THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF LIBERTY IN THE ARAB AND ISLAMIC MIDDLE EAST

The following papers were the basis for a panel at the annual meeting of the Association of Arab American University Graduates (AAUG) in Washington, D.C., October 23, 1993. See below for the participants' affiliations     

COMMENTS ON NETWORK NEUTRALITY

The term "price discrimination" has been used to vilify itspractitioners since the term's inception in economics. Pricediscrimination is considered evil because discrimination isconsidered, in most contexts, as evil. If instead we describedthis common phenomenon as price distinction instead of pricediscrimination, the general field of thought on the matter would,most likely, be extremely different. If a producer engages in"distinguishing" prices instead of discriminating prices, theworld would be a more rational place, because economic discriminationis so often socially beneficial. The network neutrality argumentis no different. The debate essentially addresses the issueof limiting a network provider's ability to engage in pricedistinction before the fact. The model of a toll road presents an acceptable framework foranalyzing network neutrality. It has been used frequently toanalogize the Internet     

African American Oxford House residents: sources of abstinent social networks

The current study found that African American residents of Oxford House (OH) used Narcotics Anonymous (NA) at high rates, and that both OH and NA strongly contributed to abstinent social networks. Having siblings and other family members in one's network predicted substance use among network members, whereas spouses, parents, and children did not have an effect on the rate of substance use. These findings suggest that OH and NA may be effective sources of abstinent social support for African Americans recovering from substance abuse. However, family members are well represented in the support networks of African Americans in OH.     

Stress and coping: the roles of ethnicity and gender in substance abuse recovery

This study investigated ethnic and gender differences in reported resource losses and gains for recovering substance abusers living in Oxford Houses (OH). Participants (n = 829) completed a version of Hobfoll's (1998) Conservation of Resources (COR) Evaluation. Results indicated significant individual differences in resources, based on gender, ethnicity, and the length of OH residential stay. Men reported fewer resource gains and losses than women. With respect to ethnicity, African-Americans reported greater gains and losses in resources than European-Americans. Individuals with less time in an OH also reported having experienced more losses in the past 3 months.     

Attitudes of a community members as a function of participatory research with Oxford Houses

Citizen participation in research may include involvement in generating original ideas, planning appropriate designs, collecting data, and helping to implement interventions. Unfortunately, little is known about the attitudes of the community members who participate in such research processes. In the present exploratory study, a team of community members (4 men, 3 women; age > 30 years old) who were employed as investigator research associates to evaluate an innovative substance abuse recovery home were asked for their perspectives about their involvement in the research effort. Findings indicated that these community members felt their participation was a positive experience. Moreover, while their understanding and sense of participation in the research process increased, their identification and affiliation with their support organization was not reduced. Results imply that there is a need to better understand how citizen members of community organizations are affected by their involvement in the research process.     

Creating a home to promote recovery: the physical environments of Oxford House

The interior and exterior physical characteristics of substance abuse recovery program dwellings (11 woman, 44 men) from three geographic sections of the United States were assessed at creating a "house-as-home" for residents. Although each house was independently governed and operated by residents, results indicated vast similarities among the interior characteristics, amenities, and structural aspects. These rented dwellings also had similar well-maintained exterior characteristics, despite their geographic locations. Follow-up interviews of former residents indicated that these house characteristics and amenities helped create a sense of home not found in traditional institutional facilities. Results suggested that residents of self-governed independently operated recovery houses may create and maintain safe and sober settings that elicit a sense of home among residents.     

论恐怖主义组织与传统犯罪组织的交叉发展问题

恐怖主义组织的发展动态受到许多国家政府的关注,反恐专家们也十分关心这个问题。根据我们观察,恐怖主义组织正在寻求更为广阔的活动领域,并试图建立更为广泛的组织系统,因为传统的有组织犯罪具备可利用为恐怖犯罪的条件,但这一观点有待于进一步的实证研究。而传统的有组织犯罪是否可能与恐怖主义合作,以谋取更大的利益,对此担心也不无道理,我们以东南亚为例尽可能详尽地加以讨论。