Chinese adolescents' self-concept as measured by the offer self-image questionnaire

This article reports results of a study of self-image among 426 adolescents from the Republic of China (Taiwan). Self-image was studied through use of a Chinese translation of the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire. Subjects were from public schools and a factory setting in the Republic of China. Implications for understanding Chinese youth as well as problems in doing cross-cultural research are discussed.Received M.A. from the University of Chicago. Major interests are crosscultural differences in socialization, and social gerontology.Received M.A. from Case Western Reserve University. Major interests are hospital social work and family counseling.     

European national news

The regular article tracking developments at the national level in key European countries in the area of IT and communications – co-ordinated by Herbert Smith LLP and contributed to by firms across Europe. This column provides a concise alerting service of important national developments in key European countries. Part of its purpose is to compliment the Journal's feature articles and Briefing Notes by keeping readers abreast of what is currently happening “on the ground” at a national level in implementing EU level legislation and international conventions and treaties. Where an item of European National News is of particular significance, CLSR may also cover it in more detail in the current or a subsequent edition.     

Recrganizing fiscal assistance for criminal justice the justice system improvement act of 1979

Although reorganizing the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration had been repeatedly proposed in the past seven years, it was not until January 29,1979 that Senator Edward Kenndy (D-Mass.) introduced the "Justice System Improvement Act" designed to do just that. An examination of this bill, and a comparison of the present LEAA structure and function with that proposed in the Act illustrates that the legislation will serve to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal justice fiscal assistance pro- grams. The suggested course is to separate the research and statistics components from purely assistance functions and giving LEAA the latter responsibility on an exclusive basis. Research and Statistics would be housed in their own individual organizational structures, but within the perview of the Department of Justice.

Two shortcomings, however, could serve to defeat the proposed bill. Although the legislation gives priority to fiscal assistance to state/local jurisdictions, there is no corresponding increase in financial commitment on the part of the Federal Government. In fact, the FY 1980 budget allocates LEAA its lowest funding level since 1972. At a time of growing concern over crime rates, this would certainly serve to soften the impact of the reorganization effort. In addition, maintaining the research function within the,Department of Justice could well prove prejudi- cial to research findings. The recommended course of action is to adopt the proposal which calls for an indepen-dent "National Institute of Justice, to be organized along similar lines as the National Science Foundation.     

‘Finishing the Job’: the UN Special Committee on Decolonization and the politics of self-governance

This article examines the modern day role and purpose of the UN Special Committee on Decolonization. Since its establishment in the 1960s the Committee has helped numerable former colonies achieve independence. Today, with very few ‘colonised’ Non-Self-Governing Territories remaining its work appears almost complete. However, serious flaws have always pervaded its decolonisation strategy; which are now more apparent than ever. The Committee retains narrow and outdated understandings of colonialism and, as a result, fails to recognise how widespread and pervasive global colonial forces remain. This makes its goal of universal decolonisation both unsatisfactory and misguided. The Committee’s problematic approach towards decolonisation stems from its participation within the ‘North–South Theatre’, in which antagonism is perpetuated between the world’s developed and less developed states. The paper argues that the Committee has not prioritised colonised peoples in the way it has always claimed, but instead worked principally in the interests of itself and its members.     

Human Rights and Antiterrorism: A Positive Legal Duty to Infringe Freedom From Torture?

In law freedom from torture and ill-treatment is “absolute,” meaning that a state cannot infringe the right for purposes that would seem legitimate such as the protection of national security. However, with the growth in international terrorism, particularly suicide violence, should the freedom remain without limitation? This article considers legitimizing torture by reference to the “positive” legal obligation the right imposes on states to prevent harm to individuals by third parties such as terrorists. Assuming such a legal argument could be made out, it is questioned whether adopting such measures of interrogation would in fact outweigh the negative consequences that would inevitably follow from reversing accepted international standards for the protection of, say, detainees from ill-treatment in state custody.     

Popular perceptions of political regimes in East and Southeast Asia

Political regimes in East and Southeast Asia run the full spectrum from liberal democracy through various hybrid democratic-authoritarian types and on to full-blown authoritarianism and totalitarianism. While political scientists have invested much effort and ingenuity in creating typologies of regimes to better understand the empirical diversity of political structures and processes, much less attention has been paid to what the citizens think. How do people in East and Southeast Asian countries perceive their own institutions and performance of governance? This article uses public opinion data derived from the AsiaBarometer 2006 and 2007 Surveys of 12 East and Southeast Asian countries to map what citizens actually think about their structures, processes, and outcomes of governance and compare these with the regime classifications of political scientists. The results revealed universal commitment to elections but disillusionment with political practice, positive estimations of the institutions of governance in Southeast Asia but much less enthusiasm in East Asia, and a preference for moderate opinions. There is no clear overall correlation between regime type and popular perception.     

The calling of the human sciences

Abstract

Roger Smith's plea on behalf of the human sciences raises important and neglected questions about the basis of interdisciplinary work. Central here is the role played in human self-understanding by the history of human self-understanding. Smith's basic position is attractive, but his book might have drawn on a broader range of resources in order to back it up.