Identity Formation in Early and Middle Adolescents From Various Ethnic Groups: From Three Dimensions to Five Statuses

We used three identity processes (i.e., commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment) from a recently developed model of identity formation to derive empirically identity statuses in a sample of 1952 early and middle adolescents. By means of cluster analysis, we identified five statuses: achievement, foreclosure, moratorium, searching moratorium, and diffusion. Specifically, we found an intra-status differentiation within moratorium, unraveling the positive and negative facets of this status documented in prior literature. The five clusters could be meaningfully distinguished on a number of variables, such as personality features, psychosocial problems, and parental relationships. These findings indicated that a valid distinction in identity statuses could be made in early and middle adolescence. Finally, age and ethnic background strongly affected the distribution of the participants among the five identity statuses. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Tax rates and tax evasion: an empirical analysis of the long-run aspects in Italy

We use official time series of the Italian evaded VAT base (Ministry of Finance) for the period 1980:1–2006:4 to investigate empirically the long-run characteristics of tax evasion and the relationship with the tax burden. Three hitherto unexplored issues are addressed. First, using different measures of aggregate economic activity as reference variables in estimating the average tax burden, we examine the size and dynamics of the overburden traceable back to tax evasion. Second, exploiting cointegration techniques, we quantify the elasticity between tax evasion and the average tax rate in Italy. We then comment on the complex dynamic interaction between the tax burden and tax evasion to ascertain whether in the Italian experience there is evidence for any “vicious circle” between them.     

Atomic force microscopic investigation of commercial pressure sensitive adhesives for forensic analysis

Pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA), such as those used in packaging and adhesive tapes, are very often encountered in forensic investigations. In criminal activities, packaging tapes may be used for sealing packets containing drugs, explosive devices, or questioned documents, while adhesive and electrical tapes are used occasionally in kidnapping cases. In this work, the potential of using atomic force microscopy (AFM) in both imaging and force mapping (FM) modes to derive additional analytical information from PSAs is demonstrated. AFM has been used to illustrate differences in the ultrastructural and nanomechanical properties of three visually distinguishable commercial PSAs to first test the feasibility of using this technique. Subsequently, AFM was used to detect nanoscopic differences between three visually indistinguishable PSAs.     

Foreign Policy and the Ideology of Post-ideology: The Case of Matteo Renzi’s Partito Democratico

The post-communist Italian Left has experienced a long phase of ideational misalignment between ideas placed at different levels, as a qualified discursive institutionalist approach demonstrates. Background public philosophies have often clashed with post-communist political ideology, while foreign policy programmes have often contradicted specific policies. Under the leadership of Matteo Renzi, however, the PD is now experiencing a moment of remarkable ideational consistency. Rather than being founded on entirely new premises, this new consensus folds old elements into new ones and shows all the defining traits of post-ideology. Yet, by espousing post-ideology, Renzi is making an ultimately ideological move whose limitations may soon start to show.     

Cocaine-related deaths: an enigma still under investigation

In recent years there has been an increase interest in cocaine-related death reflecting the rising trend in cocaine use in Europe. Nevertheless it is still now very difficult to attribute a death to cocaine. We can affirm that cocaine can be responsible for the cause of death only when there is a reasonably complete understanding of the circumstances or facts surrounding the death. Isolated blood cocaine levels are not enough to assess lethality, and should be always considered and evaluated in relation to concentrations of cocaine and benzoylecgonine concentrations in body tissue compartments, especially in brain and blood. We have reanalyzed all of our cocaine-related cases from 1990 to 2005, applying the methodology used by Spielher and Reed over 30 years ago. Our aim was to try to validate this model and verify its applicability and effectiveness after 20 years.     

A Cross-Cultural Perspective on the Relationships between Emotional Separation,Parental Trust,and Identity in Adolescents

Emotional separation and parental trust in parent–adolescent relationships are important factors for adolescent identity formation. However, prior research findings on emotional separation are inconsistent. This study aimed to conduct a more rigorous examination of the associations of emotional separation and parental trust with identity synthesis, confusion, and consolidation by applying a bi-factor model to identity, using adolescent samples from Lithuania (N?=?610; 53.9% female; M _age ?=?14.92), Italy (N?=?411; 57.4% female; M _age ?=?15.03), and Japan (N?=?759; 43.7% female; M _age ?=?14.13). Structural equation modeling revealed that emotional separation and parental trust were consistently associated with identity consolidation across the three countries, rather than associated with identity synthesis and identity confusion. Furthermore, the patterns of associations of emotional separation and parental trust with identity synthesis and identity confusion differed across the three nations. Overall, this study provides a better understanding of the role of emotional separation and parental trust in adolescent identity formation by suggesting the importance of the identity consolidation in the association between parent–child relationships and identity formation across three countries.     

From colony to oil producer: US oil companies and the reshaping of labor relations in Libya during the Cold War

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes the labor relations the US government and American oil companies introduced in Libya between the Suez Crisis of 1956 and the rise of Muammar Qaddafi’s regime in 1969. It argues that labor policies played a crucial role in American Cold War efforts to place Libya in the Western bloc and assure access to its oil resources. Like in other contexts, the American government relied on anti-Communist trade unions, in particular the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), to oppose radical forms of labor organizing. Bini examines the ways in which Libyan oil workers resisted the forms of segregation and discrimination introduced in oil camps and company towns, by demanding the right to redefine labor relations through trade unions, and establishing ties with other trade unions in Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria. This article shows that despite American efforts to repress Libyan trade unions, in the second half of the 1960s oil workers were a crucial force in redefining international oil politics. During the Six Day War of 1967, they constituted one of the main forces behind Libya’s support of oil nationalism and set the stage for the emergence of Qaddafi’s regime in 1969.     

Current Illusions and Delusions about Conflict Management—In Africa and Elsewhere

This paper provides a critical perspective on the use of U. S. alternative dispute resolution (ADR) approaches for managing conflict in African and other communities. It argues that imposition of American ADR as a condition for foreign aid or capital investment is deeply problematic, and urges a more sophisticated analysis of the power dimensions and ideological basis of ADR. When viewed as an ideologically laden paradigm for how conflict should be resolved (i. e., a conflict paradigm), ADR can be seen as carrying troubling baggage. For example, ADR approaches imported from the United States deal with dispute resolution simply in terms of mechanisms or techniques, ignoring substantive issues central to conflict management in African and other communities. The entire discourse surrounding ADR pays insuficient attention to problems with terms such as modern or traditional, and encourages an ingenuous denial of the effects of inequality in power and money on conflict resolution. This ideological baggage renders unreflective imposition of ADR incompatible with the best interests of African communities. The authors urge a more complete and objective analysis of the global ADR revolution-one that takes a broader perspective.     

Patent-Secret Mix in Complex Product Firms

Different protection mechanisms may be employed at the sametime when an innovation is comprised of separately protectablecomponents. If patents and trade secrets can be mixed in protectingsingle innovations, a strengthening in patent breadth may inducea lower level of patenting, as innovators are more prone torely on secrecy.