Expenditure Differences of University Degree Holders Across Occupational Sectors in Malaysia

This study was motivated by the key role university degree holders play in Malaysia's vision for the future and by concerns expressed about the drift of university degree holders from one sector to another. A questionnaire was mailed to a sample of 400 Malaysian families that had at least one member who held a university degree. The objective was to elicit details of the household economic situation of respondents, with special reference to the differences in expenditure patterns between families whose degree holder worked in higher education, government, or the private sector.Results of tobit analysis of expenditures show that there are some differences between the sectors regarding expenditure patterns, but the differences are not as great as expected. Nevertheless, university-educated persons in the private sector seem to have somewhat different expenditure patterns than their counterparts in other sectors.     

A FAMILY THERAPIST RATING SCALE*

This article reports the development of a scale for evaluating family therapist skills. The scale includes ten items within each of five skill categories. All items were found to discriminate significantly between videotaped segments of effective and ineffective family therapist skills. Also all skill categories discriminated significantly between experienced and inexperienced family therapists. The interrater reliability and internal consistency of the categories were also judged to be acceptable. Suggestions are presented for uses of the scale in therapist training research.     

Civil society organizations and participatory local governance in Pakistan: An exploratory study

This paper analyses the extent to which the civil society organizations (CSOs) have influenced the decision‐making of the local government toward the needs and priorities of citizens. In development discourse, civil society organizations hold a significant importance as they are deemed to provide holistic and new ways to ensure participatory local governance. Therefore, their role against the backdrop of their involvement in mobilizing citizens’ involvement and influencing decision‐making in Pakistan calls for further research. This paper aims to fill this gap. Using qualitative research methods, the current paper appraises the role of CSOs in mobilizing public involvement in the decision‐making process of local government institutions of Punjab, Pakistan. The paper finds that the effectiveness of CSOs is very low due to various institutional and political constraints. Motivations for CSOs seeking citizen involvement have been instrumental in nature rather than motivated by participatory principles.