The Shi Tao Case: its development in Mainland China

The Chinese government's imprisonment of Mainland journalist Shi Tao on the basis of evidence provided by Yahoo! aroused great concern both in Mainland China domestically and internationally. Being a multinational corporation with a huge number of users of its services, Yahoo!'s ‘assistance’ to the Chinese authorities in the prosecution of Shi Tao has become the focus of discussions, while a detailed discussion of the Shi Tao case itself is lacking. Based on the litigation documents of the Shi Tao case that are available in the public domain, and news reports and commentaries relating to this case, this paper aims at filling this gap by presenting a detailed account of the development of the Shi Tao case in Mainland China.     

Pubertal Development Moderates the Importance of Environmental Influences on Depressive Symptoms in Adolescent Girls and Boys

Prevalence differences in depressive symptoms between the sexes typically emerge in adolescence, with symptoms more prevalent among girls. Some evidence suggests that variation in onset and progression of puberty might contribute to these differences. This study used a genetically informative, longitudinal (assessed at ages 12, 14, and 17) sample of Finnish adolescent twins (N = 1214, 51.6% female) to test whether etiological influences on depressive symptoms differ as a function of pubertal status. These tests were conducted separately by sex, and explored longitudinal relationships. Results indicated that pubertal development moderates environmental influences on depressive symptoms. These factors are more important on age 14 depressive symptoms among more developed girls relative to their less developed peers, but decrease in influence on age 17 depressive symptoms. The same effects are observed in boys, but are delayed, paralleling the delay in pubertal development in boys compared to girls. Thus, the importance of environmental influences on depressive symptoms during adolescence changes as a function of pubertal development, and the timing of this effect differs across the sexes.     

Proletarianisation,land, income and living conditions of farm labourers in Kenya

In some areas in Sub‐Saharan Africa, a rural proletariat has emerged, mainly consisting of labourers living and working on plantations and large mixed farms. Besides these ‘full proletarians’, there are also labourers living outside the agricultural estates who perform agricultural wage labour during specific seasons only. Most of these ‘semi‐proletarians’ own a small piece of land. The study analyses the relationship between the degree of proletarianisation on the one hand, and the socio‐economic situation and living conditions of labourers on large farms in Kenya's Trans Nzoia District on the other. In doing so, a comparison is also made with a group of non‐labourers. The conclusion is that a higher degree of proletarianisation coincides with a lower income level but not necessarily poorer living conditions.     

Regulation through titling laws: A case study of occupational regulation

This case study examines a form of occupational regulation infrequently examined in academic literature – titling laws. These laws regulate who may legally use a phrase, or title, to describe their work to the public. Focusing on the interior design industry, this article demonstrates how industry leaders use titling laws as the first step in a push for full occupational licensure. In so doing, they allege a need for regulation out of concern for public health and safety, but as data in this case study indicate, there appears to be no threat to public health and safety from unregulated interior designers. Instead, designers advocate for increased regulation of their own industry, through the evolution of titling laws to full licensure, due to the benefits it affords them.     

Exploring Identity Dynamics from a Combined Social Exchange and Social Identity Perspective

The aim of this article is to explore identity dynamics of unit and department leaders in a healthcare setting using both social identity and social exchange theories. In particular, we developed a mediational moderated model in which supervisor trust indirectly influences identification with a subordinate level (i.e., the clinical unit) through its effect on identification with a superordinate level (i.e., the organization as a whole). Furthermore, we predicted and found that this relation is moderated by organizational tenure, contract breach, and the clinical-manager's role (heads of clinical units vs. chairs of departments). We tested our hypotheses with doctors of a large public hospital in northern Italy. A total of 370 doctors completed questionnaires measuring organizational and unit identification, supervisor trust, and contract breach. Results supported our hypotheses: supervisor trust was related to unit identification through its effect on organizational identification. As expected, this relation was stronger for more tenured department chairs, and for those doctors who perceived less contract breach.