Efforts to Improve Public Policy and Programs through Data Practice: Experiences in 15 Distressed American Cities

Philanthropies and government agencies interested in children's issues are encouraging localities to improve the process of collecting, linking, and sharing microdata and aggregated summary statistics. An implicit assumption of these efforts is that outcomes will improve as a result of the new approaches. However, there has been little systematic study of these efforts. In this article, we examine efforts to improve data practice in 15 distressed American cities. Interviews conducted in these cities revealed variation in the types of information collected, dissemination, and intended audiences. We identify significant challenges to these efforts, including adequate resources, turf battles, technical problems, access to information sources, inconsistent leadership, and absence of political will. We find that little is known about the impact of these initiatives on decision making. Assumptions that improved data practice will lead to improved policy making have not yet been realized in these cities.     

Y chromosome STR haplotypes in the Caribbean city of Cartagena (Colombia)

Haplotype data were obtained from a sample of 173 unrelated male individuals from Cartagena (Colombia), for 16 Y-chromosome STRs (DYS19, DYS385, DYS389 I, DYS389 II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS460, DYS461, DYS635, GATA H4 and GATA A10). No shared haplotypes were observed, demonstrating the usefulness and informative power of these Y-STRs in male lineage identification in Cartagena. Genetic distances were calculated using previously published haplotype data and the lowest values were found for the comparisons with samples of Iberian origin.     

Dysfunctional Parenting and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration and Victimization among College Women: the Mediating Role of Schemas

Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMS) are negative cognitions about self and relationships that develop early in life, distort our perceptions of life experiences and are sustained via confirmatory information processing (Young et al. 2003). Although empirical evidence supports the relationship between EMS and psychopathology, there is a relative paucity of research regarding the relationship between EMS and intimate partner violence (IPV). The goal of the present study was to elucidate the complex relations between recollections of dysfunctional parenting, EMS, and IPV victimization and perpetration in adulthood. A sample of 305 women college students completed measures of perceptions of parental bonding, EMS, and relationship conflict behaviors. Results revealed that the EMS of subjugation and self-sacrifice accounted for 13.9% of the variance in IPV victimization; however, the EMS of subjugation was the only significant predictor of IPV victimization and mediated the relationship between recollections of dysfunctional parenting and IPV victimization. Additionally, although the EMS of entitlement, insufficient self-control, mistrust/abuse, abandonment, and social isolation accounted for 11.3% of the variance in IPV perpetration, only the EMS of insufficient self-control and mistrust/abuse were significant predictors of IPV perpetration and mediated the relationship between recollections of dysfunctional parenting and IPV perpetration. Results suggest that these cognitive schemas may be the mechanism through which dysfunctional parenting renders one vulnerable to violence in relationships.     

Examining Predictors of Parole Release in a Rural Female Jail Population

Parole has long been a linchpin of correctional practices but few studies have examined discretionary parole release in a female population. The current study examines factors, both static risk and dynamic needs, that influence parole decision making in a rural female jail population. The researchers collected data on parole releases from a rural county jail over a 3-year period beginning in 2012 (N?=?138). Offenders obtained a recommendation for parole release from a reentry assessment team that met at the jail each month to evaluate cases for parole eligibility. Logistic regression was used to explain variance in the factors considered by the reentry assessment team and it was evident that both static risk factors and dynamic needs play a role in discretionary parole release. We also examined obstacles or challenges that female offenders face when paroling to a rural location. Several policy recommendation related to the study are addressed.     

Everyday disasters,stagnation and the normalcy of non-development: Roghun Dam,a flood,and campaigns of forced taxation in southern Tajikistan

This article conducts a comparative analysis of a catastrophic flood that hit the Kulob region of southern Tajikistan in 2010, and the government of Tajikistan's campaign to gather money to build the Roghun dam and hydropower station. It advances the notion of ‘everyday disasters’ in order to explain the imprecise boundaries between major catastrophic events and more mundane dimensions of the everyday as experienced by residents of Kulob. The article seeks to shed light, firstly, on the processes that underpin both Kulob residents’ experiences of stagnation and the normalization of non-development, and, secondly, on the ways in which Kulob residents joke and ‘do’ cunning/cheating whilst dealing with disastrous events in order to cultivate an everydayness that is worth living.     

‘How can I be post-Soviet if I was never Soviet?’ Rethinking categories of time and social change – a perspective from Kulob,southern Tajikistan

Based on anthropological fieldwork conducted in the Kulob region of southern Tajikistan, this paper examines the extent to which the existing periodization ‘Soviet/post-Soviet’ is still valid to frame scholarly works concerning Central Asia. It does so through an analysis of ‘alternative temporalities’ conveyed by Kulob residents to the author. These alternative temporalities are fashioned in especially clear ways in a relationship to the physical transformations occurring to two types of housing, namely flats in building blocks and detached houses. Without arguing that the categories ‘Soviet’ and ‘post-Soviet’ have become futile, the author advocates that the uncritically use of Soviet/post-Soviet has the unwanted effect of shaping the Central Asian region as a temporalized and specialized ‘other’.     

Rising to the Top: Gender,Political Performance,and Party Leadership in Parliamentary Democracies

Party leaders are the main actors controlling campaign strategies, policy agendas, and government formation in advanced parliamentary democracies. Little is known, however, about gender and party leadership. This article examines gendered leadership patterns across 71 political parties in 11 parliamentary democracies between 1965 and 2013. It shows that men and women have different access to, and experiences in, party leadership and that these gendered political opportunity structures are shaped by parties' political performances. Women are more likely to initially come to power in minor opposition parties and those that are losing seat share. Once selected for the position, female leaders are more likely to retain office when their parties gain seats, but they are also more likely to leave the post when faced with an unfavorable trajectory. Together, these results demonstrate that prospective female leaders are playing by a different (and often more demanding) set of rules than their male counterparts.     

Exporting corporate social responsibility into Africa? The experiences of South African companies in Swaziland

The economic expansion of South African corporates across the continent is an evolving and contested process. This paper seeks to inform knowledge on the experiences of South African companies expanding into Africa by looking at the social investment approach of five large companies within South Africa and in their Swaziland operations. While social responsibility programmes are proving to be useful for the private sector, the experiences of these companies highlight the need for more studies to find evidence on the developmental role of major private sector players like South Africa in the region and the impact of corporate social investment and corporate social responsibility in Africa.