Global Cities as Market Civilisation

Building upon interdisciplinary efforts to understand the origins, logic and significance of global cities, this article argues that global cities should be seen as a critical component and outcome of a political project to generate a global market society. Global cities should be seen as the successful implementation of free-market political philosophy, constructed and defended by a particular historical configuration of international society. The historical transformation of urban form signalled by the "global city" concept is tightly bound to the neoliberal restructuring of the world economy in the 1970s, underpinned by US hegemonic power. The first part of this article argues that the distinctive historical origin of global cities has shaped their current trajectories and draws the horizon of their future prospects. Having established the connection between liberal world order and global cities, the second part of the article argues that the contemporary form of the global city is under threat from two sources. The first threat is internal to the global city form itself. Global cities have internalised the contradictory forces of market liberalism. They have registered astonishing economic growth over the last four decades, and generated vast material and intellectual resources. But, at the same time, they have become deeply divided and polarised in ways that threaten the urban fabric. The second source of threat comes from the possible weakening or collapse of liberal world order, with the accelerating decline of US hegemony. Drawing on aspects of Karl Polanyi's analysis of the nineteenth-century "great transformation", the article argues that a number of future trajectories for the global city can be identified in the contemporary moment.     

Psychological factors influencing religious congregation members’ reporting of alleged sexual abuse

ABSTRACT

The sexual abuse of children within religious institutions has become a topic of increasing public concern in recent decades. However, to date there has been little in the way of psychological analyses of the processes by which congregation members judge the credibility of alleged abuses, or whether they would intend to report such allegations to the police. In this study, we examined the roles of ingroup identity, moral foundations, and social dominance orientation on reporting intentions and allegation credibility assessments among Church of England congregation members (n?=?454) and non-religious controls (n?=?457). While there were few predictors of reporting intentions, we found that churchgoers were consistently more sceptical of allegations of abuse, with these trends being differentially moderated by ingroup identification, the endorsement of various moral impulses, and anti-egalitarianism. We discuss our data in light of ongoing attempts to improve reporting procedures within the Church.     

Welfare Reform in Delaware: "A Better Chance" for Whom?

Does welfare reform provide "A Better Chance"(ABC) for Delaware'swelfare recipients? Not in terms of meeting the program's objectives.The employment and earnings impacts are modest. ABC had relativelylittle impact on recipients with three to five years of previouswelfare experience. ABC recipients had some understanding ofthe broad parameters of the new rules, but not of many of thecritical details. Nearly one-half of the ABC participants werefinancially penalized for violating the rules. Sanctions didnot necessarily change their behavior, as only about 25 percentcured their sanction within six months. There is little evidencethat the state has moved forward on encouraging two-parent familiesand discouraging teenage pregnancy and unwed motherhood.     

An Appraisal of Decomposition Cases Received at the Johannesburg Forensic Pathology Service Medico‐legal Mortuary During 2010–2011

Decomposed bodies pose many questions for researchers regarding environmental effects, cause of death, and patterns. This study aimed to observe the factors associated with decomposed bodies autopsied at the Johannesburg Forensic Pathology Service Medico‐legal Mortuary. A total of 4876 autopsies were conducted from 2010 to 2011, of which 109 were decomposed. Black individuals made up the largest proportion (67%) followed by White (26%). Males comprised 86.2%, while 12.8% were female. The mean age was 42.78 years. Most cases were in the early stages of decomposition (49.5%), with 32.1% bloated, 11.9% in active decay, 2.8% in advanced decay, and 3.7% were skeletal. Insect activity was identified in 25.7% of decomposition cases. Cause of death was determined in 48.6% of cases. Of all the cases, 64% were found indoors and 23% outdoors, while 23% had insufficient information regarding the location. Of considerable interest was the number of cases from hospitals and clinics.     

Casting Aside Clanking Medieval Chains: Prerogative,Statute and Article 50 after the EU Referendum

This article confronts the controversies surrounding Article 50 by analysing the relationship between statute and prerogative in the UK. The piece focuses on domestic constitutional issues and suggests a new way of classifying the relationship between statute and prerogative into two types falling under ‘the abeyance principle’ or ‘the frustration principle’. The abeyance principle means that where statute and prerogative overlap, the prerogative goes into abeyance. The frustration principle means that where statute and prerogative give rise to potential inconsistencies, but do not overlap, the prerogative cannot be used inconsistently with the intention of parliament as expressed in the relevant legislation. It then argues that Article 50 has the status of primary or ‘primary‐equivalent’ legislation which could justify applying the abeyance principle. This would mean that the trigger power would be exercised on statutory authority rather than through prerogative powers. If the courts are unable thus to construe the relevant legislation it argues EU law requires the courts to bridge the gap. Alternatively, if the abeyance principle is not applicable, it argues the frustration principle could apply but the circumstances in this litigation fall outside it. In the further alternative, EU law could require the frustration principle itself to be set aside in this case.     

An Exploratory Study of the Mental Toughness Psychological Skills Profile Psychometrics,and the Mediating Effect of Social Support Sources on Mental Toughness and Suicidal Ideation Among Military Police

Research suggests that social support and mental toughness (i.e., the ability to effectively cope with stress despite adversity and/or failure) may be associated with decreased suicide risk, although methods for measuring mental toughness remain largely undeveloped. The relationship remains largely unknown. In response to this research gap, the psychometric properties of the Mental Toughness Psychological Skills Profile (MTPSP; Asken 2005), and its association with suicide ideation, were evaluated in a sample of active duty U.S. Air Force Security Forces personnel, a subpopulation especially vulnerable to suicide risk. 273 participants from two Air Force bases completed self-report scales including the MTPSP. Results indicated that the MTPSP is comprised of five subscales: Negative Mindset, Positive Mindset, Confidence, Achievement, and Health Behaviors. All five MTPSP factors were independently correlated with general distress, somatic anxiety, positive affect, presence of meaning in life, search for meaning in life, positive self-bias, social support sources, and suicide ideation. The Confidence factor was the only factor that had a significant association with suicide ideation when all five factors were considered simultaneously (β?=??0.18, p?=?.016), but was fully mediated by social support (β?=??0.17, p?=?.033). Self-confidence may be associated with reduced suicide risk because those individuals tend to report higher social support.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Designing the New American University</Emphasis> by Michael Crow and William Dabars: a primer for technology transfer academics,agencies, and administrators

You should read this book if you identify with one or more of the following groups. The first group is the academic readership of The Journal of Technology Transfer, mostly organizational economists and policy analysts, who should read the book because it presents some compelling ideas for research and theory. The second audience is the journal’s policy making readership concerned with return-on-investment from universities, who should view the institutional design process touted by the authors with skepticism. The third audience is comprised of university administrators, who might be inspired by the book to reevaluate what they’re doing structurally at their own institutions.     

Why a managerialist pursuit will not necessarily lead to achievement of MDGs

With case studies on Millennium Development Goal (MDG)-oriented reform projects in Vietnam, this article focuses upon a persistent dilemma in attempting to turn worthy goals into implementable programmes and sustainable results. How to achieve these goals is uncertain, but modern performance management, as expressed in Logical Frameworks, demands certainty. The article suggests how an open management style can allow for pragmatic adaptation to circumstances; or, more radically, how Log Frames could be redesigned to focus upon interpretation of contextual challenges. But such a dynamic requires a high degree of delegation and an acceptance that accountability must also be an interactive learning process.