Measuring the effects of oil price and Euro-area shocks on CEECs business cycles

Assessing the cyclical alignment of national business cycles with the Euro-area one is of great importance in order to guide policy decisions concerning the enlargement of the Euro area. To this end, in this paper we aim to measure the effects of external macroeconomic shocks on business cycles of Central and Eastern European Countries, not yet Euro-area members. Using quarterly data from 1999 to 2015 and the structural near-VAR methodology, we focus on the effects of Euro-area monetary policy and global oil price shocks on prices and output of the analyzed countries. Results show that business cycle fluctuations are mainly explained by domestic shocks in the short run, while monetary policy and oil price shocks play an increasing role in the medium run. Adding domestic fiscal shocks, the overall picture does not change significantly, since fiscal policy turns out to be a minor driver of business cycle fluctuations in CEECs. In the whole, our findings do not support an Euro-area enlargement at short horizons.     

Success Values and the Value Stretch: a Biracial Comparision*

This study is an attempt to replicate and extend past research dealing with the controversy over the existence of common versus class-differentiated success values. Three sets of hypotheses derived from Rodman's theory of the value stretch are tested. Two random cluster samples, one white, one black, were drawn from Roanoke, Virginia, yielding a total of 202 respondents. Results generally contradicted Rodman's theory; instead, a moderately class differentiated set of success values was found. Comparisons between blacks and whites surprisingly showed blacks with higher expectations when class was controlled. Age was associated with lower expectations as predicted. New directions for future research are offered.     

Correlates of Engagement in Family Therapy

Sixty-five families who continued in conjoint family therapy were compared on a variety of antecedent variables to 65 families who dropped out. The following factors were found to be associated with engagement in therapy: (a) age of the identified patient; (b) number of children in the family; (c) the family's prior involvement with community agencies; (d) the presence or absence of antisocial acting-out; and (e) attendance of father at both the initial intake interview and early treatment sessions. Maximal discrimination between continuing and dropout families was demonstrated by simultaneous consideration of several significant variables. The implication of these results for family therapy selection criteria are discussed.     

First-Aid Activities and Well-Being: The Experience of Professional and Volunteer Rescuers

ABSTRACT

While several studies have highlighted the negative consequences of trauma exposure on rescuers’ health, the psychological factors promoting rescuers’ well-being have rarely been investigated. The present study aimed at analyzing the quality of rescuing experience among professionals and volunteers of the Italian Red Cross. The experiences of 14 professional and 11 volunteer ambulance rescuers were examined through the repeated assessment of their subjective evaluations of daily activities and contexts in real time. Their experience fluctuation pattern was analyzed based on the levels of environmental challenges and personal skills perceived during daily activities. Both professionals and volunteers reported frequent exposure to highly challenging situations while rescuing and associated this activity with high concentration, involvement, and control. Perceptions of anxiety were significantly more frequent among volunteers. For both groups, first-aid activities were reported to provide optimal experience, a complex and rewarding condition characterized by the perception of high challenges matched with adequate skills. Results suggested that working as rescuers can promote well-being through optimal experiences. The potential for skill refinement and individual development embedded in rescuing activities, together with individual characteristics, should be taken into account in designing training programs for professionals and volunteers.     

Afghanistan: A Change of Course?

The situation in Afghanistan today is not what the international community was planning it to be, 7 years ago when the Bonn Agreement was signed. Deterioration of security, weak governance, corruption, high narcotic production and trade, slow reconstruction process and consequent people’s disappointment are some of the features of that situation. Kabul and its international partners had a very little success in restoring peace and security, and a new phase of strategic re-thinking is in process. This article analyzes the different aspects of Afghan reconstruction and military intervention, their strengths and weaknesses, and outlines some urgent actions to be taken by all concerned actors.

Digitized diaspora governance during the COVID-19 pandemic: China's diaspora mobilization and Chinese migrant responses in Italy

We explore how the Chinese diaspora state during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 managed to transform a severe health crisis into a geo-political opportunity for transnational nation-building through diaspora governance based on extensive use of social media technologies. By adopting a multi-scalar perspective, we analyse the intertwined nature of top-down and bottom-up processes of the Chinese Party-state's diaspora mobilization. Based on discourse and ethnographic analysis, we argue that China's diaspora governance exposed a new and strong capacity for extra-territorial governance. We explore how discursive hegemony, social control and diaspora mobilization were achieved by widely employing the Chinese social media application, WeChat. We also contend that this was facilitated by the Italian government's and media's pro-China attitudes to emphasize the importance of considering transnational embeddedness when studying the implementation and impact of interactive online technology for diaspora governance in an illiberal political context.