Does Urban Public Housing Diminish the Social Capital and Labor Force Activity of Its Tenants?

This paper investigates the effect of urban public housing on the social capital and labor force activity of its tenants using cross‐sectional survey data from the Multi‐City Study of Urban Inequality (MSCUI). A structural equation model of the hypothesized direct and indirect effects of public housing and neighborhood disadvantage on social capital and labor force activity is specified and fitted to these data. The modeling results suggest that urban public housing is strongly associated with neighborhood disadvantage but has little or no direct effect on either social capital or labor force activity. And while public housing may have indirect effects on social capital and labor force activity through neighborhood poverty, these indirect effects appear to be small. These findings have implications for the current emphasis in urban public housing policy on moving residents into the private housing market and reducing poverty concentration. © 2001 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Comparison of HoNOS and HoNOS-Secure in a forensic mental health hospital

The Health of the Nation Outcome Scale (HoNOS) is a widely used tool for monitoring consumer outcomes within mental health services. However, concern about its suitability in forensic mental health settings led to the development of a forensic version of this tool (HoNOS-Secure). To date, no direct comparison of these versions has appeared in the empirical literature. In the present study, a cohort of forensic mental health consumers was rated using the HoNOS and HoNOS-Secure. Pearson correlations were generated to compare the tools at a total score and item level. Logistic regression was employed to evaluate how well these tools categorise patients on a range of measurable outcomes. HoNOS scores were also compared against civil mental health consumers to evaluate differences between these populations. The HoNOS/HoNOS-Secure correlated strongly at the total score level, but demonstrated variable correlations at the item level. Logistic regression suggested that the HoNOS-Secure ‘clinical and social functioning scale’ adds little to the HoNOS in a forensic setting; however, the HoNOS-Secure ‘security scale’ added significant benefit to both versions. Results remained stable when re-evaluated over time. Forensic and civil mental health patients were found to demonstrate the same degree of psychopathology at the point of admission; however, they differed at review and discharge collection occasions. Implications for clinical practice and policy are explored.     

Fighting the Jihad of the Pen: Countering Revolutionary Islam's Ideology

Al Qaeda's ideology is not new; their critique of the existing political and social order and vision for how to redeem the Muslim world builds on preexisting arguments of several 20th century predecessors who called for an Islamic revolution that would create a new order based on Islam. The persistence of revolutionary Islam suggests that these ideas need to be countered in order to strike at the root of the problem driving Islamically motivated terrorism and insurgency. U.S. efforts to defeat Al Qaeda, however, continue to focus primarily on killing or capturing the leadership, interdicting operations, and defensively bolstering the homeland and U.S. assets against various types of attacks. In order to confront Al Qaeda's ideology, U.S. efforts should focus on indirectly fostering “a market place of ideas”—the space and culture of questioning and debating—in order to challenge the grievances and solutions proposed by revolutionary Islam.     

Domestic Violence Abusers: A Descriptive Study of the Characteristics of Defenders in Protection from Abuse Orders in Sedgwick County,Kansas

Protection from abuse orders have been presented in the contemporary literature as one of many tools in protecting battered women. While protection from abuse orders provide legal protection from abuse, many abusers violate these court orders. The current study describes the characteristics of 1,873 alleged domestic violence abusers in Sedgwick County, Kansas. Data were collected from protection from abuse filings over a 12-month time frame. The data were used to examine the demographics of offenders as well as to assess the prior arrests of the offenders. Results showed that abusers were typically white males, average age of 33 with extensive past criminal arrest histories.     

Resolving Conflicts Between Endangered Species Conservation and Renewable Energy Siting: Wiggle Room for Renewables?

Two federal policies—the protection of endangered species, and the rapid creation of a renewable energy infrastructure—currently exist in significant legal tension. While both are important for the development of necessary sustainability, climate change induced by the continuous burning of carbon-based fuels likely poses a greater threat to endangered species than does the growth of commercial-scale renewable energy sites. This article outlines several points of conflict between the two policies and subsequently considers the extent to which federal agencies responsible for renewable energy oversight and development possess wiggle room under the Endangered Species Act. A few recommendations for greater leeway are then offered.     

Pursuing Consilience: Using Behavioral Public Administration to Connect Research on Bureaucratic Red Tape,Administrative Burden,and Regulation

Behavioral public administration (BPA) research aspires not only to draw on developments in behavioral science but also, importantly, to address central themes in public administration. By focusing a symposium on bureaucratic red tape, administrative burden, and regulation, we encouraged BPA scholarship to engage with fundamental public administration topics that are also relevant for the broader literature on organizations and management. Indeed, the symposium contributions demonstrate how BPA can better meld the behavioral science and public administration literatures. They expand on existing conceptions of BPA, with respect to both methodology and topical focus, and provide a basis for demarcating what might and might not be usefully described as BPA. The symposium contributions provide a blueprint for how BPA research might usefully evolve and the introduction offers a philosophical reflection on the future development of BPA and behavioral science.     

Peasant participation and mobilization during economic crisis: The case of Costa Rica

During the three decades prior to the 1980s, the state-led development policies pursued by Costa Rica created a standard of living that was unique in Central America and among the most satisfactory in all of Latin America. However, the economic crisis of the early 1980s and the problems created by Costa Rica's foreign debt caused the nation's political and economic leaders to abandon the previous style of development and to the introduce neoliberal economic policies. The economic changes undertaken by Costa Rica in the 1980s were strongly supported by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Among the social sectors most adversely affected by the opening to the international market were the small independent producers of basic grains and other agricultural crops primarily destined for the internal market. These peasant sectors were largely unorganized prior to the 1980s and they intensified their organizational efforts in direct response to what was viewed as the negative impact of the new economic policies. This article examines the economic crisis that engulfed Costa Rica in the early 1980s as well as the economic stabilization and structural adjustment programs that succeeded in easing the crisis and that will define the direction of development efforts in the 1990s. The bulk of the article investigates the attempts of the peasanty to organize and mobilize in order to influence the political system and to protect their economic interests. Costa Rica's principle peasant organizations are discussed and reasons are offered to explain the failure of peasant efforts to influence the formation of development policy. Gregg L. Vunderink recently received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Texas at Austin. The recipient of a Fulbright-Hays research abroad award, the author conducted research in Costa Rica and Nicaragua in 1987 and 1988. He is currently a visiting assistant professor at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota 55057.