.bafumi{at}dartmouth.edu Luke Keele Department of Political Science, Ohio State University,2137 Derby Hall, 154 N Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210 e-mail: keele.4{at}polisci.osu.edu David Park Department of Political Science, George Washington University,1922 F Street, N.W. 414C, Washington, DC 20052 e-mail: dkp{at}gwu.edu e-mail: bshor{at}uchicago.edu (corresponding author) The analysis of time-series cross-sectional (TSCS) data hasbecome increasingly popular in political science. Meanwhile,political scientists are also becoming more interested in theuse of multilevel models (MLM). However, little work existsto understand the benefits of multilevel modeling when appliedto TSCS data. We employ Monte Carlo simulations to benchmarkthe performance of a Bayesian multilevel model for TSCS data.We find that the MLM performs as well or better than other commonestimators for such data. Most importantly, the MLM is moregeneral and offers researchers additional advantages. Authors' note: A previous version of this article was presentedat the 2005 Midwest Political Science Meeting. We would liketo thank the following for comments and advice in writing thispaper: Andrew Gelman, Nathaniel Beck, Greg Wawro, Sam Cooke,John Londregan, David Brandt. Any errors are our own.     

Protecting Medicare: the best defense is a good offense

Traditional Medicare is being threatened from two political directions. The current Republican coalition, on the right, simply dislikes social insurance in principle. It seeks privatization for its own sake. Another perspective, centrist and well established among political and economic elites, worries that the program is "unaffordable," whatever its basic merits. Defenders of traditional Medicare need to address both threats by explaining why the budgetary fears are misconceived and why privatization is simply a bad idea. In order to do this, they need to take the budgetary high ground, argue more strenuously for short-term cost controls, and criticize the extra spending that the Bush administration has used to encourage private plans within Medicare. Defenders of social insurance should also seek good policy and political allies by proposing that Medicare's network of providers, prices, and administration be made available to employers (and other pools) in much the way that self-insured groups currently rent networks from private insurers.     

Giant berry aneurysms in a forensic setting: a series of 14 cases

This is a series reviewing 14 cases of giant saccular aneurysms diagnosed at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City collected over an 11-year period. Data collected on all 14 cases included neuropathological findings, comorbidities, and toxicological findings. Of these 14 cases, 8 were in women, and the ages ranged from 3 to 79 years, with a mean and a median of 50 years. Women were overrepresented in the sixth through eighth decades. Of the 14 cases described, 11 presented with a subarachnoid hemorrhage; 3, no hemorrhage; 2, subdural hemorrhage; 8, intraventricular hemorrhage; 2, intracerebral hemorrhage; and 8, more than 1 hemorrhage type. Location of the aneurysms varied with 6 in the left side of the brain, 6 present in the right side of the brain, and 2 at the midline. We described the clinical, pathological, and toxicological findings associated with these giant aneurysms.     

Effects of stereotypes and suggestion on memory

In this study, the interactive effect of stereotype and suggestion on accuracy of memory was examined by presenting 645 participants (native Israelis and immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia) with three versions of a story about a worker who is waiting in a manager's office for a meeting. All versions were identical except for the worker's name, which implied a Russian or an Ethiopian immigrant or a person of no ethnic origin. Each participant was presented with one version of the story. After an hour delay, the participants' memories were tested via two questionnaires that differed in terms of level of suggestion. Data analyses show that (a) when a suggestion matched the participant's stereotypical perception, the suggestion was incorporated into memory but (b) when the suggestion contradicted the stereotype, it did not influence memory. The conclusion was that recall is influenced by stereotypes but can be enhanced by compatible suggestions.