The Municipalization of Enterprise-Owned “Social Assets” in Russia

One British and two Russian social scientists examine the causes and consequences of the transfer of responsibility for funding of social services from enterprises to municipalities in Russia. The study is part of a larger project, funded by the European Union, on the social impact of economic reform in Russia. The primary sources of data are official governmental statistics, data compiled by international organizations, and extensive surveys conducted among enterprise administrators, municipal officials, and the mass public. Regional differences are highlighted by the data; the authors offer recommendations for improvements in the financing of social services.     

Book reviews

Legality and Politics, Lee Bridges, Chris Game, Owen Lomas, Jeremy McBride and Stewart Ranson, Avebury (Gower), 1987, pp. 147, £18.50 (hardback).

The Regeneration of Local Economies, Hugh Morison, Clarendon Press, 1987, pp. 212, £19.50 (hardback).

Public Issues, Private Pain ‐ Poverty, Social Work and Social Policy, Saul Becker and Stewart MacPherson (eds), Social Services Insight Books, 1988, £9.95.

The Local State and Uneven Development: Behind the Local Government Crisis, J . Duncan and M. Goodwin, Polity Press, 1988, pp. xviii + 297, £8.95.

Opening The Town Hall Door: An Introduction to Local Government, Jane Hutt, Bedford Square Press, pp. 96, 1988, £4.95 (paperback).

Finances et Pouvoirs Local: L'Experience Allemande, Vincent Hoffmann‐Martinot, puf/GRAL, Paris, 1987, pp. x + 352.

The Structure of Local Government in Europe, Eileen Martin Harloff, International Union of Local Authorities, The Hague, 1987, pp. 170.

Administering Central‐Local Relations, 1871–1919: The Local Government Board in its Fiscal and Cultural Context, Christine Bellamy, Manchester University Press, 1988, pp. 301, £29.95.

A History of Warwickshire County Council 1889–1989, D. J. Mitchell, Warwickshire County Council, 1988, pp. 249, £12.50.

Practical Charging Policies for Local Government, S. J. Bailey, Discussion Paper 20, Public Finance Foundation, 1988, pp. xvi + 181, £8.00.

Where to Find Business Information ‐ BiC Guidelines, Business in the Community and The Planning Exchange, 1987, pp. 22, £6.00.

Promotion and Publicity for Enterprise Agencies ‐ BiC Guidelines, Business in the Community and The Planning Exchange, 1987, pp. 23, £6.00. (Both available from The Planning Exchange, 186 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4HG.)

Performance Related Pay, A Fowler, Southern Provincial Employers’ Organization, 1988, pp. 65, £6.00.

Priority Hiring and Customized Training: A Guide to Employers and Agencies, Business in the Community (227A City Road, London EC1V 1LX), pp. 32, 1988, no price given.     

The Disempowerment of Empowerment: How Stakeholding Clogs Up Rural Decision-making

In the context of a growth in both participatory democracy and responsible participation, rural decision-making in England has become increasingly complex over the past 30 years, fuelled by national polices relating to regionalism, citizenship and relocalisation. A survey of ‘agents of rural governance’ (ARGs) in the county of Gloucestershire, England, charts their recent growth, reasons for formation and perceived jurisdiction as well as examining complexities of decision-making relating to partnerships, networks and finance. The survey suggests that policies designed to ‘empower’ rural people can be seen to have clogged up rural decision-making processes sufficiently to have, effectively, disempowered many of them. The paper identifies and exemplifies six different types of ‘clogging up’ that impact upon rural decision-making: crowding, knotting, clouding, meandering, subverting and impoverishing. Whilst governmental proposals have been introduced in an attempt to rationalise this decision-making complexity, particularly through the Haskins Review and the English National Rural Strategy, other policy strands have conspired to make such decision-making essentially laissez faire.     

Evaluation of six presumptive tests for blood, their specificity, sensitivity, and effect on high molecular-weight DNA

Luminol, leuchomalachite green, phenolphthalein, Hemastix, Hemident, and Bluestar are all used as presumptive tests for blood. In this study, the tests were subjected to dilute blood (from 1:10,000 to 1:10,000,000), many common household substance, and chemicals. Samples were tested for DNA to determine whether the presumptive tests damaged or destroyed DNA. The DNA loci tested were D2S1338 and D19S433. Leuchomalachite green had a sensitivity of 1:10,000, while the remaining tests were able to detect blood to a dilution of 1:100,000. Substances tested include saliva, semen, potato, tomato, tomato sauce, tomato sauce with meat, red onion, red kidney bean, horseradish, 0.1 M ascorbic acid, 5% bleach, 10% cupric sulfate, 10% ferric sulfate, and 10% nickel chloride. Of all the substances tested, not one of the household items reacted with every test; however, the chemicals did. DNA was recovered and amplified from luminol, phenolphthalein, Hemastix, and Bluestar, but not from leuchomalachite green or Hemident.     

Evidence of a gene x environment interaction in the creation of victimization: results from a longitudinal sample of adolescents

A large body of research has revealed that aggressive personality traits and violent criminal behaviors are influenced by genetic factors. Surprisingly, however, no research has been devoted to investigating the potential genetic origins to adolescent victimization. In the current study, the authors address this gap in the literature by using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine whether different variants of the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) are related to victimization, net of the effects of environmental measures. The results of the multivariate models revealed a significant gene X environment interaction in the creation of victimization for White males. Specifically, DRD2 interacted with delinquent peers to predict victimization. The authors discuss the implications of these findings.     

Does Truth Lead to Reconciliation? Testing the Causal Assumptions of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Process

Throughout the world, truth commissions have been created under the assumption that getting people to understand the past will somehow contribute to reconciliation between those who were enemies under the ancien regime . In South Africa, the truth and reconciliation process is explicitly based on the hypothesis that knowledge of the past will lead to acceptance, tolerance, and reconciliation in the future. My purpose here is to test that hypothesis, based on data collected in a 2001 survey of over 3,700 South Africans. My most important finding is that those who accept the "truth" about the country's apartheid past are more likely to hold reconciled racial attitudes. Racial reconciliation also depends to a considerable degree on interracial contact, evidence that adds weight to the "contact hypothesis" investigated by western social scientists. Ultimately, these findings are hopeful for South Africa's democratic transition, since racial attitudes seem not to be intransigent.     

Australian MPs and the Internet: Avoiding the Digital Age?1

New media technologies, such as the internet and email, have been seen as providing opportunities to reinvigorate representative democracy and parliamentary institutions. This article examines the use of new technologies by Australian Members of Parliament (MPs). It looks at the growth and function of MPs' websites and assesses how far such technologies might facilitate changes in their electorate, party and parliamentary roles. We analyse what factors persuade MPs to move online and how they then use the technologies. The results indicate that while websites amongst legislators are growing, they are used primarily as supplementary, administrative tools. Overall, technological innovation in the Australian Parliament is still relatively rare and it appears there are systemic barriers that limit the potential of information communication technologies (ICTs) in the representative process.