The Social Dimensions of Perestroyka

The emergence of four essentially new social groups within the Soviet Union is examined in terms of its potential impacts on economic restructuring. The argument is advanced that groups of predominantly urban, professional or paraprofessional, and well educated workers will be more favorably disposed than the population as a whole to increases in material incentives, to glasnost', and to heightened participation in workplace decision making embodied in Gorbachev's reforms. It is suggested that the growing importance of these new groups in an economy undergoing structural change may strengthen the base of political support for perestroyka. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 113.     

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)--standardised investigations and classification: recommendations

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) still accounts for considerable numbers of unexpected infant deaths in many countries. While numerous theories have been advanced to explain these events, it is increasingly clear that this group of infant deaths results from the complex interaction of a variety of heritable and idiosyncratic endogenous factors interacting with exogenous factors. This has been elegantly summarised in the "three hit" or "triple risk" model. Contradictions and lack of consistencies in the literature have arisen from diverse autopsy approaches, variable applications of diagnostic criteria and inconsistent use of definitions. An approach to sudden infant death is outlined with discussion of appropriate tissue sampling, ancillary investigations and the use of controls in research projects. Standardisation of infant death investigations with the application of uniform definitions and protocols will ensure optimal investigation of individual cases and enable international comparisons of trends.     

Queer Contestations and the Future of a Critical “Queer” Criminology

It is intuitive to include critical criminologists in early conversations about “queering” criminology given that the paradigms and methods of critical criminology can be employed to challenge subordination and inequality in its several dimensions. The first part (and main focus) of this article problematizes this intuition, which is easy to accept at face value, by reflecting backwards and explaining how early influential critical criminological views perpetuated damaging stereotypes and representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people as sexual deviants. The second part reflects forward, and discusses the difficulties of carving a space in the discipline for critical queer perspectives. Drawing on critical and critical race theories, this article advocates a relational, intersectional approach to conceptualize sexual orientation and gender identity in criminological theory and research. This approach considers the connections among sexual orientation or gender identity and other differences (e.g., race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, class, gender, etc.) without assuming or attaching fixed meanings to those differences.     

Work Roles,Domestic Roles,and Marital Quality: Perceptions of Fairness Among Dual-Earner Couples

Previous studies on the role of spouses' perceptions of fairness within marriage have typically dealt with the effects of those within the realm of the division of household labor. Using data from the 1993 National Survey of Families and Households, this study posits that the predominance of dual-earner couples necessitates the consideration of perceptions of fairness in both spouses' paid labor and domestic roles. Issues of fairness are shown to significantly affect husbands' and wives' evaluations of marital quality, yet these effects are limited to a noncomparative form (e.g., wives' evaluations of marital quality are not substantially affected by husbands' perceptions of unfairness). Implications of these findings for contemporary couples are discussed.     

CITES,wild plants,and opportunities for crime

The illegal trade in endangered plants damages both the environment and local communities by threatening and destroying numerous species and important natural resources. There is very little research which systematically addresses this issue by identifying specific opportunities for crime. This article presents the results of an interdisciplinary study which brings together criminological and conservation science expertise to identify criminal opportunities in the illegal wild plant trade and suggest strategies in order to prevent and mitigate the problem. Methodologically, the study adapts a crime proofing of legislation approach to the UN Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and is based on documentary and interview data. Situational crime prevention is used as a framework to provide points for effective intervention.     

Identity,dignity and development as trajectory: Bihar as a model for democratic progress in Nepal? Part II. Nepal’s promise

Part I of this article traced the experience of India’s Bihar state as it shifted in the last decade of the twentieth century from a region dominated by landowning upper castes and plagued by entrenched poverty to one led by newly emergent middle castes. In a two-step process, these groups first attained a significant dignity and self-respect and then it became possible in the 2000s to turn to economic growth and improvement in living standards. Part II makes a case that Nepal, long suffering under conditions similar to those hobbling Bihar until recently, might follow a similar two-stage path of dignity and then development.     

Reviews

Kazimierz Z. Poznanski, Technology, Competition, and the Soviet Bloc in the World Market, Berkeley; University of California Press, 1987, ix + 226 pp. $13.95 p/b.

Philip Hanson, Western Economic Statecraft in East West Relations, Chatham House Papers, No. 40, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1988, vi + 85 pp., £6.95 (paperback).

Iliana Zloch‐Christy, Debt Problems of Eastern Europe, Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, New York, New Rochelle, 1987, xix + 220 pp., £25.00, $37.50.

Franklyn D. Holzman, The economics of Soviet bloc trade and finance. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1988, xi + 215 pp., $33.50.

Ed A. Hewitt, Reforming the Soviet Economy: Equality versus Efficiency, Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1988, xi + 404 pp., £36.95 h/b, £16.95 p/b.

Bob Arnot, Controlling Soviet Labour: Experimental Change from Brezhnev to Gorbachev. London: Macmillan Press, 1988, xv + 305 pp., £35.00.

Elizabeth Teague, Solidarity and the Soviet Worker. London, Croom Helm Publishers Ltd. 1988, 378 pp., £30.00.

Fred Singleton ed. Environmental Problems in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Boulder, London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1987, viii + 208 pp., £24.00.

Robert J. Mclntyre, Bulgaria: Politics, Economics and Society. London: Pinter Publishers, 1988, xxii + 201 pp., £25.00 h/b, £8.95 p/b.

Ingemar Lindahl, The Soviet Union and the Nordic Nuclear‐ Weapons‐Free‐Zone Proposal. Foreward by Vojtech Mastny. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1988, xii + 227 pp., £33.00.

William Zimmerman, Open Borders, Nonalignment, and the Political Evolution of Yugoslavia. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1987, ix + 158 pp., £14.70.

Helmuth Dahm, Sozialistische Krisentheorie. Die Sowjetische Wende—ein Trugbild. Sammlung Wissenschaft und Gegenwart, Munchen: Erich Wewel Verlag, 1987, 292 pp. DM48.00 p/b.