Girls' slang and boys' slang: Two towns in Finland visited

In this study the vocabulary of girls' slang and boys' slang in two different towns in Finland was compared and it was found that there are both similarities and differences. The similarities can be found in typical slang topics. As part of the study, boys and girls in both towns wrote down slang words in the same semantic domains. The differences are traditional. Whereas boys' slang shows more local traits, girls' slang is typically more mainstream. The language that is used for new slang words varies more between the two towns than between the gender groups. It seems that Swedish-speaking youths in Finland have several different traits within their slang to draw upon when signalling and decoding identity. Both geographical and gender identity can be conveyed through the choice of slang words in any given situation.     

Know thy enemy: Hizbullah, ‘terrorism’ and the politics of perception

The labelling career of the Lebanese armed group and political party Hizbullah is an interesting case with which to investigate the epistemological consequences of the politics of naming. Having found itself since its inception in the mid-1980s on the receiving end of mainly US and Israeli policy makers' and analysts' scorn for being an archetypical terrorist organisation, Hizbullah has been surprisingly successful in achieving its stated aims and in enduring the verbal and military onslaught against it. Although it is not the intention here to reduce explanations for Hizbullah's durability to discursive politics, this article suggests that both the labelling of Hizbullah as terrorist and, conversely, its identification as a ‘lebanonised’ political force that is about to make its conversion into an unarmed political party are misleading and incapable of grasping this organisation's complexities. In fact, both ‘terrorist’ and ‘lebanonised’ labels produce a quality of knowledge inferior to that produced by Hizbullah's own conceptualisation of its enemies. But most importantly, the debate on Hizbullah's alleged terrorist nature has obscured several of its traits that many should register before passing judgement on it. Our analysis shows that the variety of institutions Hizbullah has been carefully elaborating and readapting over the past two decades in Lebanon operate today as a holistic and integrated network which produce sets of values and meanings embedded in an interrelated religious and political framework—that of the wilayat al-faqih. These meanings are disseminated on a daily basis among Shi'a constituencies through the party's institutionalised networks and serve to mobilise them into ‘the society of the Resistance’ (mujtamaa’ al-muqawama), which is the foundation of the hala al-islamiyya (Islamic sphere) in Lebanon. Accordingly, any prospect of Hizbullah's transformation away from armed ‘resistance’ should be firmly placed in an analysis of its hegemony among the Shi'a of Lebanon and of the tools it uses to acquire and sustain this status.     

Public administration implications of the north american free trade agreement

The emerging North American trade bloc presents both challenges and opportunities for Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Free trade among disparate partners is a complex undertaking. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will bring important benefits to all three countries, but it will also raise many important issues. The sharp differences in wage rates, worker productivity, and education levels among the partners has fueled fears of job losses on both sides of the border. Disparity among NAFTA nations on labor practices, health and occupational safety laws and regulations are also sources of conflict. Effective dispute resolution mechanisms must exist for both the trade and non-trade issues. Practical guidance, in this regard, can come from the experience of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) and the European Economic Community (EEC; European Union since 1993). New political and administration mechanisms will be required to deal with each of these challenging issues.     

The Impact of Post-Enactment Review on Anti-Terrorism Laws: Four Jurisdictions Compared

This paper examines a significant legislative challenge in many jurisdictions around the world a decade on from the events of 11 September 2001. Using Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom as case studies, it aims to assess the relative effectiveness of regular and extraordinary review mechanisms at the national level in leading to the improvement of anti-terrorism laws. That such mechanisms often appear to meet with only muted success says something about their institutional weakness and also the tension that inheres in legislatures as simultaneously legal and political institutions. Further, it reflects the authority and legitimacy to which national security law quickly lays claim in a political culture. This makes it resistant to reform, even when aspects of it can be said to be part of the terrorist problem rather than its solution.     

Experiencing Community Psychology Through Community-Based Learning Class Projects: Reflections From an American University in the Middle East

Many introductory community psychology courses do not incorporate community-based learning (CBL), and when they do, it is most often in the form of individualized volunteer hours. We present an alternative model for CBL in which the entire class collaborates on an experiential project that promotes community action. We believe that such an approach better embodies the values and methods of the discipline and has a more powerful impact on the students and stakeholders. It may be especially effective in developing countries that do not have an established network of service infrastructures; in such nations the onus is on the teachers and learners of community psychology to contribute to transformative change. In this article practical guidelines are provided by the instructor regarding how to structure and implement this CBL model. Additionally, two students describe how the CBL experience solidified their learning of course concepts and significantly impacted them personally.