Trump’s Impact: The End of Sameness

In his startling run for president, Donald Trump dared to question the official orthodoxy that all races and ethic groups are the same. He is correct in that most seriously poor, many immigrants, and the radicals we face overeas all come from outside the West. Thus, according to world cultures research, they are much less individualist and more conformist than most Americans. This cultural difference goes far to explain the major challenges the United States faces both at home and abroad. But Trump’s bold challenge offers no easy solutions.     

Anti-immigrant mobilization in Russia's regions: local movements and framing processes

This article argues that increased anti-immigrant mobilization (the targeting of ethnic migrants to limit their rights and/or promote their resettlement) in Russia's regions is a consequence of local social movements adopting an anti-immigrant frame as part of their efforts to promote recruitment, acquire resources, and advance their movement's particular cause. Using the cases of Sverdlovsk's Gorod Bez Narkotikov (City Without Drugs) and Krasnodar's Cossack groups, it develops the argument and demonstrates specific ways in which an anti-immigrant frame is taken up by local movements. As a complement to existing studies of anti-immigrant sentiment or far right ideology, these cases highlight the practical politics of mobilizing support for anti-immigration causes in contemporary Russia.     

Broken Promises or Selective Memory Planning? A National Picture of HOPE VI Plans and Realities

Government efforts to redevelop public housing often face a contentious gap between plans and realities. This paper compares 2014 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) administrative data on housing unit counts and unit mixes for all 260 developments receiving Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE VI) revitalization grants with data provided in the original HOPE VI grant award announcements. We find that HUD records undercount approximately 11,500 once-proposed units. The biggest changes were a 29% decline in the number of market-rate units and a 40% decline in homeownership units. The chief shortfall during implementation, therefore, was not with public housing units (although the HOPE VI program as a whole did trigger an overall decline of such units). To help elucidate the dynamics at play when the unit allocation shifts between initial grant award and implemented project, we include a series of five brief case studies that illustrate several types of unit change. Interviews with HUD staff confirm the baseline for record-keeping shifted during implementation once project economic feasibility became clearer; adherence to original unit mix proposals remained secondary. HUD prioritized its accountability to Congress and developers over its public law accountability to build the projects initially proposed to local community residents. Although these changes have sometimes been interpreted as broken promises, it is even clearer that HUD’s monitoring system exemplifies what we call Selective Memory Planning: when planners and policy makers, willfully or not, selectively ignore elements of previous plans in favor of new plans that are easier to achieve.     

A Randomized Clinical Trial Exploring Gambling Attitudes,Barriers to Treatment,and Efficacy of a Brief Motivational Intervention Among Ex-Offenders with Disordered Gambling

Correctional populations are disproportionately burdened by disordered gambling; yet, problem awareness is minimal among both offenders and professionals within the criminal justice system. The aims of the current study were twofold: (i) to examine gambling attitudes and problem awareness among ex-offenders, and (ii) to determine the efficacy of a brief online gambling intervention for ex-offenders. Participants (N = 126) were ex-offenders on probation and parole. Gambling attitudes, attitudes toward treatment, and disorder gambling status were assessed. Disordered gamblers (n = 102) were randomly assigned to (i) a brief intervention plus referral to treatment or (ii) referral to treatment only, and these individuals were re-assessed at a 30-day follow-up. Lifetime disordered gambling was highly prevalent (86%) in the ex-offender sample, and providing information regarding disordered gambler status and referral to treatment was effective in decreasing gambling attitudes, as well as gambling severity and frequency. The current study has direct implications for treatment and intervention efforts among ex-offenders with disordered gambling and yields a greater understanding of attitudes toward gambling among ex-offenders.