Book reviews

Jerry F. Hough, The Soviet Union and Social Science Theory. Harvard University Press, 1977. Russian Research Center Studies, 77. xiv + 275 pp.

Fredrick J. Fleron, Jr. (ed.), Technology and Communist Culture: The Socio‐Cultural Impact of Technology under Socialism. Praeger Publishers, New York and London, 1977, 518 pp.

David Lane, The Socialist Industrial State: Towards a Political Sociology of State Socialism. London: George Allen and Unwin, Ltd., 1976. 230 pp. £5.95.

Edward L. Warner, III. The Military in Contemporary Soviet Politics: An Institutional Analysis. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1977. 314 pp.

Economic Relations Between Socialist Countries and the Third World, edited by Deepak Nayyar. London: The Macmillan Press Ltd., 1977. xiv + 265 pp. £15.00.

Donald D. Barry, Georg Ginsberg, and Peter Maggs, Soviet Law After Stalin, Part I, The Citizen and the State in Contemporary Soviet Law. Leyden: A. W. Sijtoff, 1977. xv + 303 pp. D.fl.86.00. $36.00.

Fitzpatrick, Sheila (ed.), Cultural Revolution in Russia, 1928–1931. Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, 1978. 309 pp. $17.50.

Tucker, Robert C. (ed.), Stalinism: Essays in Historical Interpretation. New York: Norton and Co., 1977, xx + 332 pp. $19.95.

Maurice Friedberg, A Decade of Euphoria. Western Literature in Post‐Stalin Russia, 1954–64, Indiana University Press, Bloomington & London, 1977. xii + 372 pp. £13.15.

Gregory Walker, Soviet Book Publishing Policy, Cambridge University Press, 1978. xvi + 164 pp. £6.95

Raymond Pearson, The Russian Moderates and the Crisis of Tsarism, 1914–1917. London: Macmillan, 1977. 208 pp. £8.95.

Andrew Borowiec, Yugoslavia After Tito, Praeger Special Studies in International Politics and Government, New York and London: 1977. 122 pp.

B. Knei‐Paz, The social and political thought of Leon Trotsky. Oxford University Press, 1978. 629 pp. £15.00.

Bogdan Szajkowski, ed. Documents in Communist Affairs 1977. Swansea: Christopher Davies (Publishers) Ltd. in association with the University College Cardiff Press, 1978. 363 pp. £6.95 or £4.50 paperback.

Nonconformity and Dissent in the Ukrainian SSR, 1955–1975: An Annotated Bibliography. Compiled by George Liber and Anna Mostovych. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, 1978. xxxix + 245 pp.     

Pearson and Responsibility: (Mis‐)Understanding the Capabilities Approach

Aboriginal Australian public intellectual Noel Pearson has gained prominence and influence for his brand of policy reform in Indigenous affairs by drawing upon the capabilities approach. This article challenges the coherence of Pearson's position, arguing that his unrelenting focus on personal responsibility leads him to conflate different elements within capabilities thinking. Pearson 1) mistakes social capabilities (to which people are entitled) for human potential to be unfolded, and 2) casts and prescribes personal responsibility as a type of latent capability. The latter a) inverts the capabilities approach wherein phenomena such as personal responsibility arise as an effect of the realization of latent capabilities rather than serving as latent capabilities themselves, and b) is at odds with the liberal basis of the capabilities approach that rejects imposing “good” ways of life on people. This is illustrated through reference to Pearson's advocacy of Direct Instruction teaching and engagement with the “real economy”. The paper recognizes Pearson's contribution to the policy debate and that the problems he highlights are real, but argues that the remedial approaches adopted are problematic, including in terms of Pearson's stated stance against assimilationist policy agendas.     

An empirical test of the social support paradigm on male inmate society

While social support theory has been applied to a variety of criminal justice settings, there has been little empirical research on the effect of social support on inmate behavior. In this article, we test Cullen’s proposition that social support, in whatever form it manifests itself, has an effect on Korean inmates’ experiences. Specifically, we examine whether social support in an all-male prison environment explains inmate misconduct, victimization, fear of victimization, and the intent to commit crime in the future. We build upon previous research by using unique measures of the instrumental and the expressive dimensions of social support to determine their effect on reducing criminogenic engagement in a prison setting. The results indicate that social support is an important factor in reducing prison violence, enhancing pro-social behavior, and potentially reducing recidivism.     

The Institution of a Standardized Investigation Protocol for Sudden Infant Death in the Eastern Metropole,Cape Town,South Africa,,

The rate for the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in Cape Town, South Africa, is estimated to be among the highest in the world (3.41/1000 live births). In several of these areas, including those of extreme poverty, only sporadic, nonstandardized infant autopsy, and death scene investigation (DSI) occurred. In this report, we detail a feasibility project comprising 18 autopsied infants with sudden and unexpected death whose causes of death were adjudicated according to the 1991 NICHD definitions (SIDS, n = 7; known cause of death, n = 7; and unclassified, n = 4). We instituted a standardized autopsy and infant DSI through a collaborative effort of local forensic pathology officers and clinical providers. The high standard of forensic investigation met international standards, identified preventable disease, and allowed for incorporation of research. We conclude that an effective infant autopsy and DSI protocol can be established in areas with both high sudden unexpected infant death, and elsewhere. (SUID)/SIDS risk and infrastructure challenges.     

Early Care and Education for Children in the Child Welfare System: Evaluations of Two Training Programs

Despite evidence that early care and education services benefit at-risk children, they remain underutilized by families in the child welfare system. This article describes two training programs developed to educate child welfare and childcare/preschool staff about the importance of early care and education for maltreated children and how to access these services. A combined total of 274 trainees completed knowledge tests about this topic and significant pre- to post-training improvements indicate that both training programs effectively increased participants' knowledge about this important topic. In addition, improvement in self-assessed competency was observed for participants in one program, and positive changes in attitudes and anticipated practice behavior regarding childcare for foster children were observed among participants in the other.     

Certifying Death in the United States

Accurately identifying death and its causes is integral to the compilation of mortality data and ultimately to the operation of the criminal justice and public health systems. A clear understanding of who is in charge of such processes is paramount to establishing the quality, or lack thereof, of the information provided in death certificates. Our study provides a comprehensive overview of all state statutes identifying death investigators charged with classifying and certifying death in the United States. We found that state statutes designate a broad range of individuals as responsible for the classification and certification of death. Those vary by state and set of circumstances and can include medical examiners, coroners, pathologists, other physicians, registered nurses, and more. Our findings highlight the important need for a unified standard of qualifications in the medico‐legal system, as well as, regulatory reform at the state level regarding who can complete and sign death certificates.     

A Comprehensive Study of the Alteration of Ignitable Liquids by Weathering and Microbial Degradation,

The differing effects of weathering and microbial degradation are described here in a comprehensive study that involved 50 different ignitable liquids from the Ignitable Liquids Database and Reference Collection. Examples of ignitable liquid residues from each of the main classes established by the American Society of Testing and Materials are presented. Weathering was accomplished via evaporation, whereas microbial degradation was carried out on soil at room temperature for periods of up to 21 days. Major trends included the rapid degradation of long n‐alkanes and monosubstituted alkyl benzenes (e.g., toluene, ethylbenzene, and propylbenzene). Surprisingly, some longer branched alkanes (e.g., trimethyloctanes) were also susceptible to microbial attack. Although all ignitable liquids examined suffered at least to some extent from microbial degradation, gasoline, petroleum distillates, and oxygenates were the most susceptible. Isoparaffinic and naphthenic–paraffinic products were the most resistant to microbial degradation.     

Europe at the Millennium

This article argues that the future of the European project depends on the capacity to maintain security. It traces the link between security and political institutions in the case of nation states and, subsequently, blocs. The security of nation states and blocs was defined in terms of the defence of borders against an external enemy and the preservation of law and order within borders. Today, the distinction between internal and external has broken down; 'new wars' are a mixture of war, organised crime and violations of human rights. Security can only be maintained through the extension of law and order beyond borders – through enlargement, migration and citizenship policies, and effective humanitarian intervention. Any other approach could lead to a reversal of the process of integration. This type of security policy is likely to be associated with a very different type of polity.