The Institutionalization of Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Federal Government

This article uses resource dependence and institutional theory to examine the implementation of the Administrative Dispute Resolution Acts of 1990 and 1996. The insights from these theories are employed to explain the diffusion of and variation in the application of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to different programmatic areas. Although agencies have generally complied with the direct requirements of the acts, their intent has not been fully realized. Several factors have complicated the implementation of the ADR Acts, prompting agencies to take different strategic approaches to the application of ADR in programmatic areas. In general, agencies have acquiesced to the use of ADR in employment disputes, compromised on ADR use in contracting and procurement disputes, and avoided ADR use in civil enforcement disputes. Finally, this article evaluates progress toward impact evaluations of the ADR Acts and suggests directions for future research.     

Different Processes,Different Outcomes? Assessing the Individual‐Level Impacts of Public Participation

This article empirically investigates the relative efficacy of different direct participation processes. Specifically, it compares the effects of three types of participatory processes (public meetings, focus groups, and citizen juries) on participants' issue awareness, competence, empowerment, and trust in service professionals. The authors hypothesize that all three participatory processes will positively affect these individual outcomes but that the magnitudes of effects will differ across the three processes. Using data from field experiments, the authors test and find general support for the hypotheses. This study contributes to understanding of public participation, particularly in terms of the relationship between participatory design and outcomes.     

A Culturally Sensitive Intervention with Domestically Violent Latino Immigrant Men

In an agency that provided court ordered domestic violence treatment, practitioners observed that recently arrived Latino immigrant men failed to respond to the Duluth model. This observation led to implementation of a culturally sensitive intervention that took into consideration Latino cultural values and environmental stressors on immigrant families. Healing themes were selected that required the men to confront personal trauma and negative acculturation experiences and connect these to conflict and partner abuse. The approach was designed to help the men stop the abuse, preserve partner relationships, and strengthen family life. The goal was not to equalize power between male and female partners, but to help the men gain the attitudes and relationship skills needed for respectful and compassionate family leadership.     

A Non-bipartite Propensity Score Analysis of the Effects of Teacher–Student Relationships on Adolescent Problem and Prosocial Behavior

Previous research suggests a link between the quality of teacher–student relationships and the students’ behavioral outcomes; however, the observational nature of past studies makes it difficult to attribute a causal role to the quality of these relationships. In the current study, therefore, we used a propensity score analysis approach to evaluate whether students who were matched on their propensity to experience a given level of relationship quality but differed on their actual relationship quality diverged on their concurrent and subsequent problem and prosocial behavior. Student/self, teacher, and parent- (only waves 1–3) reported data from 8 waves of the Zurich Project on the Social Development of Children and Youths (z-proso), a longitudinal study of Swiss youth among a culturally diverse sample of 7- to 15-year-olds were utilized. The initial sample included 1483 (49.4 % female) students for whom information relevant for this study was available. The sample represented families from around 80 different countries, from across all the continents; with approximately 42 % of the female primary caregivers having been born in Switzerland. Following successful matching, we found that students who reported better relationships with their teachers and whose teachers reported better relationships with them evidenced fewer problem behaviors concurrently and up to 4 years later. There was also evidence for an analogous effect in predicting prosocial behavior. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to prevention and intervention practices.     

Reviews & Resources

Theater

Split Britches, by Lois Weaver in collaboration with Deborah Margolin and Peggy Shaw, directed by Lois Weaver for the Split Britches Company, Open Gate Theatre, New York City.

Beauty and the Beast—The Otic and Only World‐Famous Vaudeville Revue, written by Deborah Margolin in collaboration with Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw, directed by Lois Weaver, Spring 1983, WOW Cafe, New York City.

'night, Mother, by Marsha Norman directed by Tom Moore, Golden Theatre, New York City.

The Department, by Barbara Gar‐son, directed by Chris Kraus, May 1983, Theater for the New City, New York City.

Sappho and Aphrodite, by Karen Malpede, directed by Lois Weaver, presented by the Sappho and Aphrodite Company as a work‐in‐progress, Provincetown Playhouse, March 1983, New York City.

Cloud 9, by Caryl Churchill, directed by Tommy Tune, Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York City.

Dance

With Longings to Realize, Johanna Boyce and Performance Group, January, 1983, Dance Theatre Workshop, New York City.

Theory and Play of the Duende, by Pilar Rioja, Repertorio Espanol's Gramercy Arts Theater, April 1983, New York City.

Ms. Barbie and Her Friends or Whose Life to Live, by the Barbara Mahler Dance Theater, March 1983, Cash Performance Space, New York City.

Music

Thoughts on Women's Popular Music

Meg Christian, Bottom Line, April 1983, New York City.

Holly Near and Ronnie Gilbert in Concert, Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall April 13, 1983, New York City.

Books

Divine Dancer: A Biography of Ruth St. Denis by Suzanne Shelton. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1981. 338 pp. Bibliography. Index.

American Women Dramatists of the Twentieth Century, A Bibliography. Brenda Coven. Metuchen, New Jersey & London: Scarecrow Press, 1982. 237 pp.

Women in Film: Both Sides of the Camera by E. Ann Kaplan. New York and London: Methuen, Inc., September, 1983.

Biographical Dictionary of Dance.Barbara Naomi Cohen‐Stratyner. New York: Schirmer Books, 1982. 970 pp.

American Women in Jazz: 1900 to the Present—Their Words, Lives, and Music.Sally Placksin. U.S.A.: Wideview Books, 1982. 322 pp. Bibliography, index, and discography.

Women in Theatre: Compassion and Hope.Karen Malpede. New York: Drama Book Publishers, 1983. 265 pp. Selected bibiography and index.

Listings     

Surviving the Trenches: The Personal Impact of the Job on Probation Officers

The purpose of this study was to assess traumatic stress and burnout in probation officers who work with criminal offenders. Adult probation officers from five departments in three states (Arizona, California, and Texas) participated in this study (N?=?309). Officers completed several survey instruments including the Impact of Events Scale-Revised (Weiss & Marmar, 1997), the Compassion Satisfaction/Fatigue Self-Test for Helpers (Steed & Bicknell, 2001), and the Probation Personal Impact Scale (PPI). The results indicated officers who reported violent and sexual recidivism on their caseloads, offender suicide, and threats and/or assaults in the line of duty scored significantly higher on measures of traumatic stress and burnout than officers who did not experience these caseload events. Assessments, education, training, and stress management programs are discussed as options to mitigate negative impacts, enhance the resiliency of officers, and improve the quality of evidence-based practices.     

Prosecutorial discretion for domestic violence cases: an examination of the effects of offender race,ethnicity, gender,and age

Much of the existing literature on courts and sentencing has focused on judicial decision-making. Prior research on prosecutorial decision-making is more limited, with even less attention paid to the prosecution of domestic violence cases. The research that has been conducted has produced inconsistent results regarding the effects of legal and extralegal variables. The current study focuses on the effects of extralegal suspect characteristics on the decision to dismiss domestic violence cases in a large Midwestern county from June 2009 to December 2009. The findings demonstrate that gender and race have a strong influence on prosecutors’ decisions to dismiss charges in domestic violence cases. Contrary to the focal concerns perspective, however, the results indicate that males and Black and Hispanic offenders are more likely to have their cases dismissed. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Rule of law and the democratization process: the case of Albania

This article will explore the dilemmas that Albania has been experiencing in implementing the rule of law during the past two decades with particular attention to the political institutional obstacles, including the difficulties of establishing an independent judiciary and the pervasiveness of corruption. The concept of the rule of law will be the lens through which the difficulties of the democratization process will be examined. The lack of transparency in the legislature and more broadly in the political decision-making process, and the divisive and leader-dominated political party system are two additional obstacles that Albania is facing in consolidating democracy. Since its first post-communist election in 1991, Albania has experienced challenges in conducting legitimate elections that meet international standards. The political and cultural environment where these political institutions operate and from which they have been constructed will provide the backdrop for analysis.