A Weberian approach to citizenship in a divided community

In the British Isles, traditional accounts surrounding the concept of citizenship usually develop along liberal or neo-liberal pathways. That is to say the study of citizenship in these Isles derives from the work of the late T.H. Marshall. While the importance of his work deserves its time-honoured acknowledgement in the literature, various writers such as Giddens, Heater, and Turner have taken issue with his argument that citizenship rights were handed down or that they ‘re-evolved’ over the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. However, their main differences with Marshall are not along theoretical lines but rather the applicability, or otherwise, of his model to other societies. Roger Brubaker points out that the nation state is the final arbiter of who is, or is not, a citizen which in the modern world is an act of social closure. This paper will discuss the efficacy of a sociological approach, based on social closure theory, as a means of understanding the struggle that has accompanied the granting of citizenship rights. Northern Ireland will be used as a case study to assess the effectiveness of social closure theory as a sociological explanation for the expansion of citizenship rights in a divided community.     

Introduction: East Asia and the Trials of Neo-liberalism

Since economic performance is a key criterion of ‘success’, the Tanzanian socialist experiment is evaluated in terms of the short‐term economic implications of various policies which are ‘socialistic’ in inspiration. The manner and timing of the translation of socialist principles into policy has so far been reasonably cautious and, with the unsurprising exception of the reduced potential contribution to growth from private investment, has not involvea significant costs in terms of growth effects. Some suggestions are offered for improved policies. In particular the pushing of socialist policies beyond the capacity of the available skills to manage them is seen as the greatest future risk both to the success of the socialist experiment and to the growth rate.     

Exploring perceptions of technology between the united states and ecuador

Despite an overall increase in technology research in recent years, the focus on perceptions of technological issues across diverse cultures has received little attention. Moreover, the transfer of technology from industrialized nations to developing countries has essentially been overlooked by scholars. The purpose of this study is to measure differences in perceptions of technology between managers from Ecuador and the United States. The typology of motivators and inhibitors of technological growth developed by Cragg and King (1993) is used as the basis for this empirical inquiry. Results suggest that improving planning and control is a key motivator in Ecuador while stimulating managerial enthusiasm is important to U.S. managers. Excessive cost was found to be a powerful inhibitor in both nations. These findings have vast implications for both the public and private sectors as the business environment continues to change in Latin America.     

Multiagency Coordination and Response: Case Study of the July 2005 London Bombings1

On July 7, 2005, terrorists carried out a series of bombings in London's underground subway system and transportation network. Fifty‐two people were killed and more than 700 were injured. The authors of this study interviewed key staff from London agencies to evaluate the response to the London attacks and analyzed the responses using the General Coordination Model defined in prior research (Eyerman and Strom, 2005). Results indicate that the London coordination regime, which is characterized by a high level of preplanning, joint exercises, and regular improvement through constant use, minimized the effect of common barriers to multiagency response. Successful elements of the London response included the rapid recognition and declaration of a major incident; a successful command and control system that involved all key agencies and which was implemented quickly following the bombings; limited disagreement across agencies on roles and responsibilities; and, delivery of a single, unified media message.     

Racial Differences in Battered Women’s Experiences and Preferences for Treatment from Physicians

The present study evaluated racial differences in battered women’s experiences and preferences for treatment from physicians when seeking help for abuse-related issues. Prior research revealed unexpected findings that African American women rated certain physician behaviors related to victim blaming and expression of sympathy for the male partner less negatively than White women. The present study found that when potential confounders, such as source of care, education level, and income were controlled, racial differences in approval ratings of physician behaviors almost disappeared. Only one physician behavior—blaming the patient for the abuse—differentiated the two groups. However, despite racial differences, both groups rated the behavior negatively. Other findings were that, overall, African American women are more likely than White women to seek abuse-related health care from emergency and urgent care settings and have fewer preferences for the race of their physician provider. Both White and African American women preferred to see a female physician. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.