http://www.mdpi.com/journal/socsci Latest open access articles published in Soc. Sci. at http://www.mdpi.com/journal/socsci http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/2/2/91 There is some confusion in political science, and the social sciences in general, about the meaning and interpretation of interaction effects in models with non-interval, non-normal outcome variables. Often these terms are casually thrown into a model specification without observing that their presence fundamentally changes the interpretation of the resulting coefficients. This article explains the conditional nature of reported coefficients in models with interactions, defining the necessarily different interpretation required by generalized linear models. Methodological issues are illustrated with an application to voter information structured by electoral systems and resulting legislative behavior and democratic representation in comparative politics. Social Sciences 2013-05-07 2 2 Article 10.3390/socsci2020091 91 113 2076-0760 2013-05-07 doi: 10.3390/socsci2020091 Tsung-han Tsai Jeff Gill http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/2/2/78 Greece is in a deep crisis; the worst in all of Europe and the worst experienced in 45 years. Greece is no stranger to crises, but most have been exogenous: the Second World War and the Cold War, for instance. Sadly, unlike these crises, the present one is home-made. The wounds that it has caused are largely self-inflicted. It is especially difficult to fathom the logic of strikes by public service unions—repeated, relentless and militant. They paralyzed the country, drove investors and tourists away and added to the burdens that the economy and the people have had to bear. These strikes, and some public servants’ attitudes in the face of the crisis itself, brought into sharp relief the serious capacity deficit in the Greek administrative system, which has been at the root of the problem the country is currently facing. This statement begs the question: how can that be? What, after 30 years of public service reform, presumed to modernize and help the country approximate the standards embedded in the Common European Administrative Space? The paper will suggest that the reforms of the 1980s were only superficially reforms to improve the effectiveness and quality of the Service. Like parallel changes in higher education, the principal objective was harnessing officialdom, and as many voters as possible, to the chariot of PASOK—the political party established by Andreas Papandreou—which effectively governed the country for most of the period in question. The lesson from this experience may be none other, in fact, than clear convincing proof that partisan concerns and institution-building seldom make a good combination. For Greece, in light of the crisis, effective integration in the EU remains a daunting challenge. It calls for bold reforms, but these must be undertaken with institution-building, the country’s general interest, and long term needs in mind. Social Sciences 2013-04-23 2 2 Article 10.3390/socsci2020078 78 90 2076-0760 2013-04-23 doi: 10.3390/socsci2020078 Demetrios Argyriades http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/2/2/62 This paper explores the situational factors that explain why crime in Bormla occurs in certain areas and not others. Bormla, one of the oldest cities in Malta, is the fifth crime hotspot on the Maltese Islands. The objective of this paper is to find out whether socio-demographic aspects and/or other contextual aspects are linked with the rate and type of crime that takes place within this city. A multi-method approach was adopted for the purposes of this paper. Statistics issued by the Malta police were analysed to find out which criminal offences occur there, and in which location. This analysis took place with the help of Geographic Information System (GIS) software. Qualitative and quantitative data collected through a needs assessment exercise conducted with a sample of Bormla respondents in 2009 and 2010 was also analysed to find out whether residents concurred with this official picture of what type of crime takes place there, and where it occurs. Residents were also asked whether they felt safe living in this crime hotspot, when and where they felt safe, and why. Social Sciences 2013-04-16 2 2 Article 10.3390/socsci2020062 62 77 2076-0760 2013-04-16 doi: 10.3390/socsci2020062 JosAnn Cutajar Saviour Formosa Trevor Calafato http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/2/2/40 This study assesses whether characteristics relating to ethnic identity and social inclusion influence the earnings of recent immigrants in Canada. Past research has revealed that relevant predictors of immigrant earnings include structural and demographic characteristics, educational credentials and employment-related characteristics. However, due to the unavailability of situational and agency variables in existing surveys, past research has generally been unable to account for the impact of such characteristics on the economic integration of immigrants. Drawing on data from Statistics Canada's Ethnic Diversity Survey, this paper builds on previous research by identifying the relative extent to which sociodemographic, educational and ethnic identity characteristics explain earnings differences between immigrants of two recent cohorts and native-born Canadians. The results indicate that immigrants are disadvantaged in the labor market in terms of characteristics relating to sociodemographics and ethnic identity, but are advantaged in terms of human capital. Social Sciences 2013-04-09 2 2 Article 10.3390/socsci2020040 40 61 2076-0760 2013-04-09 doi: 10.3390/socsci2020040 Kristyn Frank Kelli Phythian David Walters Paul Anisef http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/2/1/23 Gendered realities in local regions are a prominent issue in today’s global economy. However, the process of globalization in the late-19th century already involved the local Nagano women in an indispensable role in Japan’s raw silk industry. This paper studies the interplay between population growth and relatively limited resources in Nagano vis-à-vis the demand for female labor during the Meiji era, when Japan became a major raw silk producer. The local/regional constraints in Nagano interacted with economic globalization and gave Nagano its position in the global market. Therefore, we cannot ignore the consequences of local/regional constraints and advantages in global processes on female workers. Population pressure and environmental squeeze are found to have been important forces that integrated the local and regional in the global process of industrialization and trade, and together, they produced social outcomes, such as gender hierarchies in globalization and glocalization processes. Social Sciences 2013-03-07 2 1 Article 10.3390/socsci2010023 23 39 2076-0760 2013-03-07 doi: 10.3390/socsci2010023 Tim Liao http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/2/1/20 In Culture and Dignity: Dialogues between the Middle East and the West, renowned cultural anthropologist, Laura Nader, examines the historical and ethnographic roots of the complex relationship between the East and the West, revealing how cultural differences can lead to violence or a more peaceful co-existence. Social Sciences 2013-02-26 2 1 New Book Received 10.3390/socsci2010020 20 22 2076-0760 2013-02-26 doi: 10.3390/socsci2010020 Shu-Kun Lin http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/2/1/1 Traditional channel irrigation systems in Switzerland are managed on a community basis and have high cultural, touristic and ecological values. However, many irrigation communities disappeared in the last decades. This paper analyzes the factors contributing to the continuation of a still existent irrigation community. Our analysis thus provides insights into how to avoid further losses of these unique agricultural systems and to preserve the associated benefits. Based on hypotheses derived from game theoretical analysis, a survey was conducted in an irrigation community located in the canton of Valais. Our results show that the motivation of community members to remain in the traditional system is not a financial one. In contrast, factors such as long-term perspectives, system knowledge, communication and the institutional setting seem to be the basis for the continuation of the analyzed irrigation community. For policy makers, this example shows that the creation of institutions that enable self-governance, communication and knowledge transfer should be considered in this field of rural and agricultural policy making. Social Sciences 2013-01-23 2 1 Article 10.3390/socsci2010001 1 19 2076-0760 2013-01-23 doi: 10.3390/socsci2010001 Robert Finger Anna Borer http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/1/1/24 This article discusses the contention between the state and local Guji people on issues of development and conservation of a Protected Area—Nech Sar National Park in southern Ethiopia. The park, which covers over 514 square kilometers, is a contested space between different actors, not only for its economic values, but it is also an arena of contestation over development and conservation perspectives. Since its inception as a national park in 1974, it has been administered with strict protectionist conservation approach, and later in 1990s, the ‘modernist’ development program was introduced in the form of ecotourism. On the contrary, the Guji people had strong determination for conservation embedded deep in their worldviews and beliefs. By tracing the genesis of the philosophies behind protected areas in Africa, particularly how it was adopted by the Ethiopian state and its implications, I argue that contrasts in environmental cosmologies between the western and indigenous perspectives have ultimately resulted in unsustainable resource management and also disrupted local livelihood conditions. Despite its existence as an independent country, Ethiopia also experienced similar conservation models that were imported to colonial Africa. In this article, I argue that conservation, particularly in the form of protected areas, is a form of hegemonic control over territories, people and their spaces (historical, economic, cultural and political spaces). Social Sciences 2012-11-01 1 1 Article 10.3390/socsci1010024 24 43 2076-0760 2012-11-01 doi: 10.3390/socsci1010024 Asebe Debelo http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/1/1/4 With increased privatization of natural resource regulation, green or sustainable public procurement policies are emerging as incentives for sustainable development. Thus, a revival of governmental influences on so-called non-state, market-driven governance systems takes place. The paper exemplifies this development by reference to the green public procurement directives for wood products in Germany and its influence on major forest certification systems and forest governance. Using an approach of governmentality in relational space, the paper displays how governmental entities play a significant role in influencing forest governance systems and the greening of markets. The importance of the underlying relations that shape governmental instruments and their influences on forest certification and governance are evaluated from a German perspective. Acknowledging the market-driven aspects of forest certification systems, the paper highlights the often-neglected impacts of governmental regulation on emerging forest governance systems. Thus, the framework allows insights into how relations among political entities and their means of knowledge production are essential for processes of forest governance. Social Sciences 2012-09-13 1 1 Article 10.3390/socsci1010004 4 23 2076-0760 2012-09-13 doi: 10.3390/socsci1010004 Moritz Albrecht http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/1/1/2 It is with great honour that I have accepted the invitation to become the Editor-in Chief of this new online journal, Social Sciences. Even if there ever existed a time when it could be argued that “interdisciplinary” research was unnecessary or a luxury, there can be little doubt that today it is essential to helping understand and solve the world’s problems. And the first building block of trans-disciplinary research must be raising knowledge and awareness of what other disciplines are doing. It could be said that this is what lies at the heart of this new venture, for this journal aims to publish work from an extensive range of fields, thus bringing scholars from a variety of disciplines “together”, promoting greater cross-disciplinary awareness of major themes and debates, and hopefully prompting inter-disciplinary projects in the future. This, moreover, is very much needed because the challenges facing the social sciences today are probably greater than at any time in their history. [...] Social Sciences 2011-11-08 1 1 Editorial 10.3390/socsci1010002 2 3 2076-0760 2011-11-08 doi: 10.3390/socsci1010002 Martin Bull http://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/1/1/1 At the time when the journal Sustainability [1] was launched, as a chemist and a scientist, I started to believe that social sciences may be more important to make humans sustainable. The broad journal title Social Sciences presents the opportunity for all social science scholars to have integrated consideration regarding the sustainability of humanity, because I am sure that science and technology alone cannot help. Science and technology may have in fact been contributing to accelerate the depletion of nonrenewable natural resources and putting human sustainability at risk since the industrial revolution about 150 years ago. I hope all intellectuals studying anthropology, archaeology, administration, communication, criminology, economics, education, government, linguistics, international relations, politics, sociology and, in some contexts, geography, history, law, and psychology publish with us to seek a solution to sustain humanity. Sustainability itself will also be a main topic of the journal Social Sciences. In addition to this integrated forum for social sciences, more topic specific journals, such as the already publishing Societies [2], will be launched. [...] Social Sciences 2011-09-30 1 1 Editorial 10.3390/socsci1010001 1 1 2076-0760 2011-09-30 doi: 10.3390/socsci1010001 Shu-Kun Lin