Why things are never quite as simple in practice: opportunities for creating a system of social dispute resolution in Russia

The article explores four themes based on my participation in the inception phase of a DFID‐funded project in Russia. The first is to assess the role of technical assistance in providing new models for social development and institutional change. What obstacles and difficulties do donors face in introducing changes in practices, which are comparatively new in their own countries? The second theme is the degree to which external changes put pressure on governments to legislate in favour of vulnerable groups. In this case the break‐up of the Soviet Union and subsequent impoverishment of large sectors of society provide the context. Third, the article examines the potential for change through the setting up of a ‘Conflict Commission’ in the pilot region of Samara oblast. Here, there is a comparatively supportive environment with evidence of a shared commitment by the state, their services and civil society. An outstanding and challenging question for this experiment is the degree to which this shared axis for change can become the basis for wider legal reform at the federal level. The article will finally consider the role of monitoring and evaluation in a pilot project. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Institute for Fiscal Studies Report: English Council Funding: What’s Happened and What’s Next?

The article reviews the recent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IfFS) report, English Council Funding: What’s Happened and What’s Next. The article provides an overview of the main themes and findings of the report which examines the consequences of a sustained period of austerity for English local government and the impact of austerity on certain key council services. The article explores what the report has to say about the way councils have responded to reductions in government funding and the strategies they have developed to protect certain frontline services. The article reviews the suggestions made in the IfFS report for changing English local government funding and finds that they reflect a form of centralist thinking which lacks a radical edge when it comes to reform.     

Mandela and excellent African leadership: Theory and lessons for practice from an appreciative thematic analysis

Nelson Mandela is highly regarded as an example of excellent leadership. Yet little has been done in communication studies to describe his leadership communication. Significantly, little has been done to locate and to theorise about his leadership style in relation to the African moral philosophy of ubuntu. the article presents an appreciative thematic analysis of how Mandela’s leadership communication practices were eulogised in tributes written in his memory in selected South African newspapers. An innovative method of appreciative thematic enquiry is used to arrive at three key themes of praise for the leadership of Mandela. Lessons for leadership are drawn out and highlighted.     

Does constructing a facial composite affect eyewitness memory? A research synthesis and meta-analysis

Journal of Experimental Criminology - We conducted a meta-analysis to assess whether the construction of facial composites affects witnesses’ lineup identification decisions. We located 23...     

Making a difference? The effects of Teach For America in high school

Teach For America (TFA) selects and places graduates from the most competitive colleges as teachers in the lowest‐performing schools in the country. This paper is the first study that examines TFA effects in high school. We use rich longitudinal data from North Carolina and estimate TFA effects through cross‐subject student and school fixed effects models. We find that TFA teachers tend to have a positive effect on high school student test scores relative to non‐TFA teachers, including those who are certified in field. Such effects offset or exceed the impact of additional years of experience and are particularly strong in science. © 2011 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

On discourse ∗

This article attempts to contribute to the theorisation of the relations between subjectivity and language through an investigation of the use of the term ‘discourse’ in the work of two linguists: Emile Benveniste and Zellig Harris. The positive aspects of Benveniste's emphasis on intersubjectivity are considered as well as the problems raised by the failure to grasp the necessary division of the subject in language. Harris's work provides formal procedures which analyse discourse independently of subjective interpretation but without a theory of institutions or ideology the constitution of the corpus to be analysed finds no justification outside a banal empiricism. The possibilities and problems of Michel Pecheux's attempt to elaborate Harris's work in relation to Althusser's theory of ideology occupies the final section of the article.