Globalization,governance and democracy in post‐communist Romania

Post‐communist transition in Romania has witnessed an accelerated globalization in the country. Global (understood here as supraterritorial) relations have altered many communication networks, forms of organization, production processes, markets, monetary and financial flows, ecological conditions, and patterns of social consciousness. Although the extent of globalization in Romania should not be exaggerated, the recent rapid spread of supraterritoriality has pulled the country out of the preceding era of territorialist politics. The Romanian state can no longer realize its claims to sovereignty and has become oriented to transborder as well as territorial constituencies. At the same time, globalization has stimulated greater involvement of transworld and regional agencies in governance. The rise of supraterritoriality has also encouraged some devolution and some privatization of regulatory authority in Romania. Singly and together, these developments pose substantial challenges for democracy. True, certain transborder initiatives have modestly promoted post‐communist democratization in Romania. On the whole, however, Romanians have obtained insufficient participation, consultation, representation, transparency and accountability in respect of the multi‐layered and fragmented governance that is emerging in the context of globalization.     

Nāgārjuna’s Arguments on Motion Revisited

This paper discusses a somewhat neglected reading of the second chapter of Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, arguing that the main focus of a crucial part is a particular theory of properties and their relation to individuals they instantiate, rather than the refutation of specific assumptions about the nature of space and time. Some of Nāgārjuna’s key arguments about motion should be understood as argument templates in which notions other than mover, motion, and so forth could be substituted. The remainder of the discussion of motion does not serve quasi-Zenonian purposes either but uses motion as a principal example of change and considers the soteriological problems of the subject moving (gati) through transmigratory existence (saṃsāra). I attempt to show how this interpretation coheres with Nāgārjuna’s overall philosophical project.     

Brownfield redevelopment and affordable housing: A case study of New Jersey

Abstract

A total of 779 New Jersey residents were surveyed to determine the number of people who during the next five years would be willing to move to housing built on brownfield sites that have been remediated to the extent that they pose no plausible brownfield‐related health risk to residents.

Fourteen percent of the respondents said they would be willing to move to and live in housing built on cleaned‐up brownfields. These respondents were disproportionately relatively poor and young and resided in apartments and cities, especially cities where the city government was actively promoting brownfields. These respondents also did not like their current neighborhoods, did not feel threatened by the idea of living on a cleaned‐up brownfield site, and trusted experts to advise them on the health risks involved.     

Impacts of Financial Crisis on Family Units in China: the role of family law

This paper shows that the contagion effect brought about by the global financial crisis has given rise to a series of individual and family problems. This result is strongly supported by theoretical and empirical evidence. It also points out that family law in China, despite revisions to it over the past decade or so, appears to be inadequate to address the issues on marriages, among other things. Several approaches for reducing the negative impacts on individuals and family units have been proposed. Firstly, family mediation is found to be useful for stemming the social consequences arising, for instance, from separation or divorce. It is found to be especially useful during an economic crisis. Given the extensiveness of the problems and that even ‘good’ family law has its limitations, broader public policy solutions seem to be warranted.     

The plundering of Zambian resources by Frederick Chiluba and his friends: A case study of the interaction between national politics and the international drive towards good governance

This article analyses the accusations that have emerged since2001 of predatory behaviour during the presidency of FrederickT. Chiluba (1991–2001). It advocates a detailed analysisof the practices that have come to light in order to move beyonda generalized interpretation of the persistence of predatoryelites in Africa. Three specific themes appear. First, thereis a danger of oversimplification of these conflicts as betweenthe international community and national governments. The politicalstruggles tend to be more complicated than generally presented,and international involvement meshes with local political struggles.Second, predatory behaviour or corruption is a social processthat is embedded in wider national and international networks.It is therefore difficult to locate culpability exactly in clearlydesignated protagonists. Third, there is a danger of imputingan economic and political rationality to this behaviour whichmay best be designated as theft. The overall theme of the articleis that there are important national cultural influences inthe way these predatory practices are dealt with. These areobfuscated by a blander critique identifying partial reformthat leaves predatory elites untouched.     

Just Another Club? The Distinctiveness of the Relation Between Religious Service Attendance and Adolescent Psychosocial Adjustment

This study used hierarchical linear modeling to compare longitudinal patterns of adolescent religious service attendance and club attendance, and to contrast the longitudinal relations between adolescent adjustment and religious service versus club attendance. Participants included 1050 students (47% girls) encompassing a school district in Canada, who completed the survey first in grade nine and again in grades 11 and 12. Results demonstrated that patterns of religious service attendance over time were quite different from other clubs. Religious attendance was uniquely associated with several indicators of positive as well as negative adjustment. Club involvement, conversely, was only associated with positive adjustment––particularly for individuals who reported sustained involvement over time. Findings suggest that religious services may provide some unique experiences––both positive and negative––over and above what may be provided in other clubs, and that sustained, rather than sporadic participation in clubs, may be especially important for adolescent adjustment.

Citizen and Open Government: An Empirical Analysis of Antecedents of Open Government Data

Given the lack of empirical research investigating citizens’ use of open government, this study examines the antecedents of citizens’ use of open government data. Based on technology acceptance and motivation theory, this article proposes and empirically tests a research model, applying structural equation modeling to survey data collected from 210 citizens. The findings show that ease of use, usefulness, intrinsic motivation, and Internet competence significantly determine citizens’ intention to use open government data. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of citizens’ attitudes and behavior in the context of open government and offers implications for research and practice.