Indicators as a Technology of Global Governance

The use of indicators is a prominent feature of contemporary global governance. Indicators are used to compare and rank states for purposes as varied as deciding how to allocate foreign aid or investment and determining whether states have complied with their treaty obligations. This article defines the concept of an indicator, analyzes distinctive features of indicators as technologies of governance, and identifies various ways in which the use of indicators has the potential to alter the topology and dynamics of global governance. Particular attention is paid to how indicators can affect processes of standard setting, decisionmaking, and contestation in global governance. The World Bank Doing Business indicators and the United Nations Human Development Index are analyzed as case studies.     

Disability and support relationships: What role does policy play?

Very little is known about how relationships between people with disabilities and their paid support workers are positioned in policy. With the policy shift toward choice of provider, individualised approaches, person centredness and self‐directed funding, the nature of their relationship assumes a more prominent role in the quality of support practice. The policy analysis in this article explores the extent to which current disability policy acknowledges, promotes, or diminishes the relationships between people with disabilities and workers, in their organisational context. It uses Honneth's conditions for recognition—love (cared for), rights (respected) and solidarity or social esteem (valued)—to understand how policy positions mutuality in the relationship. The policy review applied a three‐stage process: categorisation of policies, textual analysis and content analysis to policy documents at four levels—international, Australian federal, state and organisational in two case studies. The analysis revealed that while a rights framework is explicit in most policies, the emphases on the conditions for recognition within a relationship between people with disabilities and workers are compromised in instructional policies that attempt to manage the tension between choice and risk, particularly at the organisational level.     

Self-protective behaviors and injury in domestic violence situations: does it hurt to fight back?

Research examining the impact of self-protective behaviors on outcomes in nonsexual assaults involving intimates has focused solely on one mainstream sample (National Crime Victimization Survey) in which violence is a relatively rare event. Using the Women's Experience of Violence (WEV) project which collects data from a sample of incarcerated women, we explored the phenomenon of self-protective behaviors to assess whether their use impacts the probability and severity of subsequent injury during a domestic violence incident. In addition to utilizing a unique sample, we considered an alternative operationalization of self-protective behaviors that separates physical and verbal responses to include whether the behavior involved an element of force. Results suggest some similarities between a mainstream sample and our marginalized sample. Namely, the frequency in which they utilize countermeasures and the effect of "fighting back" appear to be consistent with previous research. However, the more nuanced categorization of self-protective behaviors demonstrates the importance of considering whether the strategy was forceful when examining women's responses to violence.     

Still hazy after all these years: the law regulating surrogacy

In 1997, Margaret Brazier was asked by the then Government to chair a review of the laws regulating surrogacy. The subsequent Brazier Report made a number of recommendations, including the need for greater regulation and the tightening of 'expenses' payments. Fifteen years on, the limitations in the legal regulation of surrogacy have become increasingly clear. Yet, none of Brazier's recommendations have been adopted, despite the clear opportunity for revisiting the regulation of surrogacy offered during the passage of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (2008). In this paper, we revisit the Brazier Report in the light of subsequent developments and assess to what extent its key findings remain salient. Brazier's recommendations will thus provide a jumping off point for a critical analysis of the current state of the law regarding surrogacy.     

Action research in mental health: acute care teams

Action research applies knowledge and research findings to practical problems in order to strengthen the capability of the work unit, to contribute to the personal growth and satisfaction of organization members, and to improve theory. An action research project studying acute care teams at a state residential psychiatric facility found that foreign-born physicians chair high-performing teams. This unexpected result strengthens theories of diversity, status inconsistency, and project team effectiveness.     

Ego identity status and expressive writing among high school and college students

Several studies were conducted to assess the relationship between expressive writing (poetry writing and journal keeping) and ego identity development among high school and college students. In three independent comparisons, poetry writers were more likely than students not writing poetry to have previously resolved identity crises (i.e., to be in the identity achiever status). There were also indications that students who had never written poetry were more likely to be in the foreclosure and identity diffusion statuses. No differences in identity development were found between students keeping personal journals and those who had not kept journals. A comparison was made of the themes most frequently chosen as the subject for each type of expressive writing and the functions such writings were believed to be serving. Possible explanations for why poetry writing, but not journal keeping, is related to ego identity formation are discussed.Received his Ph.D. from State University of New York at Buffalo. Research interests include psychosocial development during adolescence, youth, and adulthood and techniques for resolving identity crises.Research interests include identity development in early and midadolescence and the choice of models.     

Child physical abuse and self-perceived social isolation among adolescents

This research examines the connection between physical abuse and social isolation. Using data from the National Youth Survey, a measure of self-perceived social isolation was constructed indicating the extent to which respondents feel detached from their friends and from school. Those who had experienced violence were predicted to be more isolated than those who had not. Results strongly supported the hypothesis, controlling for theoretically relevant variables. Explanation is provided in terms of damage to attachment skills, social competence, and self-esteem concomitant to being a victim of abuse. Males were more socially isolated than females, and Hispanics more than Whites. Children with involved parents were less socially isolated; those whose parents experienced normlessness were more isolated. Children who recently experienced a stressful event or were from riskier neighborhoods were more isolated. The number of children in the family was positively related to isolation. Social isolation decreases between seventh and eighth grades.