So Many Civilizations,So Few Pages: A Review Essay*

Books reviewed in this article: Christian Joppke Selecting by Origin: Ethnic Migration in the Liberal State Douglas S. Massey and J. Edward Taylor (EDS.) International Migration: Prospects and Policies in a Global Market United Nations Research Institute For Social Development Gender Equality: Striving for Justice in an Unequal World International Organization For Migration Arab Migration in a Globalized World     

Elders and the courts: judicial policy for an aging America

This article examines how trial courts should address complex issues of an aging society. More older people, living longer, will enter courthouses with underlying problems that will impede effective access and court processes and will require judges to enhance linkages with community health, mental health, and social services providers. The article analyzes how court systems perceive these issues and explores how they have begun to address them. It concludes with an argument in support of innovative new approaches to assist courts in responding to emerging issues of older adults.     

Liberalism and the decay of the American political economy

Free markets and liberalism in Europe both emerged as the result of a particular combination of structural, cultural and personality variables. Both functioned relatively successfully because they operated within the framework of certain assumptions about the nature and acceptable limits of self-interest. These assumptions are now collapsing, in part as a function of internal contradictions in liberal capitalism itself, and, in part, as a function of the challenge of new elites which have become increasingly significant in advanced capitalist societies.     

Gun possession among Massachusetts batterer intervention program enrollees

Batterers with access to firearms present a serious lethal threat to their partners. The purpose of this exploratory study is to estimate the prevalence of and risk markers for gun possession among Massachusetts men enrolled in batterer intervention programs. The authors found that 1.8% of the men reported having a gun in or around their home. Those most likely to report having a gun were White, earned 25,000 US dollars or more per year, had served in the military, engaged in problem gambling, and had attempted homicide or threatened their partner with a firearm. Recommendations for strengthening relevant gun laws both within and outside of Massachusetts are discussed.     

Principles and Practice of Urban Planning,Edited by William I. Goodman and Eric C. Freund. Washington,D. C.: International City Managers' Assoc., 1968. 621 pp. $12.50 Hardbound

This article identifies and discusses a series of interrelated pragmatic steps that can be employed by schools interested in improving their curricula by including relevant minority content. Identification of general principles, supporting rationales, and manipulable, extrinsic organizational rewards are presented as necessary building blocks for designing an Alternate Incentive Network. The function of the network is to encourage faculty involvement in developing and teaching minority content within the framework of existing or new courses.     

The effect of a college sexual assault prevention program on first-year students' victimization rates

OBJECTIVE: Although a variety of sexual assault prevention programs are currently available to college health professionals, there is a dearth of information about the effect of these programs on sexual assault victimization rates. PARTICIPANTS: The authors evaluated the efficacy of a sexual assault prevention program for first-year students at a college in the Northeast (N = 1,982). METHODS: They used a retrospective cohort design and assessed the prevalence of sexual assault victimization among students exposed to the sexual assault prevention program and students 1 year their senior who were not exposed. RESULTS: Students who had no exposure were more likely to report that they were sexually assaulted during their first year of college (odds ratio = 1.74, 95% confidence interval [1.32-2.29]). Results suggest that the program was effective for males and females, but not for students with a prior history of sexual assault victimization. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual students were at increased risk for victimization as compared with heterosexual students, and students who drank alcohol or engaged in binge drinking were at increased risk as compared with alcohol abstinent students. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that this program had a positive effect on victimization rates for certain sub-groups of students.