Suchergebnisse

We live in a tabloid era defined by The National Enquirer and The Star. How has it affected popular confidence in the criminal justice system? Richard L. Fox and Robert W. Van Sickel's study examines the mass media's tabloid news coverage of high-profile criminal cases that involve violence and race, gender, and social class issues. This news coverage, they argue, sacrifices the media's educational function, misinforms the public about the operation of the criminal justice system, and contributes to the public's lack of faith in criminal justice.

Much has changed in the American party system since 1960. The question addressed here is whether the changes have reduced its functionality. Opinions differ, with some scholars citing party 'decline' & others party 'revival', their answers depending on their preference for the 1950s' golden age of partisanship or the new millennium's golden age of party organization. A review of the party system over this period finds merit for both. Viewed differently, it is argued that though the major parties are functional, they exercise little control over policy; ie, while the US has a partisan government, there is little party government. It is also argued that while the two-party system seems comprehensive & functional, there is evidence of fragmentation in the two parties' organizations, composed as they are of numerous factions & interest groups. This is illustrated by tabulations of voting patterns, party identifiers, public perceptions of party differences, interest aggregation, & electoral participation. Despite this evidence, it is concluded that the American party system has remained functional, as have the major parties, having found ways to adapt to the many changes in US society. There is, however, much room for improvement. J. Stanton

SummaryThe author considers the application of relevant human rights provisions to the Balkans both historically and in terms of contemporary issues. In particular, he discusses the legality of the measures taken under the auspices of NATO in respect of Kosovo and queries whether such measures are able to remedy such a breakdown of civil administration and respect for human rights. In the author's view, in such circumstances, administration of a country by the United Nations itself provides the only viable alternative.

The Civil War and Reconstruction and the South's postbellum industrialization produced economic dislocation on a tremendous scale. One product of that economic upheaval was an increasing problem of infanticides and infant abandonments. This case study of Richmond, Virginia, examines patterns of abandonment and neonaticide as documented in records of the city almshouse and the city coroner. It demonstrates that race shaped the options available to women with problem pregnancies in that African American women had access to fewer social welfare institutions such as maternity homes. As a result, unmarried black women kept their out-of-wedlock babies more often than did whites, but they also committed infanticide at higher rates than did whites. Moreover, racial trends in infanticides and infant abandonment suggest that Richmond's white working class experienced economic advancements at the turn of the twentieth century, while the city's black working class continued to live in depression-like conditions throughout the period.