How women are imagined through conceptual metaphors in United Nations Security Council Resolutions on women,peace and security

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 is a landmark pronouncement on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. Not only does this resolution highlight the important role of the involvement of women in peace processes, but it also stresses the importance of their equal participation in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace. Furthermore, it also triggers the approval of some other resolutions, which are all further elaborations on that first document. The aim of this paper is to analyse, from a cognitive linguistic perspective, the way in which women are actually narrated in these pronouncements by means of the two conceptual metaphors that are most often repeated: WOMEN ARE VICTIMS, typically found in earlier resolutions, and WOMEN ARE AGENTS OF CHANGE, as the metaphor that has gained more strength and visibility as new resolutions have continued to appear. As metaphors are the cognitive lenses we use to make sense of abstract concepts, it is important that we look closely at each of those metaphors to see how they shape the characterization of women in times of armed conflict and post-conflict and, in doing so, how they guide our understanding and behaviour towards them.     

Technology transfer and entrepreneurship: cross-national analysis

The purpose of this article is to improve our understanding of the links between technology transfer, entrepreneurship and the institutional setting in explaining both the competitiveness of firms and the economic performance of places, albeit a city, region, state or country. We accomplish this objective by presenting a framework for the cross-national analysis of different regional contexts. Finally, we introduce the papers included in this special issue in the International journal of Technology Transfer on ‘Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship: Cross-National Analysis’.     

Estimates of Repeat Victimization Using the National Crime Victimization Survey

Many crime victims experience multiple victimizations over time. Estimating the rate of repeat victimization from a longitudinal survey, however, is difficult because individuals often have missing data for some of the interviews. We use data from the 1996–98 U.S. National Crime Victimization Survey to explore potential effects of missing data on estimated rates of repeat violent victimizations in individuals. We introduce two algorithms for estimating repeat victimization rates, using logistic models to impute values for individuals who have partial data. These models are applied to estimate rates of repeat victimization for all violent crimes, and separately for crimes of domestic violence. Estimates show substantial sensitivity to the form of the model used.     

A longitudinal analysis of factors associated with reporting violent crimes to the police

The use of generalized estimating equations and time-series methods for fitting longitudinal models in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is discussed, with reference to the relation between the reporting of a violent crime to the police and previous victimizations. Two longitudinal models are fit to NCVS data to predict the likelihood of reporting a violent crime to the police based on characteristics of the victim and the incident and based on previous victimization experiences. In both models, it is found that higher reporting rates are associated with positive results accruing from reporting previous victimization to the police.     

Counter-terrorism policing: towards social cohesion

This article overviews a large, 3-year study conducted by Monash University and Victoria Police on Counter-Terrorism Policing and Culturally Diverse Communities. It sets out the development of a social cohesion approach to counter-terrorism policing based on extensive empirical research with police members, culturally diverse communities and through the close reading of counter-terrorism law and policy in Australia.     

Are Service Profiles Incubator-Specific? Results from an Empirical Investigation in Italy*

What are the core services of start-up incubators, and how can the be managed best? We use five incubator archetypes (university, regional business, company-internal, independent commercial, and virtual incubators) to identify key services and describe their implementation. Case-research was conducted on 10 incubators (from an estimated total of 50) in Italy. We concluded that differences in competitive scope (industry, geography, and segment focus) and differences in strategic objectives (profit versus non-for-profit) influence the nature, quality and implementation of incubation services and the way they are managed.     

African American Women’s Readiness to Change Abusive Relationships

This study explores 178 low-income, abused African American women’s readiness to change abusive relationships and achieve safety. We explore stages of change using Prochaska and DiClemente’s transtheoretical model (TM; Precontemplation, Contemplation, Action, Preparation, and Maintenance). Results reveal that: for abused women, the stages fall along a continuum (versus discreet and linear stages); abused women are primarily in the Contemplation stage; and multiple factors (perception of current abuse, number of children in her home, symptoms of general anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], substance use, spiritual well-being, self-esteem, and social support) affect women’s total readiness to change intimate partner violence (IPV). Current IPV, anxiety, PTSD, substance abuse, and spirituality were positively correlated with readiness to change, and children in the home and self-esteem were negatively correlated with readiness to change. Multiple regression analysis revealed that PTSD and spiritual well-being are positive predictors of readiness to change. Findings contribute to the growing body of literature supporting the TM as applied to IPV. Results are discussed in terms of applicability to interventionists, policy makers, and community leaders as they consider the plight of abused women and their efforts towards violence-free relationships.     

The emergence of policy implementation analysis: The Wyatt v. Stickney decision

In recent years scholars have devoted substantial attention to the “implementation” phase of the policy-making process. Analytical efforts have focused on the identification of variable sets as they are associated with the outcomes of public policies and programs. This article will discuss these program implementation conceptualizations within the context of a landmark court decision. This court decision, Wyatt v. Stickney, impacted to a profound degree the lives of residents in institutions for the mentally retarded. Finally, based on the analysis of this case, the authors cite limitations and propose future directions for social policy implementation analysis as a scholarly emphasis.