Characteristics of Youth Remaining in Foster Care Through Age 19: A Pre- and Post-Policy Cohort Analysis of California Data

This study examined factors associated with youth remaining in extended foster care. Cohorts of youth in care in California at age 17 years were defined for the period from 2003–2012. Multivariable generalized linear models documented factors associated with remaining in care through age 19. Findings indicate that: a) the population of youth in care at age 17 has declined over time; b) youth in care at age 17 in 2012 were qualitatively different from those a decade earlier; c) a larger proportion of youth who do not exit to permanency are remaining in extended foster care; and d) although the characteristics of youth who remain in foster care as non-minor dependents continue to vary relative to those who age out, differences have diminished. Findings highlight the potential to target subgroups of youth who may benefit from the extension of care but are remaining in care at lower rates.     

A Comparison of Transition Capacities of New EU Countries: Public Administration as a Key Influence in Democratic and Economic Change

In the network of political and public administrative actors the public administration plays a key role. Countries previously influenced by socialism or communism, that joined the European Union in the two most recent accession waves, and are now undergoing strong change, are investigated to determine whether—and to what extent—public administrations influence transition processes to more democracy and market economies. With a regression analysis it is demonstrated that a qualitatively better functioning public administration makes a positive impact on transition, its effectiveness, and sustainability. The regression analysis also offers arguments for the view that public administrations are important actors when it comes to the implementation of EU standards.     

Designing effective national aviation security systems: The building blocks for an enhanced global response

By closely analysing Naxalite propaganda material, I explain the functionality of martyrdom in the Maoist movement in India. I show that their concept of secular martyrdom is multifaceted, but can be traced to a mix of several elements in classical Maoist doctrine (sacrifice, dialectics, and critique). As such, the cult of the secular martyr serves both practical and ideological aims. My analysis, tracing martyrdom to secular ideology, opens new possibilities for studying this type of martyrdom, which has come under pressure in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.     

东北亚国际秩序的转型与大国的角色定位

从世界发展趋势看,所谓国际体系的转型期即指目前的国际体系向世界体系转换的过渡期。这一转型期客观地要求各个大国的正确的角色定位,即由以往的霸权模式向主导型大国模式的转换。中国欲成为引领世界发展方向的主导型大国,不仅要从文化深层确立"类本位"意识体系,而且也要建构以"和谐世界"为核心并由正义、公正、合理、民主、共赢、和平为其结构的理念体系。     

知识产权刑事案件证据调查与认定——以新刑事诉讼法为视角

刑事诉讼法的本次大修是适应社会转型的需要,它在证据方面的修订对知识产权的刑事法保护有着重要影响,如增加了电子数据形式、增设行政证据向刑事证据的转换机制、增加了专家证人形式、规范了诱惑侦查措施等。不断完善的程序法必定会逐渐增强对知识产权的刑事法保护。     

Velvet Disillusionment: Czech Performing Arts and Twenty-Five Years of Transition, 1989–2014

ABSTRACT

The performing arts sector of the Czech Republic faces significant challenges twenty-five years after the Velvet Revolution, which ushered in swift and dramatic political, social, and economic change. Early policy decisions, subsequent privatization efforts, and neglect, compounded by the country's foray into the muddy waters of the free market, have left artists and administrators seeking solutions and searching for solvency. Empirical research, primarily in the form of surveys, site visits, and interviews with prominent Czech artists and administrators, significantly informs this article, which explores the state of Czech performing arts twenty-five years after the fall of Communism.     

The recent marital transition in Bulgaria between historical diversity and Pan-European integration

This paper deals with the development of family dynamics in Bulgaria with particular emphasis on the transformation in individual marital behaviour observed since the early 1990s. First, a brief overview of the development of nuptiality over the last century is provided, which establishes the stability of important features associated with the eastern European marriage pattern. The recent marital changes in the country are then discussed in the context of an evolving Second Demographic Transition, which challenges the last remnants of the eastern European marriage pattern and proceeds as an integrative trend toward the plurality of family forms observed within and between European countries. Special attention is directed towards the urban–rural differences in the development of the recent marital transition in Bulgaria. These differences are analysed from the perspective of the subjective preconditions associated with the change or stability of particular values and world-views related to marital life. The analysis shows that in Bulgaria during the 1990s it was the big cities that tended to be innovative centres, disseminating the new familistic values and behavioural patterns that facilitated the development of new marital trends. Conversely, the towns and villages tended to be places in which traditional values were stronger and prevailed for longer. These values, along with some structural factors, maintained the more traditional marital profile of the rural areas for longer.     

Demographic socialization and reproductive behavior in a transitional context: a macro–micro perspective

This paper analyzes the impact of individuals’ socialization in a given demographic context on their later reproductive behavior in 19th century Geneva. To assess this socialization effect on the fertility of first generation immigrants, I combine family reconstitution data with Coale’s aggregate indexes of marital fertility. I then run two-level Poisson regression models predicting age-specific fertility rates as a function of individual characteristics at the lower level and as a function of province-level fertility at the higher level. The results show a strong socialization effect among couples who were already married when arriving in Geneva, whereas among immigrants who arrived as singles and who got married in Geneva the impact of demographic socialization turns out much weaker.     

Public affairs,privacy, and family stress: a case study in rural northern Sweden in the mid-nineteenth century

This article is a case study based on court records. What seems initially to be a petty theft gives rise to remarkable events. Affairs that are initially private later become public. Various events in and around the court throw light upon the way court and community respond to family stress in a mid-nineteenth century rural northern Swedish community. Testimonies by a large number of witnesses in court reveal a society in transition with elements of a money market, which means here a huge amount of ready money in circulation and arenas ready to shelter private transactions.     

The price of everything and the value of nothing? Unravelling the workings of Russia's ‘virtual economy’

The unprecedented reliance on non-monetary exchange (NME) in transactions among industrial enterprises is one of the most remarkable features of Russia's post-Soviet economic transformation. This paper argues that firms engage in NME in order to discount nominal prices which remain well above market-clearing levels. The mechanisms which prevent a convergence between formal and actual transaction values include asset valuation rules, depreciation schedules, tax regulations and an inadequate bankruptcy mechanism. These distortions to the price-formation mechanism effectively operate to sustain a subsidy regime which has hitherto shielded much of Russian industry from the rigours of the market. The analysis concludes with an examination of the 1998 financial collapse, arguing that the crash was rooted in the breakdown of the subsidy system just described, a process which was strikingly similar to the breakdown of the Soviet economic system a decade earlier.