Race, conventional crime, and criminal justice: The declining importance of skin color

Blacks in the United States are arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and incarcerated in numbers disproportionate to their percentage of the population. One explanation is that racial discrimination against Blacks pervades the American system of criminal justice. This study examined the nature and extent of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system by evaluating five propositions using data from extant literature. Little evidence was found to support the allegation that the criminal justice system systematically discriminates against Blacks.     

Public Sector Labour Relations in Western Australia – An Overview

The election of a LiberalNational Coalition government in 1993 heralded a period of significant and sustained change in Western Australian public sector labour relations. As legislator, the Coalition government embarked upon a program to decentralise and deregulate the Western Australian industrial relations system; as an employer, the government has had to respond to the economic imperatives which have faced most employers in recent years. The result has been a period of major change in the public sector – employment levels have declined as services have been privatised or contracted out; the proportion of non-permanent and part-time employees has risen significantly. Individual workplace agreements have been introduced; individualised performance-related management and reward systems have increased; and the scope for union involvement has diminished, as has the level and density of union membership. The experience of the public sector therefore reflects many of the workplace changes that are also found in the private sector. It also brings the government's industrial relations policies into sharper focus.     

International relations in Indonesia: historical legacy, political intrusion, and commercialization

This paper is about the development of international relations(IR) as a field of study in Indonesian universities. It arguesthat IR as a discipline has been encountering a paradox. Onthe one hand, while the discipline has been increasingly heldin high esteem by students, marked by an increasing number ofapplicants to IR departments across the country; on the otherhand, IR scholars show too little commitment to research andpublication for the development of the discipline; and if theydo publish, the quality of writing is generally poor. This articleindicates that the paradox of teaching IR in Indonesia has muchto do with historical legacies and political intrusion, as wellas an economic environment in which universities are increasinglydriven toward commercial activities. All these factors shapethe current development of social science in general, and IRin particular. Received for publication August 28, 2008. Accepted for publication October 7, 2008.     

Transformational Leadership and Public Service Motivation: Driving Individual and Organizational Performance

Despite growing evidence about prosocial motivations and their effects on employee behavior, how can new public service motivation research translate into more effective management practices—which, so far, regrettably remain underdeveloped? Increasingly, public service motivation studies have moved from understanding what motivates public servants to exploring how public service motives influence performance. Similarly, greater attention is now paid to the practices of transformational leadership. Drawing on concepts from transformational leadership, this essay explores how managers can harness the positive aspects of public service motivation to enhance employee and organizational performance and outlines strategies that can help managers incorporate public service motivation values across management systems.     

European Monarchies: Guardians of Democracy?

How is it possible to account for the continuing presence of monarchy in advanced social democracies? Much traditional political science assumes teleologically that monarchies inevitably transform into republics as a higher form of governance. This comparative study of the eight main European monarchies maintains otherwise: monarchy is perfectly compatible with democracy, and can help strengthen citizens’ loyalty to the system of government. Provided it delivers a politically impartial head of state, monarchy can endure indefinitely with government and popular support. In practice, the countries studied are de facto republics, but with hereditary heads of state who occupy social roles beyond the reach of quotidian politics. Monarchy’s principal danger is not republicanism, but the pressures of conflicting expectations about what is required of royal families, and the relentless intrusions of modern media in an age when royalty and celebrity are in danger of being conflated. Responses to Covid-19 show how monarchs can speak to and for their nations in ways no partisan politician can.     

The Roots of Stereotypes about Tourists

The unique characteristics of the first generation tourists and the nature of their interactions with the host community leads to the formation of enduring stereotypes. The first wave of mass tourists sees themselves as innovators, worldly, outward looking, risk takers who are different and somehow better than other members of society. Yet, in reality, they are relative latecomers to the world of international tourism, causing members of the receiving community to perceive them as laggards, inward looking individuals who are culturally and socially introverted, unworldly and resistant to change. The situation is exacerbated by package tour participation which is the typical way any new markets begins to travel. Unfortunately, packages produce a highly mediated experience between host and guest that intensify the sense of outsidedness felt by each group, which in turn create stereotypes.

Implementing a Strengths-Based Approach to Intimate Partner Violence Worldwide

Family violence is a core social issue in every country around the world. The extent and consequence of family violence as a major problem has received increased attention around the world. The focus of the present study is not only to inform about intimate partner violence (IPV) that occurs in individual countries, but to illustrate how individuals, families, communities, and cultures use their strengths to overcome the challenges that violence presents. An analysis of 16 countries, including 17 cultures is represented and includes all seven of the world’s major geocultural areas. Qualitative methodology was used to examine the stories of intimate partner violence in which similarities and differences across cultures were discovered resulting in a theoretical discussion of findings. The International Family Strengths Model was applied to examine the family strengths, community strengths, and cultural strengths used to mitigate family violence worldwide. Individual strengths emerged as a new and important component of the model. Suggestions for change include recognition of differing solutions across cultures, the need for mediation and policy changes, and the importance of empowerment.