Perceptions of Poverty and Wealth in Western and Post-Communist Countries

This paper analyzes the felt legitimacy of poverty and wealth in the United States, West Germany, The Netherlands, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Russia. Several theories on poverty and wealth perception are discussed; of these, dominant ideology theory has been the most influential. This theory can predict the existence not only of a legitimizing ideology in a society, but also of challenging beliefs that incumbents of specific social positions hold. It is argued that poverty and wealth perceptions are more complex, however, involving at least three latent dimensions. Using data from the International Social Justice Project it is demonstrated that, regarding poverty, individuals distinguish between merited, unmerited, and fatalistic types of poverty. Merited poverty is poverty brought about by the individual's own doing or not doing, unmerited poverty is due to forces external to the individual, whereas fatalistic explanations attribute poverty to ascribed properties of the individual. For wealth also there are three causally relevant factors: in addition to merited und unmerited ones, a social capital factor that sees social contacts as a source for determining economic success. Using a structural equation approach and its group comparison option for comparing countries, the different explanations of poverty and wealth are translated into specific measurement models. Testing simultaneously with linear regression models show how preferences for particular explanations are shaped by stratification-related experiences and by the social position of an observer.     

Public Beliefs in the Causes of Wealth and Poverty and Legitimization of Inequalities in Russia and Estonia

The article analyzes the attributions of the causes of poverty and wealth in Russia and Estonia in 1991 and 1996 and their determinants. Among the latter are the perceived actual justice of the society, the perceived size of the middle class, and the personal position in the system of inequalities. Despite the economic hardships and a rise in inequalities in both countries, individualistic explanations of wealth and poverty have increased over the 5 years between the surveys. At the same time respondents in both countries demonstrated a growing awareness of the importance of starting positions and connections to achieve wealth. The perceived middle class has a significant effect on attributions of poverty but not on wealth. Russians in Estonia have a particular bias against wealth, whereas non-Russians in Russia are more likely to justify wealth on the basis of individual merit. Explanations of poverty and wealth in Estonia are more rooted in the factors of socialization (age, education, and gender), whereas in Russia they are more rooted in the changes in the family financial circumstances between 1991 and 1996. There was a general increase in support for government intervention in distribution in both countries.     

Spectator Violence in Sports: A North American Perspective

Spectator violence has long been associated with professional football in Europe. This article examines the issue of spectator violence from a North American perspective. We begin by noting that there is little systematic research into the scope of spectator disorder in North America. Perhaps for this reason there is little consensus about the true scale of the problem on this side of the Atlantic. It does seem clear at least that there is less spectator violence associated with professional sports in North America. After reviewing a number of explanations for this finding, we conclude that it has less to do with criminal justice policies or practices, than the social context surrounding the 'spectatorship' of sports in North America. Perhaps the most important explanation for the variance in crowd behaviour concerns the demographic profiles of sports spectators in European football and North American sports.     

Down to Earth: Race and Substance in the Andes

Abstract — The racial identities of Indians and mestizos in a highland Peruvian region are closely associated with their relative positions to the earth. The agricultural Indians are closer to the earth and the town-dwelling mestizos are further from it. This distinction is maintained and reinforced through the use of material objects in everyday life, especially earthen objects (adobe bricks, clay pots, dirt roads) and to earth-touching objects (shoes, floors). This distinction accords with the relativity and fluidity of racial identities of individuals. The origins of this notion are traced to political and religious ideology in colonial and post-colonial Peru.     

The European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics: A New Tool in Assessing Crime and Policy Issues in Comparative and Empirical Perspective

Theories which suggest a relationship between crime or criminal justice variables on the one hand, and variables related to criminal justice policies on the other hand, cannot be tested without reference to historic or comparative data. Since international comparisons offer the most powerful test of such theories, policy-related research in Europe has suffered, so far, from a lack of valid comparative data. Whether crime data from different countries are comparable, has always been subject to controversies. In the case of the European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice, a network of specialists was established under the auspices of the Council of Europe in order to assess the validity of the data. Although some problems in cross-country level comparisons could not be settled, the European Sourcebook offers comparative data on 36 Member States of the Council of Europe on a variety of subjects (offences and offenders known to the police; prosecution, convictions, sentences, and corrections; survey data; and indications on manpower and budgets of police forces, prosecutors, and corrections).     

中西方公务员制度比较研究

中国公务员制度的建立是我国干部人事管理制度改革的重要成果,既继承和发扬了我国干部和人事工作的优良传统,总结和完善了改革开放以来干部人事制度改革的新鲜经验,又吸收和借鉴了西方国家文官制度的有益做法,已在现阶段形成了中国特色.本文试从中西方公务员范围的界定到公务员制度的特征差异展开对比分析,并对其发展趋势作了一些探讨.     

中国军事历史研究之断想

以毛泽东为代表的中国共产党人历来重视中国军事历史研究。改革开放以来,中国军事历史研究成绩斐然,形成了一支老中青相结合、军地相结合、军事院校与科研单位相结合的科研队伍;出版和发表了一大批学术专著与论文;创办了专业刊物,展开了广泛的学术交流。同时也暴露了队伍建设、研究成果及学风等问题上的不足和缺失,亟待进一步加强和克服。     

大学生“红色社团”发展现状与开发模型研究

大学生＂红色社团＂是对大学生进行思想政治教育的重要阵地和有效载体,红色社团开发模型以学校培育和支持的马克思主义理论学习实践项目为导向,红色社团开发模型以学生对学习实践马克思主义理论产生兴趣为基础,红色社团开发模型以核心人物的模范作用来带动。     

个人言语风格识别研究

言语风格具有三个基本属性:特殊性、稳定性、反映性。侦查技术人员依法对有关案件言语材料的言语风格进行识别,可以分析出制作人个人特征,确定案件言语材料与嫌疑人的关系,从而为侦查工作提供方向和线索,为认定作案人提供证据。     

Public–private partnerships and developing‐country agriculture: Evidence from the international agricultural research system

This study examines the role of public–private partnerships (PPPs) in promoting pro‐poor productivity‐enhancing technological innovation in the international agricultural research system. The study examines the extent to which PPPs are being used to overcome market and institutional failures that otherwise inhibit the development and dissemination of technologies targeted specifically to small‐scale, resource‐poor farmers in developing countries. Drawing on a survey of 75 PPP projects in the international system, findings suggest that while PPPs are changing the way the system manages its research agenda, few partnerships lead to joint innovation processes with the private sector. This indicates the need for closer examination of organizational practices, cultures, and incentives in the international agricultural research system. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.