Nigeria: A Prime Example of the Resource Curse? Revisiting the Oil-Violence Link in the Niger Delta

This paper studies the oil-violence link in the Niger Delta, systematically taking into consideration domestic and international contextual factors. The case study, which focuses on explaining the increase in violence since the second half of the 1990s, confirms the differentiated interplay of resource-specific and non-resource-specific causal factors. With regard to the key contextual conditions responsible for violence, the results underline the basic relevance of cultural cleavages and political-institutional and socioeconomic weakness that existed even before the beginning of the “oil era.” Oil has indirectly boosted the risk of violent conflicts through a further distortion of the national economy. Moreover, the transition to democratic rule in 1999 decisively increased the opportunities for violent struggle, in a twofold manner: firstly, through the easing of political repression and, secondly, through the spread of armed youth groups, which have been fostered by corrupt politicians. These incidents imply that violence in the Niger Delta is increasingly driven by the autonomous dynamics of an economy of violence: the involvement of security forces, politicians and (international) businessmen in illegal oil theft helps to explain the perpetuation of the violent conflicts at a low level of intensity.Nigeria, natural resources, oil, political economy, violence, context sensitivity

Public Libraries Need Friends: Aspects of the Friends of Mishawaka-Penn Public Library's Involvement and Importance to the Library System in Mishawaka, Indiana

What does it take to be a Friend of the Mishawaka-Penn Public Library? Energy and interest. There are several levels of membership: Individual one- and three-year memberships; Family one- and three-year memberships; and Youth (K-12) membership. Every month, members receive Hi-Lites, the Friends of the Mishawaka-Penn Public Library newsletter. [See http://www.mppl.lib.in.us/hilitespage1.html for the latest issue.] Members who enjoy taking on leadership roles can serve on the Friends’ Board as president, vice president, treasurer, assistant treasurer, program chair, book sale chair, or hospitality chair. These and other active members as well as the librarians who help coordinate Friends’ activities are indispensable assets to the Mishawaka-Penn Public Library (MPPL)

Determinants of ethnic identity development in adulthood: A longitudinal study

Ethnic identity is defined in terms of the interaction between exploration of and commitment to a given cultural background. The present study investigated the effect of individual background, role transitions, and the social environment on the development of ethnic identity in a sample of German adults aged 21-73 years (N = 2,940). Additionally, identity transitions and the moderating effect of disequilibrating life events on identity over time were examined (N = 827). Overall, results are consistent with findings for other identity domains: Respondents could be assigned to one of four identity stages, ranging from unexamined to achieved identity. Particularly, the individual background and the extent of community involvement affected ethnic identity formation in adulthood. Longitudinal analyses revealed that only one-third of respondents had remained in the same identity stage; most individuals had transitioned forward or backward. Changes in ethnic identity were not moderated by disequilibrating life events

Adults' Identity in Acculturation Settings: The Multigroup Ethnic & National Identity Measure (MENI)

European societies are facing great challenges not only in successfully integrating large numbers of culturally, linguistically, and religiously diverse immigrants structurally (e.g. into schools or the labor market), but also in fostering the construction of new identities and preserving social cohesion. In this context, it is crucial to understand the commitment people feel to a cultural environment and the way in which such commitment develops, particularly in new cultural settings. However, there is a lack of research on identity development among adult immigrants and natives and a lack of suitable measurement instruments. To address this, we adapted the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure–Revised (MEIM-R) for application to immigrant and native adult populations and extended it to measure also national identity. Our aim in the present study was to test the psychometric properties of this new Multigroup Ethnic & National Identity Measure (MENI) in a representative sample (N = 3410) of immigrant and native adults (aged 20-72 years) in a European context, namely Germany. Results based on confirmatory factor analyses support a two-factor structure (commitment and exploration) for MENI and confirm scalar invariance across both the immigrant and native adult populations

Employing Trusted Computing for the forward pricing of pseudonyms in reputation systems

Reputation and recommendation systems are fundamental for the formation of community market places. Yet, they are easy targets for attacks which disturb a market's equilibrium and are often based on cheap pseudonyms used to submit ratings. We present a method to price ratings using trusted computing, based on pseudonymous tickets.Comment: Refereed contribution to the 4th International Workshop for Technical, Economic and Legal Aspects of Business Models for Virtual Goods, December 13 -15, 2006 on AXMEDIS 2006 in Leeds, England. 5 pages, 3 figures, final versio