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This article suggests that Buber's idea of the community may hint at an alternative to the more common foundations of political thought, usually grounded on notions of power or rationality. Showing how Buber's idea of the community developed from a neo-romantic form (in his early writings) to a principle informed by the dialogical dimension of human life (from I and Thou onwards), I will point out the vertical dimension of political life ensuing from Buber's discourse. A discussion of the theopolitical principle as expressed in Buber's Kingship of God will lead to the conclusion that, both descriptively and normatively, politics needs an openness to transcendence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty years ago, the International Social Security Review published an article that introduced a new term to the vocabulary of development and social protection: Microinsurance. Now, twenty years later, it is suitable to take stock of the contribution of microinsurance towards promoting coverage and social security. The article reviews the main insights gained from 20 years of implementation, including a clear expression of the value proposition of health microinsurance, understanding the demand for microinsurance, the business process for successful implementation, and conditions that must be satisfied for scaling and sustainable operations. It also explains the context that led to a considerable divergence in the microinsurance space. The article offers a discussion of unresolved issues and thoughts about the future of microinsurance. The conclusion of this article is that microinsurance can flourish when the necessary four pillars for its implementation exist, namely mainstreaming through political support, enhanced insurance literacy of the customers, technical assistance to self‐administer the schemes, and availability of seed capital. The sufficient additional condition is that customers perceive microinsurance as offering welfare gains that cannot be obtained by other means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The infant mental health field can amplify its effects when it extends its purview beyond the dyad to the larger contexts in which infants and adult caregivers interact and develop over time. Within health, mental health, education, and other human service organizations, the quality of relationships is a critical variable in the individual-level outcomes that such organizations seek. The goals of this work and the means for accomplishing them are highly dependent on human qualities and interactions that are shaped by organizational processes. In communities, too, processes that shape relationships also strongly influence child-, family-, and community-level outcomes. The Touchpoints approach to reflective practice can guide relational processes among professionals, parents, and infants in organizations and communities that influence these outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Little research has been done to evaluate the effectiveness of early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) in rural, applied settings. In this mixed-methods study, we evaluated an approach to ECMHC used in rural Southwest Kansas with individualized services for childcare providers. Twenty-nine home-based and center-based childcare providers completed measures on provider growth, perceptions of child outcomes, and satisfaction with sessions. In total, 162 data points were collected and analyzed using multilevel growth models. In addition, 16 providers participated in qualitative interviews. Both home-based and center-based providers reported very high satisfaction with consultation sessions which increased with time, although home-based providers showed significantly higher satisfaction than did center-based providers. Provider growth, encompassing personal well-being, scheduling and transitions, connections with parents, and positive discipline strategies increased significantly over time. Child outcomes, encompassing prosocial behavior, resilience, and overall well-being also improved significantly in providers' perception. ECMHC as conducted in Southwest Kansas appears to have a positive effect on childcare providers and the children in their care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will present some of the relational contexts and considerations of a female therapist’s role within an island community group for women who have shared experiences of abuse and injustice; her relationship to the group, to her systemic and narrative practices; and to the research that has ensued. Exploring the changing relational contexts as the group moves from a facilitator led to a peer support group; and the associated language shifts from a binary discourse of ‘other than’ to a collective definition of ‘sisterhood’ is part of the story, which also includes the important themes of community engagement, social action and the complexities of insider/practice-based research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There has been a shift from teaching to learning, the so-called process of 'learnification', which promotes the idea that teaching should be primarily concerned with the creation of rich learning environments and scaffolding student learning. In doing so, this process of 'learnification' has also attacked the idea that teachers have something to teach and that students have something to learn from their teachers. The influence of constructivism, and thinkers like Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bruner in this paradigm shift is quite evident; however, this gives rise to a tension in what a teacher is and what teaching entails, because the teacher, by definition, is someone who has something to teach students, and not merely a facilitator of the learning process. Moreover, because of constructivism and 'learnification', current educational practices and policies seem to pay little attention to the importance of 'relations' and 'the encounter with the Other', which become merely desirable by- products. In this article I criticise constructivism and 'learnification' by proposing that the teacher is a community 'builder' and teaching a 'situational revelation', while also emphasising the importance of 'relations' in the educational process. The starting point for my discussion is a much neglected passage of I and Thou where Martin Buber discusses the importance of the 'living centre' [lebendigen Mitte] for 'true community' [Die wahre Gemeinde] formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with issues of creating a new network of local and regional self-government units. Introduction comprises basic ideas of reorganisation followed by the analysis of the isues: (1) relations between the state and the local (and regional) self-government authorities with a survey of their historical development, a relation between state administration and self-government in sense of theory as well as constitutional and legal regulation of the relations; (2) electoral system for representative and executive bodies in local and regional self-government units; (3) questions concerning local government authorities size e.g. area and population size, a need to establish democratic relations and immediate self-government as a factor that influences municipality size, efficiency relations, and cost-benefit among numerous factors while at the same time respecting tradition; (4) issue of interaction between administrations of local, regional government authorities and the state with principles for organizing modern administration as a service to local and regional self-government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Im Artikel wird die Verfassung des Fürstentums Liechtenstein von 1921 behandelt. Obwohl diese Verfassung als Modifizierung der Verfassung von 1862 bezeichnet wird, wurden in dieser Verfassung viele Neuerungen verankert. Sie wird als liberale, streng abänderbare und oktroyierte Verfassung bezeichnet. Vor allem sollte die starke Stellung des Fürsten im Verfassungsgefüge unterstrichen werden. Gleichzeitg sollte man aber auch die wichtige Rolle des Volkes erwähnen, das die direkte Demokratie in Form von verfassungsgebenden Initiativen und Volksabstimmungen verwirklichen kann. Weiterhin hat die Autorin im Artikel das Institut der Menschenrechte und -freiheiten und ihre verfassungsrechtliche Garantien erörtert. Es wird hier auch eine große Aufmerksamkeit den verfassungsrechtlichen Institutionen -- dem Fürst, dem Landtag, der Regierung sowie den Gerichten geschenkt sowie eine kurze Analyse ihrer Berufung, Zusammensetzung und Befugnisse vorgebracht. Es werden gleichzeitig die nach der Volksabstimmung von 2003, als die Frage über die breite der Befugnisse von Staatgewalten gestellt und für die Erhaltung einer starken und politisch aktiven Monarchie entschieden wurde, stattgefundenen Neuerungen und Vervollständigungen der Verfassung behandelt. Es wird unterstrichen, dass die politischen Akteure wie früher, so auch heute nach einem Konsensus während des politischen Dialogs angesichts der kleinen Größe und gleichzeitig der äußerlichen Verletzlichkeit des Staates streben sollen. Dieser Dialog und Konsensus bringt dem Fürstentum auch die innere Stabilität. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]