Les normes comptables comme institution du capitalisme. Une analyse du passage aux normes IFRS en Europe à partir de 2005

In 2002, the European Union changed direction from its past efforts to harmonise European accounting systems and turned instead to a subcontractor, requiring listed European companies to adopt accounting standards drawn up by a private London-based organisation, the IASB (International Accounting Standards Board), which had until then had no public mandate. This decision was all the more significant because the EU has no institutional means of control over the IASB, although it was the first geographical group to decide to impose these standards on its businesses. IASB standards are rooted in the “anglo-saxon” tradition of standardisation for the financial markets, and the view of the enterprise they promote diverges from the accounting traditions of continental European capitalism. This article shows how the new standards are transforming the concept of enterprise, and examines the span of factors that brought about what is a major institutional change for European capitalism. — Special issue: New patterns of institutions.     

African American Migration to the North: New Evidence for the 1910s

The years between 1910 and 1920 witnessed the first wave of the "Great Migration" of African Americans to the North. This article uses new census data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series project to study self‐selection patterns in African American migration during this important decade. The results indicate that, contrary to contemporary accounts, migration rates rose at least as much among the literate as among the illiterate (and perhaps more), and migration increased more for married African Americans than for the unmarried.     

Bilingual Education Models in Latvia: A view from Belarus

In this article, we look at several issues relating to bilingual education in Latvia, as prescribed by the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science. We examine these issues from the perspective of the past and present situation in Belarus, Russia and the former Soviet Union. It is clear, in our view, that bilingual offers both advantages, but also various drawbacks if it is not implemented in an appropriate way. This applies to both the societal and the personal (cognitive level). Movement towards the dominant languages (in this case Latvian) needs to be viewed as a gradual process. Although each generation of newcomers might start with a passive knowledge of the dominant (second) language, this changes into a fluent grasp of the second language across generations. The original native language will lose its dominance in this process.     

Characterizations of gamma,inverse Gaussian,and negative binomial distributions via their length-biased distributions

A general form for characterizing inverse Gaussian and Wald distributions, based on their respective length-biased distributions, is introduced. Further results for characterizations of the gamma distribution, the negative binomial distribution and some mixtures of them by using their lengthbiased distributions are establised.     

Premarital Cohabitation and Housework: Couples in Cross‐National Perspective

The authors examine the effect of premarital cohabitation on the division of household labor in 22 countries. First, women do more routine housework than men in all countries. Second, married couples that cohabited before marriage have a more equal division of housework. Third, national cohabitation rates have equalizing effects on couples regardless of their own cohabitation experience. However, the influence of cohabitation rates is only observed in countries with higher levels of overall gender equality. The authors conclude that the trend toward increasing cohabitation may be part of a broader social trend toward a more egalitarian division of housework.     

'Making Culture Matter': Symbolic,Spatial and Social Boundaries between Uyghurs and Han Chinese

This article illustrates how Uyghurs in the 1990s defined and reinforced contemporary Uyghur national identity in relation to Xinjiang's growing Han Chinese population. Adopting Barth's theory of fluid and negotiable ethnic boundaries, it focuses on the notion of change. While Uyghurs are currently activating and exaggerating certain religio-cultural differences--in particular the avoidance of pork--as a means of ensuring symbolic, spatial and social segregation from the Han, those criteria did not prevent interaction to the same extent in the past; nor do they prevent Uyghurs from making concessions when it benefits them to do so. It is argued that it is not religio-cultural differences per se that lie at the root of increased tensions between Uyghurs and Han Chinese, but changing social, political and economic contexts: on the one hand, growing Uyghur perceptions of socio-economic inequalities between themselves and the Han (the 'internal factor') and, on the other, the vast changes within the international political arena since the late 1980s (the 'external factor').     

Self-defense training for college women.

This article explores the effectiveness of self-defense training for college women. Advocates of self-defense training believe these courses will not only provide women with the physical survival techniques necessary to repel attacks effectively, but that this kind of training will also help to prevent future violence by developing traits such as assertiveness and confidence in individuals. There is evidence that women who convey such characteristics are less likely to be victimized. Opponents argue that self-defense training does not properly prepare women for an attack, does not adequately address acquaintance rape threats, and can provide a dangerous false sense of security to students. This article reviews the relevant literature, outlines practical suggestions for initiatives in this area, and describes a model self-defense course at one university. Guidelines for evaluation and implications for university policy and program decisions that address violence against women on college campuses are included.     

Sources of drug information among adolescent students

A sample of 1023 eighth and tenth grade students in small to medium-sized central Texas school districts was assessed to determine the amount of information they receive from ten sources about six categories of drugs. The amount of information males reported receiving about each drug category was significantly greater than what females reported, and the amount of information that eighth graders reported receiving about each drug category was significantly greater than what tenth graders reported. Television was the primary source of drug information for all categories of drugs except inhalants, for which friends and television were equally important sources. Parents and printed media (magazines or newspapers) were of secondary importance, followed by friends and teachers. Adolescents were less likely to receive drug-related information from experience, siblings, church, doctors, and police. The reliance on the mass media for drug information in smaller school districts is a pattern which has been previously observed in larger urban districts. This consistency suggests that mass media approaches to drug education are likely to be as effective in rural areas and smaller towns as they are among urban adolescents. Implications for television programming are discussed.