Critical justice consciousness: Social injustice and the criminal justice system

In this essay I examine the importance of social justice to my identity and the changing interpretation of my “justice consciousness” resulting from changes in my work life. Drawing on my academic experience as well as my experience as an attorney, I describe the meaning that social justice has for me. I also examine the connections that I see between social injustice and the operation of the critical justice system.     

Poverty and the family-income cycle: Casual laborers in Amsterdam in the first half of the 20th century

Based on data collected from the files of the municipal poor relief institutions, the incomes of Amsterdam casual (dock) laborers and of their wives and children, poor relief, and other sources of income are plotted against their family cycles. The emerging patterns confirm results arrived at in American, British, and Belgian studies: Married women worked for wages mainly in the first period of the marriage, when the children were still too young to earn. For the same reason, families relied more on poor relief in this first period than later on. Only in the second and third periods could families rely (more or less) on their own labor due to the substantial contribution made by their children (from age 14). Wives of these casual laborers worked more for wages (often as charwomen) than did the wives of skilled laborers. Obviously, norms and rules about wives' responsibilities in the home were strong enough to prevent women from aspiring to substantial, or even lifetime jobs, although only a few families in this sample could survive on the males' incomes alone.     

Aspects of local government and politics in china: 1955–58

This study, based on work in six villages, seeks insights into the likely effect of the introduction of prospective land‐, water‐, and crop‐management technologies, being researched at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi‐Arid Tropics, on the existing village labour‐use patterns in one major relevant region: peninsular India. Explicit attention is given to the similarities and differences between small and large farms and their relevance to the adoption of the prospective new technologies.

Regional variation in labour utilisation reveals a tremendous employment‐creating potential in the existing tank and well irrigation systems in the Alfisols of peninsular India. The prospective technologies should increase employment, compared with existing technologies, by at least 100 per cent in the Alfisols and by over 300per cent in the deep Vertisols— but with some increase in the seasonal variability of labour demand. Given the existing availability of labour, there will be, with the improved watershed technologies, major farm labour bottlenecks. These should eventually generate increased wage rates and employment potentials. However, even temporary adverse effects on the timelessness of operations could be critical to the success of a double‐cropping and/or intercropping technology aiming at greatly increased yields. This would create demands for selective mechanisation, for example, of threshing.     

Autonomy and policy independence in Africa: a review of NGO development challenges

Drawing on empirical data gathered from discussions with executive directors of NGOs in Ghana, this paper critically analyses the complex multi-tier relationships between NGOs and their donor partners and how these affect outcomes of their development projects in Ghana. The paper discusses how experiences with funding agencies inform crucial shifts in NGO programming for poverty alleviation. This paper argues that, given their (NGOs') peculiar positioning in development practice, a critical appraisal of power dynamics central to NGO operations (such as funding and ownership of development projects) is crucial to proposing new strategies of engagement with NGO activity in Africa.

Autonomie et indépendance sur le plan des politiques en Afrique : un bilan des défis de développement pour les ONG

Sur la base de données empiriques recueillies à partir de discussions avec des directeurs exécutifs d'ONG au Ghana, cet article analyse dans une optique critique les rapports complexes multi-niveaux entre les ONG et leurs partenaires bailleurs de fonds, et l'incidence qu'ils ont sur les résultats de leurs projets de développement au Ghana. Il traite de la manière dont les expériences avec des organismes donateurs façonnent des changements cruciaux dans la programmation des ONG en faveur de l'atténuation de la pauvreté. L'auteur soutient que, étant donné le positionnement particulier des ONG dans la pratique du développement, une évaluation critique de la dynamique de pouvoir centrale aux opérations des ONG (comme le financement et la propriété des projets de développement) est cruciale au moment de proposer de nouvelles stratégies en vue de la participation aux activités des ONG en Afrique.

Autonomía e independencia política en África: una revisión de los retos enfrentados por las ong en el desarrollo

Apoyándose en datos empíricos recabados a partir de diálogos sostenidos con los directores ejecutivos de ong en Ghana, el presente artículo analiza críticamente las relaciones complejas y de múltiples niveles que se establecen entre las ong y sus socios donantes. Del mismo modo, examina la manera en que dichas relaciones afectan los resultados obtenidos por sus proyectos de desarrollo en este país. Asimismo, el artículo revisa cómo las experiencias de las ong con las agencias de financiamiento, influyen en los cambios sustantivos detectados en los programas que han implementado para el alivio de la pobreza. El artículo sostiene que, dado el particular posicionamiento de las ong en la práctica del desarrollo, para proponer nuevas estrategias de involucramiento en las actividades que realizan en África, resulta crucial realizar una valoración crítica de las dinámicas del poder que se establecen en dichas actividades (por ejemplo, el financiamiento y el sentido de pertenencia de los proyectos de desarrollo).

Autonomia e independência de política na África: uma revisão dos desafios de desenvolvimento de ONGs

Baseando-se em dados empíricos coletados a partir de discussões com diretores executivos de ONGs de Gana, este artigo analisa de maneira crítica as relações complexas de vários níveis entre ONGs e seus parceiros doadores e como elas afetam os resultados de seus projetos de desenvolvimento em Gana. O artigo discute como as experiências com agências financiadoras influenciam mudanças cruciais em programas de ONGs para redução da pobreza. Este artigo argumenta que, tendo em vista o posicionamento peculiar (das ONGs) na prática de desenvolvimento, uma avaliação crítica da dinâmicas de poder central para operações de ONGs (tais como financiamento e posse de projetos de desenvolvimento) é crucial para se propor novas estratégias de engajamento com a atividade das ONGs na África.     

A distributional theory of economic democracy

In the twentieth century, while political democracy triumphed economic democracy failed both as an idea and in practice. A case for reviving the idea of economic democracy is made in terms of protecting political democracy. Economic democracy has conventionally been understood as a matter of bringing economic power under the control of collective political power. The idea is here reformulated as a matter of redistributing economic power between persons, of giving people a share in economic power directly rather than through elected representatives. Political democracy is assumed, which is to say that political power is under the control of the middle class. The question then is under what conditions the middle class might want and think it could use political power to redistribute economic power. The conclusions are that there is in advanced capitalist democracies considerable scope for the redistribution of economic power between the rich and the middle class. As for the empowerment of the poor, however, anti-poverty policies beyond the containment of poverty are unlikely to emerge today in countries where that did not happen under earlier historical conditions.     

数字竞赛与双重博弈:对易地扶贫搬迁政策执行偏差的一种解释

基层政策执行会出现偏差已经成为学界的共识,但是对于此问题的分析机制并不明晰,多数研究均是从单一视角予以阐释。通过深入考察易地搬迁中“拆旧复垦”政策的具体执行过程,从自上而下与自下而上相互融合视角入手,讨论“拆旧复垦”政策如何在不同利益主体的互构下发生了转变,为何完美的指标数据与文字背后却发现政策执行陷入模糊或搁置状态。从案例解构结果来看,在发展导向的逻辑下,基层政府通过主动加码寻求搬迁规模最大化以谋求在“数字竞赛”中胜出;在压力型体制的上下博弈中,基层政府采取拼凑应对的模糊执行策略以有效应对自上而下的政绩考核;在不完全信息状态的混合博弈中,政策受众在理性计算之下与基层政府形成了“合谋的沉默”。文章的贡献在于,对基层政策执行偏差的解释没有囿于讨论科层结构的弊端,而是从政策设计本身以及不同利益主体互构的视角出发解读其内在逻辑。     

甘肃大中城市贫困问题研究

本文为九五期间甘肃省哲学社会科学规划项目《甘肃大中城市贫困问题研究》的总报告。本文在深入分析甘肃省大中城市贫困的现状特征及生成原因的基础上 ,有针对性地提出了甘肃省大中城市反贫困的战略及对策建议。     

新时期扶贫开发的着力点

新时期的扶贫开发,要创新思路:给钱给物不如给思路,扶人扶村不如扶产业。要根据 贫困地区的特点和优势,培育发展主导产业,提高起点,形成规模。     

Impact of microcredit on income,poverty, and economic vulnerability in Peninsular Malaysia

This article examines the effect of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia's (AIM) microcredit programme on low-income households' income, poverty rate, and vulnerability in Peninsular Malaysia. This study employed a quasi-experimental approach, cross-sectional design, and stratified random sampling method. Findings indicated that participation in AIM's microcredit programme leads to an increase in household income and reduces both the poverty rate and level of economic vulnerability. AIM and policymakers, therefore, should focus on promoting a supportive environment to improve cooperation among participants by designing a dynamic and well-diversified microfinance programme and specialised skills-building training programme.     

Widows and unmarried women as taxpayers in England before 1800

A variety of taxes levied at various dates between the 1540s and the early nineteenth century are analysed to ascertain whether the frequency with which widows and unmarried women are listed as taxpayers matches the ratio between the numbers of widows and unmarried women and the number of men in the adult population. Examination of the tax assessments indicates that the proportion of taxpayers who were women often fell well below their proportion in the general population. This applies in the case of all taxes levied between the sixteenth and early nineteenth centuries and regardless of whether a tax was assessed primarily on goods, houses occupied, or land owned or occupied. That double the proportion of female than of male householders were exempted from payment of the hearth tax on houses they occupied in the second half of the seventeenth century indicates that many women maintained households on very depleted resources. However, the proportion of taxpayers who were women amongst those paying the least tax did not usually exceed the proportion of women amongst those paying most tax.