Munchausen by Proxy: A Qualitative Investigation into Online Perceptions of Medical Child Abuse

In Munchausen by proxy (MBP) maltreatment, increasingly termed “medical child abuse” (MCA), a caregiver fabricates or induces illness in another. The perpetrator's goal for the behavior is to meet personal emotional needs by forcing unnecessary or misguided medical or psychological treatment. Generally, a mother is the perpetrator and her child is the victim. There is a serious lack of research into most aspects of MCA, and this study is the first to utilize the anonymity of an Internet forum to investigate victims' first‐hand experiences of, and the public's opinions about, suspected and confirmed MCA. Three‐hundred and fifty‐six posts by 348 members were explored and coded using formal qualitative content analysis. By accessing an open‐thought online forum, this paper acquired information regarding social perceptions about the nonperpetrating partners who are unaware of the maltreatment; the disturbing and counterintuitive phenomenon of MCA itself; and the resistance often faced by those who attempt to report it.     

Cyberbullying Among Chilean Students and the Protective Effects of Positive School Communities

Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that involves the use of technology to harm other students. Most researchers have examined individual-level characteristics, but the perception of school climate and school characteristics such as type, size, and level of vulnerabilities have not been considered using multilevel methods. Using a sample of 8,237 Chilean seventh graders from 1,322 schools we examined individual- and school-level predictors of cyberbullying perpetration. Cyberbullying perpetration was predicted by prior victimization, interpersonal relationships, and gender. We found an interaction effect between interpersonal relationships and teacher support for victims. Our findings support the notion that school policies and culture can play a vital role in the prevention of cyberbullying, supporting a protective resilience model.     

Alignment Patterns, Crisis Bargaining, and Extended Deterrence: A Game-Theoretic Analysis

To explore the impact of alignment patterns in a rudimentary state system, we develop and analyze the Tripartite Crisis Game, a three-person game among Challenger, Defender, and Protégé. This model captures some of the tensions implicit in the "Alliance" and "Adversary" games, two related but theoretically isolated models due to Snyder. Our analysis enables us to delineate and explore the circumstances that give rise to the "deterrence versus restraint" dilemma. It also provides an answer to Fearon's empirical puzzle: when convincing commitments are possible, why are halfhearted signals sometimes sent?
Our most surprising result concerns the impact of Protégé's threat on Challenger's optimal behavior. When Challenger is willing to fight to back up its demand, but is nonetheless only weakly or moderately motivated, Protégé's threat to realign—though directed at Defender— can dissuade Challenger from initiating a crisis. But when Challenger is willing to fight and stands to gain a great deal, Protégé's threat may actually prompt Challenger to make a demand. Our analysis uncovers this unexpected pattern of behavior and suggests when it occurs. That Protégé's threat to realign sometimes bolsters deterrence, and sometimes undermines it, has implications for the selection bias issue in studies of alliance reliability and helps to explain why some alliances are stabilizing while others are associated with crises and war. The nonlinear consequences of Protégé's commitment seem to us to constitute another "paradox of war."     

Suing Media for Libel: A Litigation Study

This article summarizes the results of a study of 291 reported cases brought against media for libel during a four-year period. The results confirmed the finding in an earlier study that only 5 percent of plaintiffs emerged from the appellate process with judgments compared with more than 60 percent of defendants. Most of the defense successes occurred without trial. In cases that did reach trial, plaintiffs were successful far more often before juries than before judges but lost more than half these judgments on appeal. Cases were analyzed in terms of the identity of the parties, the content of the charges, and the role of state and federal law in shaping the outcome. Despite the recent attention to federal constitutional protections, it is clear that media defendants still do, and must, rely heavily on state law defenses. Finally, the Hutchinson and Wolston rulings of 1979 produced little change in appellate decisions.     

An Analysis of Differences in Work Motivation between Public and Private Sector Organizations

This study contributes to our understanding of the differences in work motivation between the public and private sectors. Data from a survey of 3,314 private sector and 409 public sector employees in Belgium strongly confirm previous research showing that public sector employees are less extrinsically motivated. Differences in hierarchical level are more important determinants of work motivation than sectoral differences. In addition, most observed differences can be wholly or partially explained by differences in job content, not by the sector itself. Evidence is presented to show that motivational differences can be explained by a positive choice of work–life balance.     

Does the ‘Monitorial Citizen’ Exist? An Empirical Investigation into the Occurrence of Postmodern Forms of Citizenship in the Nordic Countries

Various authors have claimed that in contemporary Western societies postmodern concepts of citizenship are becoming more prevalent. A new generation of 'critical citizens' are said to be more critical of the political system and less likely to participate in conventional politics, but they remain strongly interested in politics and social life. Michael Schudson has developed the concept of a 'monitorial citizen', who is interested in politics, has high levels of political efficacy and turns to political action if needed, but stays outside the traditional political organizations. Based on the European Social Survey (2004), this article investigates whether this type of citizenship actually occurs in Scandinavia. While the authors find that this form of citizenship is present in the Nordic countries, the characteristics of this group do not fit the theoretical expectations. In Scandinavia, 'monitorial citizens' do not have exceptionally high education levels and their trust in traditional political institutions remains quite elevated. The authors discuss the reasons why the concept of 'monitorial citizens' does not seem to flourish all that well in the Nordic countries, and what this implies for the theoretical debate about the political consequences of this postmodernization process.     

The Case Against Balanced Budgets

A proposal by the Fahey government in late 1994 to amend the NSW state Constitution so as to require 'balanced' budgets is one of a number of signs which suggest that the simple notion that total government expenditure should not exceed total tax revenue has gained real influence in Australia, particularly at the state level. This article explains why fiscal responsibility does not require overall budget balance. A balanced budget requirement of this type is not appropriate even if one were to make allowances for recession-induced ('cyclical') deficits, and to seek to ban only 'structural' deficits. The reason for this is there are inherent irregularities in capital expenditure, and only through varying debt levels is it possible to reconcile reasonable stability of tax levels with stable levels of provision of public services (including services from public capital infrastructure).     

Campaign Strategies in the 2015 Swiss National Elections: Nationalization,Coordination, and Personalization

This research note examines parties' campaign strategies in the 2015 Swiss elections. We base our analyses on a collection of more than 5000 party advertisements, which were published in the forefront of the national elections in more than 50 daily and weekly national and cantonal print media. By comparing the amount of party and candidate ads, as well as the content and nature of the political advertisements, we explore the degree of professionalization of electoral campaigns in the most recent federal elections in terms of nationalization, coordination and personalization. First results show that although national campaign coordination exists, Swiss elections are to a considerable extent still cantonal and personal affairs.