Policy analytical capacity and "Eastern" styles of policy analysis: evidence from West Java Province,Indonesia

An emerging body of scholarship suggests that "Western" notions of policy analysis may not be relevant in "Eastern" jurisdictions, and that non-Western countries, particularly in Asia, may have their own local policy analytical style or tradition. However, in many Asian countries, little is known about the work that public sector policy analysts do. Using data from a survey and focus groups, this article investigates policy analysis and analytical capacity in the provincial government of West Java, Indonesia. We find ample signs of policy analytical activity as it would be understood by Western scholars, with little evidence of any specific Asian style.

     

An Anthropological Contribution to Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies

This article takes its stance in the fruitful perspectives with which anthropology may contribute to peace and conflict resolution studies, a field seemingly dominated by political science. Not only the relativity of ‘peace’ and ‘war’ is at stake when anthropologists intervene with their epistemologies applied to human interaction in violent contexts. Challenging the methodology of registering such interaction and asking for gender perspectives are pivotal parts of the anthropological endeavour within peace studies. Trying to emphasize the opposite of ‘normal’—which is concentrating on war—anthropologists have a longstanding tradition of focusing on peaceful societies as well as documenting the resocialization of peoples suffering from atrocities.     

Social standards in trade agreements and free trade preferences: An empirical investigation

The Review of International Organizations - Free trade generates macroeconomic gains but also creates winners and losers. Historically, to reconcile this tension, governments compensated...     

EU–China Regional Policy Dialogue: Unpacking the Mechanisms of an Unlikely Policy Transfer

Abstract

This article investigates EU–China dialogue on regional policy, a puzzling exercise in policy transfer because such policy is by its nature inward-oriented and the intricacies of regional development imply uncertainty about its effects in different contexts. The article sheds light on the reasons of both sides for engaging in this unlikely policy learning effort and identifies its actors and mechanisms. It also critically assesses this process, stressing its one-way nature and the active role of the EU as a ‘policy-sender’, in contrast to most policy transfer literature citing demands by the policy-recipient as the predominant reason to engage in such cooperation.     

Varieties of Good Governance: A Suggestion of Discursive Plurality

The concepts of good governance and also good administration have increased in popularity over recent years. They have found a convincing conceptual niche on a European and global level. This is also visible in scholarly activity; from the early 1990s on, there has been a wave of good governance talk and consequently, research and criticism. In this article the concepts of good governance and good administration are discussed from a discursive standpoint. The main claim is that the concepts are over-inclusive and can signify a plethora of meanings. Consequently, the mechanisms of this indeterminacy are studied; the criteria according to which good governance and administration are defined vary. This is exemplified in the contexts of the EU and the Council of Europe. Accordingly, different “good-nesses” can contradict each other. It is suggested that the different discourses or vocabularies of good governance and good administration form closed systems of meaning which identify only claims which adhere to their own rationality. Furthermore, these different meanings enable different forms of exercising societal power. The approach is inspired by systems theoretical reading of discourses.     

Meaning or Measurement? Researching the Social Contexts of Health and Settlement among Newly-arrived Refugee Youth in Melbourne, Australia

What are the most appropriate methodological approaches forresearching the psychosocial determinants of health and wellbeingamong young people from refugee backgrounds over the resettlementperiod? What kinds of research models can involve young peoplein meaningful reflections on their lives and futures while simultaneouslyyielding valid data to inform services and policy? This paperreports on the methods developed for a longitudinal study ofhealth and wellbeing among young people from refugee backgroundsin Melbourne, Australia. The study involves 100 newly-arrivedyoung people 12 to 18 years of age, and employs a combinationof qualitative and quantitative methods implemented as a seriesof activities carried out by participants in personalized settlementjournals. This paper highlights the need to think outside thebox of traditional qualitative and/or quantitative approachesfor social research into refugee youth health and illustrateshow integrated approaches can produce information that is meaningfulto policy makers, service providers and to the young peoplethemselves.     

Analysis of wrapped or cased object by a hand-held X-ray fluorescence spectrometer

Metals, alloys, and poisoned food were analyzed with a hand-held X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer, with a shield (wrapping or casing material) inserted between these objects and the spectrometer, in order to examine the possibility of analyzing the contents of packages. Elements such as Fe, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Mo, and As were detected in the objects. The fluorescent intensity of each element in the object decreased exponentially as the thickness of the shield increased, and the degree of decrease depended on both the material of the shield and the energy of fluorescent X-rays. The thickness of the shield can be calculated by using the intensity ratio Fe Kbeta/Kalpha or Pb Lbeta/Lalpha when the object is iron or lead, or by using the intensity of the Compton scattering of incident X-rays. The original peak intensity, i.e. intensity without a shield, of an element in an object can be estimated with the thickness of the shield obtained. Because the original peak intensity is calculated using an exponential function of the thickness of the shield, calculation of the intensity ratio, e.g. Zn Kalpha/Cu Kalpha for brass, is effective for cancelling the estimation error for the thickness of the shield. The composition of brass and steel can be estimated with an error of less than 30% by using the intensity of the Compton scattering.     

A centenary of organized feminism in Norway

Today's feminist movement in Norway, like that of other countries, builds on the ground prepared by the early feminists. Though in many respects differing from their sisters of the late nineteenth century, common characteristics between feminists past and present abound. Never very dominant in number, feminists now as then gradually win support for their views. Drawing on the experiences of early strategies, today's feminists widen the goals of feminism to include fundamental changes in the lives of both women and men. This achievement has in the case of Norway been assisted by favourable economic, social and political circumstances.