Investigating the Roles of Neighborhood Environments and Housing-Based Social Support in the Relocation of Persons Made Homeless by Hurricane Katrina

This study examined whether social support tied to relocation efforts and neighborhood social climate may mediate the effects of stressful life events on mental health outcomes following Hurricane Katrina. Participants were 108 adult persons made homeless by Hurricane Katrina and evacuated to Columbia, South Carolina. Civic leaders developed an intervention model that emphasized (a) a one-stop point of entry, (b) living in hotels and apartments rather than shelters, and (c) matching hotels with volunteer “hosts” to assist in relocation efforts. Results revealed that perceived neighborhood factors and satisfaction with host relationship were related to several mental health outcomes. Neighborhood social climate partially mediated several mental health outcomes. Implications of this intervention model and the utility of social ecological perspectives on homelessness interventions are discussed.     

DIFFERING OPINIONS DO NOT SPOIL FRIENDSHIPS: MANAGING PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP) INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN JORDAN

This research investigates the approaches, strategies and challenges facing the management of the implementation phase of public–private partnership (PPP) projects in Jordan. Jordan is a newer but common user of PPPs in the Middle Eastern region, where PPPs not only are of economic strategic importance but also entail significant investment risk given resource scarcity. This research involves semi‐structured interviews with senior managers representing different partnering organisations in two case study organisations in Jordan. The research finds that, despite the management difficulties confronting PPP managers, strategies adopted by them limit the impact of these challenges. The research makes an important theoretical contribution in providing a detailed analysis of effective PPP management approaches in response to difficulties at the implementation phase, which had not been systematically explored in extant PPP research, and broadens PPP research to the Jordanian context. Moreover, the research contributes greater understanding of how partnerships should be effectively managed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

《鹿特丹规则》的构建

《鹿特丹规则》已于2008年12月11日在联合国大会上正式通过,并于2009年9月23日在荷兰鹿特丹举行签字仪式。在回顾《鹿特丹规则》签字仪式及此后的最新进展的基础上,简要评述《鹿特丹规则》的制定背景和发展历史,并对《鹿特丹规则》生效后可能带来的一些重大变革进行分析。     

A Woman’s Work is… Unfinished Business: Justice for the Disappeared Magdalen Women of Modern Ireland

In this article I explore one core feature of contemporary campaigns for justice for Ireland’s Magdalen women concerning their deaths and disappearances, which continue to be denied by a State that has only recently started to acknowledge civilian deaths in other contexts such as armed conflict. I examine the treatment of the disappeared and deceased Magdalen women in the economic and political context of the Irish use of religious institutions and consider the significance of this regime for women’s citizenship in the postcolonial nation-building processes of the twentieth century. I aim to illustrate the connections between gender, violence and citizenship that are implicated in outcomes for justice for Magdalen survivors and victims, as well as conceptions of Irish women’s citizenship in general. In this discussion I consider the Magdalen campaigns for justice as significant for the individual women and families involved, as well as the entire nation’s conception of self as represented in history.     

Taxing Times: Taxation,Divided Societies and the Informal Economy in Northern Nigeria

This paper challenges the notion that taxing the informal economy provides a mechanism for increasing popular political voice and rebuilding the social contract. It contends that current arguments for taxing the informal economy suffer from a Eurocentric understanding of taxation and state formation, and a fiscally essentialist and undifferentiated notion of the informal economy. Drawing on fieldwork in northern Nigeria, this paper shows that history, gender, wealth and ethno-religious identity influence how taxing the informal economy shapes governance outcomes. Evidence from Nigeria suggests an inverse relationship between informal economy taxation and political voice, posing the risk that increased taxation will exacerbate social divisions rather than rebuild the social contract.