Politics of power and hierarchies of citizenship in Angola

This article discusses citizenship and belonging with reference to processes of post-war state formation, namely: the MPLA’s political hegemony and the centralisation of power in the presidency. It argues this political arrangement imposes upon individuals an oscillation between different ‘levels’ or hierarchies of citizenship with a tendency towards marginalisation, formally allowing them to access both but under the specific circumstances dictated by the MPLA party state. Without a strong political opposition with a plausible alternative citizenship doctrine and with little incentives to improve the terms of citizenship it provides to the population, the Angolan government constructed a system of interests whereby the MPLA functions as a gatekeeper. Both in control of the state and of the distribution of citizenship, the regime regulates the flow of resources to the bottom through strategies of poverty and dependency, which increase the distance between the state and the population and sponsors the marginalisation of the majority.     

On Political Brands: A Systematic Review of the Literature

The usage of the word brand crops up more frequently in politics. Specifically, in the study of political marketing, a burgeoning set of research has encircled various cases and conceptions. However, the brand concept seeks to harbor a variety of political events, just like a sponge soaking up different kinds of meaning in different kinds of surroundings. This tendency makes it hard to accumulate knowledge because demarcations between various brand perspectives in many cases are implicit, which can impede the clarity and precision in our studies. Against this backdrop, we identify a gap in the political brand literature: a study conducting an overall conceptual inquiry. As such, it is first argued that we need a thorough analysis of the foundation of the political brand concept to uncover the presuppositions underlying the different usages of the concept. Second, we carry out a systematic review of the brand literature on voters and parties. Third, on this ground, we propose a minimal definition and six subclassifications to the political brand concept. Finally, we illustrate the applicability of this conceptual groundwork in order to advance cumulative research in the field.     

‘Black letters’: problems and issues in the research,dissemination and reception of literature by Afro-Argentines and on Afro-Argentines

Afro-Argentines of colonial descent constitute one of the lesser known minority groups in the country. While scholarly research on this particular group is still scarce, recent studies account for the diversity of its past and current cultural practices. Aside from some exceptions, Afro-Argentine literature is virtually unknown to academia and, as it is usually the case regarding Minor Literatures, it has been excluded from the national literary canon. Towards the end of the twentieth century there was a resurgence not only of studies on Afro-Argentine literature, but also of the presence of Afro-Argentines themselves in fictional writing. This paper will chart the process of retrieval, analysis and dissemination of Afro-Argentine literature, examining some of the issues that arise both at the epistemic and editorial policy levels. We will account for the revival of a literature on Afro-Argentines, in order to explore whether they reproduce a ‘master narrative’ that, through the historical novel, relegates Afro-Argentines into oblivion and/or reduces the group to its stereotypes; or if, on the other hand, these voices can subvert Argentine historiography by positioning this group in a leading role that mirrors the vitality of their present-day social movements.     

马来西亚城市化进程对马来家庭的影响

随着马来亚联合邦(马来西亚前身)于1957年宣布独立,该国的城市化进程如火如荼地拉开了帷幕。近半个世纪以来,随着政府颁布一系列扶植马来人的政策,特别是1971年推行新经济政策,越来越多的马来人从乡村涌向城市,投身到国家的经济建设中去。以伊斯兰教为生活指引的马来家庭在城市化浪潮中受到巨大冲击,发生了诸多改变。本研究通过对马来西亚首都吉隆坡47家低收入马来家庭的采访和调研,解析了马来家庭功能在城市化进程中发生的变化以及这种变化造成的影响。     

Universities and State Policy Formation: Rationalizing a Nanotechnology Strategy in Pennsylvania

Technology‐based economic development programs have become a salient feature of the state policy landscape since the 1980s. While much research exists on the topic, little attention has been given to the processes of policy formation. State programs have moved towards high technology areas emphasized at the federal level over the past decades, and nanotechnology became one of the latest targets. This paper examines the eight‐year process through which Pennsylvania adopted a “state‐wide strategy,” culminating in the Pennsylvania Initiative for Nanotechnology. In this process, programs that responded to the interests of multiple agents came first, and a state policy was formulated after the fact. This pattern of “rationalized policy formation,” as opposed to rational policy formation, may be more common than suspected. Its strengths and weaknesses in this Pennsylvania case are discussed.     

中国特色社会主义的再认识——从“五种社会形态说”的突破与创新谈起

"五种社会形态说"把马克思的相关论述不当地扩大了适用范围和理论外延,并作为理论公式被机械地套用。这样不仅无法解释大量历史现象,而且也造成了理论上的混乱。文明类型学说是对它的突破和创新:扩展了考察视野,转换了理论视角,变"单线发展"为"多线互动",纠正了传统社会发展理论机械论的倾向,使马克思主义关于社会形态和社会发展的理论更加符合实际,更加具有解释力。文明类型学说对于认识世界社会主义运动实践、特别是中国特色社会主义具有重要的理论意义。     

Socioenvironmental Risk and Adjustment in Latino Youth: The Mediating Effects of Family Processes and Social Competence

The direct and mediated effects of socioenvironmental risk on internalizing and externalizing problems among Latino youth aged 10–14 were examined using prospective analyses. Participants in this study were 464 Latino mother and child dyads surveyed as part of the Welfare, Children & Families: A Three City Study. It was hypothesized that socioenvironmental risk (i.e., maternal psychological distress, maternal parenting stress, neighborhood disadvantage, and perceived financial strain) would influence later adolescent adjustment by interrupting important family processes and interfering with opportunities for adolescents to develop appropriate social competence. Using path analyses, the mediational model was compared across high and low acculturation groups. With two exceptions, the models for the high and low acculturation groups were equivalent. Results supported a mediated effect between early socioenvironmental risk and later adjustment problems for the low acculturation group through family routines and adolescent social competence. Among families high in acculturation, socioenvironmental risk effects were partially mediated through family routines and adolescent social competence. Finally, a path from gender to maternal monitoring was present in the low acculturation group model but not the high acculturation group model. Assistant professor at the University at Albany, State University of New York. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Texas. Her major research interests are risk and resiliency processes in minority youth. Assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Michigan State University. Her major research interests are the effects of microenvironmental factors in the externalizing and internalizing behaviors of European American and Latino youth. Assistant professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Michigan State University. Her major research interests are risk and protective factors in children and adolescents at-risk because of parental substance abuse.     

澳大利亚儿童权益保护立法评介及其对我国立法的启示——以家庭法和子女抚养（评估）法为研究对象

1989年联合国《儿童权利公约》规定了儿童自出生起就享有神圣不可剥夺的生存权、获得保护权、发展权和参与权。当今世界许多国家的政府都十分关注儿童问题,注重加强对儿童权利保护的立法。澳大利亚1975年家庭法、1995年家庭法改革法和1989年儿童抚养(评估)法均对儿童权益保护问题做出了相应的规定,以期保障儿童的权益。其有益的立法经验对完善我国婚姻法有关儿童权益保护的立法具有启示意义。     

浅析未成年人犯罪

我国的未成年人犯罪已成为社会各界所普遍关注的问题之一。本文概括出未成年人犯罪的基本状况和心理行为的特点,着重探讨了未成年人犯罪的主客观原因,从社会、学校和家庭三方面进行了系统分析,重点分析了社会因素中的网络因素及家庭教育因素。通过预测分析未成年人犯罪的发展趋势,有针对性地提出了预防未成年人犯罪的基本对策。     

试论中国有组织犯罪的演变及其成因

根据有组织犯罪的发展形态及特征 ,中国有组织犯罪按时间序列可分为三个阶段。作为观照社会问题的一类研究范式 ,“国家———社会”这一范式对于探讨有组织犯罪的演变及成因具有一定的意义。与中国有组织犯罪的不同发展时期相对应 ,国家与社会之间的关系发展呈现出不同的特点 ,而这些特点也是有组织犯罪形成与发展的重要原因。