Varieties of political support in emerging democracies: A cross-national analysis

Political support is a multidimensional construct encompassing evaluations of political leaders and institutions (specific support) as well as adherence to basic regime principles (diffuse support). Scholars have traditionally assumed that diffuse and specific support are driven by different forces and evolve largely independently. Prior empirical work, however, has struggled to untangle the two support dimensions and focused predominantly on cross-national differences, ignoring their dynamics. This paper develops an analytical and empirical approach to examine the levels and dynamic interplay of both support dimensions and estimate their determinants, applying it to South American democracies between 1996 and 2015. Contrary to received wisdom, we show that both dimensions are quite volatile and closely linked in this region. In particular, negative economic shocks not only undermine support for government actors, but also fuel democratic disenchantment. Nonetheless, while regime support is rather fickle in South America, it can be ultimately resistant to performance fluctuations.     

Professional discretion and length of work experience: what findings from focus groups with care managers in elder care suggest

ABSTRACT

Research has explored how care managers in elder care – who often function as ‘street-level bureaucrats’ – regard professional discretion. The way in which length of work experience affects care managers’ use of professional discretion remains, however, unexplored. This article present findings from 12 focus groups with 60 care managers. By bringing attention to how care managers experience the needs assessment process, this article sheds light on how these ‘street-level bureaucrats’ struggle when they try to balance their clients’ needs against institutional frameworks and local guidelines. Length of work experience seems to play a role in how care managers claim to use professional discretion. Experienced care managers describe how they deviate from the guidelines at times in order to create an increased scope of action in their decision-making process. Those with less time in the profession describe greater difficulties in this respect. Findings suggest that research should explore if length of work experience plays a role in the actual way in which care managers assess needs and make decisions. As such, they contribute to our understanding of how needs assessment processes are navigated by professionals while also pointing towards the nature of professional discretion in gerontological social work.     

甘肃南部林区族群生存文化的生态人类学研究——以舟曲县3个藏汉村寨为例

甘肃省南部林区属于国家长江上游水土保持重点防治区域,具有非常重要的战略地位。世代居住在这块地方上的藏、汉族群积累了大量与所处环境相适应的生存技能和经验。构筑起与这种生态环境相适应的生存文化,形成了以森林为核心的生态系统与以苯教为核心的生存文化之间的共生关系。在保护当地生态环境、改善类似地区的生态环境、改变同一地区不同族群的生态观念等方面都能发挥作用,具有很强的实用价值,应该进行深入发掘和总结。     

美国未成年人案件保密性原则及其松动

美国未成年人案件保密性原则在司法实践中比较复杂。基于"双轨制"现实,未成年人身份过错、偏差及轻微犯罪案件通常由少年法院审理;而对于较严重的未成年人刑事案件,则会移送至刑事(成人)法院审理。对于后者,因其刑事性质,被移送受审的未成年人将被视为成年人受审,其案件庭审及记录除特殊情形外原则上不予保密。而对于前者,此类案件大体上适用保密性原则。不过随着对儿童利益最佳原则及防卫社会的双向反思,对在少年司法体系内的较严重犯罪案件与虐待、遗弃及照管不良等案件,少年法院保密性原则亦有较大松动。     

民族乡经济发展探究——基于区域经济学的视角

民族乡虽然只是区域经济范畴中的一些较小区域,但它们却是我国民族经济、民族政策的重要组成部分,因而民族乡区域经济发展研究十分重要。本文基于区域经济学的视角,探讨了"十一五"时期以来我国民族乡经济发展的显著成效,分析它们存在的主要问题,总结民族乡经济发展的经验和教训,提出民族乡区域经济发展方式优化调整的建议,以便更好地促进民族乡经济社会的科学发展。     

民主革命时期党的纲领建设及其基本经验

中国共产党从成立时起就开始了自己的纲领建设,并在这一问题上不断探索,虽也有因为认识原因造成的失误,但主要是成功的经验。这些经验包括:必须把党的最高纲领和最低纲领、长远目标和近期目标有机结合起来,党的纲领建设必须与本国国情相结合,必须制定正确的政治路线,必须对中国革命的长期性和艰巨性有充分的估计。     

对女性个体经验的言说——论玛丽·雪莱的《玛西尔达》

玛丽·雪莱在《玛西尔达》借助于对女性个体经验的言说,直言了女性在父权社会主体性场域内外的个体经验的文化困境。     

Single Parenting in the African American Community: Implications for Public Policy and Practice

The percentage of female-headed African American families has increased significantly since the 1960s. It is now estimated that over half of all African American children will grow up in a female-headed household. This article examines factors related to the formation of these households as well as the challenges associated with these households. Policies and programs that have been implemented to treat these families are examined.     

Dating Violence,Young African American Males,and Risk and Protective Factors: A Review of the Literature

This report examines the extant literature on dating violence, young African American males, and risk and protective factors. Studies have shown that correlates exist between community factors, parental discipline, and gender role beliefs in young African American males that place them at risk for dating perpetration. Studies have also shown that protective factors such as adequate adult supervision, social support, and problem-solving skills exist and can mitigate risk. Implications for research and programming are also discussed.     

Troubling the ‘Happy Family’: US Liberalism and Narratives of Transnational Adoption and Immigration from China

This essay connects adoption and immigration from China by considering the relationship between the adoptee and the Chinese nanny hired to care for her. I examine news media alongside Wendy Lee’s 2008 novel, Happy Family, which portrays the adoptive family through the perspective of a Fujianese immigrant domestic worker. Transnational adoption from China emerged in the early 1990s as undocumented immigration from the Fujian province rose, representing a major shift in Chinese immigration. These practices have been apprehended divergently in mainstream discourses. This essay approaches the family as a site of neoliberal privatization that frames adoption in terms of inclusion into US national ideologies of race, gender, and class, while undocumented immigration from China has been framed through exclusion. I argue that the nanny destabilizes the construction of the family as a space of depoliticized inclusion through her labor, revealing the neoliberal inequalities that shape both adoption and immigration.