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Impatience with politics in Germany, disenchantment with political commitment and individualization are labels frequently attached to the political involvement of young people. Empirical analyses, however, show a rather more complex picture. A basic willingness to become politically involved and to express political opinions is apparent. Indeed, many young people make use of numerous and varied opportunities to express themselves politically, although usually no more than occasionally. Not surprisingly, participation in traditional associations has fallen in some cases. On the other hand, affinity and commitment to 'New Social Movements'(NSMs) remain fairly consistent. Participation patterns among young people differ according to gender, education level and place of origin: federal states of former West Germany (the 'old' states) or the former German Democratic Republic (the 'new' states). One focus of the article is on the differences between West and East Germany. The results are then discussed within a European context.

In 1959, the four largest political parties in Switzerland's Federal Assembly established a broad coalition government with a specific allocation of the seven cabinet seats among them. This assignment continued unaltered for 44 years up to 1999. It is, therefore, phrased the 'Magic Formula'. The underlying political paradigm appears to be essentially egalitarian, with a Rawlsian concern for minorities. We thus ask whether the Magic Formula can be implemented by the nucleolus of a weighted voting game for the Swiss government. We provide results over real-valued and integer-valued imputation sets, and for all regular election periods from 1959 to date. It turns out that the Magic Formula is contained in eight out of 11 nucleoli over integer domains between 1959 and 1999, and that it comes very close to the nucleolus in two of the three remaining cases. The game solution likewise predicts in part a major modification of the Magic Formula adopted in 2003.

The importance of translating knowledge across occupational boundaries is frequently identified as a means of generating innovation and improving performance. The creation of the multidisciplinary team is an institutional response to enable such translation and synergy, yet few studies examine the processes of knowledge generation and translation in such teams. This article offers a case study that analyses these processes in decisions about the diagnosis and treatment of patients. Polanyi's concept of tacit integration is used to reveal how meaning is developed and manifest in team decisions and to examine how the discursive resources embedded in tacit knowledge shape clinical practice. We highlight the foundations and dynamics that privilege the knowledge of some team members to be reconstituted as multidisciplinary group practice. Privileged knowledge then becomes embedded in the practices of the group. We conclude that the creation of a multidisciplinary structure may support rather than challenge existing power hierarchies.

L'étude présentée dans le cadre de cet article porte sur la complexité et la pluralité des expériences maternelles des femmes violentées par leur conjoint. Nous avons analysé des entrevues qualitatives effectuées auprès de 12 femmes francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick ayant vécu de la violence conjugale. Selon les résultats, celles-ci sont parvenues, en dépit du contexte de violence, à trouver la force et le courage pour réaliser adéquatement leur rôle maternel. Cependant, toutes les mères étaient de l'avis que le contexte de violence constituait une contrainte dans l'exercice de leur maternité. Également, les difficultés financières, les problèmes de santé mentale et les expériences antécédentes de violence avaient créé des embûches dans l'accomplissement de leur rôle maternel. Enfin, la fatigue, la frustration, la ressemblance du fils au père et le sentiment d'être dépassée par ses responsabilités familiales étaient des sources d'ambivalence maternelle chez les mères. Cette ambivalence pouvait aboutir, dans certains cas, à des comportements violents à l'égard des enfants.

AbstractNon-state entities that aspire to statehood are increasingly developing democratic norms and practices, in part to enhance their claims for independence. However, the prospects for democracy in cases of 'problematic sovereignty' are little understood. This article seeks to explore the important but under-explored relationship between sovereignty and democracy, and in particular to assess the extent to which sovereignty is, or is not, a prerequisite for democracy. The article advances two arguments. First, it argues that there is no clear-cut relationship between sovereignty and democracy, as sovereignty is a complex concept that is comprised of several important, and distinct, constituent elements. Second, the article argues that the legal recognition of statehood (international legal sovereignty) is of marginal importance in this area, and should not be seen as a necessary condition for democratic rule. The article examines the process of democratic transition in the non-state entity of Somaliland to provide empirical support.

How do women's rights activists mobilize in nondemocratic and culturally conservative contexts? Why do some women's movements succeed in securing the policy outcomes they seek while others fail to realize their objectives? Comparing two recent cases of feminist activism in the Middle East/North Africa region—the Moroccan and Iranian campaigns for family law reform—the article demonstrates the way that political opportunity structures shape the strategic options available to activists and influence movement frames. While a political opening is conducive to movement growth and success, including cooperation for legal and policy reform (Morocco), the closing of political space compels extrainstitutional feminist contention and transnational links (Iran). In examining the structure of political opportunity in addition to strategic choices, the paper addresses the interplay of structure and agency in mobilization processes and finds that—to paraphrase Marx—women and men make history, but not under conditions of their own choosing.

Le militaire est médiatiquement passé de l'état de héros à celui de victime puis à celui de judiciarisé, mais ce fait ne va pas de soi. Ce statut socioculturel est un cas particulier du statut du Pouvoir dans les démocraties de modernité tardive (en Europe). La démocratie ne sera durable que si elle redécouvre le Pouvoir au-delà de l'idéologie « politiquement correcte » et de l'irrationalité médiatique. L'héroïsme est la qualité de ceux qui, au service du Pouvoir et de la Loi, sont capables de contraindre par loyauté malgré la peur de la mort. Ainsi, la cause de la Démocratie (durable) et celle de l'héroïsme sont-elles inséparables. La situation faite aujourd'hui au Pouvoir est anormale et devra être réformée, si nous désirons que la démocratie puisse se défendre. La mise en conformité de la chose militaire avec le « politiquement correct » va à contre sens des évolutions nécessaires à la survie de la société libre.

Le militaire est médiatiquement passé de l'état de héros à celui de victime puis à celui de judiciarisé, mais ce fait ne va pas de soi. Ce statut socioculturel est un cas particulier du statut du Pouvoir dans les démocraties de modernité tardive (en Europe). La démocratie ne sera durable que si elle redécouvre le Pouvoir au-delà de l'idéologie « politiquement correcte » et de l'irrationalité médiatique. L'héroïsme est la qualité de ceux qui, au service du Pouvoir et de la Loi, sont capables de contraindre par loyauté malgré la peur de la mort. Ainsi, la cause de la Démocratie (durable) et celle de l'héroïsme sont-elles inséparables. La situation faite aujourd'hui au Pouvoir est anormale et devra être réformée, si nous désirons que la démocratie puisse se défendre. La mise en conformité de la chose militaire avec le « politiquement correct » va à contre sens des évolutions nécessaires à la survie de la société libre.

This article tackles the question of what is the 'good life' for women in employment in Australia through an examination of national legislation and policies. Since 1950 what has been seen as the good life has changed dramatically. The article outlines three phases of change: in the 1950s and 1960s men were regarded as the wage earners and women the homemakers, with women barred from some jobs and paid less than men; in the 1970s legislation and equal pay cases removed overt discrimination against women; from the mid 1980s the complexity of achieving equality for women at work was recognised through equal opportunity legislation, work and family policies and equal pay inquiries. In 2010 the 'good life' for women is having the same opportunities and outcomes in employment as men. While policy provisions support this, the reality of achieving this is difficult. So in 2010 many women are still 'working for the man' in the context that most managers are men.

Unlike its automobile or electronics industries, Japan's pharmaceutical industry did not become a global leader. Japan remains a net importer of pharmaceuticals and has introduced few global blockbuster drugs. Alfred Chandler argued that Japan's pharmaceutical firms remained relatively weak because Western firms enjoyed an insurmountable first first-mover advantage. However, this case study of the anticancer drug sector illustrates that Chandler's explanation is incomplete. Japanese medical culture, government policy, and research environment also played a substantial role in shaping the industry. In the 1970s and 1980s, these factors encouraged firms to develop little few effective drugs with low side effects, and profit from Japan's domestic market. But, these drugs were unsuitable to foreign markets with more demanding efficacy standards. As a result, Japan not only lost more than a decade in developing ineffective drugs, but also neglected to create the infrastructure necessary to develop innovative drugs and build a stronger pharmaceutical industry.

Drawing on data collected from 3 focus groups with 24 traditional healers, the aim of this qualitative study was to use the constructs of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to gain an understanding of traditional healer referral practices of their patients with a mental illness. Results indicated that traditional healers possess a concept of mental illness, mainly referring to a patient behaving abnormally. They often report regularly treating patients with these behaviours. Traditional healer referral to Western care is considered a temporary measure or a last resort. A majority of healers feel that allopathic physicians do not treat them with the respect that they feel their contribution to the health of the community warrants. Recommendations include the need for traditional healers to be trained to identify potential cases of mental illness in their communities and for dialogue between traditional and allopathic physicians in regard to mental health care.

The main premise of political ecology is that environmental change is not a neutral process amenable to technical management. Rather, it has political sources, conditions and ramifications that impinge on socio-economic inequalities and political process. The article seeks to provide an introduction to the rapidly growing research field of Third World political ecology and provides an overview of the historical development of the field since the 1970s. The theoretical tool has been employed to analyse the case study of kudremukh environment movement. The article raises certain questions like weren't the priorities of workers considered upon the closure of mining? Why have the trade unions not been able to dictate the central content of bargaining policy for trade unions? Why do NGOs select a particular issue in terms of environmental degradation and play crucial roles as lobbyist and umpire through judicial activism and well as act as interpreters and mediators through the press?

AbstractUsing the case of same-sex marriage in China, this article explores two fundamental questions: What motivates a non-democratic state to promulgate a progressive human rights policy? More importantly, when a non-democratic state adopts such policies, what is the impact on activism? I argue that same-sex marriage legislation could be used strategically to improve China's human rights reputation. While this would extend a pinnacle right to gays and lesbians, the benefits might not outweigh the costs: I show that when imposed from above, a same-sex marriage law would incur opportunity costs on activism; the passage of this progressive policy would eliminate an important issue around which the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans-gender/-sexual (LGBT) community might develop. Moreover, even if such policy is promulgated, the right to marry will do little to challenge the larger social pressures that make life difficult for LGBT Chinese.

The gendered exploitation of roosters used in cockfighting is a case example of the social construction of gender via animals — a psychosocial process that injures both people and animals. Similar processes of social construction by way of animals occur in relation to race and sexual orientation, with similarly mutually hurtful results. The rehabilitation of roosters used in cockfighting illustrates the utility of an expanded and amended conception of Herman's principles of trauma recovery enacted within the emerging insights of trans-species psychology. Those insights lead us toward a truly inclusive eco/feminist psychology centered on acceptance of situated human animality and an understanding of traumatic alienation as a factor in both personal and communal problems in living, including climate change. This perspective shifts the ground for clinical practice, mandating explicit attention not only to interpersonal and intrapsychic cleavages but also to schisms between self and nature, other animals, and one's own animality.

We describe administrative reform involving management innovation undertaken at the Superior Tribunal of Justice, Brazil's highest appellate court for infra-constitutional cases. The innovation is the introduction of a new management model based on strategic planning and a process management approach to work processes. Introduction of the new model has been supported by the use of information technology and project management techniques. Qualitative methods were used for data collection and analysis. Findings reveal that the innovation is contributing to the development of a systemic overview of key processes, reducing the fragmenting effects of the division of work activities within the Tribunal. At least three new organizational routines or capabilities have been developed as a result of the innovation studied: Electronic Court Management, Project Management, and Process Management. The paper contributes to knowledge about court management, a field that has received little research attention in the public administration literature.