An Exploratory Investigation of Heterosexual Licensed Domestic Partners

In‐depth telephone interviews were conducted in four cities in an exploratory study of 23 licensed cohabitors to determine why they have chosen to legitimize their intimate unions through domestic partnership ordinances, rather than through legal marriage. The cohabitors in this sample are pursuing these licensed partnerships to obtain an economic benefit (e.g., health insurance coverage for a partner); as a substitute for legal remarriage; to legitimize their unions in a way other than through legal marriage; or as an ideological alternative to legal marriage. Regardless of motivations to pursue domestic partnership certificates, these respondents are divided over whether they should have the same rights and responsibilities as the married.     

Perceptions of Australian Cultural Identity among Asian Australians

A review of research on transnationalism shows that diasporas with transnational orientations and connections tend to have a strong attachment to local and global identities but a weak attachment to the nation state. In addition, it is argued that territorial nation states are losing their authority in an increasingly globalised and interconnected world. Governments in western democracies have responded by tightening restrictions on citizenship and placing more emphasis on social cohesion and integration rather than multiculturalism. Using the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (2003), this paper examines attachment to cultural conceptions of national identity among the Asian Australian diaspora and examines the existing literature about the relationship between transmigrants and the nation state. Findings from the study reveal a number of social determinants behind variation in emotional attachment to cultural conceptions of national identity.     

Representational Projects and Interacting Forms of Knowledge

This paper focuses on the concept of the reified and consensual universes in the theory of social representations, and the relationship between them. Having examined the different ways in which Moscovici discusses this concept, and the different ways in which these discussions have been interpreted, I will suggest that many of the criticisms levelled at this facet of social representations theory appear somewhat misplaced. However, it does seem that some aspects of the concept of the consensual and the reified universes are rather under-developed within the theory as a whole. It will be suggested that the recent addition of the notion of the representational project to the theory of social representations goes some way towards addressing some of these emergent issues, most notably with regards to the relationship between knowledges from different spheres. As an example, the area of representations of health and illness will be considered: drawing on work that takes the perspective of the sociology of scientific knowledge, it will be suggested that the theory of social representations needs to make the possibility of a bi-directional relationship between knowledge from the fields of scientific and common sense understanding more explicit.     

The Farming Question: Intergenerational Linkages,Gender and Youth Aspirations in Rural Zambia☆

With agriculture considered key to generating jobs for Africa's growing population, several studies have explored youth aspirations toward farming. While many factors explaining aspirations have been well studied, little is known about the actors' shaping aspirations. We developed a novel framework that focuses on the factors and actors shaping the formation and actual aspirations of rural youth and applied a unique “whole-family” approach based on mixed-methods data collection from adolescents (boys and girls) and corresponding adults. We applied this approach in rural Zambia, collecting data from 348 adolescents and adults in 87 households. The study finds that parents strongly shape youth aspirations—they are much more influential than siblings, peers, church, and media. Male youth are more likely to envision farming (full or part-time) than female youth. The male preference for farming reflects their parent's aspirations and is reinforced by the patriarchal system of land inheritance. Parents' farm characteristics, such as degree of mechanization, are also associated with aspirations. We recommend a “whole-family” approach, which acknowledges the influential role of parents, for policies and programs for rural youth and a stronger focus on gender aspects.