Adult roles and the gender gap in political knowledge: a comparative study

The unusual size and persistence of the gender gap in political knowledge is perplexing in comparison to other dimensions of politics. Building on situational explanations of political engagement, this article claims that women’s and men’s specific adult roles lead to an enlargement of the gender gap in knowledge. The present study analyses men and women’s levels of political knowledge at different life stages by means of two unique datasets specifically collected to measure what people know about politics. Findings show that adult roles provide more opportunities for men to gain political knowledge than for women. Furthermore, the comparison of levels of political knowledge in two such dissimilar countries as Finland and Spain suggests that while gender equality policies are successful in tearing down some of the obstacles that hinder women’s contact with the political world, they are still insufficient to completely bridge the gender gap in political knowledge during adulthood.     

Through the Eyes of a Father: How PRWORA Affects Non-Resident Fathers and Their Children

Under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity ReconciliationAct (PRWORA), new laws have been enacted that focus on reducingsingle-parent families’ reliance on state assistance bycollecting child support from non-custodial parents (typicallyfathers). These laws pressure fathers to pay child support throughstricter penalties for non-payment, but do not help fathersovercome barriers (eg, unstable employment) that prevent payment.In addition, PRWORA does not help fathers gain access to theirchildren, which, according to research, promotes payment andchild welfare. A literature review indicates that children whogrow up without a father experience more psychosocial difficultyand diminished well-being compared to children who grow up ina two parent household. Thus, it is recommended that the federalgovernment make greater efforts to assist fathers in their abilityto provide emotional and developmental guidance for their childrenthrough father involvement programmes. Programmes such as mediation,parenting plans, joint custody, and parental education promotethe well-being of the children and encourage non-residentialparents to fulfill their financial commitments to their offspring,reducing the need for state aid.     

Wake-up call for the Lowlands: Dutch counterterrorism from a comparative perspective

The Netherlands is one of the few countries in Western Europe that did not experience massive terrorist attacks and where counterterrorism actions did not feature prominently on the political agenda. Until quite recently, the Netherlands had neither emergency legislation for terrorist incidents nor a specific Act that criminalized terrorist offences. In response to the European Union framework legislation, a bill was produced that penalizes participation in a terrorist organization, flanked by a vast array of other measures. This article analyses the policy, institutional and legislative responses to terrorism in the Netherlands and compares these with responses from other European states. The events of 9/11, as well as the political and public anxiety over the murders of Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh, acted as a firm wake-up call for the Netherlands insofar as the threat of terrorism is concerned. Whilst most countries adopted an incremental approach to countering terrorism, the Netherlands witnessed a radical shift in criminal justice and law enforcement policy following these events.     

Evaluation of Probation Case Management (PCM) for Drug-Involved Women Offenders

Based on availability of case management services, drug-involved women offenders entered either a probation case management (PCM) intervention (n = 65) or standard probation (n = 44). Participants were placed in the case management condition until all slots were filled, then placed in standard probation until case management slots opened. Participants were interviewed at program entry and at 6 and 12 month follow-up using measures of substance abuse, psychiatric symptoms, and social support. Results showed modest change over time in both conditions, but PCM did not result in more services or treatment, or in better outcomes, than standard probation. These findings are discussed in the context of study limitations, and in the context of state initiatives like those in Arizona and California designed to apply treatment as an alternative to incarceration.     

The peasant image and agrarian change: Representations of rural society in nineteenth‐century French painting from millet to van Gogh

In the upsurge of rustic themes in French painting during the second half of the nineteenth century is articulated a range of urban responses to agrarian and industrial transformation of country and city at the time. The recreation through art of ‘peasant culture’ was rooted in preoccupations about work and production, changing social relations and forms of sociability, the idea of the nation and the growth of political consciousness. This article examines some of the processes underlying the abundant production of peasant images ‐ the role of patronage, the growing importance of contemporary art criticism in formulating and diffusing values and sensibilities — as well as the complex and, at times, contradictory strains within the iconography of rural life in nineteenth‐century French art.     

Misjudging Islamic Terrorism: The Academic Community's Failure to Predict 9/11

Most academic experts within the International Relations (IR) community and other, more specialized disciplines, failed to predict or warn government policymakers and the public of the possibility that events of 9/11 magnitude could take place on the U.S. homeland. Given that long-term investigation of trends in world affairs is one of the sources that has always informed policy analysis, this represents an interesting question to examine. The analysis contained in this assessment suggests that the ontological, methodological, and conceptual problems within and between the disciplines, combined with a skewed absorption with the prospect of developments in Asia, created a gap in the knowledge about Islamic terrorism and groups like Al Qaeda, which in turn caught most of the academic community unaware on 9/11. This article performs a quantitative study to determine the nature and scope of this apparent analytical failure on the part of academics in IR and other specialized disciplines to predict 9/11 and aims to address why this failure took place.     

HOW JUDGES DECIDE WHETHER SOCIAL PARENTS HAVE PARENTAL RIGHTS: A FIVE‐FACTOR TYPOLOGY

Courts have issued conflicting rulings regarding the rights (e.g., custody, visitation) and responsibilities (e.g., child support) of non‐biological gay parents. This analysis establishes a typology of five factors that most commonly influence judges' decisions. These factors include: interpretation of parenting statutes, legislative intent, parental intent, legal documents establishing parenthood, and the child's best interests. Despite these common themes, there is still much discrepancy among court rulings. Based on this analysis, there are steps parents can take to protect their legal rights and living arrangements. Finally, policy suggestions are offered for courts and lawmakers. These legal actors can take steps (e.g., clarifying statutes) that would provide certainty for families in case of parental separation or the biological parent's death.     

Analysis of active ricin and castor bean proteins in a ricin preparation, castor bean extract, and surface swabs from a public health investigation

In late February 2008, law enforcement officials in Las Vegas, Nevada, discovered in a hotel room, a copy of The Anarchist Cookbook, suspected castor beans and a "white powder" thought to be a preparation of ricin. Ricin is a deadly toxin from the seed of the castor bean plant (Ricinus communis). The United States regulates the possession, use, and transfer of ricin and it is the only substance considered a warfare agent in both the Chemical and the Biological Weapons Conventions. Six samples obtained from the hotel room were analyzed by laboratories at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention using a panel of biological and mass spectrometric assays. The biological assays (real time-PCR, time resolved fluorescence and cytotoxicity) provided presumptive evidence of active ricin in each of the samples. This initial screen was followed by an in-depth analysis using a novel, state-of-the-art mass spectrometry-based ricin functional assay and high sensitivity tandem mass spectrometry for protein identification. Mass spectrometric analysis positively identified ricin and confirmed that in each of the samples it was enzymatically active. The tandem mass spectrometry analysis used here is the most selective method available to detect ricin toxin. In each sample, ricin was unequivocally identified along with other R. communis plant proteins, including the highly homologous protein RCA120. Although database searches using tandem mass spectra acquired from the samples indicated that additional controlled substances were not present in these samples, the mass spectrometric results did provide extensive detail about the sample contents. To the best of our knowledge following a review of the available literature, this report describes the most detailed analysis of a white powder for a public health or forensic investigation involving ricin.     

Gender-Based Strategies on Candidate Websites

As a result of changes in the campaign landscape, candidates have several strategic options available to them, particularly when considering how to respond to voters’ gender stereotypes. The goal of this paper is to understand candidates’ use of strategies based on gender stereotypes by emphasizing either particular issues or particular traits that are commonly associated with one gender or the other. To do this, I developed hypotheses of why candidates might choose a trait or issues strategy based on gender stereotypes. I tested these hypotheses using a large-scale content analysis of candidate websites over four election cycles. I found that female candidates mostly pursued strategies that were consistent with gender stereotypes. Interestingly, female candidates were found to have different strategies on different pages of their websites. I discuss the implications of gender-based strategies for the election of female candidates and for representation.