Unexpected narratives in conservation: Discourses of identity and place in Šumava National Park,Czech Republic

Abstract

In ?umava National Park, dominant actors dispute appropriate conservation strategies habitually overlooking ?umava's residents and their socioeconomic concerns. Routinely disregarded, ?umava's residents invoke narratives of identity and place that undermine the conservation paradigm by constructing the local population ‘quality’ as insufficient to make conservation a success. This paper examines the circumstances in which such a discourse emerges, how it responds to the asperity of conservation in a post-socialist setting and gains credence for implausible conclusions by appealing to broadly recognised Czech and European narratives of identity and place. What emerges is a discursive fragmentation of the subject simultaneously lends the discourse credibility and frustrates the redistribution of power in the area.     

The constitutional court in Italian politics

The Italian constitutional court was established as an extra‐political guardian of the constitution, but it has assumed an important role in policy‐making which is far removed from its original, intended functions. This article describes the political background to its development and analyses the variety of ways in which the court has to take decisions of considerable political sensitivity with increasing frequency. The court is most in the public eye when it carries out its functions in the referendum procedures, but its involvement is more continuous, more creative and more positive than this might suggest. The article concludes that the court has to take action in areas for which it lacks the proper instruments, and that us relationship with other institutions in the policy‐making process is worthy of more attention than such relationships often receive.     

Assessing the Reliability and Validity of Student Self-Reports of Campus Violence

Responses of adolescents who failed reliability and/or validity checks on a school climate and violence questionnaire (n = 109) were compared with a randomly selected matched group of students (n = 109) who answered consistently and accurately. Results indicated significant differences between the two groups on indexes of school violence victimization, perceived danger at school, peer connections, and course grades. The most critical finding was that students with invalid and/or unreliable responses reported significantly more violence victimizations than the comparison group. The need for research addressing the accuracy of school violence self-reports and concerns about the accuracy of existing school violence prevalence information are discussed.     

战争压抑下的快乐——防空洞里的婚礼

2006年7月20日,在以色列北部谢莫纳镇，新郎什洛米·布斯基拉和新娘马娅·卢加西在防空洞里举行婚礼。当日，以军在以黎边境与黎巴嫩真主党武装发生激烈交火，这对新人不得不把婚礼移到防空洞里举行。连日来的战火使人们精神紧张。新郎新娘紧张而忧郁的表情与婚礼的氛围格格不入，我们从新郎新娘的眼睛里还看得出对战争的恐惧，因为防空洞内粤并不是绝对的安全。     

The Zuma Affair,Labour and the Future of Democracy in South Africa

This review article critically analyses the contribution of Amartya Sen's The Idea of Justice to development studies. On the basis of examples of unjust situations derived from Sen's writings, the article discusses the limited reach of The Idea of Justice in addressing concrete cases of injustice. It contends that remedying injustice requires an understanding of how justice is structural, which recognises that discussion of justice is inseparable from reasoning about the nature of the good society. The article concludes by pointing out The Idea of Justice's ambiguous relationship with liberalism.     

Using Student Risk Factors in School Violence Surveillance Reports: Illustrative Examples for Enhanced Policy Formation, Implementation, and Evaluation

This article presents information about the range and type of violent and associated behaviors that occur on American school campuses. We argue that the prevailing practice of reporting single‐item population estimate trends from school violence surveillance surveys provides an incomplete basis upon which to form and evaluate public policy related to school violence. The presentation draws upon information derived from the 1993, 1995, 1997, and 1999 Centers for Disease Control's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS) surveys (CDC 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000) and the 1997–1998 California Student Survey (CSS) (Austin et al. 2001). Secondary analyses using the YRBS and the CSS are used to illustrate the importance of considering risk and school adjustment patterns when examining school violence trends to formulate public policy agendas.     

Changing policies for changing times in long-term care

This article presents a case study which illustrates part of the problem with long-term care. Next, the extent of the challenge in delivering and financing long-term care is presented. Finally, twenty potential policy solutions are suggested and analyzed.     

'This just isn't sustainable': precarious employment, stress and workers' health

This paper explores the impact of precarious employment relationships on health outcomes. It uses a novel framework, "Employment Strain" to describe the characteristics of different employment relationships and how they impact health outcomes. It uses interview data and comments provided on a survey to explore these issues. The paper begins by exploring if the health effects reported by mid-career individuals in precarious employment are different from those of younger and older workers. Finding limited evidence to support this hypothesis, the paper goes on to explore in detail the conditions under which precarious employment does increase stress and tension and impact health outcomes. It concludes that a combination of an individual's desire for more permanent employment, the expectation that permanent employment will be found, and the support individuals receive from various sources are critical to understanding the health effects of precarious employment.     

Women's participation in national-level politics and government: The case of Costa Rica

It has often been assumed that women in politics in Latin America approach their public responsibilities in a manner consistent with their traditional domestic roles. This article analyzes women's roles in Costa Rican politics and government through an examination of both the positions they hold and the attitudes they maintain regarding these positions. We conducted interviews in Costa Rica with female political elites and gathered data from mail questionnaires. It appears that Costa Rican women in public life are most likely to hold traditionally “female” positions and maintain both a feminine image and traditional family values. However, women in Costa Rican politics and government do not view their participation in the public sphere as an extension of their traditional domestic roles.