"Dying villages", "counterurbanization" and the urban field--a Canadian perspective

"This paper will review major theories on ?rural-urban-turnaround' and the phenomenon of ?dying villages'. It will then trace the evolution of one small settlement, Wroxeter, Ontario to describe and explain the factors that transformed it from the ?most ghosted town in Ontario'...into a community experiencing both population growth and diversification in its economy. The Wroxeter experience will be evaluated against evidence from comparative case studies in the literature. Finally, conclusions from these studies will be weighted against those in contemporary studies of rural population turnaround, counterurbanization, rural renaissance, the urban field, and functional change in settlement systems. Idiographic findings at the local level will be compared with the conclusions of aggregate statistical studies and their nomothetic implications."     

An examination of the problem of unwanted population growth in Africa and the existing facilities for training family planning personnel

Population planning is as important as economic planning and should be applied both at the national and personal levels. Population control and socioeconomic development are intrinsic to each other. Proverty, illiteracy, political instability, and social retardation are found in the countries with high birth rates. Most African nations tend to think of the population in terms of density rather than growth potential. Family planning programs should be accorded the same priority as maternal-child health, but African countries are often not equipped financially or professionally to support family planning workers under the same conditions as other medical personnel could be accomplished locally rather than overseas, thus saving about $204,000 in the East African Region and $213,000 in the West African Region. The success of the trainees' program will depend on the degree to whichf amily planning programs are integrated with other medical services; insight into traditiona l sexual patterns, and tact and skill of personnel.     

Overcoming fieldwork challenges in urban health research in developing countries: a research note

With rapid growth in the global urban population over the next two decades, health will increasingly have an urban bias. The picture of public health is particularly complex in African cities, where rates of urbanisation, poverty and inequity are high. This paper identifies the main data collection problems encountered within a panel study in low‐income areas of Johannesburg, with special emphasis on sampling, access and partnerships. The paper will be of relevance to anyone considering research in the cities of developing countries, especially in Africa.     

"Race" as an Interaction Order Phenomenon: W.E.B. Du Bois's "Double Consciousness" Thesis Revisited

This article reports on a study of interaction between Americans who self-identify as Black and White that reveals underlying expectations with regard to conversation that differ between the two groups. These differences seem not to have much to do with class or gender, but rather vary largely according to self-identification by "race." The argument of this paper will be that the social phenomena of "race" are constructed at the level of interaction whenever Americans self-identified as Black and White speak to one another. This is because the Interaction Order expectations with regard to both self and community vary between the two groups. Because the "language games" and conversational "preferences" practiced by the two groups are responsive to different Interaction Orders, the "working consensus" is substantially different, and as a consequence, conversational "moves" are not recognizably the same. It will be argued that a great deal of institutional discrimination against African Americans can be traced to this source.     

Understanding the African American Research Experience (KAARE)

Summary

Despite recognition that the African American population is underrepresented in studies of health and mental health treatment and prevention efforts, few investigations have systematically examined barriers to African American research participation. Without their participation, treatment and prevention strategies designed to curtail the spread of HIV in their communities will be bound to achieve less than optimal outcomes. Based on the assumption that successful recruitment of African Americans requires knowledge of (a) their beliefs about research, (b) their perceptions of the research process and researchers, (c) their motivations to participate, and (d) the historical and social factors that may be the source of at least some ambivalence, the current study undertook semi-structured interviews with 157 African American, low-income mothers residing in a large urban community where they and their children were at high risk for HIV. Given the sensitive nature of the research topic, members of the community were trained to conduct the interviews. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the interview content suggest that despite having been consented, many participants (a) are not aware of their rights under informed consent and (b) lack knowledge of how the research will be used. Despite this and the subtle suspicion of White researchers held by some, many decide to participate for altruistic reasons. The implications for recruitment of participants in general and African Americans in particular into HIV prevention studies are discussed as are the implications for service providers directly or indirectly involved in the development and delivery of these interventions.     

Talent,the Staying Power of Racism,and Transformation: Trans-Atlantic Observations

Abstract

This paper argues that the transformation of universities will not happen until the central issue of racial discrimination is consciously addressed at Predominantly White Universities (PWUs) in South Africa. The paper makes a concerted effort to address issues that reveal why Black faculty members in North American and South African academies have had to struggle to make their presence felt as far back as the beginning of the twentieth century. It does this by looking initially at the history of intelligence testing the early pioneering South African Black faculty members, and by comparing the current contemporary scenes of both societies insofar as what African American and Black South African faculty members undergo. The paper concludes by positing that only in the event of a strong anti-racist agenda will genuine transformation of the PWUs be possible without alienating Black talent.     

The Social Environmental Elements of Resilience Among Vulnerable African American/Black Men Who Have Sex With Men

Resilience theory has been suggested as a strong framework for research on HIV prevention among men who have sex with men (MSM). Among this population, literature indicates that African American/Black MSM are particularly vulnerable to health and social disparities associated with HIV transmission risk. Conceptualizing resilience as a part of one’s social environment, this qualitative study investigates the specific elements of resilience, and the associated contexts and relationships, among a sample of 21 substance-using African American/Black MSM. Data indicate that (1) elements contributing to resilience are multiple and co-occurring, including inner strengths, social relationships, diversity of experience, religion/spirituality, altruism, and creativity; (2) as an element of resilience, social support was experienced differently among men who did and did not have supportive relationships with other gay and bisexual men, which has implications for social service provision and intervention approaches; and (3) diversity of experiences and relationships is an important influencing factor on expressions of resilience. Social services or interventions that facilitate the development of these elements of resilience will likely be especially beneficial for vulnerable African American/Black MSM.     

Birth and initiation on the Peers Plantation: the problem of creolization in seventeenth-century Barbados

A central debate within slavery studies centers on the question of whether enslaved Africans ‘retained’ their cultures or became ‘creolized’ in the Americas. Focusing on two enslaved women and the six children they bore by their master in late seventeenth-century Barbados, this paper suggests how creolization operated in the early modern English Caribbean. The women and children were baptized and provided for in their master’s will. Yet they were also part of the plantation’s 180 strong West African enslaved population. Contextualizing all of the influences that shaped their experiences on Barbados, this paper examines naming, baptism, and birthing rituals to provide an account of the women’s lives that does not privilege either European or West African cultural practices. It argues that creolization was not a marker of identity, nor a unidirectional process of Europeanization, but rather a multivalent and multidirectional negotiation of cultural exchanges.     

HIV/AIDS Prevention in the African American Community:

The high rate of AIDS cases among African Americans, especially women, suggests that HIV risk reduction behavior change programs and messages have not been highly successful in preventing HIV transmission among this population. This paper recommends that the situational and environmental context of African Americans' lives, and their responses to HIV/AIDS be addressed and incorporated into HIV prevention programs in an effort to make these programs more relevant to high risk African Americans. A multilevel system intervention approach grounded in an ecosystem perspective which focuses on the community as the primary target level of intervention is proposed to increase the effectiveness of HIV prevention efforts among African Americans.     

Martial Law and Military Power in the Construction of the South African State: Jan Smuts and the "Solid Guarantee of Force" 1899–1924

This paper seeks to provide a new approach to analysing the crucial period of the building of the South African state between the Boer War and 1924. Drawing on the sociology of Michael Mann, it argues that the construction of networks of military power was of central and partly autonomous importance in giving shape to the new state. It goes on to contend that this generated a legal order which was in many ways shaped by practices which derived from martial law. The paper also asserts that these questions of military power and martial law need to be analysed within a framework which does not limit itself to the boundaries of the South African state itself, but is placed within the wider context of the British Empire and the southern African region. A biographical exploration the role of Jan Smuts as the key leader is used to focus the paper's study of this process of state-making.     

Treating Suicidality in African American Adolescents with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Methods for preventing adolescent suicide are surveyed, and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is explored as a method for serving suicidal African American adolescents. Strengths, limitations, and compatibility of CBT with social work values are examined. Although CBT shows much promise in helping suicidal African American adolescents, research on the efficacy and effectiveness of CBT with this population is lacking. Suicide risk and protective factors and social inequities are evaluated as they relate to African American adolescents generally. In addition to relieving suicidal symptoms, CBT potentially could facilitate social liberation for this population.     

The Role of NGOs in Strengthening the Foundations of South African Democracy

This paper assesses the contribution of South African nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to the process of democratic consolidation. By drawing on a 1998 survey conducted among 270 NGOs, on several expert interviews, and on an analysis of the structures and programmes of the umbrella body of South African NGOs (Sangoco), the author presents a multi-faceted picture of the activities of the South African NGO sector. The focus is on the NGOs' role as (1) schools of democracy, (2) in bridging societal cleavages, and (3) in providing channels of interest representation for the most marginalized sections of the population. The paper concludes that the contribution of South African NGOs to the process of democratic consolidation is significant, but highly dependent on an enabling external environment.     

British Rule and African Civilization in Tanganyika

Abstract This paper examines the systematization of the ideology of African civilization in Tanganyika between the wars, in the context of colonial strategies of Indirect Rule. It shows that largely fictitious images of African history, tradition, social structure and culture were developed in an attempt to co-opt elements of the colonized, against the background of widespread resistance to colonialism and a pervasive post-World War I crisis of the 'civilizing mission'. Administrators. missionaries, social scientists and others contributed to this ideology of 'Africanity'. Attention is also drawn to the striking parallels between aspects of African civilization and post-1967 African socialism, and the suggestion made that the connecting link lies in African intellectuals from the 1930s embracing notions of African civilization to deal with the contradictions of their own position in colonial Tanganyika.
History has to be rewritten in each generation, because although the past does not change the present does; each generation asks new questions of the past, and finds new areas of sympathy as it relives different aspects of the experience of its predecessors.     

Comparing NGO Resilience and ‘Structures of Opportunity’ in South Africa and Zimbabwe (2010–2013)

African non-governmental organisations undergo various shifts in order to cope with diverse challenges. This article takes a longitudinal case study approach to analyse the identities and resilience of a small sample of NGOs in South Africa and Zimbabwe between 2009 and 2013. This article will rely on time period and the nature of the state in each site as independent variables. The nuances brought on by the different time periods and each organisation’s profile, and the two countries where the NGOs are set, are significant for contributing to the literature on the fluid and adaptive nature of African NGOs in their bid for survival. Through exploring these four diverse NGOs in the two states and time period where new challenges and opportunities are presented, the article will also highlight the variety of challenges and strategies each NGO engaged with when confronting crises specific to their settings and the identities each NGO adopted when developing and shifting their agendas.     

Ethnic and Marital Differences in Family Structure,Risk Behaviors,and Service Requests Among Young Minority Fathers

The purpose of this study was to examine ethnic and marital status differences in family structure, risk behaviors and service requests among African American and Hispanic adolescent fathers participating in a community-based fatherhood program. Demographic factors, risk behaviors, and service requests were gathered at program entry. The results indicated that each group demonstrated distinct patterns associated with family structure, sexual risk behaviors, substance use, and criminal behavior. In comparison to African American fathers, Hispanic fathers were younger and were more likely to be married and present at the delivery of their child. African American fathers reported having more children than Hispanic fathers. Disparities in school-related measures were also found, with African American fathers having higher high school graduation rates than Hispanic fathers. The impact of marriage on risk behaviors had mixed results. Services requests were similar for both groups. The finding that different ethnic groups have specific patterns of risk behaviors highlights the importance of considering the ethnic composition of a population when developing future research and interventions.     

Exploring the Use of the Stages of Change Model to Increase Organ Donations Among African Americans

Abstract

The success of organ transplants is affected by the degree of antigen match between donor and recipient. With organ transplants among African Americans, finding a good antigen match is difficult. While the consent rate for organ donations among Caucasians is 50%, this rate among African Americans is only 12%. The resulting ratio of donors to “recipients” is 1 to 9 in African Americans. The majority of organs received by African Americans come from Caucasian donors, thereby reducing the probability of an antigen match and increasing the probability of organ rejection. These circumstances could be improved if the organ donation rate eamong African Americans was increased. There is some empirical support for the theory that behavior change occurs through identifiable stages. This paper presents evidence for the construct validity of a stage of change measure suitable for use in designing and evaluating attempts to promote organ donations in the African American community. Use of this measure also permits clinicians to assess how receptive a client will be to organ donation promotional material. Use of this measure offers the possibility of refining approaches to organ donations among African Americans. Increases in the donor rate will result in a larger pool of antigen compatible organs in this subpopulation.     

Crafting Migrant Women's Citizenship in Japan: Taking "Family" as a Vantage Point

Abstract:  To adequately approach the question of migrant women's citizenship claims, sociological studies of "family problems" of migrants need to be linked with theoretical discussions in feminist citizenship studies. This paper makes such an attempt by using "family" as a vantage point for understanding migrant women's location within the Japanese citizenship regime. I will tentatively use the concept of "citizenship regime" (J. Jenson) to designate a matrix of institutional rules and arrangements that regulate relations among different categories of citizens, as well as citizens and non-citizens. The aim of the paper is to show in what ways the dimension of "family" is constitutive of Japanese citizenship regime. "Family" will be approached in its aspect of empirical family situations on the one hand and on the other, in its aspect of legal and ideological construct that assures "intergenerational identities" of the nation. The paper will be divided into two parts. In the first section, I will examine the status of the two largest groups of migrant women (Filipinos and Nikkei Brazilians) within the citizenship regime, particularly in reference to labor and "family". In the second half of the paper, drawing extensively on the findings of collaborative research conducted from 2001 to 2003, I will trace the endeavors of migrant women to enhance their autonomy through economic as well as associational activities. In conclusion, I shall discuss briefly the significance of these endeavors in relation to the transformative politics of Japanese women's citizenship in the last two decades.