Securing security through prosperity: the San Francisco System in comparative perspective

The integrated system of political–economic relations that has prevailed in the Pacific since the September 1951 treaty of peace with Japan, known here as the San Francisco System, is distinctive in comparison with subregional systems elsewhere in the world. This paper outlines key defining features, such as (1) a dense network of bilateral alliances; (2) an absence of multilateral security structures; (3) strong asymmetry in alliance relations, both in security and economics; (4) special precedence to Japan; and (5) liberal trade access to American markets, coupled with relatively limited development assistance. After contrasting this system to analogous arrangements elsewhere, especially in the Atlantic, it explores both the origins and the prognosis of this remarkably durable political–economic entity. Complementary domestic political–economic interests on both sides of the Pacific, reinforcing a brilliant original Japan-centric design by John Foster Dulles, account for persistence, it is argued, while forces for change center on the dynamic emerging role of China.     

‘period problems’ at the coalface

Menstruation leave for women workers brings into the public domain of mining ongoing debates around protective legislation for women. It brings into focus the presumed tensions between gender equity and gender difference with regard to women's economic citizenship. Large-scale mining in East Kalimantan in Indonesia has offered some opportunities to poor and unskilled rural women to find formal jobs in the mines as truck and heavy equipment operators. This paper presents a case study of women in mining occupations, considers the implications of current menstruation leave provisions on the employment of women in the mines and raises serious issues related to gender equity in the workplace. The involvement of women in a non-conventional workplace such as the mine pits, providing a novel site for contestation over the rights of women workers, illuminates a less-debated area in feminist studies, especially in view of the significant ongoing changes in the Indonesian framework for industrial relations.     

Mapping research on strategic alliances and innovation: a co-citation analysis

Using co-citation analysis, the present study attempts to rationalize and organize the combined alliance and innovation literature in order to determine its intellectual structure (i.e. its shared attributes such as models, theories, methods, findings, and implications), as well as to gain a deeper understanding of the most important research trends. More specifically, our goals are: (1) to delineate the intellectual structure of research on alliance and innovation, as represented in the academic literature; (2) to determine the subfields that constitute the intellectual structure and the relationships, if any, between these subfields; (3) to identify contributions that play a pivotal role in bridging two or more conceptual domains of research; and finally, (4) to map the intellectual structure in a two-dimensional space in order to visualize spatial distances between intellectual themes. Implications for future studies are then drawn.     

Victimization and fear of crime in an entertainment district crime “hot spot:” A test of structural-choice theory

Theories of criminal opportunity and criminal victimization (lifestyles, routine activities, and structuralchoice) all stress the convergence of motivated offenders, suitable targets, and the absence of guardianship in time and space. They each assert the chances of victimization increase as proximity to motivated offenders, exposure to highrisk environments, target attractiveness, and ineffective guardianship increase. This study tests Miethe and Meier’s structuralchoice theory by examining domainspecific victimization and fear of crime among patrons of an entertainment district crime “hot spot. ”Regression results show both victimization experience and fear of crime are associated significantly with indicators of proximity and guardianship, but not with exposure or target attractiveness. White patrons of this area are more likely to be victimized, nonwhites report significantly higher levels of fear. The research for this paper was supported by Grant No. 97PRWX0298 from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Findings and conclusions of the research reported here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.     

Evaluation of Commercial Kits for Dual Extraction of DNA and RNA from Human Body Fluids, ,

STR typing of DNA evidence can identify the donor with a high power of discrimination but cannot identify the tissue origin of a body‐fluid stain. Using RNA to attribute a crime scene stain to a particular tissue may aid in reconstruction efforts. With blood from 10 donors, four DNA and RNA coextraction kits were evaluated by measuring yields and STR and mRNA profiles. T tests indicated some significant differences in kit performance. The Zymo Research ZR‐Duet^? kit performed best based on average DNA (41.4 ng) and mRNA (4.07 ng) yields and was the only kit to provide complete DNA/RNA profiles for all samples. The consistency of this kit was challenged by data from additional blood and saliva donors. Further testing is advised before a superior kit is unequivocally chosen. Stand‐alone DNA or RNA purification generally offers higher yield, but coextraction may still allow successful STR profiling and tissue source identification.     

Adolescents' perceptions of the costs and benefits associated with cigarette smoking: Sex differences and peer influence

This study explored the perceptions of young adolescents of the costs and benefits of cigarette smoking. These perceptions were examined as a function of the sex of the adolescent and peer smoking habits. The sample consisted of 155 White middle class male and female adolescents, aged 12 to 15. The results indicate that endorsement of particular costs and benefits was related to the respondent's sex and whether or not the respondent had friends who smoked. The girls seemed to view smoking as a sign of rebellion or autonomy, while the boys seemed to view smoking cigarettes as a social coping mechanism. The effect of having friends who smoke was always mediated by the sex of the adolescents. Boys who have friends who smoke have attitudes that appear more conducive to smoking than do boys with nonsmoking friends. This relationship did not hold for girls. The implications for smoking education and intervention are discussed.This work was supported in part by the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Metropolitan Detroit as supported by Grant CA - 22453 from the National Cancer Institute, DHHS.     

Child Maltreatment and the Acquisition of Identity Capital: A Retrospective Exploration of a Transformative Social Justice Experience

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore whether secondary classes foster the acquisition of certain agentic capacities for formerly maltreated adolescents. We utilized the identity capital model (ICM) to explore the identity capital acquired by a socioeconomically diverse group of 40 Black former students in a mandatory, high school transformative social justice (TSJ) class. All participants disclosed some form of child maltreatment. The most prominent IC acquired for all participants included purpose, social perspective taking, moral-ethical reasoning, and resilience. Implications are discussed.