Reciprocal relationship of social capital and microfinance activities in Nyanga,Zimbabwe

This article investigates the interactive reciprocal relationship of microfinance activities and social capital among members of the Kufusa Mari microfinance scheme in Nyanga, Zimbabwe. It reports on a study conducted among 146 randomly selected respondents, plus other participants selected for focus group discussions and key informant interviews. A reciprocal relationship between microfinance activities and social capital existed in this case study, but was found to be three-pronged, also involving developmental goals. The community should be encouraged to join the Kufusa Mari group scheme to promote self-initiated grassroots community development and advancement.     

Teaching international relations in Southeast Asia: historical memory, academic context, and politics - an introduction

The teaching of international relations (IR) at universitiesin Southeast Asia plays a role in the production of knowledgeabout the IR of Southeast Asia. As a complement to the scrutinyof published research output, a focus on teaching offers onepathway toward comprehending the constitution of meaning inboth the IR of Southeast Asia and the broader IR discipline.This introduction to a collection of essays on the teachingof IR in Southeast Asia also discusses the potential ways bywhich attention to teaching may uncover the socializing roleof pedagogy. An inquiry into the discipline as it is taughtin the region throws light on how particular national legitimatingmyths are reproduced, the transmission of collective historicalmemories, the dominance of certain schools of internationalthought, and the role of civil society in Southeast Asian knowledgeproduction. Received for publication August 28, 2008. Accepted for publication October 7, 2008.     

Athletic Involvement and Adolescent Delinquency

Athough conventional wisdom suggests that organized sport deters delinquency by building character, structuring adolescents’ time, and providing incentives for socially approved behavior, the empirical evidence to date has been mixed. Based on a sample of approximately 600 Western New York adolescents, the present study examined how self-reported jock identity, school athlete status, and frequency of athletic activity differentially influenced a range of delinquent behaviors. Neither athlete status nor frequency of athletic activity predicted these behaviors; however, jock identity was associated with significantly more incidents of delinquency. This finding was robust across both gender and race. Follow-up analyses indicated that jock identity facilitated both minor and major delinquency, with major delinquency effects for white but not black adolescents. Research scientist at the Research Institute on Addictions and adjunct assistant professor of sociology at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. Her research interests focus primarily on adolescent and young adult health-risk behaviors such as substance use, sexual risk-taking, and suicidality. She is the principal investigator of a exploratory study of athletic involvement, gender, and substance use by college students. Professor of physical education and sport at S.U.N.Y. Brockport for 33 years. A native New Yorker, he has also held adjunct faculty appointments at universities in Finland, Israel, England, New Zealand, and Norway. He has authored or edited nearly a hundred publications in physical education, sociology of sport, and social psychology of sport, including Sports Fans: The Psychology and Social Impact of Spectators (Routledge) and Contemporary Issues in Sociology of Sport (Human Kinetics). Senior research scientist at the Research Institute on Addictions and adjunct associate professor of sociology at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. Her research interests include family influences on the development of adolescent substance use and other problem behaviors, including gambling. Professor of sociology at D’Youville College, and director of the Center for Research on Physical Activity, Sport & Health. He has conducted numerous nationwide studies of the links among sport, health, and educational outcomes. An avid scholar on gender relations, his recent book Prison Masculinities (Temple University) focuses on the USA prison system. Professor of sociology at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. Author of numerous articles and books on adolescent and parental development in families and groups, his most recent book is Collaborative Circles: Friendship Dynamics and Creative Work (University of Chicago).     

Gender/Racial Differences in Jock Identity,Dating, and Adolescent Sexual Risk

Despite recent declines in overall sexual activity, sexual risk-taking remains a substantial danger to US youth. Existing research points to athletic participation as a promising venue for reducing these risks. Linear regressions and multiple analyses of covariance were performed on a longitudinal sample of nearly 600 Western New York adolescents in order to examine gender- and race-specific relationships between jock identity and adolescent sexual risk-taking, including age of sexual onset, past-year and lifetime frequency of sexual intercourse, and number of sexual partners. After controlling for age, race, socioeconomic status, and family cohesion, male jocks reported more frequent dating than nonjocks but female jocks did not. For both genders, athletic activity was associated with lower levels of sexual risk-taking; however, jock identity was associated with higher levels of sexual risk-taking, particularly among African American adolescents. Future research should distinguish between subjective and objective dimensions of athletic involvement as factors in adolescent sexual risk.Research Scientist at the Research Institute on Addictions of the University at Buffalo. Received PhD in sociology from the University at Buffalo. Research interests include adolescent athletic involvement, gender, race, and health-risk behavior, particularly substance use.Department Chair and Professor of Sociology at the University at Buffalo. Received PhD in sociology from Yale University. Research interests include the effects of families, friendships, and organizational participation on adolescent development and substance use.Senior Research Scientist at the Research Institute on Addictions of the University at Buffalo. Received PhD in sociology from the University at Buffalo. Research interests include family influences on adolescent substance use, gambling, and other problem behaviors.Professor of Physical Education and Sport at SUNY College at Brockport. Received PhD in physical education from Ohio State University. Research interests include the sociology of sport, social psychology of sport, sport group dynamics, and sport spectatorship/fandom.Professor of Sociology at DYouville College. Received PhD in sociology from the University at Buffalo. Research interests include the sociology of sport, gender, and mens health.     

Co-Investment and Clientelism as Informal Institutions: Beyond ‘Good Enough’ Property Rights Protection

How do we explain high rates of investment in the production of oil palm in Indonesia under conditions of legal uncertainty and uneven protection of property rights? This article argues that what are commonly seen as deficiencies in the formal institutional environment actually enabled investment, but only when informal institutions were able to provide investor assurances. Although the finding that informal institutions provide investor assurances is not new, this study addresses outstanding questions about how such informal institutions work. An examination of the micro-level details of informal institutions in the oil palm industry shows that informal institutions frequently grouped under umbrella terms such as ‘patronage’ or ‘relational ties’ are not uniform. Rather, two types of informal relational tie operate to provide investor assurances: clientelistic and co-investment. Although they serve similar purposes, clientelistic ties work well only under restrictive conditions and are vulnerable to decay. Co-investment, in contrast, is a more robust informal institution, especially when political power is fragmented. Although co-investment provides investor assurances under conditions of legal uncertainty, it remains a particularistic solution and does not guarantee generalized public interest protections.     

Making the Case for Evaluation Partnerships in Child Protection Mediation Programs: Insights from a Case Study

Many jurisdictions have instituted child protection mediation programs (CPM) for the purposes of reducing the length of children's stays in out‐of‐home care and decreasing court system burden, and numerous studies have shown promising results. However, important implementation and sustainability problems persist. This article presents a case study's findings and retrospectively interprets underlying reasons for challenges the program faced in implementation. Study implications call for a more structured planning process, including early partnership with experienced court‐based evaluators to develop successful marketing and recruitment strategies that may encourage stakeholder endorsement and foster sustainability.     

Improving large-scale implementations by applying research and data analysis: A case study on First 5 LA's implementation of PCIT in Los Angeles County

This paper presents the case of First 5 LA's 5-year countywide implementation of the Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) program. Enthusiasts of PCIT point to it as a high-quality parenting program with the potential to positively influence child behavior, reduce recidivism into the child welfare system, and increase caregiver's confidence and self-esteem. In September 2012, First 5 LA, an independent County agency in Los Angeles that advocates on behalf of parents with young children, began a $20 million countywide implementation of PCIT. The collaborative effort between First 5 LA, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, and the University of California, Davis demonstrates the role that research and data analysis can play in improving large-scale implementations. The authors of this paper were contracted to conduct an evaluation of the implementation of the countywide PCIT program, and preliminary outcomes were analyzed after the first round of data collection in early 2015. This paper will discuss this case and provide examples of how research and data analysis were used effectively to make key improvements to the design and implementation of the program. The paper will then discuss bureaucratic challenges and constraints with the collaborative use of research and data. The paper will conclude with some recommendations on how research and data can effectively be used to influence policy implementation in large-scale implementations involving collaboration among multiple organizations.