bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact of the Dual Alliance upon the Slavs of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy: A Centennial Reappraisal
Authors: Winters Stanley B.
Published: July 2010

The Alliance of 1879 with Germany was one of the truly fateful steps taken by the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in the forty years before its demise. The diplomatic and strategic ramifications of this momentous agreement have been discussed in the historical literature for decades, but its impact upon the monarchy's 21-million subjects of Slavic nationality or ethnicity has not.1 This omission can perhaps be explained by the relatively slight influence that Slavic leaders and their followers had upon the makers of the monarchy's foreign policy. Although the seven Slavic nationalities by 1910 constituted 47.2 percent of Austria-Hungary's population, they remained, as they had always been, complete outsiders on foreign policy. To them, as indeed to most subjects of the Emperor Franz Joseph, diplomatic matters and political events abroad were of slight concern, and even if not, information about them was modest among the general public. Still, if the international relationships of the monarchy conveyed little sense of immediacy, this vital function of the state administration ultimately affected the most humble of persons. The intent here is to examine the Dual Alliance not through the eyes of those who arranged and implemented it, but of those who were Slavic outsiders, and to see how the Alliance affected their loyalty and commitment to the monarchy.
East European Models Of Europe's Future
Authors: Povolny Mojmir
Published: July 2010

In the second half of the 1960s, the future of Europe began to be a subject of numerous scholarly conferences, books, and articles. In 1972, Pierre Hassner performed a signal service when he published the first comparative and analytical study of the principal work done in the West on the models of the evolution of the European system.1 This essay will attempt to present in a similar manner the East European prognoses of Europe's future.
The GDR Housing Construction Program: Problems and Successes
Authors: Melzer Manfred
Published: July 2010

Ten years after the announcement of the GDR's extensive housing construction program, the first phase has been successfully concluded and the second phase is now being implemented. The time seems ripe for an interim stock-taking as provided in the following analysis. Housing politics is preeminently regional politics, so that regional aspects will be the major concern of this article. In particular, these questions will be addressed: What achievements have been made in housing, and in which regions? What do regional housing conditions look like today? Are there still striking differences in housing between the several regions? It will also be instructive to consider the housing renovation program of the GDR: What progress has been made? What difficulties are confronted in the renovation of the older part of the housing stock?
The Soviet Style of Power in Eastern Germany: Some Notes On the See1
Authors: Kessler Mario
Published: July 2010

The German Democratic Republic (GDR) was "democratic" only in the very specific, Soviet-communist interpretation of that term: So-called "democratic centralism" was in reality more centralist than democratic, a dictatorship from above rather than government consent from below. "But to recognize that the GDR was a dictatorship is not to say very much about the specific character of this dictatorship," as Mary Fulbrook wrote.2 "The focus on repression is not actually very revealing. It does not tell us very much about degrees of political compliance, or acquiescence in their own domination, to be found among the East German population."3 In this essay two methods of rule will be analyzed and the question raised: Can one draw conclusions about the logic of the Soviet style of power in Eastern Germany by considering changes in such a system's methods of rule, particularly their specific blend of repression and tolerance? An examination of the ways that forms of repression and tolerance in the GDR changed over time can offer us insights into Soviet-communist societies both in general terms and in detail. The GDR was unique in having more than 300,000 Soviet troops stationed on its soil; it was also unique in representing the front line of the Cold War.
The Emergence of the Soviet Faction in the Democra Tic People's Republic of Korea, 1945-1955
Authors: Lankov A.N.
Published: July 2010

A very important role in the formation of the North Korean state and its early development was played by numerous Soviet Koreans, Soviet citizens of Korean extraction. They were sent to North Korea by the Soviet authorities and occupied various leading positions during the period 1945-60. This article will consider the circumstances of their arrival in North Korea, their activities from 1945 to 1950, and the emergence of the so-called Soviet faction in the North Korean leadership. The article is based on some materials that the author discovered in the Soviet archives, as well interviews with several Soviet Koreans themselves. These interviews were conducted in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when most of these figures were still alive. In this article I have tried to rely more heavily on contemporary sources that I managed to get access to during my research in Russia. Unfortunately, only a fraction of the related documents from the Soviet archives have been de-classified and subjected to study so far. It should be stressed that this work is just a basis for a more detailed study that will be undertaken in the future. Despite its limitations, however, it sheds some light on a period which has hitherto been somewhat shrouded in mystery.
An Attempt Ata Commentary: Two Proposed Texts for Future Publication1
Authors: Pliguzov Andrei I.
Published: July 2010

Recently I have started to read my own commentaries to the volume of metropolitans' epistles from the early fourteenth century to the beginning of the sixteenth century. And I found it almost ready for publication. The two texts of commentaries to charters of Metropolitan Iona will present the quality and character of these commentaries.
"And Who Are the Judges?": Mikhail Bulgakov Versus Soviet Censorship, 1926-1936
Authors: Richmond Steven
Published: July 2010

Mikhail Bulgakov is renowned for his challenge to the dry literary canons of the Soviet regime through his fantstical works of colorful content and unorthodox form, such as Sobach'e serd'tse (Heart of a Dog) and Master i Margarita. But Bulgakov is much mort than an exotic exception to Soviet puritanicalness. His works also include the highly practical and realistic, such as the tragic war-time works "Zapiski iungo vracha" (Notes of a Young Doctor) and Belaia gvardiia (The White Guad). Bulgakov's literary challenge to Soviet censorship also took direct forms. including two works that brazenly satire and examine the utterly taboo subjest of state censorship: the play, Bagrovyi ostrov (The Crimson Island) and Teaal'nyi roman (Theatrical Novel). Bulgakov's challenge to power also extendel to the epistolary, in the form of letters he sent to the Soviet government (and were read by Stalin) that contain attacks against the Soviet censorship bureau. In this real-life drama of Bulgakov versus Soviet censorship, we witness the icredible creativity and bravery of the artist, as well as discover his original and informative theory about how Soviet censorship operated. Let us begin our examina tion of this drama with the censorship bureau itself, how it first functioned and how it came to focus its sights on Bulgakov.
Putin's Presidency and Russian History
Authors: Blank Stephen
Published: July 2010

The regime crafted by Vladimir Putin and extended now with the election of Dmitry Medvedev in many ways represents a continuation of the Muscovite paradigm delineated by Professor Hellie in his earlier work. Indeed, we are witnessing the consolidation of a fourth version of the Muscovite service state and in the military a kind of serfdom still reigns. This continuity is not just a question of the autocracy of the Tsar but also of the tenuous situation regarding property rights which are not fully established. Furthermore, it is quite clear that government is still a service state where officials' income, power and status derive from the service they render the Tsar and their ability to provide the state's requirements in key industries. Just as this elite may be considered a rent-seeking elite, so may the state be considered a rent-granting state that grants them rents in the form of office so that they can provide for themselves at the same time as they serve the Tsar.
The Emotional Lives of Moscow Things
Authors: Lemon Alaina
Published: July 2010

Richard Hellie's The Economy and Material Culture of Russia richly connects political events, objects, and prices to explore problems of supply, distribution, and quality and to connect those problems to social issues. Recent ethnography in the region has further exposed the complicated ways that capitalism, socialism, and post-socialism have been compared in terms of the quality of their respective goods, especially through the symbolism of branding. This paper works through one case in which Russians (students of theater) depicted objects in ways that differed strikingly from how most people were consuming and exchanging them. Rather than focusing on quality, they endowed things with gendered and conflict-ordered emotional lives in ways that were both anchored to a history of aesthetic techniques and that also reflected more recent worries about events, and about institutional and infrastructural breakdowns and ruptures.
Political Terror or Political Theater: The Raion Show Trials of 1937 and the Mass Operations
Authors: Manning Roberta
Published: July 2010

This essay links and analyzes two hitherto distinct components of Stalin's Great Terror: The Mass Operations, a series of mass arrest campaigns of August 1937-August 1938, directed against particular categories of people, which accounted for half the arrests and executions of the Great Terror of 1934-1939, and the Provincial Show Trials of raion level officials that unfolded simultaneously, creating a climate of hysteria among local officials and ordinary people alike, in which Terror could and did spread.
The Thought and Teachings of Michael Karpovich
Authors: Pereira Norman
Published: July 2010

Michael Karpovich taught at Harvard University from 1927 until 1957, during which time he exercised the most profound influence upon the field of Russian studies in North America. His extraordinary cohort of graduate students included virtually all the historians who would dominate the discipline for the rest of the 20 th century and beyond (Malia, Pipes, Haimson, Riasanovsky, Daniels, Raeff, among others). Some directly borrowed and elaborated his ideas and teachings, others rejected or built on them in order to go in different directions, but all benefited from his wisdom, guidance, and generous support. This paper traces the nature of Karpovich's influence, his ideas and Weltanschauung, especially as they related to late imperial Russia and the Revolution of 1917.
1437-1462
Authors: Rakhimzyanov Bulat
Published: July 2010

In this paper I will try to show that the Kasimov khanate was founded in 1445 as a result of an oral agreement between the exiled khan of the Golden Horde Ulug-Muhammad and Muscovite Grand Prince Vasilii II. Its foundation wasn't a voluntary measure of Muscovite rulers. It was founded in close connection with the relations between Rus' and the Golden Horde in general. It could arise only in the atmosphere of hostility and implacability typical for the Muscovite Grand Prince's house under the conditions of the rather frequent change of the Grand Princes. To provide you some historical basis, I will first speak briefly about the historiography of the problem and present my own view based mainly on the data of the “dogovornye gramoty” (treaties between Russian Princes) and “letopisi” (chronicles) afterwards.
Old Muscovite Amnesties: Theory and Practice
Authors: Kleimola A.M. , Dewey H.W.
Published: July 2010

The modern Russian term for amnesty is amnistiia. Like its English counterpart, it comes from a Greek word meaning "oblivion": a sovereign who grants an amnesty officially "forgets" certain crimes or political offenses committed by his subjects.1 The word amnistiia does not appear in Russian documents of the pre-Petrine era, and some purists even claim that the Muscovites knew no concept of amnesty.2 Yet most of the practices we shall be discussing here-practices which began shortly after Byzantine Christianity came to Rus'-easily fall within modern definitions of amnesty.3 The topic turns out to be so vast that in this short paper we can deal with only a handful of Old Russia's historically-significant "amnesties." We shall briefly examine the circumstances which produced them, the consequences which followed their promulgation, and the tension between lofty principles and practical objectives which accompanied some of the most important amnesties.
Death of a Russian Consul: Macedonia 1903
Authors: Perry Duncan M.
Published: July 2010

On Saturday, 8 August 1903 (n.s.), Aleksandr Arkadievich Rostkovskii was shot and killed on the outskirts of Bitola, in west central Macedonia. Rostkovskii was the Imperial Russian consul posted to that city; his assailant was one Halim, an Ottoman soldier of Albanian origin. The Russian government demanded swift satisfaction. The sultan and his ministers made strenuous efforts to show their sincere grief over the murder and offered substantial reparations. Russia expressed displeasure with the Ottoman response and threateningly dispatched part of its Black Sea fleet to Ottoman waters immediately. Specific demands, including a reform program for Macedonia, were made. With little hesitation the sultan accepted them, and the crisis passed. This contribution examines the events surrounding the Rostkovskii affair and analyzes Russia's behavior during that crisis.
The Mensheviks and NEP Society in Russia
Authors: Brovkin Vladimir
Published: July 2010

Contemporary scholarship on the development of the Soviet political system in the 1920s has largely bypassed the history of the Menshevik opposition. Those historians who regard NEP as a mere transition to Stalinism have dismissed the Menshevik experience as irrelevant,1 and those who see a democratic potential in the NEP system have focused on the free debates in the Communist party (CP), the free peasantry, the market economy, and the free arts.2 This article aims to revise some aspects of both interpretations. The story of the Mensheviks was not over by 1921. On the contrary, NEP opened a new period in the struggles over independent trade unions and elections to the Soviets; over the plight of workers and the whims of the Red Directors; over the Cheka terror and the Menshevik strategies of coping with Bolshevism. The Menshevik experience sheds new light on the transformation of the political process and the institutional changes in the Soviet regime in the course of NEP. In considering the major facets of the Menshevik opposition under NEP, I shall focus on the election campaign to the Soviets during the transition to NEP, subsequent Bolshevik-Menshevik relations, and the writings in the Menshevik underground samizdat press.
American Sovietology From 1917-1991: an Attempt At Diagnosis
Authors: Shlapentokh Vladimir
Published: July 2010

The goal of this article is to discuss the evolution of the views of American social scientists, particularly Sovietologists, on the origins and nature of Soviet society. The analysis of the American performance in Soviet studies is particularly interesting because American social science was considered, at least after the Second World War, on the cutting edge in research worldwide. In making such an appraisal we are, at the same time, using American Sovietology as a case study for making a judgement about the potential social science in any country has in claiming to understand developments in a foreign society..
1918-1920
Authors:   Karpenko
Published: July 2010

The article is focused on the bureaucracy of generals A. Denikin's and P. Vrangel's military dictatorships during the Russian Civil War (1918–1920). For the first time in Russian historiography it contains analysis of the economic, political and moral factors, which influenced the bureaucracy, its social structure and living conditions, red tape and corruption as the main features of the military dictatorships' governing bodies and the main reasons for their poor performance.
Regional Factor in Intra-Elite Rivalry in Present Kyrgyzstan
Authors: Morozova Irina
Published: July 2010

This article conceptualizes regionalism in historical perspective as repeated schemes of translocal inter-groups' allegiances and studies dynamic transformation of political elites in present Kyrgyzstan in broader social context and international change. The article starts with historical reference to the Soviet delimitation policies in Central Asia in the 1920-30s and reveals how the competition among political groups within the prospective Kyrgyz SSR took the form of regional separation. On the basis of field interviews taken in the southern and northern areas of Kyrgyzstan, parliamentarians' biographies and statistics on inter-regional migration and entrepreneurship, the country's present south-north opposition is deconstructed as manipulation of political groups and individuals in competition for resources, power and social status. Post-socialist institutional innovations, including parliamentary system, election code and territorial-administrative reform are analyzed as flexible function of transregionalizing political rivalry. Finally, formation of the new pro-presidential party Ak Zhol and discussions on privatization of energy sector are interpreted as an attempt to establish corporate elite according to the Kazakh and Russian model.
Weapons acquisition in the Soviet Union
Authors: Woods Stan
Published: July 2010

Recent Western disillusionment with detente has been partly shaped by vast increases in the quantity and diversity of Soviet weapons. Nevertheless, observers have drawn comfort from a belief that Western technological supremacy can compensate for Soviet numerical superiority. Two assumptions lurk here. The first is that the Soviet threat can be gauged merely by applying quantitative criteria. The second is that the threat is best countered by procuring technologically advanced weapons. Both theses are contentious. The objective of this study is to highlight the weaknesses in this pair of judgments. In pursuit of that goal the key features of the Soviet weapons acquisition system are scrutinized in an analysis which examines institutions, relationships. and conventions. Initially, however, some observations are in order about weapons acquisition systems in general, identifying features common to any weapons policy, in the Soviet Union or elsewhere.
Post-Soviet Russian Foreign Policy Toward the Middle East
Authors: Katz Mark N.
Published: July 2010

Since the breakup of the USSR in 1991, there has been significant change in Moscow's Middle East policy. During much of the Cold War, Moscow sought to project Soviet influence throughout even the far off Arab region of the Middle East. In the post-Cold War era, though, Russian foreign policy has focused on that part of the Middle East closest to the former USSR-the Northern Tier. This article will examine the major aspects of post-Cold War Russian foreign policy toward the Middle East in order to identify Moscow's multiple goals in the region and discuss Moscow's capacity for achieving them. First, though, a brief review of the different stages of Imperial and Soviet foreign policy toward the region is necessary in order to show the extent to which post-Cold War Russian foreign policy toward the Middle East has and has not changed.
Ethnic Mobilization in the Former Yugoslavia as a Kind of Structural Setting and Framing
Authors: Mujkic Asim
Published: July 2010

The author claims that strategies of ethnic mobilization have deep roots in the politics of ex-Yugoslav nations, and that these roots are closely related to the response of the Western Balkans, especially Serbian political elites, to the challenges of democratization and modernization. The author develops this notion in two basic sections, outlining the ontology and history, and psychological background of the ethnic mobilization. Beyond the larger historical perspective, which will be reviewed, the very source of current ethno-mobilization processes lies in the deep opposition of Serbian political elites to the loose federal Yugoslav Constitution of 1974 that initiated various political strategies of ethno-mobilization's undermining and neglect. The author understands the term 'ethnic mobilization' to have three layers of meaning, the first being most rudimentary: an orderly and phased procedure aimed at ethnic crystallization or homogenization of Serb people. The second layer encompasses the underlying framing narrative of the reinterpretation of certain social events or conflicts within a particular interpretative frame or 'code.' The third meaning is, in a very important sense, demobilization, namely, the competing elites had to be demobilized, neutralized, or marginalized, and were usually described as ethnic 'traitors,' or 'those who sold to the interests of the enemy, or of the West.' Based on ideas of Latinka Perović and Dubravka Stojanović, the author traces the roots of the ethnopolitics back to the Russian anti-modernist movement of 'narodnichestvo.' This anti-Western and deeply anti-democratic strategy of political power lies at the heart of violent conflicts in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia/Kosovo, and even Macedonia. And, in the author's view, it remains the key obstacle to a post-war democratic transition for these countries. Strategies of ethnic mobilization remain, up to the present day, the driving force of power structures in these countries.
Judicial Professional Associations: Fostering Judicial Reform Through Civil Society Development
Authors: Golubovic Milica
Published: July 2010

This article documents the history of judicial professional associations (the Judges' Association of Serbia, Prosecutors' Association of Serbia, and Magistrates' Association of Serbia) in Serbia from their early development in the mid-1990s through the present day. With a close focus on the associations' relationship with USAID implementing partner American Bar Association/Central Europe and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA/CEELI), the article identifies the challenges to establishing sustainable judicial professional associations. These challenges include a lack of secure funding, low organizational and administrative capacity, a high turnover rate of volunteers and employees, reliance on foreign-generated 'copy-and-paste' activities that do not take local needs into account, and uneasy relationships with the local and central governments. Successes of the fledgling judicial professional associations are also noted, including the implementation of continuing legal education (CLE) seminars.
The Illyrian Provinces: A Step Towards Yugoslavism
Authors: Macesich Susana S.
Published: July 2010

The history of the Illyrian Provinces belongs not only to the history of the Napoleonic Era in Europe, but also to that of the development of Yugoslav history in the early part of the nineteenth century. The Provinces can be studied from several aspects: political, social, economic and cultural. This paper will emphasize only one of the offered aspects-namely the impact of the Illyrian Provinces on the concept of Yugoslavism. Three features are of singular importance: first, the effects of the ideas of the French Revolution on the Yugoslavs (development of modern nationalism, use of the vernacular, secularism, abolition of feudalism); second, the effects of the political unification of Dalmatia, Slovenia and part of Croatia under French rule, which brought Croats, Slovenes and Serbs under one political and administrative unit; third, the correlation between French rule in the Western Balkans with the national-revolutionary movements of that period, such as the Serbian uprising of 1804 and its effect upon other Yugoslavs.1
Bulgaria in European Politics Between the Two World Wars: Certain Preliminary Inferences
Authors: Dimitrov Ilcho
Published: July 2010

The question of Bulgaria'a place in European politics between the two world wars is too broad and complicated to be comprehensively elucidated and considered as settled at present. The purpose here is by far more modest: to set forth questions linked to the foreigh policy of bourgeois Bulgaria in the period between the two world wars, and to present preliminary conclusions arising from the present level of research work, which naturally cannot contend to be exhaustive and proven, yet which could give a certain impetus to further studies. If a limitation is put within the framework of the twenty prewar years, or to put it more precisely, the first ten (when the new methods of Bulgarian bourgeois diplomacy had been evolved), the preceding period cannot be neglected. The main trends in foreign policy were formed over a long period of time, possessing a durable significance. Methods, means, and closer targets changed; but all that was basic was preserved, irrespective of the governments and the personalities. Thus, no matter what changes took place in the international and internal position of Bulgaria after 1913, its foreign policy developed on the bases laid out as early as following the Liberation.
Recognizing Complexity in Eastern Europe : a Case for Differentiating Among Communist States
Authors: Nelson Daniel N.
Published: July 2010

Although Moscow's security interests define the limits of foreign policy behavior and domestic liberalization in Eastern Europe. American relations with communist Europe in the 1960s and 1970s differentiated between and among member states of the Warsaw Pact. A policy of differential relations with communist Europe is a policy of sensitivity to complexity—to the differences between, for example, the role of Romania vis-à-vis the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the Warsaw Pact. A finely tuned foreign policy requires such sensitivity to avoid broad and erroneous categorizations that portray American international views as irretrievably simple. Were we to distance ourselves as far from Bucharest as from Moscow, we would be ignoring the qualities that led to visits by Presidents Nixon and Ford to Bucharest and which encouraged Most Favored Nation (MFN) status for Romania. A policy which distinguishes among communist states and leaders contrasts with the simplistic view that Soviet manipulation is total, and rejects the dichotomy that East Europeans are either puppets or national patriots, with no choice between. The political worlds of leaders and citizens in these states are much more complex, and we require a policy premised on such complexity.
Special Privileges or Equality? Legal Protection for NPO Property Rights ‐ With a Discussion of the Meaning and Limitations of the “Public-Interest Property Rights” Concept
Authors: Jinping Jin
Published: July 2010

The concept of “public-interest property rights” () has helped to clarify the jurisdiction over NPOs’ assets and has also underscored some special issues related to their use. At the same time, however, the concept may cause misconceptions about the legal status of NPOs’ property rights; NPOs’ exceptional characteristics should not negate their own property rights, nor should NPOs be granted any special legal status relative to other private law entities on their basis.
Practical Options for Reforming the Government-Organized, Public-Interest Foundation System: Perspectives from Institutional-Change and Path-Dependency Theories
Authors: Xiufeng Chen , Li Li
Published: July 2010

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have developed vigorously amid China’s current social transformations and government reforms. Government-organized, public-interest foundations are a new and unique example among these NPOs. While their arrival has helped introduce NPOs’ social, public-interest characteristics to a broader segment of the public, this type of NPO is also largely a derivation of government system transformations. Viewed as a process of institutional change, we can see, in China’s reforms, characteristics of increasing returns and path dependence. Theories of institutional change and path dependence can therefore not only offer a systematic response to and analysis of public-interest foundations’ emergence and reforms; they can also offer helpful new directions for the healthy development and organizational improvement of China’s foundations.
The Nu River Campaign and Changes in Governmental Agenda-Setting
Authors: Qi Zheng
Published: July 2010

This article uses the case of the Nu River campaign, under way from 1999 to the present, to shed light on changing models of government agenda-setting in China. A time serial comparison is employed: the issues that emerged at two different times were the same while the agenda-setting models employed were completely different. In 1999 the issue made its way onto the formal agenda behind closed doors, nontransparently; in 2003, however, the same issue received a high degree of public interest and participation. Comparative analysis yields three conclusions: (1) divergence of the departmental interests may lead to an expansion of the public’s role in agenda-setting; (2) outside groups, like environmental NGOs, are playing a fundamental role in public participation; (3) traditional, elite-centered politics in China are changing slowly but surely.
On the Applicability of “Provision-Appropriation” Theory to Irrigation Management: An Analysis Based on Institutional Change in the Dongping Irrigation Area
Authors: Jing Chen , Shizuan Kan , Zhihui Tong
Published: July 2010

This paper, based on historical research on irrigation administration in the Dongping area and on-site investigations into its current state, explores the benefits and problems produced by two institutional changes. As a common pool resource situation, irrigation systems’ “provision” and “appropriation” are two separate issues; any institutional change must thus offer two different solutions. The study concludes that the participatory changes undertaken in the Dongping irrigation area failed, in the end, to resolve the problem of irrigation system sustainability. In particular, it proved difficult for collective action to take place around provision, which led to difficulties in operating the irrigation system.
An Evaluation of Social Responsibility Reporting in China
Authors: Longhua Xu , Yi Zhao , Xinyu Xu
Published: July 2010

In the past two years, the issuance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports has become an important nonprofit practice of enterprises in China. As of April 2008, over eighty enterprises in China in industries such as biochemical and energy, food and beverage, computers, finance and insurance, and automotive had released CSR (or equivalent) reports. Using SustainAbility’s indicator system, the paper evaluates CSR reports issued by enterprises in China between May 2007 and April 2008. The paper finds reports’ descriptions of management and performance to be quite good, but that reports failed to give enough information about governance and strategy, data availability, audits, and other aspects. Furthermore, we discovered that the current indicator system, while able to evaluate the quality of reports in form, falls short of truly evaluating their contents. Thus, a new indicator system must be devised to allow an overall assessment of the content of reports.
Analyzing China's NGO Development System
Authors: Wang Ming , Liu Qiushi
Published: July 2010

In the process of human development, apart from family, political parties and religious groups, industry, government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) represent three fundamental social groupings and policy forms. In the past few years, NGOs have come to attract attention as a form of social community. This article is based on long-term empirical research into China's NGOs. It embarks upon this endeavor first through an explication of their definition and categories, as well as the social basis, central functions and property rights associated with NGO development, positing a number of important theoretical perspectives. Utilizing this basis the author will conduct specific analysis of policy characteristics and problems associated with the development of NGOs in China and will provide an outlook on future growth trends.
Measurement Indices of Civil Society and Exploration of Their Localization
Authors: Sun Long , Jia Xijin
Published: July 2010

This paper is a methodological examination of quantifiable comparisons of civil society. First, we trace the origins of civil society, pointing out the three levels of levels of semantic meaning of civil society and the background of the various applications of the word in modern language. The paper then goes on to introduce several internationally used measurement tools used to quantitatively evaluate civil society, then focuses on the application the Civil Society Index (CSI) in Mainland China to provide thoughts on the development of an evaluation system for the measurement of civil society. Finally, the paper attempts to look at the expanded use of CSI on a number of levels, including organizations, communities and projects.
Facilitating or Impeding – A Discourse on the Two-Sided Effects of Japan's NPO Law on the Growth of Civil Society
Authors: Kui Kaipin
Published: July 2010

To accommodate the historical transition of the civil society and the growing needs of non-government organizations (NGOs) of Japan, Japan had implemented the Nonprofit Organization (NPO) Law, which represented a special set of laws responsible for regulating NGOs. While the NPO Law encouraged many NGOs to apply for NPO status, it also attracted some skepticism. Many believed the NPO Law not only failed to promote NGOs but also impeded their growth. The NPO Law seemed to be beset with many "side effects." Combining the goals and historical context of Japan's NPO Law with the law's contents and the actual state of Japan's civil society, this article analyzed the two-sided effects of Japan's NPO Law on the growth of Japan's civil society. Japan's experience could help China create a better legal system for regulating NGOs.
Coverage of the Wenchuan Earthquake: An Overview
Authors: Lan Yuxin
Published: July 2010

Through a review of the relevant literature from CNKI's Chinese Academic Periodical Internet Publication Database and its China Important Newspapers Database, this paper analyzes the coverage of the Wenzhou Earthquake. It answers the following questions: Did the reports following the disaster have any defining patterns or characteristics? What public concerns were reflected in the reports? Which spheres of society will feel the lasting effects of the earthquake? The goal of the essay is to discover what lessons can be drawn from the earthquake disaster and to understand systematically and holistically the significance of the earthquake for Chinese people.
Pragmatics and Cognition: Intentions and Pattern Recognition in Context
Authors: Mazzone Marco
Published: July 2010

The importance of intention reading for communication has already been emphasized many years ago by Paul Grice. More recently, the rich debate on “theory of mind” has convinced many that intention reading may in fact play a key role also in current, cognitively oriented theories of pragmatics: Relevance Theory is a case in point. On a close analysis, however, it is far from clear that RT may really accommodate the idea that intention reading drives comprehension. Here I examine RT's difficulties with that idea, and propose a framework where intention reading is actually assigned a significant role. This framework is compatible with RT's account of a unified, automatic mechanism of interpretation in lexical pragmatics, to the extent that the account shares many features of associative and constraint-based explanations of other linguistic phenomena. In fact, my suggestion is that our sensitivity to others' intentions depends crucially on the availability of specific patterns of intentional behaviour grounded in social regularities. In other words, intention reading would be just a case, though a very special one, of pattern recognition.
On the Non-Unified Nature of Scalar Implicature: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Baker Rachel , Doran Ryan , McNabb Yaron , Larson Meredith , Ward Gregory
Published: July 2010

Scalar implicaure is often offered as the exemplar of generalized conversational implicature. However, despite the wealth of literature devoted to both the phenomenon in general and to specific examples, little attention has been paid to the various factors that may influence the generation and interpretation of scalar implicatures. This study employs the “Literal Lucy” methodology developed in Larson et al. (in press) to further investigate these factors in a controlled experimental setting. The results of our empirical investigation suggest that the type of scale employed affects whether or not speakers judge a particular scalar implicature to be part of the truth-conditional meaning of an utterance. Moreover, we found that features of the conversational context in which the implicature is situated also play an important role. Specifically, we have found that the number of scalar values evoked in the discourse context plays a significant role in the interpretation of scalar implicatures generated from gradable adjective scales but not other scale types. With respect to the effects of scale type, we have found that gradable adjectives were less frequently incorporated into truth-conditional meaning than cardinals, quantificational items, and ranked orderings. Additionally, ranked orderings were incorporated less than cardinals. Thus, the results from the current study show that the interpretation of scalar implicature is sensitive to both the associated scale type and discourse context.
Q-Phenomena, I-Phenomena and Impliciture: Some Experimental Pragmatics
Authors: Harnish Robert , Garrett Merrill
Published: July 2010

Elements of communicative content that are not expressed by constituents of the sentence uttered, what we will call "unexpressed elements of content" (UECs), played an important role in the history and development of generative grammar. In the 80's and 90's, mostly inspired by the work of Grice, UECs and mechanisms for recovering them not contemplated by linguistic theory of the time, began to surface under a variety of labels. We will collectively refer to these phenomena as 'impliciture' (extending Bach: 1994). Impliciture phenomena raise some interesting questions, only some of which is the field in a position to say anything about at present. Levinson (2000) has taken the useful step of distinguishing what we call "Q-phenomena", mostly related to linguistic scales, from "I-phenomena", mostly related to stereotypical information. Starting in the late 80's, experimental work began on the nature of these unspoken contents and their attendant mechanisms. In a recent study, Garrett and Harnish (2007) looked at I-phenomena, that have been proposed to depend on stereotypical background information. We asked whether these contents really are delivered by such mechanisms as "default heuristics", operating on general background knowledge, or whether they might be more tied to language via something like the "standardization" of a form for a certain use. Initial results for the materials tested seem to favor standardization as a mechanism for delivering this content. Completed research by Orjada (2007) and Rybarova (2007) extends the study of impliciture to additional examples and new populations. One assesses performance in RH damaged populations. The other contrasts performance for populations with high and low frontal lobe function.
Playing Poker
Authors: Davis Steven
Published: July 2010

Some researchers claim that utterances of sentences like "Claire has the three of clubs", shift their truth-values across situations of utterance. I examine one theory, Eros Corazza's, supplemented with the work of Barwise and Perry on situation semantics, to account for this supposed shift in truth-value. I argue that this account is inadequate. I then reconsider the example involving Claire and show that, when it is properly described, it does not support the claim that there is a change in its truth-value across different situations of utterance. Finally, I shall suggest that my re-description of the Claire example can be extended to other allegedly context-sensitive examples in the literature, the re-description of which calls into question the support that they are supposed to offer to contextualist semantic theories.
The Shifting Object of Desire: The Poetry of Oleksandr Irvanets
Authors: Shkandrij Myroslav
Published: July 2010

Oleksandr Irvanets produced some of his best known works shortly after Ukraine's declaration of independence in 1991. The writer's irreverent, ironic, and humorous reworking of the Ukrainian self-image is analyzed. Using the writings of Slavoj Žižek and Jacques Lacan, the author argues that the poems surprise the reader by dislocating the object of desire from its expected, “traditional,” place, and relocating it in another, wholly unexpected, one. In this way Irvanets reveals existing fantasy structures both in the patriotic poem and in the Soviet cliché. He questions their validity and suggests the need for a new sense of identity.
Geography Matters: Regionalism and Identities in Contemporary Ukrainian Prose
Authors: Rewakowicz Maria G.
Published: July 2010

This paper examines the representations of four Ukrainian cities (Kyiv, Rivne, Chernivtsi, and Lviv) in a few selected fictional narratives by four contemporary Ukrainian authors. Each of these cities represents not just concrete urban settings, but also provides a certain set of beliefs, myths, and historical accounts. The sense of belonging to the local territory is underscored, yet the sense of belonging to the nation and the world is not dismissed. Kurkov, Irvanets, Kozhelianko, and Vynnychuk celebrate the city as a generator and site of identity, simultaneously regional and national.
Perceptions of teen pregnancy among high school students in Sweet Home, Oregon
Authors: Little Tim , Henderson Jessica , Pedersen Peggy , Stonecipher Linda
Published: July 2010

Background: The purpose of this study was to gain insights into the perceptions and attitudes about teen pregnancy among high school students in a rural area with high teen pregnancy rates.

Methods: Five focus groups were conducted with: (1) females in 9th—10th grades; (2) females in 11th—12th grades; (3) males in 9th—10th grades; (4) males in 11th—12th grades; and (5) pregnant/parenting females in 9th—12th grades.

Results: Common themes among the students were that: (1) the number of teen pregnancies was increasing and was a growing concern; (2) financial difficulties and harm to education were associated with teen pregnancies; (3) teen females had many reasons for wanting a baby, but teen males just wanted to have sex; and (4) pregnancy happened by chance, or was simply an inadvertent consequence of having sex.

Conclusions: To reduce teen pregnancy, the developmental asset model offers community members, teachers and parents guidelines to work together to develop key assets in youth that may protect against risky sexual behaviours.
Meanings of food, eating and health in Punjabi families living in Vancouver, Canada
Authors: Chapman Gwen E , Ristovski-Slijepcevic Svetlana , Beagan Brenda L
Published: July 2010

Objective: South Asians living in western countries have increased risk for developing diet-related chronic disease compared to Caucasians of European heritage. To increase understanding of social and cultural factors associated with their food habits, this study examined the meanings of food, health and well-being embedded in the food practices of families of Punjabi heritage living in Metro Vancouver, Canada.

Design: Qualitative research design.

Setting: Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Method: Data collection included individual interviews with 39 members of 12 families of Punjabi Sikh origin (ages 13 to 70 years) and participant observation of a grocery shopping trip and family meal. Themes were generated through constant comparative analysis of transcripts to describe, organize and interpret influences on participants’ food decision-making in families.

Findings: Participants’ descriptions of their eating habits were characterized by contrasts between elders’ reliance on traditional Indian foods and young people’s desire for their diets to include at least some ‘western’ food. Participants articulated two different understandings of how food habits affect physical health: a scientific approach that related specific food components (eg, fat, cholesterol, vitamins) to risk of chronic disease, and a view based on centuries of traditional knowledge about food. Food choice was also shaped by concerns for the psychosocial well-being of individual family members, exemplified by women’s attention to food preferences of individuals in the family.

Conclusion: These findings add to understanding of the varied ways food practices are implicated in constructing ethnic identities, and provide insight into cultural influences on health behaviours.
‘I hope I haven’t run over you’
Authors: Førland Georg , Ringsberg Karin C
Published: July 2010

Objective: The aim of the present study was to explore how user participation is practised in two courses at a local Learning and Mastery Centre with regard to the process of planning, implementation and evaluation of the courses and from these two cases to further discuss how user participation might be facilitated or hindered.

Design: A descriptive embedded multiple-case study design with one main unit and three subunits of analysis was chosen.

Setting: A local Learning and Mastery Centre in Norway.

Method: The main unit of study was how user participation was practised at a local LMC in Norway. Data were collected by means of observations, interviews and documents. In the analysis, content analysis was used.

Results: None of the courses were in line with the understanding of the concept of user participation in health promotion when participation was practised as ‘taking part’ and not as ‘having an influence’. The funding system for the courses probably influenced the opportunities for user participation. The evaluation system proved to be of limited value for improving the quality of forthcoming courses.

Conclusion: Detailed and standardized guidelines like the Standard Method seemed not to be a guarantee of user participation. Guidelines such as the Standard Method might neglect the complexity of user participation, and could be a straitjacket for both professionals and users. They should include a requirement of documentation of how participation is ensured and practised in the specific context of each single course.