The Effects of Adolescent Activities on Delinquency: A Differential Involvement Approach

T. Hirschi’s (1969, Causes of Delinquency. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA) control theory proposes that involvement, as an element of the social bond, should reduce delinquency. But, research studies have found that the effect of involvement is rather weak. This study reformulates Hirschi’s involvement hypothesis by posing involvement as a social setting variable and a differential factor. Certain activities provide a social setting favorable to the development of the social bond and the reduction in delinquent association. The reformulated hypothesis is examined based on a sample of Grade 7–12 students in a Western Canadian city. The results reveal that school- and family-related activities strengthen the social bond and reduce delinquent association and delinquency. In contrast, other conventional activities such as spending time with friends and dating have the opposite effects. In addition, the indirect effect of differential involvement on delinquency through the social bond and delinquent association is stronger than its direct effect. Thus, the undesirable effects of the less-positive activities on delinquency may be buffered or reduced by strengthening the social bond and reducing delinquent association.Siu Kwong Wong is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Brandon University. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from Washington State University. His major research interests are in the study of delinquency and social disorganization.     

迁徙自由与户政管理非治安化

迁徙自由权是公民的基本人权 ,市场经济须由没有身份界限的具有平等主体性的公民的自治参与。禁止迁徙自由 ,实行城乡分割政策 ,是社会整合与发展的一大障碍。我国立法确认迁徙自由权的条件已经成熟。国家的户政不宜再作为治安问题由公安机关管理 ,可由民政部门管理。废除城镇户口与农村户口的区分。公民迁徙不再实行户口迁移审批制而实行登记制。     

Get in line: Do part-time legislatures use sunset laws to keep executive agencies in check

Sunset provisions are clauses embedded in legislation that cause a piece of legislation or a regulatory board to expire on a certain date unless the legislature takes affirmative action to renew the legislation or board. Supporters and legislators offer several reasons why sunset laws are valuable and useful. An article by Baugus and Bose (2015), reported on the king-and-council model of Congleton (2001), suggests that sunset laws are a key tool legislatures use in asserting themselves against an executive branch that often dominates state government. We investigate this possibility using empirical analysis, which suggests that part-time legislatures, specifically, a form of part-time legislature referred to as hybrid legislatures, are more prone to use sunset legislation as a tool to keep the executive preferences in check.     

The verdict is in: how did they decide? Using drivers’ self-reported data to understand officers’ decision making during traffic stop encounters

ABSTRACT

In the United States, traffic stop is the most common form of police-citizen encounter, and for many citizens, it is the only way they will ever interact with the police. The frequency of traffic stop encounters has therefore attracted a significant research interest. In the past several years, researchers have attempted to explain the dynamics of these interactions, with the hope to change attitudes and influence policy formation. To supplement the efforts of previous researchers, the current effort analyzed self-reported data from citizens to understand police decision making at three decision points during traffic stop encounters. Specifically, the present study aims to answer three questions: what variables predict whether an officer will let a citizen go without doing anything or decide to do something? If the officer decides to do something, what influences the officer’s decision to choose an outcome over others? What are the drivers of use of force in traffic stop encounters? Results from the regression models suggest that reasons for the stop, verbal assault, officer and suspect characteristics are important predictors of police decision making behavior during traffic stop interaction. The findings have serious implications for developing better police-citizen relationships as well as improving public attitudes toward the local police.     

Don’t reinvent the wheel: possibilities for and limits to building capacity of grassroots international NGOs

Abstract

How can support organisations build the capacity of volunteer-driven non-governmental organisations (NGOs)? Citizen aid for relief and development has expanded rapidly in the twenty-first century, and the number of American aid organisations operating in the Global South has grown to nearly 10,000. These grassroots international NGOs – GINGOs – are small-budget, volunteer-driven organisations typically launched by Americans without professional experience in international development or nonprofit management. These groups prize the expressive and voluntaristic dimensions of development work, yet face challenges of amateurism, material scarcity, fragmentation, paternalism and restricted focus. We investigate whether support organisations, whose primary goals are to build the capacity of organisations and strengthen the organisational field, offer solutions to GINGOs’ inherent weaknesses. We draw on 15 semi-structured interviews with a stratified selection of support organisations, including associations tailored towards international development and towards nonprofit work at large. We find that support organisations offer resources to help GINGOs in managerial and administrative domains. Fewer support organisations help GINGOs build technical development skills, and fewer still push GINGOs to critically reflect on their role in development. We find that peer learning and online platforms could help engage GINGOs volunteers in networking spaces, even as their geographic dispersal in the US encourages their fragmentation and isolation.     

Motivations behind citizen aid: Norwegian initiatives in The Gambia

Abstract

Little is known about citizen aid initiatives originating in Norway, and they are not recognised as part of the official Norwegian development aid. Citizen aid initiatives are personal and small, and by themselves they do not raise large sums of money, nor do they individually have a large-scale development impact. But collectively, their influence on sponsors in Norway and on aid beneficiaries in the Global South might be substantial. Through qualitative interviews, this study explores the motivations of Norwegian founders of citizen aid initiatives, who run small development projects in The Gambia. The study finds that they are motivated by the very characteristics of these citizen aid initiatives which set them apart from formal development organisations. These include the initiatives’ small size, which allows for a personal closeness to and control over the projects. These features are often interconnected with motivations stemming from the founders’ personal experiences. The study finds that, inasmuch as the founders see the need for beneficiaries to be supported, they also experience a need to help themselves. The founders’ identities, as helpers and givers, are both formed and continually reinforced by their personal involvement in this specific type of aid work.     

公众参与理念在美国土地规划票决中的实践及启示

美国的投票式分区管制将票决制度运用于土地规划,是一种最强程度的公众参与。实践表明,土地规划领域有适用票决制度的必要,票决制度体现的公众参与特征包括决策者与参与者之间的双向沟通关系,决策结果对公众参与具有高度的依赖性。在信息公开制度健全、议题限制、平等保护审查等条件下,居民投票不会沦为"愚众政治",与专业机构判断的对立也会缓解,而且也不会"压迫少数人的意见"。我国应在涉及健康、生命安全的公共项目选址决策中引入票决制度,并同时完善信息公开配套机制,以及加强对居民投票决策不违反公益要求的程序管控。     

Divergence in Community Participation Policy: Analysing Localism and Community Empowerment Using a Theory of Change Approach

The last two decades have witnessed a significant turn towards community participation in public policy around the globe, raising concerns that states are resorting to ‘government through community’, shifting responsibilities onto communities. In order to unpack the ambiguous rhetoric of policy statements, this article employs ideas from evaluation methodology to develop a generic theory of change for community participation policy. The model is then utilised to analyse and compare the UK Coalition Government’s Big Society/Localism agenda and the Scottish Government’s Community Empowerment approach, demonstrating the ways in which these represent a clear example of policy divergence, and potentially significant alternatives to state–community relations in the context of austerity. The article also demonstrates the potential wider applicability of ‘theories of change’ methodology for policy analysis.     

Human security thinking in practice: ‘personal security’, ‘citizen security' and comprehensive mappings

This paper describes the introduction of an emphasis on ‘personal security’ in human security thinking and practice, as part of the ultimately unsuccessful attempt to compartmentalize the pursuit of security. It reviews the past 20 years of attention to ‘personal security’: both in compartments that consider organized physical violence or threats to personal safety and property (‘citizen security’), and as parts of more wide-ranging examination of threats to fulfilment of basic needs and rights, for example, in comprehensive mapping exercises undertaken in various UNDP Regional and National Human Development Reports or in studies of women's security. The paper reflects on the complex process of opening-up conventional security thinking and practice in ways that add value and depth without shrinking into preconceived compartments.     

现代公民文化引领下的我国民族认同与国家认同探析

民族认同与国家认同是一对矛盾,既对立又统一,在一定条件下还可以相互转化,而“冲突论”和“一致论”在界定民族认同与国家认同关系上无疑都具有片面性,基建与此基础上的“同质化”与“异质化”两种整合思路也只能是一种理想状态。文化与公民文化具有内在的粘合作用,因而在现代公民社会中培育新的公民文化应当是解决民族认同与国家认同问题的契合点。