UNDERSTANDING THE MIXTURE OF GOVERNANCE MODES IN KOREAN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

Governance research in Korea has been limited to literature reviews or case studies, and little quantitative analysis has been performed to examine varying patterns of governance mixture and their underlying variation. This article provides an important addition to governance research by mapping the terrain of governance mixture using quantitative data. The data were drawn from 96 departments in eight comparable district governments in Seoul, Korea. The results showed: first, all three governance modes – hierarchy, market, and network – existed in a combined form across all 96 departments; second, although all three governance modes were present, hierarchy remained the dominant governance mode across all 96 departments; and finally, the three governance modes were situationally mixed contingent upon the distinct departmental tasks. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

MARKETIZED MENTALITY,COMPETITIVE/EGOISTIC SCHOOL CULTURE,AND DELINQUENT ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR: AN APPLICATION OF INSTITUTIONAL ANOMIE THEORY*

We analyze the individual‐level and school‐level determinants of delinquency through the lens of a macro‐sociological theory of crime—institutional anomie theory (IAT). The concept of a “marketized mentality” is introduced as a predictor of students’ delinquency, along with an egoistic/competitive school culture—a feature of the school community. Five hypotheses pertaining to the readiness to use violence and self‐reported delinquency were assessed using multilevel modeling with data from a survey in Germany for 4,150 students clustered in 69 schools. The results largely meet theoretical expectations. The measure of marketized mentality exhibits robust relationships with both forms of delinquency at the individual level, and an egoistic/competitive school culture helps explain variation in levels of these forms of delinquency across schools. Also consistent with expectations, the anti‐social effects of marketized mentality are accentuated for both the readiness to use violence and committing instrumentally motivated property offenses as a competitive/egoistic school climate increases. The results of our analyses reveal that bringing in concepts of IAT can appreciably enhance understanding of the characteristics of students and features of communal school organization that are conducive to youthful offending.     

A NOTE ON PERCEPTUAL DETERRENCE,RELIGIOUSLY BASED MORAL CONDEMNATION,AND SOCIAL CONTROL*

Empirical investigations of social control mechanisms are often limited to single sources of control, such as the efficacy of legal punishments. Because research has produced only moderate support for the hypothesis that perceived risk of legal punishments reduces the likelihood of nonconformity, some have searched sources of control that condition this relationship. such as the degree of moral condemnation individuals hold toward a criminal/delinquent act. However, relevant research has resulted in contradictory findings. Using cross-sectional and panel data, we obtained results that show that moral condemnation of an act conditions the deterrent relationship and that findings from previous studies may have underestimated the effect of legal deterrents given the presence of those in the population who refrain from marijuana use because it is believed to be sin fur. Implications of the findings for the relative deterrability of serious versus minor offenses and the relevance of this distinction for issues of social control are discussed.     

DIMENSIONS OF RACIAL INEQUALITY AND RATES OF VIOLENT CRIME*

The purpose of this paper is to identify systematic sources of discrepancies in the macro-level research on racial inequality and rates of violent crime. A review of the literature suggests three likely sources of discrepant results across previous studies: differing operationalizations of racial inequality, differing samples, and differing specifications. The analyses reveal that while sample composition appears to be relatively unimportant, operationalization of racial inequality in terms of socioeconomic status (SES) rather than income can lead to very different conclusions. For certain models, SES-based measures are clearly superior to income-based measures. However, slight modifications of the regression models can render the effects of racial inequality in SES nonsignificant. These results call for a skeptical assessment of previous evidence indicating a positive relationship between racial inequality and rates of violent crime.     

Chinese Film As I See It

KOREAN movie buffs associate Chi- nese film of the 1980s with Hong Kong kungfu mov- ies, acted by stars Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee; also the gangster movies by Hong Kong director John Woo, dubbed "Hong Kong noir" by Korean film critics. Korean youth, many of whom were active in stu- dent movements at the time, related strongly to the deep fraternal bond portrayed in these movies. Jackie Chan's films have been a favorite of mine since childhood, from his early kungfu flicks to more recen…