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The article suggests the use of social representations theory to provide a positive approach to peace research and a theoretical framework for understanding peace movements. Studying peace, war and conflict in this perspective enables exploration of these concepts as objects socially constructed, elaborated and shared by different groups. Four groups of activists are compared with people not belonging to any association, in order to investigate the existence of particular social representations of peace, war and conflict. As in previous cross-cultural research, an independent social representation of peace emerges only among activists. The social representation of war is also different in the two groups: non-activists see it as frightening, whereas activists see ways of tackling it. The greatest difference between the two groups is in the social representation of conflict. Conflict is assimilated to war for non-activists, whereas activists represent it as more manageable and normal. The results support the idea of understanding peace activism as a particular form of coping - community coping - based on the group as a whole, rather than on individual capacity to manage problems. At a theoretical level, the article discusses the importance of linking social representations to practice and group identification. At a practical level, it suggests that support for pacifism will be only transient and superficial until these underlying differences in representations can be changed. (Original abstract)

In 2003, the United States Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs/Weapons Removal and Abatement, (PM/WRA) tasked the James Madison University Mine Action Information Center (MAIC) with producing a cost-benefit analysis of two demining programs to be used to develop a model to analyze the quantitative impacts, expected results, and suggested prioritization of mine clearance activities. Prioritization was to be accomplished within the context of socio-economic development programs. Lessons learned from UN guidance, earlier studies, experts in the mine action community, and field studies influenced the development of the decision tool for prioritization of humanitarian mine action projects. The MAIC team reviewed different methods of conducting cost-benefit analysis, including their usefulness and disadvantages, prior to field studies in Thailand and Ethiopia. These countries provided insight and first hand validation of the selection of parameters for a cost-benefit analysis model that would prioritize humanitarian mine action projects. Due to the difficulty in obtaining quantitative data, particularly for socio-economic factors, several multi-criteria approaches were also examined and the analytic hierarchy process was chosen for consideration. The report, "Decision Tools for Selection of Humanitarian Mine Action Projects," (Knickrehm and Stewart 2004) was written in tandem with this manual and describes the background material and field study notes for the development of these models.

The associations are explored between personality vulnerability and the use of defense mechanisms in the prediction of depression. A nonclinical community sample of 187 respondents and their same-sex best friends reported on participants' personality vulnerability factors (Self-criticism,
Dependency and Efficacy), defense mechanisms (Mature, Immature and Emotion-avoiding), and depression (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale: CES-D; Radloff, 1977). It was found that Mature defenses were associated only with Efficacy. Extensive use of Immature and Emotion-avoiding
defenses was associated with vulnerability to depression. Furthermore, Immature defenses interacted with personality vulnerabilities. Specifically, highly self-critical participants who reported low levels of Immature defense were less depressed than were participants high on both Self-criticism
and Immature defense. High Immature defense scores mediated the effect of Dependency on depression. Finally, more severe vulnerability was found when targets both rated themselves and were rated by their best friends as higher on Dependency and/or on Emotion-avoiding defenses. The implications
of these findings for the study of the role of defense mechanisms in personality configurations and their susceptibility to depression, as well as for the use of multisource assessment strategies in the study of personality, are discussed. Finally, the practical and theoretical implications
of these findings are discussed.

Summary: Suicide rates in prisons in England and Wales are high, including those in juvenile detention centers. Previous deliberate self-harm (DSH) is the strongest predictor of suicide in the general population. There is limited information on how many juvenile offenders (15 to 18 year-olds) have a history of DSH at the time of entering custody, or on factors associated with previous DSH. We aimed to determine the prevalence of previous DSH and suicidal ideation in a population of juvenile offenders in custody and to identify factors associated with DSH and suicidal ideation. Seven out of 45 subjects (15.6%) reported an act of DSH in the past. Twelve (26.6%) reported past suicidal ideation. Peer relationship difficulties and sexual abuse were significantly associated with DSH (p < 0.05). Other factors showed a trend toward being more common among those with DSH, but the premature ending of the project by the juvenile detention center prevented full investigation of the extent of DSH and associated factors. Nevertheless, the results indicated a much higher rate of DSH in this population than in young males in the community. A larger joint project with juvenile detention centers is required to confirm the extent of previous DSH at the time young offenders are admitted, and the associated risk factors, in order to assist prevention and intervention strategies.

The role of nonstate actors in international environmental politics has been given increased scholarly attention during the last decade. While most analyses are focused on direct nonstate influence at the international level, one main objective of this article is to develop a multi-level approach that allows analysis of nonstate influence channeled via the domestic decision making level. The point of departure for the analysis is the International Whaling Commission (IWC) during the period from 1970 to 1990, with a particular focus on the competition for influence characterizing the relationship between the scientific community and the environmental and animal rights movement. The analysis shows that domestic channels of influence may be equally, or even more important than channels of influence linked to the international decision making level. In the case of the IWC, for instance, the environmental and animal rights movement succeeded in mobilizing domestic public support, particularly in the United States, and had a key ally in the US government, Congress and Administration. The domestic role of this nonstate actor was of key importance to its success in influencing the development of the international whaling regime. The analysis shows, therefore, that examining the role of the domestic channel is integral to understanding nonstate influence on international policy-making, and particularly how some nonstate actors acquire influence at the expense of others.

From mid-1970s, Asian societies have experienced unprecedented economic growth, and have invested in the development of their own welfare regimes, which offers support to the individual even though public funding is limited. Welfare development received growing attention in Asia. The financial crisis that began in 1997 signified a drastic change in the policy context. The future of Asian economy and employment is bleak, and governments must face the risk of shrinking public resources in response to increasing social demands. The paper discussed the risks of our welfare system, and the weaknesses of public sector, community and private welfare in meeting these increasing social demands after the financial crisis, as observed in Hong Kong and other Asian societies. Although work income and occupational welfare will still be the primary protection systems of individuals and families, partly due to the dominance of neo-liberalism in the global economy and the free market system in this region. However, given the possibility of increasing vulnerability to unemployment in the future, it is also necessary to install a stronger collective system of social security and policies to pool resources together to share the risks. Of course, these initiatives will require a redefinition of the notion of citizenship and the contract that exist among individuals, and between the state and its citizens.

Bibliography: leaves 329-352. ; This thesis examines the ways in which Coloured identity manifested itself in South African society from the time the South African state was formed in 1910 till the institution of democratic rule in 1994. The central argument of the dissertation is that Coloured identity is better understood, not as having evolved through a series of transformations during this period, as conventional historical thinking would have it, but to have remained remarkably stable throughout the era of white rule. This is not to contend that Coloured identity was static or that it lacked fluidity but that the continuities during this period were more fundamental to the way in which it operated as a social identity than the changes it experienced. It is argued that this stability was derived from a central core of enduring characteristics that regulated the way in which Colouredness functioned as an identity during this period. Each of the four emotions in the title of the thesis corresponds to a key characteristic at the heart of the identity. The principal constituents of this stable core are the assimilationism of the Coloured people (hope), their intermediate status in the racial hierarchy (fear), the negative connotations, especially that of racial hybridity, with which it was imbued (shame), and finally, the marginality of the Coloured community (frustration).

Revisits the debate between Booker T. Washington & W. E. B. DuBois at the turn of the 20th century regarding the best course through which black Americans could attain equal rights. Washington argued that accommodation, economic initiative, & self-help within the black community presented the most fruitful position, whereas DuBois advocated more radical action in the political arena against racial inequality. Three leading interpretations of this controversy are reviewed that attribute it to (1) personality clashes between Washington & DuBois; (2) structural changes in US society (eg, the rise of a black middle class); or (3) a bourgeoisie plot against racial economics. Historical evidence that challenges each of these interpretations is presented, & a new perspective on the conflict is offered that locates the differences between Washington & DuBois in their respective racial philosophies, particularly concerning their views on the importance of black social activism. Also chronicled are the deterioration of relations between blacks & whites, 1895-1915; the decline of Washington's influence; the promotion of black activism via the establishment of the National Assoc for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) & that organization's eventual formulation of a truce with more conservative blacks; the relationship between black radicals & white neoabolitionists; & the role of racial violence -- including race riots & lynchings -- in these events. K. Hyatt Stewart

This paper critically analyses competitive tendering as a model for the provision of welfare services. Competitive tendering, driven by National Competition Policy and other imperatives for greater efficiency and a smaller public sector, is now used extensively by governments to fund welfare services. However, the suitability of this funding model to welfare services generally, and specifically welfare services in non·metropolitan areas, can be criticised on both theoretical and empirical grounds. Competitive tendering is grounded in economic rationalist, urbo-centric assumptions that are largely inappropriate for welfare provision, and have limited validity in rural areas. There is lillie rigorous empirical evidence of improved efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery under this model. Conversely, there is mounting evidence about the negative impacts. In rural areas this includes the erosion of community service obligations, less collaboration and greater secrecy between agencies, the reduction of choice, limited opportunities for local planning, cost shifting, and threats to continuity of care. This paper concludes with a call for greater application of the 'public benefit' test under the provisions of the National Competition Policy, and the development of more sophisticated frameworks for assessing the contestability of welfare services. Social workers have a leading role to play in challenging the dominant ideology of competition·orientated welfare reforms. ; C1

This essay reviews post-1980 & especially post-1990 scholarship in the two interrelated fields of sociological study about reform-era China: sociology in the People's Republic of China & China studies in Western sociology. Sociology as a subject of study was officially banned shortly after the 1949 communist revolution in the PRC, & its rebirth in 1979 was part of the post-Mao leadership's new reform policy to modernize China. Since then, sociology has been under the ideological & political influence of a durable communist party-state, but its development surely has been shaped by persistent search for both a rooting in Chinese society & a recognition by & acceptance into the world community of sociology. Meanwhile, China studies in Western, especially American, sociology has moved into the mainstream of the discipline, benefiting from the adoption of standard survey methods to collect systematic data & from theoretical & substantive analyses about such issues as institutional change, changing patterns of social stratification, mechanisms of social mobility, & the centrality of social networks in social life. Looking ahead, the author calls for closer scholarly dialogue between Western & Chinese sociologists, arguing that such communication will not only benefit each side but also create opportunities for advancing new sociological explanations of a fast-changing Chinese society. 2 Figures, 134 References. Adapted from the source document.

Much of mainland Southeast Asia's primary forest has been converted into secondary vegetation types in the past several decades. In the Lower Mekong Subregion, nearly 100 million ha of forest were significantly altered or removed, with depletion in terms of areal percent most severe in Thailand and Vietnam. Timber extraction and conversion of forestland to agriculture are the two principal causes of forest degradation in the region. Logged sites are often later occupied by migrant homesteaders. The current regional focus of logging has shifted to Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. Secondary forests, despite their frequently degraded status, continue to play direct and supportive roles with respect to socioeconomic development. Widespread removal of primary forests has made secondary forests the principal source of supplemental livelihood products for millions of poor rural households. Given the critical role of forests in supporting sustainable development, regional governments and a range of non government, research and donor organisations are exploring, developing and supporting strategies for reforestation and natural forest regeneration. There is growing acknowledgement that governments on their own are inadequately equipped to achieve sustainable forest managements, and new policies delegate greater decision making authority and forest management responsibility to local communities. Most of the area which policies now envision giving over to community based sustainable management is secondary forest.

AbstractWhen I began writing Rethinking Industrial Relations: Mobilization, Collectivism and Long Waves during the mid-1990s, die leadership of die British trade-union movement had already begun its romance with the class-collaborationist ideology of 'social partnership', successor to the 'new realism' of the 1980s. The Labour Party leadership was already moving to the right and was well on the road to consummating its marriage with neoliberalism, epitomised most starkly by Tony Blair's positive endorsement of two decades of Conservative anti-trade-union law. What remained of the world Communist movement was still reeling from the earth-shattering events of 1989. These developments exerted a growing influence amongst the intellectual community which studies 'industrial relations' (employment relations might now be a more appropriate term). Both in Britain and the US, the intellectual agenda shifted towards labour flexibility and competitiveness, variously represented in the literature as the study of labour-management 'co-operation', 'social partnership' or 'human resource management1. Rethinking Industrial Relations was a re-assertion of the continuing relevance of Marxist theory at a time when it had become distinctly unfashionable, and it is fitting that the extended review in a recent issue of this journal should have been written by another Marxist active in the field of industrial relations.