Historical Analogies and the Cognitive Dimension of Domestic Policymaking

Established models of the domestic policymaking process accord some role to the individual decision-maker, but they usually fail to show how policy decisions are ultimately influenced by the character of the information available to the policymakers concerned. Drawing on one prominent model of decision-making developed by analysts of foreign policy—the analogical reasoning approach—this article proposes that individual-level approaches are most useful in domestic policy analysis where decision-makers must confront a discrete policy "episode" in which perceived levels of cognitive uncertainty and ambiguity are high. An analysis of decision-making by political leaders during the 1967 Detroit riots reveals that these leaders made widespread use of historical analogies at various stages of the policymaking process. Policymakers can probably be expected to rely on analogizing under circumstances and contexts that make cognitive demands similar to those observed in the Detroit case.     

Delayed matching-to-sample performance of hens: Effects of sample duration and response requirements during the sample

Six domestic hens were trained under a delayed matching-to-sample procedure with red and green keylights as sample and comparison stimuli and a 1.5-s delay interval. The hens were trained to stop pecking the sample stimuli when a tone sounded. Duration of the sample stimuli (2 to 10 s) and the number of pecks required on the key on which these stimuli were presented (0 to 10) were altered across conditions. Both the response requirement on the sample key and the duration of sample presentations affected accuracy. These findings are in agreement with those of earlier studies using other species and somewhat different procedures.     

No Place Like Home? Potential Pathways to Loneliness in Older Adults Under the Care of a Live-In Foreign Home Care Worker

The arrangement in which frail older adults from the developed world are cared for in their homes by individuals from the developing world has become increasingly prevalent worldwide. In Israel, this arrangement is termed foreign home care. In this article, the authors first describe the global phenomenon of foreign home care of frail older adults as well as the more local characteristics of this arrangement in Israel. The authors then describe the concept of loneliness. Based on empirical and theoretical knowledge in the field of loneliness, the authors argue that older adults under live-in foreign home care may be particularly prone to feelings of loneliness for several reasons: some that are general to older adults with cognitive or physical disability and others that are specific to this particular caregiving arrangement. The authors conclude by providing ideas for future practice and research on this highly vulnerable group that, to date, has received only minimal research attention.     

Defining Islamic modernity through creative writing: a case study of Indonesian domestic workers in Hong Kong

Indonesian domestic workers (IDWs) have been frequently stereotyped as uneducated and submissive women with little or no bargaining power in transnational labour migration. This article examines why and how literacy practices help foster the activism of IDWs in Hong Kong. In particular, I seek to understand the significance of IDWs’ writing in relation to Islamic modernities. Using the framework of alternative modernities, I argue that the creative process of IDWs’ writing sheds light to their attempts to exercise individual and collective agency. Specifically, the article looks at the role of Forum Lingkar Pena (Pen Circle Forum, FLP) Hong Kong, an IDW writing community, to reveal how its collective literacy practices help affirm Islamic values as part of a modernisation process on IDWs’ own terms.     

Battered women venerating a vicious Virgin: Reconsidering Marianismo at a Bolivian pilgrimage shrine

Scholarly literature on domestic violence in Latin America often relates it to machismo and marianismo. Within this gender paradigm, women are understood to embrace the values of the Virgin Mary as a passive submissive role model. However, these studies omit facts relating to the actual role of the Virgin in daily practices. This article investigates whether women indeed view Mary as encouraging them to passively accept gender-related suffering by relating Bolivian women's experiences of domestic violence to their daily interpretations of the Virgin of Urkupiña in Quillacollo, Bolivia. We have found that the influences of religious syncretism have been largely ignored. In daily religious experiences of battered women the Virgin of Urkupiña's association with Pachamama is of great importance. We argue that women do not accept their situation in a marianistic way. Rather, rage is a central concept in their religious experiences. As their economical, social and physical means are limited, women draw on spiritual powers, among which is the Virgin of Urkupiña. The Virgin of Urkupiña is not only venerated for her capacity to endure suffering, but also as a powerful goddess of vengeance.     

Summary and Recommendation

No abstract available for this article.     

Adaptive and maladaptive personality traits as predictors of violent and nonviolent offending behavior in men and women

The aim of this study was to assess both violent and nonviolent offending behavior in a single, mixed‐sex population. The rationale for this is that the two types of offending are usually researched separately, despite evidence that they overlap. A comprehensive measure of general violence, intimate partner violence (IPV), and nonviolent offending behavior was administered to 116 men and 181 women, together with measures of personality and personality disorder (PD) traits, to investigate whether predictors of violent and nonviolent offending were similar or different for men and women. Men were found to perpetrate higher levels of general violence and nonviolent offenses than women, but women perpetrated significantly more IPV than men. Cluster B PD traits predicted all three offense types for women and also men's general violence and nonviolent offending. Women's general violence and men's non‐violence also had one unique risk factor each, low agreeableness, and low conscientiousness, respectively. The main difference was for IPV, where men's IPV was predicted by cluster A PD traits, indicating that men's and women's risk factors for IPV may be different, although their risk factors for the other offense types were fairly consistent. Aggr. Behav. 36:177–186, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Positioning theory as a discursive approach to understanding same‐sex intimate violence

This study focuses on same‐sex intimate violence, recognizing that violence in gay and lesbian relationships is as severe and prevalent as in heterosexual relationships. Positioning theory as a relational approach is used as an alternative to the dominant individual and structural accounts. Intimate violence is seen as produced through the assignment of rights and duties or positioning in couples' conversations. Two gay and two lesbian couples were interviewed. A basic discursive pattern was found from 25 accounts of episodes involving physical violence. Violence ensued only after the initiator of violence had claimed innocence or blamelessness and attributed guilt or blame on the receiver of violence. The findings are discussed in relation to the discursive production of power and violence.