Violence at Work—The Emergence of a Social Problem

This article analyses trends in violence at work on the basis of victim surveys, work-environment surveys, and press material. It proceeds from the two most common explanations of why violence at work appears to have increased over recent decades. These emphasize shifts in working conditions that have increased employees' victimization risk, and a broadened view of what is regarded as work-related violence. The empirical analyses provide support for both these explanations, and the various dimensions examined—increased reporting propensities, expanded definitions, a reduced tolerance of violence, and altered working conditions—are linked to one another.     

Social Control and Emancipation ? Ambiguities in Child Welfare

Child welfare may be regarded either as a tool used by the authorities to exercise social control over family life, or as a weapon supporting the cause of children, striving to emancipate them from both parental and societal neglect or oppression. Research into Norwegian child welfare in the period since the Second World War reveals an ambiguous picture: the intervention of the state into family life signals both tightening social control of all family members and emancipation of the less powerful from patriarchal rule. As the rights and needs of children are considered more important, the control of parents, especially the mother, is increased. The central position of children and their interests have been strengthened in child welfare legislation. However, it is not the child, but the child welfare officials who define what is 'in the best interest of the child'. Post-war development has not granted children autonomy. Child welfare legislation is still mainly paternalistic. In child welfare casework, there is a danger that the lived experience of the child never emerges from the shadows cast by the interaction between adults. In relation to older children who came in contact with child welfare primarily because of their own problem behaviour, the ambiguity of emancipation and control has taken a somewhat different shape. The authorities wanted to keep these children out of prison. Humanitarian considerations, however, have been coupled with hopes of more effective crime prevention. In the postwar years, misbehaving children were also embraced by the increasing importance of 'the best interest of the child' as the main objective in child welfare decisions. In order to secure both emancipation and control, 'the best interest of the child' and the state's interest in preventing crime had to be understood as one and the same.     

Healthy voting: The effect of self-reported health on turnout in 30 countries

Based on five rounds of European social survey (ESS), we examine both the direct and indirect effect of health, channelled by social connectedness, on turnout in 30 countries. Our analysis is the first attempt to make a comprehensive account of the magnitude of health in electoral participation. The results show that health has an effect on turnout and that it is notably larger among older people. The impact of health is partly mediated by social connectedness, which suggests that attenuated health may weaken an individual's social network which in turn depresses voting.     

Opportunity,responsibility and the market: interrogating liberal equality

This article scrutinizes the claim that liberal egalitarians are now the last real torchbearers for the principles of egalitarian reform. This claim might appear eccentric on the surface, but is increasingly common in leftist circles following the recent abandonment of such principles by formerly socialist parties. Programmes of 'social inclusion', for instance, are now widely criticized for substituting a desire to tackle economic inequalities with an incitement for us to become obedient, productive citizens. Focusing here on the claim that liberal egalitarians pose a radical alternative to this kind of discourse, I show that the real deficiencies of much liberal egalitarianism not only resemble but in many ways actually provide the sort of discourse within which parties like New Labour operate.     

Informal institutions and foreign investment in China

During the reform era, China has been very successful in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) for its economic development. That this has taken place despite a rather weak legal system in China challenges conventional institutional theories, which emphasize the centrality of effective state institutions to economic development and international cooperation. This article suggests that the solution to the puzzle lies in the informal institutions underlying FDI development in China. On the basis of extensive interviews in the mid- and late 1990s, I find that networks of personal connections (guanxi), which are pervasive in Chinese society, have played a major role in facilitating FDI flows to China. They have done so by complementing and compensating for the weak Chinese legal system. This article dispels a number of misconceptions about the nature of guanxi, discusses its relationship with friendship, bribery, and social capital, and analyzes the conditions underlying the transnationalization of guanxi networks. It concludes with some important caveats to the major thesis and a discussion of possible future scenarios of institutional development in China.     

中国公共政策制定中的政府俘获及其解决对策

中国公共政策制定中的政府俘获主要有国有垄断企业有力影响政府的决策、地方支柱企业绑架地方政府的决策、向政府官员提供非法的个人所得三种表现形式。政府俘获产生的原因包括企业与政府形成利益共同体、以GDP增长为核心的政绩考核体系、政府反腐败不力及廉政建设滞后、各社会群体参与不均衡、政府权力缺乏制约,法治不健全等方面。解决这一问题应从以下几方面采取措施:减少政府对市场经济的干预、保障民众的结社权利,培育公民社会、实现政策制定的公开透明和广泛参与,严惩政府官员腐败行为、加强廉政制度建设,建立以科学发展观为指导的政绩考核体系。     

中国城市化进程中的社区与社区警务

随着改革开放的不断深入,中国社会正在经历前所未有的社会转型和快速城市化,各种不同社区类型逐渐形成,并成为城市人居环境、城市文化、城市人文生态的主要载体。尤其是城市化进程中伴生的一些新型社区存在着各种潜在的社会问题,正不同程度地影响城市社会秩序的健康发展,而且各种不同类型社区居民在社区认同度、社区参与度以及对警察的信任度等方面呈现出不同的测量水平。探讨和研究城市化进程中社区社会资本与社区警务-e．．N的关系,对于深化社区警务理论及创新社区警务体制具有一定的积极意义。     

社会整合视野下党的青年群众工作探析

在中国走向现代化的过程中,国家需要领导,社会需要整合,青年需要组织.中国共产党作为领导党和执政党,始终居于社会发展的核心地位,从确立价值认同、构建组织网络、综合利益表达、创建和谐秩序等方面整合社会、整合青年.中国社会持续变革,青年群体持续流动与分化.共青团、全国青联、全国学联等党的外围组织需要加强对各自团体成员的组织覆盖和内在影响,不断为党的青年群众工作探索新路径.     

A Review of the Use of Social Support in Anti-Bullying Programs

Abstract

Bullying is a significant problem in schools across America. Educators are dealing with the problem of bullying through the implementation of various anti-bullying programs. Additionally, researchers are studying the problem and have begun to focus on the importance of contextual factors surrounding bullying such as social support (Beran & Tutty, 2002; Demaray & Malecki, 2003; Furlong, Chung, Bates, & Morrison, 1995; Malecki & Demaray, 2004a; Natvig, Albrektsen, & Qvarnstrom, 2001; Rigby, 2000; Rigby & Slee, 1999). Social support is an important contextual factor to consider in the bullying cycle. However, the use of social support in anti-bullying programs and interventions is often not explicit or is lacking. This paper provides an overview of the research on social support as a contextual variable in bullying behaviors and reviews six existing anti-bullying programs with a specific focus on how they incorporate social support elements into their interventions.     

Fear of School Violence and the Ameliorative Effects of Student Social Capital

Abstract

Data from the Canadian National Survey of Children and Youth are employed in order to investigate hypotheses regarding the relationships between students' social connections and their feelings of vulnerability to criminal danger. The analysis is preceded by a review of the research relating to school fear and social capital. Findings point to the importance of the social capital inhered in the students' relationship with parents, friends, and teachers as well as their own personality characteristics. The paper concludes with a discussion of some of the broader theoretical and policy implications which emerge from this analysis.