Review essay: Minerva's ‘owl dizzy with success’

Richard H. Ullman (ed.) The World and Yugoslavia's Wars (NY: Council of Foreign Relations Book, 1996). Pp.230, index $18.95. ISBN 0–8760–191–5.     

Saving more than the children: the role of child-focused NGOs in the creation of southern security norms

The past decade has seen the emergence of ‘new critical discourses’ on security that argue for a widening of the term. This article hopes to add to such discussions by specifically examining the position of children and of the ngos that champion their rights in relation to the evolving security discourse in Southern societies. With this in mind, the first section of the article outlines the role of ngos in the contemporary practice of security. This will serve as an introduction to section two, where the activity of ngos vis-à-vis children will be considered. Such activity raises a number of questions with regard to the usefulness of incorporating children into the security discourse specifically, and to the social construction of ‘children’ generally. These will be outlined in section three. Section four argues for children to be considered as inherent to the creation of Southern security norms, while the final section concludes.     

The impact of governmental structure and expenditures on the quality of life in urban areas

Despite the obvious complementarity in their objectives, public policy and quality of life or social indicators research have been done in mutual isolation. The integration of these streams of research offers policy analysts an alternate method for measuring impacts. Using this approach, the current study focuses on two questions: 1) Are variations in municipal structure related to policy outputs, i.e., municipal expenditures? 2) Are variations in municipal structures and overall targeted municipal expenditures related to the general quality of life in municipalities and the quality of specific services?

The sample for this study includes the central cities of the sixty-five most populated SMSAs in the United States. Pearson Product Moment correlational and crosstabulational techniques were used to examine these relationships. The results indicate that council manager systems tend to spend less than mayor council systems, yet, in some ways, offer a better quality of life. Differences in size and regional location were investigated by factor analysis as possible influences in this regard.     

Recent narcotics and mafia research

Abstract

Research into narcotics‐related issues is underway all over the world. No country can afford to ignore the social and economic consequences of drug production, distribution, consumption, or the laundering of the profits thereof. The article examines recent and ongoing research in Latin America, the United States, the United Kingdom, and within the context of the European Community. Latin American studies relate drug production to wider problems of economic development, whereas typical “consumer country” studies are more concerned with criminological aspects and demand reduction policies. The drugs/crime link is seen to be closely bound up with the illegal context of the drugs market, thus the option for legalization is considered. The economic growth of the Italian mafia is explained. The author describes recent international agreements on money laundering and precursor chemicals, and concludes by stressing the value of international cooperation on all aspects of narcotics research.     

From contention to social bargaining: labour unions and democratic consolidation in Spain

The main objective of this article is to examine how the links between trade unions and affiliated political parties of the left influenced the strategies of labour during the transition and the early years of democracy in Spain. It argues that political partisanship is a key factor for understanding the unions' strategies. After a period of intense labour conflict during the transition to democracy, labour mobilization decreased and Spain's unions and other social actors initiated distinctive processes of social bargaining, starting in 1979. The central argument is that the relationship of unions and political parties in the authoritarian and transition periods was a major factor in conditioning strategies in the post-authoritarian period. In the end, the consolidation of Spanish democracy has led to the strengthening of the main trade unions. Contrary to what happened in other historical periods they used this power to contribute to governability and the consolidation of the new democratic regime.     

Public support for democracy in hong kong

Hong Kong witnessed a large-scale public rally and extensive support for democracy in mid-2003. This article explains the support by means of variables extracted from cultural, instrumental and sociological approaches. Drawn from the cultural approach, ‘post-materialistic activism’ and low levels of ‘respect for authority’ are found to be most powerful in explaining mass support, among all explanatory variables. Since culture seldom changes overnight, popular support for democracy may be sustained in the short and medium term. The calculation of the economic consequences for democracy, a variable drawn from the instrumental approach, has no effect on mass support. Thus, any attempt to suppress popular demand for democracy by offering economic sweeteners alone may prove futile. The most important instrumental factor among the public is ‘their confidence in political parties’. Whether pan-democratic parties can elevate such confidence becomes pivotal to boosting and sustaining this support. The lack of relatively stronger support among the younger and more educated stratum of people in Hong Kong does not bode well for prospects of increased mass support in the future. Finally, the article offers a small footnote on the implications for the ‘Asian values’ debate.     

A review of impurity profiling and synthetic route of manufacture of methylamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine,amphetamine, dimethylamphetamine and p-methoxyamphetamine

Amphetamine-type substances (ATS), like other synthetically derived compounds, can be produced by a multitude of synthetic pathways using a variety of precursors and reagents, resulting in a large number of possible contaminants (by-products, intermediates and impurities). This review article describes the common contaminants found in preparations of methylamphetamine (MA), 3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA), amphetamine (AP), N,N-dimethylamphetamine (DMA) and p-methoxyamphetamine (PMA) synthesised via common synthetic pathways including reductive amination, Leuckart method, Nagai method, Emde method, Birch reduction, “Moscow” method, Wacker process, “Nitrostyrene” method and the Peracid oxidation method.Contaminants can facilitate identification of the synthetic route, origin of precursors and may suggest information as to the location of manufacture of these illicit drugs. Contaminant profiling can provide vital intelligence for investigations in which linking seizures or identifying the synthetic pathway is essential. This review article presents an accessible resource; a compilation of contaminants resulting from a variety of manufacturing methods used to synthesise the most common ATS. It is important for research in this field to continue as valuable information can be extracted from illicit drug samples, increasing discrimination amongst ATS, and in turn, leading to an increase in evidential value and forensic drug intelligence from forensic drug samples.     

试论我国深化乡镇管理体制改革的目标

明确当今中国深化乡镇管理体制改革的体制性目标,在当前不仅是乡镇机构改革探索中亟待解答的一个重大而现实的命题,而且是全面深化农村综合改革所要迫切完成的一项基础性与根本性任务,更是新农村建设整体推进的必然诉求。为此,本文提出了我国深化乡镇管理体制改革的基本目标与核心目标之范畴,即重构公共管理体制与公共领导体制。     

导入ISO9001:2000背景下地方政府绩效考核指标体系述评

地方政府在导入ISO质量管理体系的背景下,其绩效如何考核?国际标准化组织设计了一套完整的指标体系,包括"好政府的制度发展、经济的可持续发展、全面的社会发展和环境的可持续发展"等四个维度。本文对这套指标进行了介绍,并结合中国的具体情况进行了分析,目的在于为地方政府导入ISO质量管理体系进行理论上的指导。文章认为,导入这套指标体系符合我国建设和谐社会和落实科学发展观的要求,有利于促进政府职能转变,有利于解决当前我国的社会问题。因此,它在我国具有相当强的可适用性。