Monthly Review Research Articles

Crime Dynamics in Russia - Model Analysis

Introduction. The article proposes a mathematical model of the dynamics of one of the indicators of crime ― the number of persons who have committed crimes. The indicator is aggregated, so it is considered as a generalized characteristic of the behavior of crime in general. The analysis of the dynamics of the indicator in the context of the political, economic and legal situation in the country and the world is carried out.Materials and methods. As a statistical base for the crime indicator, data from the statistical yearbook "Russia in figures" has been used. For global oil demand, data from the monthly review of the International Energy Agency (Monthly Oil Market Report // International Energy Agency) has been used. To build mathematical models, time series analysis and modeling methods were used, and correlation analysis methods were used when comparing models. General scientific research methods were also used - systematic and historical approaches.Results of the study. A mathematical model is proposed, which is the sum of periodic functions and a trend. The functions have several settings and only one argument – time. The model adequately describes the behavior of the indicator therefore it can be used to obtain short-term forecasts. The historical period is highlighted, in which the correlation between the dynamics of crime and the dynamics of the global economic situation is traced. The stabilization of crime dynamics in recent years has been noted, when the processes of restoring Russia's economic sovereignty accelerated.Discussion and conclusion. The proposed mathematical model gives good results of fitting the crime indicator to a time series on the entire observation period. And this period covers very different historical situations: from unlimited entry into the global economic system to strengthening economic sovereignty. The reliability of the model over the entire interval indicates the validity of its use even with new economic benchmarks. The result of demonstrating a rapid decrease in the amplitude of fluctuations in the crime rate while strengthening the sovereignty of the Russian economy in recent years is indicative. The processes that were analyzed in the work have many differences, but they are well described by models of the same type. A possible explanation for this invariance is the hypothesis that some complex socio-economic processes not only affect each other's condition, but synchronize their dynamics.

Einstein's "Why Socialism?" and 'Monthly Review'

For our seventy-fifth anniversary issue, John Bellamy Foster revisits the legacy of Albert Einstein and his deep connections to Monthly Review, including his authorship of the article "Why Socialism?," published in our first-ever issue in May 1949. Through historical documents and the famed physicist's own words, Foster rediscovers Einstein's commitment to socialism in both word and deed, and his collegial ties to MR's founding editors.

Notes from the Editors, May 2024

buy this issueThe MR editors revisit the words of Monthly Review editors Harry Magdoff and Paul M. Sweezy, writing in the twenty-fifth-year anniversary issue. Writing on the innate contradictions plaguing the capitalist system, the editors in 1974 noted that the ecological limitations of capital accumulation was "unsolvable" under capitalism, thus setting the stage for the magazine's continued exploration of ecosocialism as humanity's future.

Socialism—A Time to Retreat?

In this reprise from September 2000, Harry Magdoff, John Bellamy Foster, and Robert W. McChesney look forward to the future of Monthly Review in the twenty-first century: "Despite mistakes, setbacks, and recognition that the road is long and arduous, we must not waver as we continue to study, educate, and be missionaries for the transcendence of the social system of capitalism and the development…of a society of equals."

The Ecological Crisis of Capitalism and Human Survival

In this remarkable reprise reprinted from Monthly Review's October 1992 issue, Harry Magdoff and Paul Sweezy look ahead to the ecological crisis that has continued to unfold into the twenty-first century. Presaging the critical juncture at which we find ourselves today, they write that "only a change in the in the nature of power structures on a global scale could bring a realistic hope for the long-term continuation of human civilization…. If you think that is true, what do you think are the implications?"

Eleven Theses on Music

This lyrical vignette from the recently departed Paul Burkett is the author's final, posthumously published piece for Monthly Review. In it, the eminent ecological economist and jazz musician muses on the nature of creativity, technology, and the corporatization of music—and the struggle to decommodify it, freeing musicians and their craft from the confines of capitalism.

The Dialectics of Ecology: An Introduction

In this introduction to his forthcoming The Dialectics of Ecology (Monthly Review Press, 2024), John Bellamy Foster charts the relatively recent reconstruction of Marxian ecology, based on the classical Marxist understanding of the social-metabolic system linking humanity and nature. It is through dialectical naturalism, he writes, that we can face the crises of the Anthropocene while building a society that truly supports the well-being both of society and Earth itself.

Сонетная контроверза В.К. Тредиаковского и А.П. Сумарокова

The article investigates the early period of the sonnet form in Russia, covering the period from 1732 to 1759. It examines the ideas of two prominent poets of the time, Vasily Trediakovsky and Aleksandr Sumarokov, regarding the sonnet. Trediakovsky appears as the true unventor of the sonnet form in Russia: in 1732, he translated the famous “penitential”-sonnet of Jacques Vallée, Sieur Des Barreaux, “Grand Dieu, tes jugements sont remplis d’équité…” into 13-syllable lines. Trediakovsky translated this poem again in 1735 and 1752 with various variants of trochaic verses. In his “Epistle on Poetry” of 1747, Sumarokov displayed a different conception of the sonnet as a salon and playful poetry. In 1755, he published in the “Monthly Review” six sonnets in alexandrines, demonstrating his understanding of this form. Younger poets followed Sumarokov’s recommendations and imitated his sonnets. Trediakovsky had to accept defeat, and in 1759, wrote a sonnet in alexandrines. Apparently, Trediakovsky’s conception of the sonnet as a genre for elevated subject matter nonetheless influenced Sumarokov. In his late sonnets, written in 1769 and 1774, Sumarokov treated religious and philosophical subjects.

Knowledge and Attitude of ASHA workers in prevention of Early Childhood caries: A cross sectional study

Introduction: Accredited social health activists (ASHAs) are government instituted community health workers as part of the National Rural Health Mission. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of ASHAs regarding Early Childhood caries. Methods: A cross sectional survey was carried out among 190 ASHA workers. A self-constructed, 15 items, close-ended questionnaire based on the dental knowledge and the attitude of dental health was translated into regional language using a standardized translation process. The Questionnaire was distributed at the monthly review meeting held at Primary Health centres and their response was taken. The data was analysed and compared on basis on their educational level. The data were analysed by SPSS Version 24. Results: The content validity index of the questionnaire was 0.75 and the face validity was 3.2. The internal consistency was assessed with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and was found to be 0.876. Test–retest reliability is 0.8. The correct responses on knowledge of participants is 55.76% and for the attitude towards child oral health is 74.76%. Study also showed ASHA workers have poor knowledge about first dental visit and oral hygiene maintenance in children (p < 0.05). No statistical difference in knowledge and attitude of ASHA based on their educational level was noticed Conclusion: The ASHA workers have only satisfactory knowledge about ECC but their attitude toward the Child Oral Health is good. Therefore training and motivation can help in educating them for preventive community programmes for ECC.

'Monthly Review' and the Environment

In this personal interview with Batuhan Sarican, John Bellamy Foster discusses the idea ecosocialism, relating it to his personal relationship to the environment and our collective relationship to the metabolism of nature.

Leveraging the electronic medical record to measure fidelity to the primary care behavioral health model: Implications for clinical and research pursuits.

The primary care behavioral health (PCBH) model of integration has been widely implemented across a number of noteworthy health care systems. However, lack of consistent measurement and reporting of the degree to which the PCBH model has been implemented as developers intended has resulted in two disadvantages in the field. First, clinical quality improvement efforts are hampered by lack of clear guidance on what elements are central to PCBH implementation. Second, the dearth of empirical studies reporting model fidelity impedes cross-study comparisons and limits the rigor of PCBH-focused research. Efforts to expand measurement of PCBH model fidelity would benefit from identification of accessible, unbiased metrics that could complement existing self-report measures. In this article, we describe how we partnered with our clinical informatics team to incorporate PCBH fidelity metrics into the electronic medical record (EMR), allowing for monthly extraction and review of these data. Next, we describe how we have used monthly fidelity monitoring to inform clinical quality improvement efforts in the context of a developing integrated care program and provide an example of how PCBH fidelity data might be reported in a research article. Leveraging EMR data to support PCBH fidelity measurement has the potential to strengthen clinical quality improvement efforts and enable more consistent measurement and reporting of PCBH fidelity data in research. Future efforts should aim to parse out the relative contribution of different variables to the success of PCBH integration and evaluate the effectiveness of implementation strategies at supporting high fidelity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Capitalism in the Anthropocene: ecological ruin or ecological revolution

Journal Article Capitalism in the Anthropocene: ecological ruin or ecological revolution Get access Capitalism in the Anthropocene: ecological ruin or ecological revolution. By John Bellamy Foster. New York: Monthly Review Press. 2022. 576pp. £72.48. Isbn978 1 58367 975 3. Available as e-book. Ning Zhang Ning Zhang Lanzhou University, China Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Affairs, Volume 99, Issue 3, May 2023, Pages 1335–1337, https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiad096 Published: 02 May 2023

A mentored hands-on training model for scaling up implementation and intervention research in India: “connecting the dots”

Despite the high burden of mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), less than 25% of those in need have access to appropriate services, in part due to a scarcity of locally relevant, evidence-based interventions and models of care. To address this gap, researchers from India and the United States and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) collaboratively developed a “Grantathon” model to provide mentored research training to 24 new principal investigators (PIs). This included a week-long didactic training, a customized web-based data entry/analysis system and a National Coordination Unit (NCU) to support PIs and track process objectives. Outcome objectives were assessed via scholarly output including publications, awards received and subsequent grants that were leveraged. Multiple mentorship strategies including collaborative problem-solving approaches were used to foster single-centre and multicentre research. Flexible, approachable and engaged support from mentors helped PIs overcome research barriers, and the NCU addressed local policy and day-to-day challenges through informal monthly review meetings. Bi-annual formal review presentations by all PIs continued through the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling interim results reporting and scientific review, also serving to reinforce accountability. To date, more than 33 publications, 47 scientific presentations, 12 awards, two measurement tools, five intervention manuals and eight research grants have been generated in an open-access environment. The Grantathon is a successful model for building research capacity and improving mental health research in India that could be adopted for use in other LMICs.

Assessment of cold chain and vaccine management practices in cold chain points of Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh: a cross-sectional study

Background: To maintain the immunization effectiveness, and uninterrupted availability of vaccine functional cold chain is required. This can be achieved by continuous monitoring and supervision. The objective was to assess the functionality and monitoring of cold chain points of Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted in the month of January 2021 in 15 old and new cold chain points, which were selected randomly from all the five blocks of district. Block level “supportive supervision of cold chain and vaccine management” checklist was used to collect the data. The data was presented in frequency and percentages. Results: The key findings were shortage of staff, placement of cold chain equipment and ice packs not as per the guidelines, irregular monthly review of temperature, and periodic monitoring with available documentation. Conclusions: There were shortfalls in the basic components of cold chain which requires immediate attention from the officials.

A Century of Literary Criticism: A Large-Scale Analysis of the Monthly Review

ABSTRACT For almost 100 years, the Monthly Review documented literary history in Britain through its efforts to review every published text. Appearing monthly from 1749 to 1844, the periodical sheds light not only on texts published during this time, many of which are now “lost” to scholarly analysis, but also on the original critical discourse surrounding these texts. Analysis of the Monthly Review presents an opportunity to discern influential trends in publishing and literary criticism, yet close examination of the periodical proves formidable due to its size. In this paper, we use statistical topic modeling to “read” the over 140,000 pages of the Monthly Review, revealing prominent themes and discourses in the corpus. In particular, we highlight the periodical’s presentation of genre differences and its privileging of specific discourses and frameworks of critical evaluation, all of which served to shape contemporary readers’ perceptions of the rapidly expanding literary sphere.

O novo irracionalismo

Translated and reprinted by permission of Monthly Review magazine. (c) Monthly Review. All rights reserved. The New Irrationalism by John Bellamy Foster (February 2023, Volume 74, Number 9). Tradução por Lara Nora Portugal Penna. Revisão por Elcemir Paço Cunha.

The Witch-Hunting Committees: Never Again!

In this prescient chapter from 1982, author and activist Anne Braden draws a direct line from the anti-Communist witch hunts of the McCarthy Era to state repression of mass movements from the civil rights era to the rapid expansion of the racist police state that continues to this day. This chapter is reprinted from Anne Braden Speaks (Monthly Review Press, 2022).

Emersberger, Joe and Podur, Justin (2021) Extraordinary Threat: The U.S. Empire, the Media, and Twenty Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela, Monthly Review Press (New York), 327 pp. $25.00 pbk.

Emersberger, Joe and Podur, Justin (2021) <i>Extraordinary Threat: The U.S. Empire, the Media, and Twenty Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela</i>, Monthly Review Press (New York), 327 pp. $25.00 pbk.

Improving Quality Metrics in Radiation Oncology: Implementation of Pre-Treatment Peer Review for Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in Thoracic Cancer Patients

<h3>Purpose/Objective(s)</h3> Traditional peer reviews occur weekly and can take place up to one week after treatment start. The ASTRO peer review white paper identified stereotactic body radiation treatments (SBRT) as high priority for contour/plan review prior to treatment start, considering both the rapid dose-falloff and short treatment course. Yet, peer review goals for SBRT must also balance physician time demands and the desire to avoid treatment delay. Here, we report our pilot experience of a pre-treatment (pre-Tx) peer review of thoracic SBRT cases. <h3>Materials/Methods</h3> Starting 03/2020, patients undergoing thoracic SBRT were identified for pre-Tx review by radiation therapists and placed on a quality checklist. We implemented twice-weekly peer review meetings for faculty and residents to perform detailed pre-treatment review of OAR/target contours and dose constraints in the treatment planning system with other faculty, and dosimetry/physics representation when available. We analyzed aspects of this transition over an 18-month period, and divided timepoints into monthly intervals for comparison. Our quality metric goal was to peer review ≥90% of SBRT cases before 25% of the dose is delivered. We used statistical process control to assess review patterns over the course of pre-treatment review implementation. <h3>Results</h3> We identified 252 unique patients treated with SBRT to 294 lung nodules. When comparing monthly pre-Tx review scheduling and pre-Tx review completion from initial rollout to full implementation <b>(Table 1, column 1 and 2)</b> we found at least 2 months where implementation was outside the two-sigma limit (96.99% and 78.55%, respectively), indicating a sustained shift in the process control chart. Additionally, completion of any form of contour/plan review before 25% of the SBRT dose was delivered increased from 67-85% (03/2020-11/2020), to 94% (06/2021-08/2021) <b>(Table 1, column 4)</b>. This met our quality improvement objective. <h3>Conclusion</h3> We successfully implemented a sustainable workflow for detailed pre-Tx contour/plan review for thoracic SBRT cases in the context of twice-weekly disease site-specific peer review meetings without incurring treatment delays. In the future, we plan to investigate the impact of pre-treatment review on clinical parameters e.g., the rate of minor and major changes to a radiation plan.

Monthly Review in Historical Perspective

Monthly Review was started in 1949 and is now in its forty-fourth year of publication, so you could say that MR's existence is pretty much coterminous with the second half of the twentieth century. What have been the most important characteristics of this half century?