Cambodia: “Operation total victory no. 43”

Abstract

Rising high above the lush Cambodian jungle, the spiraled gray towers of Angkor Wat mark the cosmological center of one of the most brillant ancient civilizations of Southeast Asia. Today, all that remains of this vast Khmer kingdom is a nation about the size of Washington state, a nation inhabited by nearly seven million people; most of whom spend their lives in the verdant paddy fields surrounding their village. Although proud of their heritage, they do not aspire to new glories of conquest and empire. Rather the Cambodians have long sought one-thing: peace.     

The measurement of institutional characteristics of nations: Methodological considerations

A major barrier to the quantitative investigation of interactions between economic and non‐economic influences in economic development is the lack of adequate indicators of institutional traits of nations. Our purpose in this paper is to consider the methodological procedures involved in the development of qualitative sociopolitical and economic indicators.

The first sections of the paper deal with various aspects related to the subject of measurement. This is necessary because misconceptions regarding the nature of ‘qualitative measurement’ are common, and misleading contrasts between qualitative and quantitative measurement are frequently made. The last four sections illustrate the procedures for the measurement of institutional indicators by applying them to the quantification of the concept of political participation in developing countries.     

How does the economy shape policy preferences?

How do changes in the economy translate into shifts in aggregate preferences for a more or less activist government in the U.S.—a construct referred to as “policy mood”? Existing theories pose alternative explanations based on either a Maslow Hierarchy of Needs model, where citizens prefer an activist federal government to expand the social safety net when the economic future looks bright (Durr, 1993), or a Phillips Curve model (Erikson et al., 2002), in which the objective economic maladies of inflation and unemployment drive policy mood. We show that neither of these explanations withstands empirical scrutiny when analysis is extended beyond the time period of the original authors' work, suggest the existing wisdom tying the economy to policy mood is wrong, and offer some alternative avenues to pursue in search of an answer to the question: What moves policy mood?     

The Role of MI5 in the Internment of British Fascists during the Second World War

Despite the controversy that will inevitably continue to surround Britain's use of executive detention to contain domestic fascists during the Second World War, recently declassified Security Service (MI5) records reveal the details of MI5's role in the defence regulations. MI5 was one of three bodies responsible for the administration of Defence Regulation 18b (DR18b) and as such its power was limited by an inherent system of checks and balances. As others have suggested, the administration of DR18b was full of tension; however, it is now apparent that this tension was a positive feature of the defence regulations and one that protected the individual rather than condemned him. The strategic detention of key figures from Britain's fascist circles effectively destroyed the ability of fascists to function in unified organizations. Newly available records provide answers to previously unanswerable questions related to the nature of the fascist threat as it was perceived and as it changed throughout the war.     

Binary decision analysis: An empirical approach to predicting and understanding organizational decisions

Binary decision analysis is an alternative approach to the analysis of organizational decisions that lends itself well to mathematic analysis. The purpose of this paper is to present and test the application of the binary approach to decision analysis and its subsequent mathematical testing using logit regression. Binary decision analysis focuses on each decision as a single choice between two distinct alternatives or a step in a sequence of such binary choices in more complex organizational decisions. Logit regression is a type of regression especially developed to deal with binary dependent variables in the context of inferential statistical testing. By successfully combining these two approaches, and adhering to the theoretical and statistical assumptions upon which they are based, a potentially useful tool of organizational decision analysis results. An applied example of this approach tests its utility. Appropriate conclusions about the method are made based on that test.     

The case for ‘face-time’ in a computer-mediated global economy

Abstract

The structuring of marketing and communication management within key organisations in South Africa is changing. These changes are affecting the relationship between marketing and communication practitioners, as well as the key tasks they are responsible for within the organisation. Globally, companies are downsizing, restructuring and eliminating hierarchy. This article investigates how key South African companies have responded to these changes, by looking at how the marketing and communication functions are structured within the organisation. Marketing and communication managers from top South African companies were interviewed telephonically. Findings from the study indicate that the two functions are progressively moving towards an integrated approach. However, a commonly agreed organisational structure is still not pervasive. Each organisation structured the marketing and communication functions differently, and various perspectives existed on the key tasks of both marketing and communication managers. From these findings, it is evident that the relationship between marketing and communication, as well as the role and tasks of marketing and communication managers, is still very diverse in the South African context.     

Seeking Systemic Change: Risk and Protective Factors Affecting Low-Income Urban Youth

This themed issue presents five articles tackling the topic of risk and protective processes affecting children and adolescents living in urban poverty. Through their research, the authors seek understanding of the particular challenges that low-income urban youth face, with the ultimate goal of understanding how best to intervene at various levels of the ecological system. Within this broad theme, studies examine specific stressors, mediators, and moderators that impact the mental health of youth living in urban poverty. The final article presents a data-driven, community-based intervention for this population.