Transformations in the age and gender of unfree workers on hybrid cotton seed farms in Andhra Pradesh

The article critically applies the theory of everyday forms of peasant resistance (EFPR) to an analysis of land struggles in the Ecuadorean Andes. It explores the effectiveness of ‘weapons of the weak'used by indigenous peasants in conflicts with the haciendas. The relationship between hidden resistance and the rise of political organisation is also examined. Special attention is paid to the structural context and cultural underpinning of both covert and overt peasant action.     

Dating human skeletal remains using a radiometric method: biogenic versus diagenetic 90Sr and 210Pb in vertebrae

In forensic science, there is a strong interest in determining the post-mortem interval (PMI) of human skeletal remains up to 50 years after death. Currently, there are no reliable methods to resolve PMI, the determination of which relies almost exclusively on the experience of the investigating expert. Here we measured (90)Sr and (210)Pb ((210)Po) incorporated into bones through a biogenic process as indicators of the time elapsed since death. We hypothesised that the activity of radionuclides incorporated into trabecular bone will more accurately match the activity in the environment and the food chain at the time of death than the activity in cortical bone because of a higher remodelling rate. We found that determining (90)Sr can yield reliable PMI estimates as long as a calibration curve exists for (90)Sr covering the studied area and the last 50 years. We also found that adding the activity of (210)Po, a proxy for naturally occurring (210)Pb incorporated through ingestion, to the (90)Sr dating increases the reliability of the PMI value. Our results also show that trabecular bone is subject to both (90)Sr and (210)Po diagenesis. Accordingly, we used a solubility profile method to determine the biogenic radionuclide only, and we are proposing a new method of bone decontamination to be used prior to (90)Sr and (210)Pb dating.     

Preliminary evaluation of the persistence of organic gunshot residue

The organic components of gunshot residue (OGSR, also called firearms discharge residue (FDR) or cartridge discharge residue (CDR)) have been studied and discussed in the literature. These residues, consisting of particulates such as burned and unburned powder as well as molecular compounds, are rarely used in casework except for purposes such as shooting reconstructions. Molecular compounds that survive the firing event or that are created as a result of the firing event could, with focused research and development, open a new avenue for forensic gunshot residue analysis. In this study, the persistence of organic gunshot residue was evaluated using diphenylamine (DPA) as a target analyte and ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) as the detection system. Samples were collected from hands using a solvent swabbing technique and the swab was analyzed using direct thermal desorption for sample introduction into the IMS. OGSR was found to persist for at least 4h. Although DPA is a widely used industrial compound, analysis of numerous blank and background samples (n～100) did not show any significant response for DPA using this detector. Variations were noted among individuals and as such, the data set does not support estimation of a half-life as has been done for traditional primer residues. No secondary transfers were observed, suggesting the possibility of skin adhesion via interactions between the lipophilic organic compounds and skin lipids. IMS proved valuable as a means of generating patterns for forensic pattern matching and shows promise as a screening tool applied to firearms discharge.     

Understanding and influencing the policy process

This essay translates some of the underlying logic of existing research of policy processes into a set of strategies for shaping policy agendas and influencing policy development and change. The argument builds from a synthesized model of the individual and a simplified depiction of the political system. Three overarching strategies are introduced that operate at the policy subsystem level: developing deep knowledge; building networks; and participating for extended periods of time. The essay then considers how a democratic ethic can inform these strategies. Ultimately, the success or failure of influencing the policy process is a matter of odds, but these odds could be changed favorably if individuals employ the three strategies consistently over time. The conclusion contextualizes the arguments and interprets the strategies offered as a meta-theoretical argument of political influence.     

Corruption and Wildlife Trafficking: Three Case Studies Involving Asia

As wildlife trafficking or the illegal wildlife trade has taken a more prominent place on the global agenda, discussions are taking place as to how wildlife trafficking happens. An increased understanding has revealed that corruption is a key facilitator of this profitable and pervasive global black market, but limited research has explored exactly what that corruption looks like and how corruption enables wildlife to be trafficked. Furthermore, research shows that Asia, particularly China and Southeast Asia, are focal points for the supply and demand of certain species of wildlife. Through a literature-based investigation, this paper unpacks the role specific acts of corruption play in the trafficking of ivory, reptile skins and live reptiles from, through or to Asia. It is proposed that not only do individual corrupt acts enable wildlife trafficking to happen, but also that corrupted structures (the criminal justice system, and economic and political foundations) in some societies enable trafficking to happen and also increase the resilience of trafficking to reduction measures. In collating detailed data about the forms of corruption facilitating wildlife trafficking, the gaps in knowledge, and therefore the important areas for further research, become evident.     

Community government: voluntary agencies,social justice,and the responsibilization of citizens1

This paper analyzes the ways in which the Canadian voluntary sector has been created as a ‘community of service providers’. Drawing upon a governmentality perspective, we illustrate how governmental interventions have been largely successful in carrying out the voluntary agencies' responsibilization efforts within the sector. We trace this responsibilization project through fiscal policies and programmatic schemes, characteristic of advanced liberalism. Once invested with the task of governing, we argue that voluntary agencies take it upon themselves to train their volunteers to become responsible citizens. As a form of, what we call, community government, these voluntary agencies have therefore become doubly responsible: they provide social services to disadvantaged individuals and simultaneously train community members to assume their moral duties. Overall, this paper contributes to the growing literature on governmentality and citizenship studies by producing new insights into the links between the voluntary sector and ‘responsible citizenship’ under advanced liberalism.     

Institutional boundaries and common‐pool resource management: A comparative analysis of water management programs in California

Policymakers and academics often identify institutional boundaries as one of the factors that shape the capacity of jurisdictions to manage natural resources such as water, forests, and scenic lands. This article examines two key bodies of literature—common‐pool resource management theory and local public economy theory—to explain how the boundaries of political jurisdictions affect natural resource management. Two empirical methods were used to test hypotheses from the literature, using a study of water management programs in California. The results demonstrate that institutional boundaries that coincide with natural resources are likely to be associated with the implementation of more effective resource management programs. At the same time, where jurisdictions can control through coordination, they can also facilitate more effective resource management where jurisdictions do not match resource boundaries. © 2004 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Communication with Best Friends About Sex-Related Topics During Emerging Adulthood

During emerging adulthood, relationships with close friends may be particularly important and influential, yet most research on communication about sex-related topics focuses on emerging adults' communication with parents. Two hundred and five college students (61% female, mean age = 20.5) completed surveys about the frequency and quality of their sex-related conversations with same-sex best friends, and their sexual attitudes and behaviors. These conversations were more frequent between females, and between less religious youth. Sexually active youth discussed most topics more frequently than abstinent youth, although abstinent youth discussed abstinence more frequently. More frequent and comfortable conversations were generally associated with more liberal sexual attitudes, and more positive condom-related attitudes. Differential associations between the specific topics discussed and attitudes about sexuality, HIV, and condoms highlight the importance of examining multiple dimensions of sex-related communication rather than the unidimensional measures typically employed.     

Mother-Adolescent Health Communication: Are All Conversations Created Equally?

Fifty-two mother-adolescent dyads (mean adolescent age = 16.3) participated in an observational study of communication about health topics. The aim of the study was to examine mother-adolescent conversations about health issues—drugs/alcohol, sexuality, nutrition/exercise—to determine the extent to which the mothers treat these issues similarly. Across conversations, mothers spent more time asking questions than lecturing or discussing negative consequences. Mothers discussed negative consequences less in the nutrition/exercise and sexuality conversations than in the drug/alcohol conversation. Mothers asked fewer questions when discussing nutrition/exercise than drugs/alcohol, and lectured more in the nutrition/exercise conversation than in the sexuality conversation. The results of this study have implications for intervention programmers advocating in the media that parents “talk to your kids” about these health issues. Tanya L. Boone is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at California State University, Bakersfield. She received her Ph.D. in 2003 from The Pennsylvania State University. Her major research interests include adolescent risk behaviors and the influences on such behaviors, with a focus on family influences. Eva S. Lefkowitz is an Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University. She received her Ph.D. in 1998 from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her major research interests include the development of attitudes, behaviors, and relationships during adolescence and emerging adulthood.     

In the Name of Human Rights: Global Organizations and Participating Citizens

As a contribution to the growing literature on citizenship and advanced liberal governance, this paper focuses on how citizens—especially the poor—are brought into new policy platforms and new social relationships of responsibility, accountability, and participation. In making specific empirical reference to a range of global organizations and their poverty reduction initiatives, the analysis emphasizes the diverse ways in which individuals are governed as certain kinds of “free” persons through particular administrative practices. In this analysis, we underline how some organizations encourage citizens to participate in global practices, markets, and institutions, and train them to act in ways that are aligned with the principles and expectations imposed on them by advanced liberal governmental agendas. We argue that global organizations that are formally or informally linked to other organizations, agencies, and governments around the world, such as the United Nations and the World Bank, view citizens' participation in rights claiming and budgetary design practices as a crucial part of their responsibility to improve their well-being. We also analyse how specific global organizations promote citizens to become consumers of global financial services as a way of solving global poverty. In assessing programmes designed to encourage poor people to participate in global markets and institutions, we contend that these programmes are founded on governing practices that aim to make citizens, non-governmental organizations, and nation-states adhere to advanced liberal principles. We question whether these programmes improve the well-being of poor people. We suggest that future research needs to focus on how global organizations cultivate different discourses of freedom and liberty which serve to govern citizens as responsible consumers and participants.