bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Firm Growth in Transitional Economies: Three Longitudinal Cases from China, 1989-96
Authors: Peng Mike W.
Published: March 2007

How do firms in transitional economies such as the post-Soviet republics, East ern Europe and China achieve growth? Using three longitudinal cases con ducted over a seven-year period (1989-96) from China as an illustration, we identified a network-based strategy of growth, which features 'boundary blur ring' through developing interorganizational relationships with other firms. The firms' inability to achieve growth through generic expansion or acquisitions, two of the traditional growth strategies, is discussed. The institutional, eco nomic and cultural rationales that give rise to the strategic choice of a network- based strategy are explored.
Discussion Note: Using Metaphors to Understand and to Change Organizations: A Critique of Gareth Morgan's Approach
Authors: McCourt Willy
Published: March 2007

A critique of Gareth Morgan's approach to metaphor is used as the vehicle for an assessment of the value of metaphoric thinking to understanding and acting in organizations. Metaphor is shown to be an epistemologically valid approach to making sense of organizations, although not at the expense of traditional literal language approaches. Metaphoric thinking is located within the OD model of organizational change, where it functions as a valuable aid to cognitive change, while sharing some of the limitations of OD itself. Some issues for further research are outlined.
Manufacturing the Past: Loss and Absence in Organizational Change
Authors: Wolfram Cox Julie R.
Published: March 2007

This paper describes different conceptions of the past presented in a retrospect ive analysis of organizational change. One day in 1993, an Australian subsidi ary of a United States manufacturing organization introduced changes includ ing product-based production teams, a three-shift factory operation, and employee redundancy packages. Eighteen months later, the teams were dis solved. In this paper, talk about change is interpreted through the concept of loss; loss as regret for what has been in the past, return to the past and loss of what might have been, loss as relief to move on to what can be in the future, and loss as release from constraints of the past. It is suggested that analysis of loss and absence can increase the complexity of representations of emotion in situations of organizational change, and that there are additional senses of loss which can supplement those associated with death and mourning. The association between loss and resistance is discussed, and a comparison is made between 'loss of' as a retrospective analytical frame and 'resistance to' as more prospective and modernist in orientation.
An Organizational Assessment of Interfirm Coordination Modes
Authors: Grandori Anna
Published: March 2007

Inter-firm relationships are coordinated to a large extent by non-market mecha nisms. The objective of this paper is to identify which of these mechanisms are the most relevant, and how they can be theoretically and empirically combined into discrete alternative modes of organizational coordination between firms. A frame work is developed for evaluating the comparative effectiveness and efficiency of these combinations of coordination mechanisms in the regulation of different types of inter-firm interdependence, drawing on both organization theory and organiza tion economics. By analyzing network forms as mixes of coordination mechanisms, the framework offers a typology of inter-firm organization forms that is much more fine-grained and conducive to network organization design than those previously available. The predictive power of the framework is demonstrated by using the vast empirical research available on various types of networks, showing its capacity to explain the main findings on the use of different network forms for governing dif ferent types of relations.
An Inside Story: Tales from the Field — Doing Organizational Research in a State of Insecurity
Authors: George Ranjan , Clegg Stewart R.
Published: March 2007

Doing successful organizational research is difficult. Doing the same in difficult circumstances proves worthy of discussion. This short paper illustrates the reali ties experienced by a management researcher while doing doctoral field work in Sri Lanka. Everyday life in Sri Lanka means the routine experience of dangerous, difficult and challenging circumstances. Here we seek to provide an insight into how best to manage the worst circumstances. Future researchers undertaking research not only in Sri Lanka, but also elsewhere in South Asia, and in places in the world where there is a state of insecurity, might benefit from this research experience.

One source of insecurity derives directly from the state of emergency that has gripped Sri Lanka ever since the Tamil Tigers began their campaign of terror, designed to try and induce the state to allow them a separate homeland in the north and east of the island. The other source of insecurity flows from respondent per ceptions of research as 'strange', in itself. Each is a source of ontological insecu rity : the one leads to conditions that make it more difficult to be a researcher, while the other leads to conditions that make it more difficult for others to know what being a researcher means.
Center and Periphery in the Ottoman Empire
Authors: Heper Metin
Published: March 2007

The article takes issue with two hypotheses often claimed in the literature-that the Ottoman centuries extending from the sixteenth to the nineteenth evince a progressive development from a centralized to a quasi-feudal polity, and that during the course of the nineteenth century progress had been made toward a constitutional government. It is noted that throughout the period in question, in fact, two types of relationship existed between the center and the periphery: power politics and a degenerated form of patron- client relationship. The change that took place has been no more than a segregative change. Change in the periphery itself was not evolutionary, let alone revolutionary. At times it showed signs of involution; any weakening of the central control led to maximum legal irresponsibility.
The Frontier Zone
Authors: House J.W.
Published: March 2007

A model is postulated for the total transactional flows, legal and illegal, in international borderlands (boundaries with flanking frontier zones), with particular relevance to the perceptions, needs, and problems of dwellers in the frontier zones. The modeling of periphery-to-periphery interaction, both positive and negative, complements the core- periphery model. Distortions on the developmental surface in borderlands, introduced by stimulation, osmosis, or interdiction introduced unilaterally by national policies, disturb the structured field of political forces, with both national and international implications. As social and economic gradients between states change, the short-term impact is often most violent in the frontier zones.
La Science Politique En France Depuis 1945
Authors: Favre Pierre
Published: March 2007

L'année 1945 marque selon l'auteur la naissance de la science politique française en tant que discipline autonome et discipline scientifique. Cet article est donc centré sur l'histoire d'une conquête menée depuis 1945, conquête de l'autonomie disciplinaire et conquête de la scientificité, même si à l'arrivée-on le constatera lors de l'examen de la situation actuelle de la science politique en France—la communauté des politicologues français, devenue importante, peut apparaître profondément divisée et soumise à la concurrence de sociologues ressentant de plus en plus la nécessité d'intégrer dans leurs analyses l'objet politique. L'histoire se révèle à travers les nombreux chercheurs qui ont oeuvré dans les domaines de l'enseignement, de la recherche, des activités collectives. Ils ont ainsi façonné l'image que projette aujourd'hui la science politique en France et fait ressortir les traits qui la caractérisent soit les objets étudiés, les tendances qui s'y retrouvent et le problème de légitimité scientifique que lui posent d'autres disciplines.
The Role of the Army in the Sociopolitical Development of Asian and African Countries
Authors: Mirsky Georgy I.
Published: March 2007

This article undertakes an examination of all major aspects of this subject. Objective prerequisites for an exceptional role for the military in sociopolitical affairs of the states of the region are identified as a marked rise of executive power in conditions where class differentiation is incomplete and an economically powerful, and politically authoritative, class is lacking. The author analyzes the reasons for political instability, the most important manifestation of which has been a vast number of military coups. The question of relations between the army and society is also posed. Motivation within the army is examined.
Social Dominance Relationships in Male Vervet Monkeys
Authors: McGuire Michael T.
Published: March 2007

This article discusses dominance relationships in groups of male vervet monkeys and the potential relevance of selected findings from vervet studies to research on human political behavior. In considering the vervets, we first focus on the empirical data de scribing dominant and non-dominant animals, including both behavioral and bio chemical points of distinction, and then turn to the species-typical constraints associated with such dominance relationships. Methodological and theoretical points of departure for human studies are noted, and an illustrative study of humans is briefly summarized.
"The Words of Things Entangle and Confuse"
Authors: Tanenhaus Joseph , Foley Mary Ann
Published: March 2007

The validity of social science research based on interviews and questionnaires is threatened by the inclusion of ambiguous concepts which cannot be assumed to have the same connotations for all respondents. Recent developments in cognitive psychology offer the first satisfactory procedures for reducing these ambiguities. Using "the government in Washington" as the illustrative concept, we here show in two experiments how the ambiguities can be identified and reduced. The importance of using these techniques in preference to common survey approaches to ambiguity, such as the use of open-ended questions, is discussed.
The Study of Political Values
Authors: Meehan Eugene J.
Published: March 2007

The study group directs the following remarks from its copresident to all its present and possible members, in the hope they may form a starting point for the coming debates of the Twelfth World Congress of the IPSA in Rio de Janeiro to evaluate and finalize the research program of the study group.
Philosophical and Ethical Aspects of Science and Technology Transfer
Authors: Trasnea Ovidiu
Published: March 2007

The key problems for the survival of mankind are disarmament and development. Science and technology play a major role as much to emphasize the threat as to give mankind the means to proceed to a correct identification of risks, the way to remedy them, and to move toward new promises and expectations. A philosophical and ethical clarification has become necessary, in the perspective of a new world economic order. A code of conduct must be sought, by consensus, for the international transfer of science and technology to reduce inequalities and inequities. The existing system of sociopolitical values must be reintegrated in a worldwide value system.
Modeling Politico-Economic Interactions Within and Between Nations
Authors: Luterbacher Urs , Allan Pierre
Published: March 2007

This article is concerned with the general problem of politico-economic linkages within and between nations. These relations are analyzed with a global computer simulation model. The structure of the model is presented in some detail and then results of simulation runs are used to describe politico-economic interactions and to predict their future trends. The model, SIMPEST (Simulation Political, Economic, and Strategic Interactions), is completely computerized and derived from formal descriptions of nation- states composed of three interacting sectors: an economic and resource sector, an internal political sector, and a governmental decision-making sector. Using historical data, the model has been estimated empirically for complete representations of the United States, the USSR, and China and includes the influence of military allies (NATO and Warsaw Pact countries). On the basis of these estimations, certain propositions about major power interactions and projections of their evolution until 1990 are presented and discussed.
Amateurs and Professionals in Israeli Politics
Authors: Brichta Avraham
Published: March 2007

The distinction between purposively motivated "amateurs" and more self-interested "professionals" as contrasting types of political activists is investigated (following Soule and Clarke's methods) in the Israeli context, where there are grounds for expecting the parties to appeal to different types: Labor, to professionals, DMC to amateurs, Herut to a mixture of both. More than 600 party activists from these three parties were surveyed, confirming the parties' different appeal to different activists. Israeli amateurs share with Israeli professionals a pragmatic willingness to compromise, unlike their American counterparts. On three counts—stress on program goals, de-emphasis on merely win ning elections, and advocacy of intra-party democracy—Israeli and American amateurs are similar. Socialization factors are examined to suggest explanations for these findings.
Of Time, Body, and Scarcity
Authors: Kincaid John
Published: March 2007

Scarcity is any natural or human insufficiency of resources that are objectively or subjec tively necessary to realize any given end valued by human beings. To the extent that human life and its ends are construed as materialistic, scarcity is intrinsic to human existence and is a fundamental problem for political science. Scarcity has been a salient issue for modern political theory because of modernity's heightened consciousness of mortality, which has made time and life themselves scarce. Modernity has sought compen sations through material abundance for the pain of life's scarcity and the conflicts engendered by that scarcity, though abundance itself has not solved the political problem. Basically, there are two policy options regarding material scarcity: increasing resource supplies and decreasing resource demands. Increasing supplies may be effective in the short run; but decreasing demand may be required in the long run, preferably by revaluing the ends of human life rather than by reducing freedom or opportunities for life itself.
Space, Freedom, and Stability
Authors: Gottmann Jean
Published: March 2007

This article outlines the many various relationships linking the political organization of space and individual freedom. The expansion of the latter in recent times compli cates considerably the former while it seems to put pressure on the old-standing forms of spatial partitioning.
The Press and Foreign-Policy Decision Making
Authors: Wittkämper Gerhard W. , Bellers Jürgen
Published: March 2007

Content analysis of Bundestag debates, historical analysis and interviews with 350 journalists and politicians are used to examine the interrelationship between foreign- policy making and the media in 1969 and 1970. This was a time in which Germany and Poland were involved in intense negotiations. The relationship between politicians and journalists emerges as a "latent partnership" in which both sides take the initiative and influence each other. Press activity is found to have an effect on foreign-policy making but this effect is limited.
Age and Political Behavior in Collective Decision-making
Authors: Schubert James N. , Wiegele Thomas C. , Hines Samuel M.
Published: March 2007

Preliminary findings are reported from a study of municipal councils, employing methods of direct observation under field conditions, that explored the effects of dominance status, age and relative age in groups involved in group decision-making processes. Findings show that old age was associated with greater participation in the group by actors and greater responsiveness by the group toward actors; while with regard to relative age, younger members received higher responsiveness from groups and participated at grand mean levels. Overall, being old was associated with status and involvement in small-group political interactions, but the ascriptive prerogatives of older age did not close out the opportunities for achievement by the relatively young.
Political Socialization's Primacy Principle: A Biosocial Critique
Authors: Somit Albert , Peterson Steven A.
Published: March 2007

The primacy principle of political socialization claims that those political orientations that are learned early persist and shape later political learning. A survey of literature produces little empirical support for the principle. Furthermore, both the Piagetian cognitive development framework and Kagan's developmental perspective raise questions about the theoretical underpinnings of the primacy principle.
Visionary Political Leadership: On Improving a Risky Requisite
Authors: Dror Yehezkel
Published: March 2007

Basic human needs combined with political processes and societal requirements periodically make visionary political leadership (VPL) unavoidable and functionally necessary. But VPL is highly risky, often leading to catastrophes. Foreseeable situations sharpen the dilemma, making VPL more likely and more necessary while also increasing its dangers, thanks to modern technologies. Therefore it is essential to improve VPL. Eight proposals for improvement are presented in this article: selection and election of VPL; training, education, and insight upgrading of VPL; advisory structures for VPL; practical vision developing organiza tions ; procedures for democratic choice among practical visions; special implementation instruments; procedures for removal of dangerous VPL; and international control and containment of fanatical VPL. The neoplatonic nature of such proposals is recognized. But without far-reaching innovations, there is no hope of improving VPL, its needed functions will not be properly satisfied, and, instead, serious consequences, because of its pathologies, will be unavoidable.
Alexander Hamilton: The Aristocrat as Visionary
Authors: Miroff Bruce
Published: March 2007

Alexander Hamilton described, and attempted to be, an aristocratic yet visionary statesman. Hamilton's statesman would resist and rise above popular prejudices and passions; occupying a commanding eminence, he would plan grand projects for the nation's future. His architectonic vision detailed instruments for efficient action: the energetic executive and the administrative state. Having shaped these powerful tools, he turned them to economic use, fashioning a carefully integrated set of policies that fostered the rise of manufacturing in the United States. While the aristocratic statesman did not expect the public to understand his vision, he did expect it to respond to the prosperity and power that his efforts produced. As the nation rose to greatness, so, ultimately, would his fame.
Bureaucratic Morality in the United Kingdom
Authors: Dunsire Andrew
Published: March 2007

A model of bureaucratic morality is developed in which a hierarchy of four levels of expectation is associated with a hierarchy of control systems. The four levels of expectation are: bureaucratic discipline (time-keeping, following instructions, etc.); bureaucratic trust (probity, rectitude, care for the public purse); bureaucratic fairness (impartiality, doing right); and bureaucratic professional honour (loyalty, commitment). The four systems of control are: supervision within the bureaucracy; monitoring by other bureaucracies; check by extra-bureaucratic mechan isms ; and élite socialization. Recent cases and current anxieties in the United Kingdom are described under each head.
Presidential Personality and National Security Leadership: A Comparative Analysis of Vietnam Decision-making
Authors: Burke John P. , Greenstein Fred I.
Published: March 2007

This essay presents a framework for analyzing the effect of presidential personality on policy making, while avoiding the fallacy of simply "reducing" the explanation of presidential performance to the president's individual characteristics. Using an approach that simul taneously takes account of the larger political environment, and the president's constellation of immediate associates (the "institutionalized presidency"), as well as the president's individual characteristics, we present data comparing presidential decision-making with respect to Vietnam in 1954 and 1965. All three levels of evidence must be examined to establish why the United States did not inject military force in 1954 at the time of the fall of Dienbienphu and did in 1965, in the face of the incipient collapse of South Vietnam.
Strategic Stability Analysis through Mathematical Modeling
Authors: Gelovani V.A. , Piontkovsky A.A. , Skerokhodov A.P.
Published: March 2007

The concept of "strategic stability" is analyzed using the methods of mathematical modeling. A two-level interactive modeling system is represented. It includes a two-dimensional visual model and a multidimensional sophisticated model that takes into account actual characteristics and parameters of real strategic weapons systems. For example, the balance of USSR-USA strategic forces is analyzed on the basis of data from publicly accessible sources.
Political Humor and Authority: From Support to Subversion
Authors: Paletz David L.
Published: March 2007

This paper attempts to categorize political humor using four criteria: target, focus, acceptability, and presentation. These are applied to examples of the humor of Bob Hope, the Gridiron dinner, Harry Shearer, and Lenny Bruce. Four types of political humor relating to authority emerge: supportive, benign, undermining, and subversive.
Terminations: Stanley Elkin's Magic Kingdom and the Politics of Death
Authors: Shapiro Michael J.
Published: March 2007

A politics and political economy of death are explored through a reading of Stanley Elkin's The Magic Kingdom. The theoretical frames applied to this reading include Michel Foucault on space, Georges Bataille on death, eros and political economy, and Paul Virilio on death.
Roberto Michels, Vilfredo Pareto, and Henry Jones Ford: Classical Insights and the Structure of Contemporary American Politics
Authors: Shafer Byron E.
Published: March 2007

Historical analyses of prospects for democratization are used to address the contours of contemporary American politics. Thus the "Iron Law of Oligarchy" and associated propositions from Roberto Michels, the "Circulation of Elites" and an associated framework from Vilfredo Pareto, and the notion of "Party Efficiency" and its associated predictions from Henry Jones Ford—all written at the turn of the century—are used to address certain central and continuing descriptions of modern American politics. Each of these writings makes its own contribution to revealing the substantive character of that politics. Yet because the central empirical point which unites all three analyses is the contemporary disjunction between political parties and public offices in the American context, the larger contribution of such an exercise is to focus on a central question for current—and future—American democracy: whether a satisfactory citizen politics can be constructed in an effectively post-partisan era.
Cicero's Puzzle: Upper House Power in Comparative Perspective
Authors: Money Jeannette , Tsebelis George
Published: March 2007

This paper analyzes the legislative influence of upper houses in bicameral legislatures. We note the existence of two separate analytical traditions, one focusing on upper house expertise, the other on upper house power. We hypothesize that because legislative analyses of unitary systems focus primarily on the "efficient" aspects of upper house input, they tend to emphasize senatorial expertise. On the other hand, because legislative analyses of federal systems acknowledge the "political" dimensions of upper house power, they focus on senatorial power. We reunite the two analytical traditions and provide a unique model of upper house political power in both federal and unitary systems. For those states using a navette, or shuttle, system, we model senatorial power as a function of the institutional features of the system: stopping rules, where a bill is introduced, and the number of shuttles between houses are systematically related to upper house power.
A Game Theoretic Analysis of the Republic of China's Emerging Electoral System
Authors: Niou Emerson M.S. , Ordeshook Peter C.
Published: March 2007

Despite differences in history, culture, and stages of political development, the same theoretical constructs used to study American and European political processes can be used to understand the Republic of China's evolving electoral institutions and processes. The particular theoretical constructs upon which we focus are game theory and its application to electoral politics, spatial models of party competition. After reviewing the core results of spatial analysis — that electoral systems dominated by a single issue occasion stable and convergent party platforms and that systems with multiple salient issues occasion instability — we examine the types of issues that opposition parties are most likely to use in challenging KMT rule. Based on this discussion we argue that the ROC ought to be especially sensitive to Riker's conclusion that evolving democracies should devote special attention to developing institutional structures such as bicameralism and staggered terms of office for legislators that avoid the populist ideal of direct democracy. Theoretical results reveal the fragility of the idea of a popular will, so that populist institutions designed to achieve it can foster electoral instability. We use a recent result about multi-candidate elections to argue that the form of electoral competition and the forces operating to produce factionalism within parties are functions of the extent to which voters perceive electoral competition in terms of individual candidate characteristics versus party labels. To the extent that voters evaluate candidates on the basis of their party label, the parties will tend to converge on issues; whereas, to the extent that voters focus on the specific characteristics of candidates and their policy pronouncements, the candidates will diverge on issues. Finally, we examine the circumstances under which the nature of the issues that concern an electorate determines the form of competition in democracies characterized by a single dominant party.
The Labour Community and the British Judiciary
Authors: Belloni Frank
Published: March 2007

This study focuses on labour community views of the British courts in dealing with working class individuals and organizations. It is based mainly on interviews with members of the labour community. Its general finding is that elements of the labour community are convinced that the judicial system is biased against the working class, trade unions and local governing councils controlled by the Labour Party. Judicial decisions are seen as being "political" and basically hostile to the values and interests of the labour community and its organizations.
A Second Missed Opportunity: Russian in Retreat as a Global Language
Authors: Kreindler Isabelle T.
Published: March 2007

Models of language competition usually favor the central language over those of the peripheries. Yet the Russian language has failed to establish its hegemony both in the tsarist and Soviet empires. While the tsarist period is briefly touched upon in the Introduction, the paper concentrates on the "missed second opportunity"—the Soviet and post-Soviet period. It attempts to explain the causes for the second failure against a broad historical background, beginning with Lenin's generous linguistic policy, through the elevation of Russian as the language of the "Soviet People" and of the "Communist Future" in the post-Stalin period, to the current (1992) retreat under local and global challenges. The role of language grievances in promoting national self-assertiveness and causing the present anti-Russian backlash in the republics is highlighted. The paper ends with a discussion of the future prospects of Russian as a second language.
German Unification and Bureaucratic Transformation
Authors: Derlien Hans-Ulrich
Published: March 2007

This paper elaborates the role of bureaucracy in the process of German unification since 1990, first by analyzing the interplay between politics and ministerial bureaucracy in negotiating the unification treaty including its civil service related part with the German Democratic Republic; second, by describing the implementation of administration policy (comprising personnel and organization policies), the elite import and transfer of administrative structures from the west are emphasized as essential elements in transforming the East German polity. Structural conservatism rather than innovation can be observed as a result. With respect to the broader topic of regime change, elites, and bureaucracy, it is argued that, owing to the dual nature of transition in East Germany (implosion plus unification), the availability of a counter-bureaucracy and an external elite reservoir (as well as western capital) accounts for the absence of political resistance of the old apparatuses that presently bother East European countries. However, programmatic and financial policies have to accompany administration policy to become fully effective.
Searching for a Role: The Civil Service in American Democracy
Authors: Peters B. Guy
Published: March 2007

Political changes in the United States have produced several conflicting pressures on the public bureaucracy. On the one hand, the Reagan administration placed greater demands for political responsive ness on civil servants; those pressures continued to a lesser degree in the Bush administration. At the same time, there are increasing pressures on civil servants from clients and interest groups for attention to their needs and demands. All these groups also seek to hold civil servants accountable, although in different ways.

The public is often caught in the middle, and individual organizations may experience internal tensions arising from these conflicting demands. The public bureaucracy itself is composed of well-educated and commit ted individuals who seek their own role in defining and implementing policy. These policy and managerial conflicts are not peculiar to the United States but are found in most modern democracies.
The Judicialization of Politics in the Philippines and Southeast Asia
Authors: Tate C. Neal
Published: March 2007

In Afro-Asia, outside India, it may be that only in the Philippines is the judicialization of politics a significant, current political development. Several factors—liberal democracy, separation of powers, a politics of rights, interest group and opposition use of the courts, and frequently ineffective majoritarian institutions with limited public respect—make substantial judicialization of contemporary Philippine politics possible or even likely. The current Constitution assigns the judiciary new and expanded powers and responsibilities, giving it great potential to judicial ize policy processes that would otherwise be the responsibility of majori tarian institutions. The constitutional grant of authority given the Supreme Court provides a foundation for it to substitute its judgment for that of any government official who has engaged in a "grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction." Activist judicial attitudes have led to Supreme Court decisions that can be cited as evidence for a judicial ization of post-Marcos Philippine politics. (Decisions handed down by the Court during 1990-91 will be examined here for such evidence.) However, a developing appointment pattern that places career judges on the Supreme Court may reduce the likelihood of continuing judicialization, since, in the Philippines, such appointees have been more likely to be restraintist than have justices with different, more partisan, careers.
The Politics of Electoral Reform in Britain
Authors: Norris Pippa
Published: March 2007

The debate about electoral reform in Britain has experienced periodic revivals, as critics have challenged the established system of first- past-the-post. The debate has revolved about how British elections trans late votes into seats, and how representative elections should work: whether priority should be given to the principle of strong government or "fairness" to minor parties and social groups. The article concludes that despite a heated debate, prospects for reform are uncertain in Britain, since public opinion about this issue remains ambivalent; there are no provisions for binding referendums; and the opposition remains divided about the most appropriate alternative.
The Politics of Electoral Reform in New Zealand
Authors: Vowles Jack
Published: March 2007

In a referendum held at the same time as the 1993 general election, a majority of New Zealanders voted to establish a new propor tional electoral system to replace their traditional simple plurality system, to take effect after April 1995. New Zealanders were responding to the destabilizing effects of party system dealignment, increasing dispropor tionality of election outcomes, and a succession of governments which many believed had ignored public opinion in their efforts to reform the economy. Competition between the two increasingly discredited major parties set a referendum process in motion, which few politicians thought would end in a vote for change. In part due to a political culture support ing populist democratic values, a majority of New Zealanders voted for proportional representation despite a well-funded all-out propaganda campaign against it. With four parties already represented in parliament at the end of 1993, New Zealand will move to multiparty competition. If successful, the experiment could set an example for similar reform in other plurality democracies.
On the Way to Ecologically Sustainable Economic Growth
Authors: Fritsch Bruno
Published: March 2007

The question has been posed by many social and natural scien tists as to whether, and for how long, the carrying capacity of our planet can withstand such "progress" as mankind has made in the last quarter- century.

This article shows that limits are not so much in the area of physical factors, such as energy and resources, but rather in our ability to learn and to absorb the speed of technological change, both in psychological and in political terms. Thus the problems we are confronted with are neither of a purely physical nor of a purely economic nature. From a wider perspective, it becomes obvious that man is involved in three interrelated conflicts. He is (a) in conflict with nature (environment); (b) in conflict with his fellow men (war); and (c) in conflict with himself (identity between the inner and outer worlds). The factors influencing our chances to achieve a situation which is sustainable and socially acceptable, have at least three dimensions: (1) a dimension of evolutionary history; (2) a scien tific or technological dimension; and (3) an economic-political dimension.

It is shown that the key positive factor in achieving any kind of sustain ability is knowledge and the key negative factor is further population growth. Hence, if we want to achieve a morally and materially sustainable future we must break the vicious circle of ongoing population growth, more poverty, fewer chances to learn, more violence, more population growth, and so on.
Empowerment: The Institutional and Cultural Aspects for Teachers and Principals
Authors: Kanpol Barry
Published: March 2007

Empowerment is a multi- faceted concept that, when applied to both teachers and principals, leads to more effective school leadership and a healthier school cli mate. The key is communica tion.
The Practitioner's Role in Preparing Successful School Administrators
Authors: Bass Gerald R.
Published: March 2007

This writer explores some of the ways in which principals could be involved in principal preparation programs.
Middle Level Activities Programs: Helping
Authors: Hovland Don
Published: March 2007

A properly planned and designed middle level activi ties program—including ath letics—can help to ensure academic achievement, according to this writer. The key, he says, is providing a diversity of opportunities that allow all students to experi ence success.
Education Is a Shared Responsibility; Leadership Of Principal Is Essential
Authors: MacAllister Jack A.
Published: March 2007

Quality schools depend on business-education partner ships. Therefore, business leaders, principals, and the community must rekindle their commitment to educa tion. The resurrection of the American Dream depends on it.
A Research Review : Interscholastic Athletic Programs: A Positive Factor in School Reform
Authors: Smith J.W.
Published: March 2007

Research findings indicate that inter scholastic athletic programs result in re duced discipline problems, increased academic achievement, and higher grad uation rates. Here's an overview.
Accountability and Special Education: Planning for Results
Authors: Dragan Edward E.
Published: March 2007

Schools seem to have little control over the financial and human resources that are dedicated to special education. How can accountability be achieved?
Staff Evaluation: Putting the Pieces Together For a Strategic Advantage
Authors: Olivero James L. , Heck Jerry
Published: March 2007

If staff evaluations do not improve instruction and student achievement, what is the point? The Ft. McMurray
Future Principals: Selecting Educators for Leadership
Authors: Somers Hill Marie , Lynch Dorothy W.
Published: March 2007

Vision and unique approaches are required to foster, mentor, and encourage talented, dynamic people to accept today's school administra tive challenges.
Ethical Problems in American Sport
Authors: Eitzen D. Stanley
Published: March 2007

This essay examines some ethical problems prevalent in contemporary American sport. Three topics are considered: (1) the ethical principles that should guide sport; (2) the ethical dilemmas that confront various constituencies in sport; and (3) the structural sources of unethical behaviors in sport.
Sports Within the Black Subculture: A Matter of Social Class or a Distinctive Subculture?
Authors: Spreitzer Elmer , Snyder Eldon E.
Published: March 2007

This research compares the relative prominence of sports within the black and white subcultures. The focus is on variability among individuals in sports involvement as operationally defined by a seven- item index of passive sports participation. The data derive from a national probability survey conducted by Research Forecasting Incorporated for the Miller Brewing Company. Based on multiple regression, analysis of variance, and analysis of covariance, the greater extent of sports involvement among blacks remained evident after controlling for age, education, income, and size of city. We interpret these findings as reflective of a distinctive subculture as contrasted with a "culture of poverty" phenomenon as discussed by Rudman (1986) in his study of the sports mystique within the black subculture.
Sport and Urban Life
Authors: Karp David A , Yoels William C.
Published: March 2007

The paper draws together historical and sociological literatures on sport with the purpose of more firmly introducing the role of sport into scholarly dialogue about city life. A central thesis of the paper is that there was a mutually transformative relationship between sport and the growth and development of American cities during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Discussed in this regard is the role of sport and games in socializing and controlling immigrants. On a more social psychological level, the significance of sport in providing urbanites with a subjective sense of community identification is examined. The last section of the paper considers how participation in urban playground sports may provide a forum for the expression of self, identity, and individualism in an otherwise anonymous urban world.
Die-Hard and Fair-Weather Fans: Effects of Identification on BIRGing and CORFing Tendencies
Authors: Wann Daniel L. , Branscombe Nyla R.
Published: March 2007

Previous research has demonstrated that people are capable of strategic self-presentation; they decrease the distance between themselves and successful groups with which they have only the most trivial of associations, and strive to increase the distance between themselves and groups viewed negatively as a result of some perceived failure. These two processes, termed basking-in- reflected-glory (BIRGing) and cutting-off-reflected failure (CORFing) respectively, assist in the maintenance of self-esteem. The current study investigated the extent to which allegiance to a group would modify these general processes. In support of the hypotheses, higher fan identification resulted in increased tendencies to BIRG and decreased tendencies to CORF. In contrast, persons moderate or low in identification were less likely to BIRG and showed an increased likelihood to CORF. Discussion focuses on the role of identification with a group in terms of how it moderates coping with threats to an identity and its impact on self-esteem.
Growth Changes
Authors: Heimendinger Jerianne , Laird Nan
Published: March 2007

This article presents a method for disentangling (in a study population) the effects of an intervention from changes that are due to growth and regression to the mean. The basic approach is to calculate, for each subject, the expected change over time based on an initial measurement, a set of reference standards, and a set of correlations among measurements over time. The difference between the observed and expected change is attributed to the intervention. Advantages of the methodology are that we take into account both the natural growth process and regression to the mean in calculating the expected change. In addition, the methodology may be applied when no control group is available by letting standards serve as a comparison group, and retrospective measure ments of varying time intervals may be used. The method is illustrated in the context of evaluating the effect of the Special Supplemental Food Programfor Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) on infant growth.
Preliminary Contact With a Mailed Follow-Up Survey
Authors: Miner Michael H.
Published: March 2007

This study examined the effects of preliminary contact by mail and telephone on the rate of response to a follow-up survey offormer mental health patients. The subjects were the par ents or parenting figures of 145 children due for six- or eighteen-month follow-up as part of the evaluation of the services provided at an outpatient child psychiatric facility. The survey instruments were the Child Behavior Checklist and a thirty-one item descriptive adjective rating scale. A significant effect wasfoundfor the use of preliminary contact, but notfor the use of telephone contact rather than mailed precontact. Additionally, it wasfound that it was difficult to contact subjects over the telephone and that telephone precontact was more expensive than mailed precontact. This article also addresses the problem of maintaining patient confidentiality while identifying prospective subjects who had moved since their last visit to the facility for treatment. This balance between study power and former patients' rights to privacy is a difficult question for mental health service evaluations.
Intervention Theory and Evaluating Efficacy
Authors: Adelman Howard S.
Published: March 2007

Policies shaping evaluation of psychological and educational interventions reflect a naive understanding of the broad nature and function of evaluative research. As a result, such policies are overemphasizing the evaluation of immediate intervention outcomes and undermining comprehensive intervention research. The presentation highlights the danger of this trend and illustrates how the focus of evaluation should be expanded not only to make a greater contribution to practice but to aid in the development of basic knowledge about the nature of interventions. To these ends, evaluation is explored as one of four basic intervention problems; specific examples are offered to underscore the type of basic intervention questions currently ignored and in need of scholarly attention.
Microcomputer Data Base Programs in Social Research
Authors: Tate C. Neal
Published: March 2007

Possible data base applications in social research include working with quantitative data files and gathering research information. Social research commonly involves 10 data management activities common to most major mainframe statistical packages. Social researchers using microcomputers may need other solutions for their data management needs. These include writing a program, using a standard spreadsheet, and using a data base manager program. Microcomputers and their data base software can increase the effectiveness and efficiency of information gathering for research projects by easing and improving notetaking and organizing and by providing highly efficient, error-checking tools to assist in entry of research data from many different kinds of sources. Mainframe and minicomputers traditionally have not been used for many of these information gathering activities. For the nearfuture, microcomputer data base managers will continue to serve useful purposes for social researchers, even while they remain not completely adequate because of their orientation toward their principal market: business people. Developments in the software arena will help make microcomputer data base manage ment tools more useful. As microcomputer statistical packages improve, social researchers may once again do most of their "data base management "using the same tool they use to perform their statistical analysis.
Obtaining Interval Estimates of Policy Impacts From Interrupted Time Series
Authors: Mandell Marvin B.
Published: March 2007

The absence of a means for obtaining confidence intervals for the impact of an intervention represents a serious gap in the literature on the analysis of interrupted time-series designs. In this article, an approximate procedure for constructing such confidence intervals is developed both in general terms and for two specific forms of intervention effects—abrupt temporary effects and gradual permanent effects. The adequacy of the procedure is examined using Monte Carlo simulation. An illustration of the procedure using a real data set is presented.
A Cultural Perspective On the Structure and Implementation of Global Environmental Agreements
Authors: Rayner Steve
Published: March 2007

This article introduces the concept of management frameworks as institutional cultures. Nations and organizations tend to favor one or another of a variety of decision-making styles composed of unique combinations of only three basic types known as hierarchies, markets, and collectives. The decision styles systematically constrain discourse and lead decision makers to frame problems in specific, sometimes incompatible ways. Such constraints affect the selection ofissues for attention, perceptions of urgency, recognition of other stakeholders as legitimate participants in decisions, and preferences for different instruments of policy implementation. The article explores the implications of these decision styles for climate decision making, especially in the context of polycentric management regimes. The article concludes that greater attention to nongovernmental institutional contacts across national boundaries may provide opportunities to conclude and implement global agreements for environmental management.