Inter-American Cooperation in Health Work

This article is a quick overview of the Chicano Movement (CM) with specific analyses of the five major strategies employed by its adherents to effect social change. The CM was a social movement that occurred in the United States with increased activity in the southwest and midwest during a time frame: 1950s to 1980s. Persons of Mexican ancestry residing in the U.S. were its participants and self-identified as Chicanos. The term Chicano stems from the ancient Nahuatl language of the Meshica (Meh Shee Ka) peoples, also known as the Aztecs. Shicano is a shortened version of Meshicano; later pronunciation changed to Chicano and, for some in spelling, Xicano. As a social movement, the CM had as its ultimate goals the acquisition of political power with which to change the power relations between them and the Euro-Americans, also known as the Anglos.     

Framing Symbols and Space: Counterrecruitment and Resistance to the U.S. Military in Public Education

Despite recent federal laws providing military recruiters unprecedented access to public schools and student information, sociologists have given scant attention to the militarization of education or the military counterrecruitment movement in the United States. Semistructured in‐depth interviews with counterrecruiters reveal five framing campaigns used to resist the armed forces' efforts to dominate the symbolic discourse in public schools: 1) the rendition of information, 2) educational space, 3) heroic military narrative, 4) educational mission, and 5) vocational vision. Analysis examining the interaction of space and social movement framing reveals how counterrecruiters compete with military recruiters over the U.S. public education's foundational values and symbols. This article advances our understanding of the counterrecruitment movement in U.S. public schools and how space influences social movement framing through the concepts of spatial legitimacy, spatial authorities, and spatial protocols.     

WHY ARE U.S. WOMEN DECREASING THEIR LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION IF THEIR WAGES ARE RISING?

Given the traditional interpretation of women's labor force participation rate (LFPR) trends as movements along a positively sloped labor supply curve, it is surprising that the recent downward trend in U.S. women's LFPR has occurred over a period when women's real wages were commonly believed to be rising. I find that almost two‐thirds of the decline since 2000 is attributable to aging of the adult female population. The remainder, due to declining labor force participation for women under 55, becomes less puzzling in light of my evidence that the wage/education locus faced by women actually may have worsened since 2000. (JEL J21, J31, J82)     

TO “VAPE” OR SMOKE? EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE ON ADULT SMOKERS

A growing share of the U.S. population uses e‐cigarettes but the optimal regulation of these controversial products remains an open question. We conduct a discrete choice experiment to investigate how adult tobacco cigarette smokers' demand for e‐cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes varies by four attributes: (1) whether e‐cigarettes are considered healthier than tobacco cigarettes, (2) the effectiveness of e‐cigarettes as a cessation device, (3) bans on use in public places, and (4) price. We find that adult smokers' demand for e‐cigarettes is motivated more by health concerns than by the desire to avoid smoking bans or higher prices. (JEL C35, I12, I18)     

Medically speaking: Mandative adjective extraposition in physician speech

Clinical recommendations are central features of physician‐patient interaction. Mandative adjective extraposition (MAE; e.g. it's important to …) is one of many linguistic forms used by physicians in providing recommendations. This study decomposes MAE, a relatively unexplored sociolinguistic variable, into features that contribute to its deontic interpretation. It establishes that MAE's component features convey different degrees of illocutionary force, whereby some forms are perceived to be more compelling (i.e. stronger) than others. It further suggests that said forms index confidence in physician speech. Utilizing a large U.S.‐wide corpus of medical consultations, it demonstrates that physicians use stronger MAE forms as they gain professional experience. Within specific practice settings, physicians' use of strong MAE forms is additionally constrained by patients' medical severity. Collectively, this evidence points to socialization into medical practice as the major social force impacting MAE variation across physicians' professional lifespans, pushing physicians towards authoritative‐sounding variants despite interactional pressures favoring indirectness.     

A Cross-Cultural Content-Analytic Comparison of the Hookup Culture in U.S. and Dutch Teen Girl Magazines

This quantitative content analysis investigated the hookup culture in U.S. and Dutch teen girl magazines. Using Hofstede's cultural dimension of masculinity/femininity, the hookup culture (i.e., the relational context of sex, emotional context of sex, specific sexual activities, and contraceptives) was examined in 2,496 stories from all 2006 through 2008 issues of the three most popular U.S. (i.e., Seventeen, CosmoGirl! U.S. edition, and Teen) and Dutch teen girl magazines (i.e., Fancy, CosmoGirl! Netherlands edition, and Girlz!). Regarding the relational context of sex, stories about casual sex occurred more often in U.S. magazines, and Dutch magazines focused more on committed sex. Dutch magazines also emphasized sex within the emotional context of love more often than did U.S. magazines. In terms of sexual activities, coital sex was mentioned more often in U.S. coverage, while petting was mentioned more frequently in Dutch coverage. Condoms were covered more positively in U.S. magazines than in Dutch magazines. Overall, the hookup culture seems to be more visible in U.S. magazines for the occurrence of casual sex and lack of love stories, whereas it does not emerge in Dutch magazines due to the presence of committed sex and love-related articles.     

Habermas,Mead, and Rationality

This paper takes the position that symbolic interaction can become more relevant to the social issues of modernity and postmodernity by overcoming its traditional tendencies to be apolitical and to focus predominantly on micro aspects of social relations. It considers a serious reading of Habermas' Theory of Communicative Action as a contribution to this effort. Specifically it sees Habermas' reconstruction of the conception of the individual actor involved in communicating through significant symbols into one consistent with speech act theory and the concepts of speaker and listener as constructive and helpful. The paper also examines Mead's behav-ioristic theory of attitudes, types of attitudes and taking the attitude of the other(s), and relates it to his logical formulation of rational universals. It suggests that Mead's optimistic image of society and his position on rationality are no longer appropriate for discussing social issues in a global society with multiple rationalities. It sees possibilities for reformulation in Habermas' theory because, like Mead's theory, it construes rationality in communicative terms.     

An Unten(ur)able Position : The Politics of Teaching for Women of Color in the US

The U.S. academy wants 'multiculturalism' in the classroom. But its public rhetoric of fairness, standards, and diversity falls far short of its exclusionary actions in private, particularly for women of color faculty at tenure time. Tenure evaluations, we propose, reflect a narrative of institutional power that perpetuates the academy's religiouscolonial legacy. Priest-Novitiate relations rule the academy more than a community of peers. Accordingly, women of color faculty face not just a glass ceiling when it comes to tenure and promotions. Rather, they encounter a more subtle, complex, and insidious form of resistance. It consists of a specificconfiguration of racial (white), gender (male), class (aristocratic or upwardly-mobile), and cultural (Western medieval) criteria that women of color cannot possibly satisfy. We conclude with some suggestions for transforming these social relations in the academy.     

Clinical social work with chicanos: Some unwarranted assumptions

Generally the literature of social work conveys a negative attitude toward the use of clinical social work with Chicanos. These attitudes result from assumptions that have not been empirically tested. Nevertheless these assumptions have been accepted as valid. This paper identifies and discusses these assumptions in the light of the nature of clinical social work and its objectives. The conclusion reached is that clinical social work is not alien to the needs of Chicanos and can be used successfully with them when the therapist has an understanding of the cultural system and can provide therapy within its framework.     

Is an Independent Self a Requisite for Asian Immigrants' Psychological Well-Being in the U.S.? The Case of Korean Americans

Summary

This study examined the effect of both independent and interdependent self-construals on Asian immigrants' psychological well-being in the U.S., using a community sample of adult Koreans. Given that society rewards certain behaviors and attitudes that are consistent with the valued social norms, an independent view of self that matches the expectation of American society was hypothesized to promote Korean immigrants' psychological well-being. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that Korean immigrants with a highly independent self-construal expressed significantly less depressive symptoms and significantly more life satisfaction than those with a less independent self-construal. Furthermore, as was also expected, an interdependent view of self that is valued in many Asian cultures did not hinder Korean immigrants' psychological well-being, controlling for the correlates of these immigrants' mental health and self-construals. The results underscore the importance of self-conceptions in cross-cultural adaptation, and suggest the need of future research focusing on the potential benefits of both types of self-construal for Asian immigrants in the U.S.     

Regional social structure and agrarian radicalism in Canada: Alberta,Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick*

Ce document suggére que les variations dans les idéologies populistes canadiennes dépéndent largement de l'organisation sociale des agriculteurs. Les éléments importants de cette connexion sont (a)le degré des rapports sociaux parmi les agriculteurs; (b)le degré auquel les agriculteurs sont capables de maintenir leurs positions de producteurs indépendants; et (c)la densité des liens de classe entre agriculteurs et diverses classes. On a tenté de conclure, à travers une étude sur l'organisation agraire et le malaise sociale en Alberta, en Saskatchewan et au Nouveau-Brunswick que (a) plus le degré des rapports sociaux était élevé, plus le degré de radicalisme (droite ou gauche) était élevé; (b) plus le degré d'indépendance était élevé, plus il y avait de chance que le radicalisme s'oriente à droite; (c) plus la densité des liens entre agriculteurs et travailleurs urbains était élevée, plus il y avait de chance qu'un populisme de gauche emerge; (d) plus la densité des liens entre agriculteurs et groupes urbains exterieurs a la classe travaillante etait elevee, plus il y avait de chance qu'un populisme de droite emerge. In this paper it is suggested that regional variations in Canadian populist ideologies are largely a function of variations in the social organization of farmers. Of particular importance in this connection are (a) the degree of social connectivity among farmers; (6) the degree to which farmers are able to retain their position as independenr commodity producers; and (c) the density of inter-class ties between farmers and others. It is tentatively concluded through an examination of agrarian organization and unrest in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick that (a) the greater the degree of social connectivity, the greater the degree of radicalism (left or right); (6) the greater the degree of independence, the more likely it is that radicalism will take on a right-wing colouring; (c) the greater the density of ties between farmers and urban workers, the more likely it is that left-wing populism will emerge; and (d) the greater the density of ties between farmers and non-working-class urban groups, the more likely it is that right-wing populism will emerge.     

I Do … Want to Save: Marriage and Retirement Savings in Young Households

Increased policy and academic attention has been placed on promoting retirement savings early in the life course. This study investigates the extent to which retirement savings behavior among young persons, a population for which retirement savings is important but typically low, differs by marital status. We draw national survey data on young adult households (ages 22–35; N = 3,894) from the U.S. Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). Results reveal considerable differences by marital status. Controlling for important characteristics, young adults who were married were more likely than all other groups (including cohabitors) to perceive retirement as an important savings goal and to have an individual retirement account. Married persons were more likely than their single counterparts to participate in a defined contribution pension plan. Single women fared particularly poorly on retirement savings outcomes. A range of possible theoretical links between marriage and retirement savings at young adulthood are discussed.     

Marriage Rituals as Reinforcers of Role Transitions: An Analysis of Weddings in The Netherlands

Using a nationally representative survey of married couples (N = 572) in The Netherlands, I analyze three characteristics of the contemporary western marriage ceremony: (a) whether couples give a wedding party, (b) whether couples have their marriage consecrated in church, and (c) whether couples go away on a honeymoon. Hypotheses are developed arguing that marriage ceremonies reinforce role transitions in two complementary ways: They reduce uncertainty about the new roles that people will occupy, and they provide approval for norm‐guided behavior. Multivariate analyses support the hypotheses. Elaborate marriage ceremonies are more common among couples for whom the transition to marriage is more drastic, and traditional values in the social context of the couple go hand in hand with a more elaborate marriage ceremony.     

Social Work Students and Faculty: Testing the Convergence of Perspectives on Student Writing Abilities

Students (n = 244, 76% MSSW) and faculty members (n = 40, 36% tenure or tenure track) at a social work program at a large public southern U.S. university were surveyed to assess within- and between-group differences in perspectives on student writing. Faculty members expressed significantly greater concern with student writing than students. Latina/o, African American, female, and undergraduate students all reported more writing challenges compared to their peers. Likewise, full-time faculty members who teach mainly online or had less training in writing instruction reported more challenges than their colleagues. Overall, our findings support the need for writing interventions that acculturate students to the discipline through a more inclusive, culturally competent discourse as well as increased faculty preparation for teaching writing.     

Webster v. Reproductive Health Services:

This article analyzes the constitutional significance of Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989). The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court has two prominent features. First, the Court upheld the restrictions on the right of women to abort by devaluing the provisions of the challenged Missouri law. It is suggested that these provisions are far more significant than the Court majority acknowledged, and that their significance became apparent soon after the Court's resolution of the case. Second, the Court's approach to resolving Webster suggests a reconceptualizing of fundamental rights questions wherein state action jurisprudence has been turned upside down and compelling state interest analysis has been eschewed. While Roe v. Wade (1973) was not overruled in Webster, it appears that the contemporary Court's approach to operationalizing the right of choice is unlikely to restrict the power of the states to regulate in this area.     

Strengthening youth participation in civic engagement: Applying the Convention on the Rights of the Child to social work practice

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) provides a framework for strengthening youth participation in civic engagement, especially within the field of social work. Through a review of peer-reviewed social work literature over the last decade, this paper explores the central question: How does the CRC shape social work scholarship about youth participation in civic engagement? We find that the CRC is reflected in scholarship' outside of the U.S., while U.S. social work scholarship rarely draws on the CRC and concepts related to child rights. This results in qualitative differences between youth civic engagement scholarship in countries where the CRC has been ratified and scholarship in the U.S., with divergent research and practice models for working with youth. Non-U.S. social work literature offers framing, perspectives, and practice examples that can be of value for positioning youth civic engagement within U.S. social work practice. We discuss the implications of the CRC for youth participation in civic engagement in the U.S. and explore potential future directions for research and practice.     

THE ROLE OF REGULATORY ARBITRAGE IN U.S. BANKS' INTERNATIONAL FLOWS: BANK‐LEVEL EVIDENCE

I study the prevalence and profitability of regulatory arbitrage in U.S. banks' foreign activities. I analyze a publicly available bank‐level data set on bilateral lending flows to 75 countries over 2003–2013. U.S. banks' affiliates lend less to borrowers in host countries with stricter bank capital regulations, and are less likely to maintain affiliates in such countries. Banks substitute from (host‐regulated) affiliate toward (U.S.‐regulated) cross‐border lending in hosts with strict bank capital rules. This is particularly so for low‐capitalized banks with lower foreign ownership shares. Banks that reduce their exposure to stricter host capital rules are more profitable in foreign activities. (JEL F3, F4, G2)     

Condoms and Contexts: Profiles of Sexual Risk and Safety Among Young Heterosexually Active Men

Heterosexual men's sexual safety behavior is important to controlling the U.S. epidemic of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). While sexual safety is often treated as a single behavior, such as condom use, it can also be conceptualized as resulting from multiple factors. Doing so can help us achieve more nuanced understandings of sexual risk and safety within partner-related contexts. We used latent class analysis with data collected online from 18- to 25-year-old heterosexually active U.S. men (n = 432) to empirically derive a typology of the patterns of sexual safety strategies they employed. Indicators were sexual risk-reduction strategies used in the past year with the most recent female sex partner: condom use, discussing sexual histories, STI testing, agreeing to be monogamous, and discussing birth control. We identified four subgroups: Risk Takers (12%), Condom Reliers (25%), Multistrategists (28%), and Relationship Reliers (35%). Partner-related context factors—number of past-year sex partners, relationship commitment, and sexual concurrency—predicted subgroup membership. Findings support tailoring STI prevention to men's sexual risk-safety subgroups. Interventions should certainly continue to encourage condom use but should also include information on how partner-related context factors and alternate sexual safety strategies can help men reduce risk for themselves and their partners.     

Stopping the Hate: Applying Insights on Bullying Victimization to Understand and Reduce the Emergence of Hate in Schools*

Scholars and educators study how the school climate influences aggressive behaviors like bullying. Far less research examines the relationship between school climate and hateful actions. This study addresses that gap by examining students’ perceptions and observations of the school climate with a nationally representative sample of U.S. middle and high school students. These data include reports of hateful verbal victimization and observations of hateful words and symbols. While some speculate that bullying and hate are separate phenomena, results indicate that school climates which reduce bullying victimization also reduce this study's measures of hate. One difference is that the presence of security guards or police has no effect on bullying victimization while it is associated with increased reports of hateful incidents. The results are interpreted in light of current efforts to reduce school violence and concerns over the role of harsh punishment and law enforcement in school. While one cannot conclude that bullying and hate are empirically distinct from these findings, they point to strategies to combine formal social control and efforts to improve school climate through forming positive social bonds between students and authority figures. This can keep students safe from both violence and hate.     

Suicide,Religion, and Latinos: A Macrolevel Study of U.S. Latino Suicide Rates

Since the publication of Durkheim's Suicide more than a century ago, researchers have been examining the relationship between religion and suicide, and race/ethnicity and suicide. However, no study has examined how religion influences U.S. Latino suicide rates. This study fills a gap in the literature by applying three competing theses to the study of Latino suicide. Results show that (1) religious contextual variables significantly affect Latino suicide rates, (2) U.S.‐born Latinos benefit from religious communities, regardless of denomination or measurement used, and (3) foreign‐born Latinos only benefit from Catholic adherents and homogeneity.