Roads of change: political transition and state formation in Nepal’s agrarian districts

This paper explores the political field that has opened up in the wake of the recent civil war in Nepal. We focus on cultural-political developments in agrarian districts, where some of the most intriguing openings, and indeed the most pernicious closures, can be witnessed (as opposed to the national-state restructuring that commands more media and popular attention). Our research asks what spaces open up in the emerging political field at the district scale to entrench or transform dominant cultural codes and sedimented histories of socio-economic inequality. Preliminary research identifies specific sectors of local governance that have emerged as significant sites of struggle over the shape and meaning of ‘democracy’, namely forest management and infrastructure development. The primary contribution of the paper lies in specifying an analytical approach to the study of ‘post-conflict’ governance at the local scale via three conceptual terrains of inquiry – governance and planning, political subjectivity, and cultural politics. The ultimate objective is to develop a framework for assessing the conditions of possibility for a democratic restructuring of economy and society to accompany the official political institutions of liberal democracy.     

What to Believe? Social Media Commentary and Belief in Misinformation

Political Behavior - Americans are increasingly turning to social media for political information. However, given that the average social media user only clicks through on a small fraction of the...     

Post‐1994 South Africa's peacekeeping and military intervention in Southern Africa,reference from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Lesotho

South Africa, once a pariah state as a result of the apartheid regime destabilization policies in Southern Africa, became a full fledge democratic state following the victory of the African National Congress (ANC) in the first and all‐inclusive democratic elections of 1994. The ANC's vision for Southern Africa was to be routed on the notion of curbing the imbalances of the past (pre‐1994), which had cost the Southern African region great economic loss. Here, one of the many fundamentals that were to drive the ANC's foreign policy doctrine was that of conflict resolution for a more stable and prosperous Africa particularly Southern Africa. Conflict resolution was viewed as a pivotal element for the new democratic government in order to stimulate beneficial relations with other African states post the apartheid era. In light of the above, and using a qualitative method approach, this paper draws a nuanced appraisal and examines the role of South Africa's peacekeeping and mediation initiatives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Lesotho post‐1994. In conclusion, South Africa has been able to utilize its regional hegemonic stance to ensure regional security while ensuring economic stability at home.     

Gender diversity in aircraft maintenance: a cross-sectional triangulation of male perspectives

Certified aircraft mechanics represent the largest gender-based demographic disparity in aviation with a 49-to-1 male-to-female ratio. Recent research into women’s perspective on the aircraft mechanic career field revealed that a large majority of women felt unsure or negatively about their potential promotion opportunities and social acceptance. The purpose of this follow-on mixed-methods concurrent triangulation study was to explore the perspectives of men regarding the aforementioned topics to see if they differ from previously published research on women perceptions. A total of 587 men and 431 women completed an eight-question survey containing 5-point Likert-type and open-ended questions. The quantitative comparison consisted of the total 1018 responses, while only the survey responses from the 587 men were analysed for correlations and qualitative codes. Results indicated that there was a significant difference between the perceptions of men from those of the women regarding work environment safety and social acceptance. Additional correlation analysis revealed social acceptance to be a key variable when predicting career appropriateness, advancement opportunity and work environment safety. The 587 qualitative responses yielded results that differed from those of women, citing an assumption that women have the same advancement opportunities or be as socially accepted as men entering the field.     

Formal and Informal Seed Systems in Kenya: Supporting Indigenous Vegetable Seed Quality

Indigenous vegetables play an important role in Kenyan food security, but production is limited by poor seed quality. Traditionally, seeds have been traded through informal networks, but a new formal seed sector is emerging. This study assessed the relative potential for formal or informal seed systems to meet the need for high-quality indigenous vegetable seed. By evaluating determinants of farmers’ seed purchasing behaviour, we conclude that informal seed systems have greater potential to meet this need and should be strengthened. This study suggests that policy-makers should use context-specific data to guide decisions on seed policy.     

A process for identifying social and environmental issues: a case of the US forest products manufacturing industry

• Application of an issues management approach to corporate social responsibility consists of identifying, evaluating and responding to those issues that an industry must address in order to be socially responsible. This research focussed on identifying social and environmental issues relevant to the US forest products manufacturing industry. Towards this end, 14 interviews were conducted with key‐informants drawn from non‐government organizations, government and political offices, forest products associations, a multilateral organization and an extension expert. A rich set of issues was generated covering social and environmental issues. However, such a set may contain issues that are far too radical and may be challenging for companies to pursue. Accordingly, in order to develop a doable, socially credible and concise set of issues, a Delphi technique was employed consisting of forest products management and marketing academicians from various US universities. A two‐round Delphi resulted in identification of six social and six environmental issues that the US forest products manufacturing industry must address in order to be socially responsible. This proposed two‐stage process may have special relevance for companies that are entering into new markets overseas.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Big School,Small School: (Re)Testing Assumptions about High School Size,School Engagement and Mathematics Achievement

In an effort to increase both adolescents’ engagement with school and academic achievement, school districts across the United States have created small high schools. However, despite the widespread adoption of size reduction reforms, relatively little is known about the relationship between size, engagement and outcomes in high school. In response, this article employs a composite measure of engagement that combines organizational, sociological, and psychological theories. We use this composite measure with the most recent nationally-representative dataset of tenth graders, Educational Longitudinal Study: 2002, (N = 10,946, 46% female) to better assess a generalizable relationship among school engagement, mathematics achievement and school size with specific focus on cohort size. Findings confirm these measures to be highly related to student engagement. Furthermore, results derived from multilevel regression analysis indicate that, as with school size, moderately sized cohorts or grade-level groups provide the greatest engagement advantage for all students and that there are potentially harmful changes when cohorts grow beyond 400 students. However, it is important to note that each group size affects different students differently, eliminating the ability to prescribe an ideal cohort or school size.     

The Five Cs Model of Positive Youth Development: A Longitudinal Analysis of Confirmatory Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance

The understanding of positive development across adolescence rests on having a valid and equivalent measure of this construct across the breadth of this period of life. Does the Positive Youth Development (PYD) construct based on the Five Cs model have satisfactory psychometric properties for such longitudinal measurement invariance? Using longitudinal data derived from the 4-H Study of PYD, we assessed 920 youth (61.6% female) from a racially and ethically diverse sample (67.3% European American) who participated in three waves (Grades 8–10) of data collection. Building on prior findings that the Five Cs (i.e., Competence, Confidence, Connection, Character, and Caring) model of PYD was a robust measure that could be assessed comparably during early adolescence, we tested a hierarchy of second-order confirmatory factor analysis models to assess the extent to which PYD can be measured equivalently across middle adolescence. Evidence was found for strict measurement invariance across three measurement occasions, including equivalence of first-order and second-order factor loadings, equality of intercepts of observed variables, and equality of item uniqueness and disturbances of the first-order factors. These results suggest that PYD can be measured in the same way across measurement occasions, a prerequisite for the study of development. Implications for research and application of being able to measure PYD equivalently across adolescence are discussed.     

Interparental Conflict,Parenting, and Childhood Depression in a Diverse Urban Population: The Role of General Cognitive Style

Research on the mechanisms by which interparental conflict (IPC) affects child depression suggests that both parenting and children’s conflict appraisals play important roles, but few studies have explored the role of general cognitive style or included both parenting and cognitions in the same design. Moreover, the effects of IPC on minority children are not well understood. In this longitudinal study, parenting was examined as a mediator of the relation between increasing IPC and change in depression. General cognitive style was included as a moderator. The combined influence of parenting and cognitions was also explored. A racially and ethnically diverse sample of 88 fifth and sixth graders from two urban schools reported their cognitive style, depressive symptoms, and perceptions of conflict and parenting at two time points separated by one year. Parental warmth/rejection mediated the relation between IPC and depression, and general cognitive style acted as a moderator. Parenting, cognitive style, and IPC did not significantly interact to predict change in depression over time. Findings indicate that both parenting and children’s general cognitive style play a role in understanding the impact of increasing IPC on children’s well-being.