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This paper aims to prove that the political system in America during the beginning of the Cold War used false claims ,established repressive censorship and unjust trials in order to create hegemonic atmosphere and unjustifiable horror in order to control its citizens, like the repressive and unjust trials which happened in the seventeenth century in Salem, Massachusetts. This paper exposes the parallel comparison between these trials of Salem to those of House un American Activities Committee (HUAC)in 1950’s, which in turn fallaciously accused some Americans of being communist and of supporting the radicals who tried to destroy America. Miller throughout the Crucible castigates the American system and calls to safeguard the individual liberty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussion on legitimacy has highlighted its dialogic nature. The diversity of stakeholders in the penal system implies that penal policies and practices should be justifiable both internally (to offenders) and externally (to society at large). While most studies have focused on the internal aspect of penal legitimacy – the justification of authority through offenders’ perspectives – this paper calls for attention to the external stakeholders’ demands. Consequently, it becomes relevant to envisage ways of balancing between the conflicting standpoints of offenders and society at large regarding the justifications of penal power. For this purpose, this paper builds on Sen’s justice framework, whereby the best way to enhance justice is to avoid debating utopian ideals, and aims to apply its logic to the debate on penal legitimacy. It argues that it is not feasible to envisage a ‘legitimate prison’, and therefore it is better to focus on existing or possible alternatives of penal policies and practices. Since there are better and worse uses and justifications of penal power, legitimacy becomes a matter of degree. The reconciliation of conflicting views between preferable or less preferable uses and justifications of penal authority is suggested to be possible through exploring the potential of public debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to consider the most likely future for the American empire. It is a speculative essay that takes as its starting-point Slaughter's argument that the American Empire is unsustainable. Design/methodology/approach - The paper shows that at this moment of flux in international affairs America enjoys unprecedented power but is meeting growing opposition. After a review of how America came to be in its current position the argument develops along different lines, exploring the capacities of states that might challenge the USA and exploring the new networks between states and other agencies that exclude America. Findings - The paper finds that, while these networks have become increasingly dense, they are as yet insufficiently coherent to challenge US hegemony. If the USA adopts a less aggressive approach to the management of globalization it can build a new international architecture that will adorn its hegemony and avoid the new networks becoming a noose that will strangle its power. The US reaction to the new web of interstate and non-governmental relationships that exclude it, and are motivated to some extent by a desire to challenge its authority, has the potential to determine the longevity of American power and the future path of international affairs. Originality/value - The paper provides a measured perspective to distinguish between the idea of America and the reality of its foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of social networks in the commercial and intellectual success of the U.S. periodical "Science" during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Details on editor James McKeen Cattell's contributions to the journal are also presented. It is suggested that the journal succeeded on the strength of the prestige and authority of its contributors and their affiliate institutions and also helped to effect change in the field of scientific inquiry.

Abstract: Medication errors continue to occur too frequently in the United States. Although the five rights of medication administration have expanded to include several others, evidence that the number of errors has decreased is missing. This study suggests that medication rights for nurses as they administer medications are needed. The historical marginalization of the voice of nurses has been perpetuated with detrimental impacts to nurses and patients. In recent years, a focus on the creation of a just culture, with a balance of accountability and responsibility, has sought to bring a fairer and safer construct to the healthcare environment. This paper proposes that in order for a truly just culture to exist, the balance must also include nurses’ authority. Only when a triumvirate of responsibility, accountability, and authority exists can an environment that supports reduced medication errors flourish. Through identification and implementation of Nurses Rights of Medication Administration, nurses’ authority to control the administration process is both formalized and legitimized. Further study is needed to identify these rights and how to fully implement them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Journalists explain daily happenings according to a uniform mission, agreed-upon routines, and established societal relationships. Their product - American newspaper stories in this case - helps shape the social order by controlling information dissemination in a structured environment. As a result, the press enjoys the status of a political institution that operates with some authority. When technology allows the audience to take over some control in this process, its institutional dynamics shift. This research examined the words of 35 journalists to explore how technology is causing marked evolutions in newspaper journalism's missions, routines, and relationships with sources and readers. This paper found that news considerations center on personal experience for journalists and their audiences. The evidence indicates that journalists are sharing their ability to tell the day's news with people outside of the institution. Eventually, the changes in news production will have implications for the press's ultimate authority as a societal institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Standards-based education has now reached a stage where it is possible to evaluate its overall effectiveness. Several earlier papers in the special issue of Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice on “Test Scores and State Accountability” (Volume 24, Number 4) examined specific state policies and their effects on schools and students. This paper provides a context for understanding state accountability policies by briefly sketching the history of America's standards movement. It then situates the findings of the four special issue papers in the context of theories of how state policies exert their influence, focusing on school capacity building, governmental authority, and educator motivation. Broader forms of assessment may be needed to meet the goals of the standards effort. Several kinds of evidence that could better ground state decisions in knowledge of the actual functioning of schools and districts are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on attitude content and agreement set in autonomy-authoritarianism items for the United States, African, and Philippine university students. For the past 10 years, the relationship between attitude content and agreement set in a variety of scales has been discussed in the social-psychological literature. The problem is that when a person is asked to agree or disagree with a statement from a scale, he may or may not have a relevant attitude, so his response may indicate either attitude content or a response tendency to agree or disagree. One method for dealing with this problem is to use balanced scales where half the items are scored in each direction. Thus, in developing a 36-item Autonomy-Authoritarianism scale for cross-cultural comparison, an equal number of autonomy and authoritarian items were included. The present paper will consider the implications of these findings for the problem of attitude content and agreement set. These results have the advantage of extending the problem to several non-European groups and to a new set of items.

The number of students who leave U.S. schools mathematically underprepared has prompted widespread concern. Low achieving students, many of whom have been turned off mathematics, are often placed in low tracks and given remedial, skills-oriented work. This study examines a different approach wherein heterogeneous groups of students were given responsibility and agency and asked to engage in a range of mathematical practices collaboratively. The teaching intervention, which was introduced in the first paper, took place as part of a summer class on algebra, and it gave students the opportunity to participate with mathematics in changed ways. This paper will report evidence that the vast majority responded with increased engagement, achievement, and enjoyment. The students chose collaboration and agency as critical to their improved relationships with mathematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. We assessed the practices of U.S. population-based birth defects surveillance programs in addressing current and emergent public health needs. Methods. Using the CDC Strategic Framework considerations for public health surveillance (i.e., lexicon and standards, legal authority, technological advances, workforce, and analytic capacity), during 2012 and 2013, we conducted a survey of all U.S. operational birth defects programs (n=43) soliciting information on legal authorities, case definition and clinical information collected, types of data sources, and workforce staffing. In addition, we conducted semi-structured interviews with nine program directors to further understand how programs are addressing current and emergent needs. Results. Three-quarters of birth defects surveillance programs used national guidelines for case definition. Most birth defects surveillance programs (86%) had a legislative mandate to conduct surveillance, and many relied on a range of prenatal, postnatal, public health, and pediatric data sources for case ascertainment. Programs reported that the transition from paper to electronic formats was altering the information collected, offering an opportunity for remote access to improve timeliness for case review and verification. Programs also reported the growth of pooled, multistate data collaborations as a positive development. Needs identified included ongoing workforce development to improve information technology and analytic skills, more emphasis on data utility and birth defects-specific standards for health information exchange, and support to develop channels for sharing ideas on data interpretation and dissemination. Conclusion. The CDC Strategic Framework provided a useful tool to determine the birth defects surveillance areas with positive developments, such as multi-state collaborative epidemiologic studies, and areas for improvement, such as preparation for health information exchanges and workforce database and analytic skills. Our findings may inform strategic deliberations for enhancing the effectiveness of birth defects surveillance programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to inform healthcare providers and healthcare facility leadership about the statutory, administrative, criminal, and tort law implications related to preventable harms from unsafe injection practices. Design/methodology/approach – Review of legal theory and precedents. Findings – The law can address disputes over unsafe injection practices in a variety of ways. Administrative agencies may hold a provider or facility responsible for preventable harms according to specific statutory and regulatory provisions governing licensure. State courts can compensate victims of certain actions or inactions based on tort law, where a breach of a legal duty caused damages. Prosecutors and the public can turn to criminal law to punish defendants and deter future actions that result in disability or death. Research limitations/implications – The state law findings in this review are limited to legal provisions and court cases that are available on searchable databases. Due to the nature of this topic, many cases are settled out of court, and those records are sealed from the public and not available for review. Practical implications – Preventable harm continues to occur from unsafe injection practices. These practices pose a significant risk of disease or even death for patients and could result in legal repercussions for healthcare providers and facility leadership. Originality/value – This article reviews emerging law and potential legal implications for health care and public health related to unsafe medical practices related to needle, syringe, and vial use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the religious dimension of the Sicilian mafia. The Sicilian mafia, known as Cosa Nostra, has consistently demonstrated the capacity to combine tradition with innovation. It adapts to changing circumstances, modifying its modus operandi accordingly, while maintaining seemingly consistent 'moral' codes, ritual practices and a strong reified collective identity. Religion, in particular, appears to be a central component of mafia identity. Instances of this apparently paradoxical phenomenon range from the altars frequently found in the hideouts of mafiosi, to the mafia's ambiguous relationship with clergymen, and to the religious symbols utilised during the ceremony of initiation. Applying theories of ritual and performance to the study of the mafia role in religious festivals, this article examines the effects of the role played by mafiosi in local religious festivals on their individual and collective identity, as well as on the social structure of the group as a whole. Specific attention will be dedicated to how --and whether--these practices have been affected by the recent significant successes in judicial investigations into the mafia, the hardening in the civil society's attitude toward organized crime syndicates, and the progressively firmer stand by the Church against the mafia. The data for analysis are derived from judicial papers, police reports and video footage, together with relevant secondary literature on the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to detail the measurement development of a set of indices that manifest culture in the context of business decision making. Design/methodology/approach – Survey research was conducted eliciting opinion data from managers of firms in two countries, the USA and Hungary, for cross-cultural comparison. Critical issues of measurement equivalency are assessed using item response theory (IRT) prior to the comparison of the US and Hungarian manager samples. Findings – The following sub-indices were identified as a result of the analysis: individualism in decision making; individualism and authority; logic/emotion; equality as people, equality of authority, tolerance for ambiguity in decision making; tolerance for ambiguity and flexibility, and time orientation. Research limitations/implications – While the framework provides a broad representation of the cultural value dimensions (CVD) in a business context, it cannot be said that it encompasses the entire dimension or where the true endpoints will lie for the each of the five continuums. As additional culture groups are tested, it will be possible to ascertain where the true midpoint and endpoints of the scale lie. Originality/value – The framework was utilized to place the five CVDs in a business context, resulting in a very even representation of the manifestation of cultural values across decision-making processes in a firm. As a result, a more complete picture of current CVD scores is provided by the data for the two populations sampled. The sub-indices identified not only aid in the establishment of equivalence and allow for comparison of the two groups, but also provide deeper insight into the similarities and differences between the two groups that were masked in the original CVD structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critiques the argument that the U.S. Supreme Court is losing influence among national and constitutional courts worldwide as a result of its nonparticipation in the emerging judicial globalization. It does so, inter alia, by reviewing two examples of how U.S. authority is cited abroad, and concludes that arguments of diminished influence appear overstated, and that changes in U.S. judicial influence are not likely due to attitudes toward citation of foreign law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a new five-item cross-cultural fundamentalism scale based on the principle of intratextuality. Free of belief content and concerns with militancy, each of the five items taps into a different facet of intratextuality that collectively assess the attitudes that fundamentalists maintain toward their sacred text-namely, a persuasion that it is divine in origin, inerrant, privileged above all other texts, authoritative, and unchanging as the embodiment of timeless truth. In this article, we present three studies concerned with the Intratextual Fundamentalism Scale (IFS). Study 1 introduces the development, confirmatory factor analysis, and convergent validity of the IFS based on a sample of 119 Christians in the US as well as examines its relationship to religious orientation. Study 2 replicates the findings of the first study with a sample of 220 Muslims from Pakistan. Study 3 again confirms the structure of the IFS, addresses divergent validity, and investigates its relationship with religious orientation and Goldberg's Big 5 factor markers in a sample of 227 US Christians. Findings of all three studies suggest that the IFS is a psychometrically sound instrument that economically assesses religious fundamentalism without religious content bias or concern for aggression. Results also indicate that, only for Americans, fundamentalism, as measured by the IFS, is significantly related to intrinsic (r = 0.35; r = 0.51) and extrinsic-personal (r = 0.33; r = 0.23) religious orientations, but not extrinsic-social orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While educational theorists have long debated the pedagogical value of granting students the authority to construct certain of their own understandings in collaboration with their peers, a lack of empirical markers of student 'interpretive authority' has constrained comparative study of the pedagogical tradeoffs at stake. Yet the thoughtful nurture of collaborative knowledge construction processes must represent an essential aim of democratic schools, which are charged with the responsibility of adequately preparing students to participate fully in democratic life. This paper offers a conceptualization of interpretive authority based on an extrapolation of the traditional initiation/response/feedback coding sequence and other reliable discourse measures. The discourse patterns of six pedagogically diverse preparatory school classrooms in the United States are employed to illustrate a range of authority balances within respected classroom practices. A five-part frame for the practical characterization of interpretive authority within classrooms is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a large, U.S. dataset it is shown that children are more likely to receive needed mental health specialty treatment when women have greater decision-making power, as measured by an index of wife-favorable divorce laws and by the sex ratio at the time of marriage. Stratified analyses show that this effect is modified by the degree of marital conflict. Marriages characterized by high conflict conform more closely to the unified household model. The paper then presents a model of household decision-making consistent with these results that incorporates both objective determinants of bargaining power as well as the role of violent coercion in maintaining otherwise unsustainable equilibria. Implications for improving children’s access to mental health treatment are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I present an approach to understanding the dialogical self that considers the role that social, cultural and institutional dynamics of domination and subordination, and structures of power of privilege, play in the development of identity. To accomplish this I expand Penuel and Wertsch's (1995) `mediated action' approach to identity development to include a dialogical process of what Mikhail Bakhtin (1981) calls `ideological becoming'. Using the Autobiography of Malcolm X as an illustrative example, I argue that the development of Malcolm's identity via the process of ideological becoming, is influenced in profound ways by his experience of subordination and oppression, and his lack of power and privilege, growing up as a black man in the United States in the first half of the 20th century Thus the `politics of ideological becoming' refers to the degree to which the process of identity formation is necessarily different for persons from different social locations, who stand in different relationship to structures and systems of power, privilege and authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing acknowledgment of the phenomenon of individuals terminating their pregnancies by obtaining the medications necessary for an abortion—which this article refers to as "self-sourced medication abortion" (SSMA)—has shed light on the current contradictions in the world of abortion provision. This article offers a brief historical overview of the relationship between abortion provision and mainstream medicine, pointing to the factors that have led to the marginalization of abortion care. It then discusses interviews with 40 physicians who provide abortions about their perspectives on SSMA, and it explores how this group responds to the contradictions presented by SSMA. In doing so, it interrogates the changing meaning of "physician authority" among this subset of physicians. The authors suggest that these interviewees represent an emergent sensibility among this generation of abortion physicians, a sensibility strongly tied to a commitment to social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a test of S.M. Lipect's thesis that Americans are less respectful or accepting of authority than people from Canada and from the other English-speaking democracies; Australia, and Great Britain. We use data from World Values Survey, 1981-83, to compare adult samples from the four populations, with separate analyses for English Canada and French Canada. Twenty-one dependent variables are employed, measuring beliefs about authority in general, civil dissent and disobedience, authority in the workplace, confidence in social institutions and obedience in children. The English-Canadian-American comparisons consistently disconfirm Lipect's hypothesis, with English Canadians either being less accepting of authority than Americans or showing no significant differences. The results comparing Americans with the other samples are less consistent but also indicate that Americans are not the least accepting of authority. Contrary to Lipect's thesis, Australians are not especially lots in respect for authority, either; nor are the British exceptionally high. Some support is found for Lipect's suggestion that French Canadians are relatively low in acceptance of authority. These results hold both with and without controls for ten social background factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although public historians and public intellectuals were present in the United States long before the 1970s and 80s, in those decades these terms emerged as focal points for intensified debates about the roles to which they pointed. Those debates shared more than chronological proximity; they had common questions and concerns. As The Public Historian marks its forty-fifth year, comparing discussions about public historians to those about public intellectuals casts new light on a question posed at the outset and present since: what is public history? This comparison highlights the development of public history as a process—rather than the public historian as a role or public history as a product—and locates it in a broader reconfiguration of academic authority in the public sphere over the last fifty years, which included “public intellectuals” and movements for public sociology, public philosophy, and public humanities. Whereas the authoritative voice remained central to the role of the public intellectual, the process of public history was the ground for a shift to shared authority. Developments in theory and practice in the field of public history therefore resonate beyond it: they constitute one of the richest bodies of work grappling with the always-contested place of experts, professionals, and intellectuals in American democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, officials in the United States at all levels of government utilized their legal authorities to impose a wide range of measures designed to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; the causative agent of COVID-19), including shutting down businesses, limiting the size of gatherings, requiring masking, and mandating vaccination. These orders and regulations were challenged in court cases that resulted in more than 1000 judicial decisions. Common claims were based on alleged procedural and substantive due process violations, violations of religious liberty, and violations of officials' scope of authority. In more than three fourths of the decisions, the court refused to grant the plaintiffs the relief sought. However, plaintiffs found success in several notable cases, especially in federal court. These recent decisions, as well as broader prepandemic trends, have important implications for public health officials' exercise of their public health powers, especially when those exercises implicate religious liberty. In this legal environment, officials may need to rely more on the powers of persuasion than on their legal authority alone. (Am J Public Health. 2023;113(3):280–287. https://doi.org/10.2105/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307181) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Policy Studies Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article explores how contradictory sources of authority manifest the organizational presence of a crisis pregnancy center (CPC) in the southeastern region of the United States. As a type of shadowed organization, a CPC's organizational presence is produced in a tensional space between dialectics of revelation and concealment. With an interest toward understanding these dynamics, we conduct a ventriloquial analysis of CPC's pamphlets and website to examine how sources of authority produce the CPC as a distinct organization. Through this analysis, we develop the idea of authorial incongruity —the co-presence of multiple and heterogeneous sources of authority—to demonstrate how organizational presence emerges as a byproduct of tensional relations between authorities, which serve as resources for organizations seeking to present themselves as consistently "who they have always been." The implications of these findings suggest distinct challenges and opportunities for building strategic relations between (shadowed) organizations and various incongruent stakeholder groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses three court cases that took place in the U.S. during the 1970s concerning the role of government in determining sex education curriculum in public schools and whether local authorities could censor and/or regulate sex education. The article examines the cases Mercer v. Michigan, Unitarian Church West v. McConnell, and Bayer v. Kinzler which took place in Michigan, Wisconsin, and New York, respectively.