“Time to Do the Chores?” Factoring Home-Production Needs into Measures of Poverty

Currently, income is the only resource that the government uses to measure poverty. However, in order for a family to maintain an adequate standard of living, its members must have the money and the time to do certain kinds of work in the home, such as child care, food shopping, meal preparation, laundry, housecleaning, and other similar household tasks. In this article, poverty rates are recalculated using a method developed by Vickery (1977) in which time is incorporated as a resource. Findings show that poverty rates increase dramatically when time is incorporated as a resource because working parents, especially single parents, often do not have enough time to perform essential tasks. Data are from the 1985 American Time Use Survey.     

What Should Become of the Territories? Teaching the Problematic Past and Present of the “Unincorporated” Territory

Abstract

This article explores the ways in which social studies classrooms can explore the history and status of U.S. territories as “unincorporated.” We focus on the “Insular Cases” and in particular Downes v. Bidwell (1901), examine the construct of colonies as anathema to democracy, and explore the precedents court case rationale for the existence of unincorporated territories. Finally, we address the essential questions raised by this case that can be incorporated into lessons and units and suggest instructional suggestions and pathways for addressing the problematic past and present of unincorporated territories.     

One hundred years of suffering? “Humanitarian crisis photography” and self-representation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Humanitarian images streaming from the ongoing conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are not “new”. In fact, contemporary aid and journalistic images strikingly mimic photographs created a century earlier during the Congo Reform Association’s humanitarian attack on Leopold II’s actions in the Congo Free State. This article explores the consistency of these photographic forms and their surrounding text, showing how the images of suffering are not simple reproductions of observed reality but carry personal, local and political meaning. By analysing image content as well as the subject and photographer’s experiences of image creation, this article expands beyond realist objectivity to encompass the subjects’ visual embodiment of subjective desires and expectations. Specifically, I examine how the photographic space composed of the photographer, camera and subject, becomes an intersection replete with competing expectations, hopes and tensions. To situate these images and their subjective, political and humanitarian weight within the DRC itself, I conclude with analysis of how the Congolese choose to present themselves to a different audience: themselves.     

“I Can/Should Look Like a Media Figure”: The Association Between Direct and Indirect Media Exposure and Teens’ Sexualizing Appearance Behaviors

Prior research has examined the influence of media exposure on adolescents’ sexualized self-concept, but engagement in sexualizing appearance behaviors remains understudied, especially among a younger age group (i.e., early adolescents). This three-wave panel study among 971 nine- to 14-year-olds (M_age = 12.99, SD = 1.03) showed that discussing media content with friends (i.e., indirect media exposure) was indirectly related to sexualizing appearance behaviors through perceived attainability of the appearance ideal. Direct media exposure was not significantly related to sexualizing appearance behaviors, nor to perceived pressure or perceived attainability. Direct and indirect media exposure influenced boys and girls in similar ways, although the model showed a better fit among the girls. In addition, reward sensitivity did not moderate the examined relations.     

“How Can You Retire When You Still Got a Kid in School?”: Economics of Raising Grandchildren in Rural Areas

Increasingly, grandparents are being called on to rear their grandchildren when parents are unable or unwilling to fulfill their parenting role. These grandparent caregivers often find themselves in an economic bind. Financially, most are at a stage in life where they are looking toward retirement and reduced family spending and are unprepared for their new economic reality as second-time-around caregivers. Here, we use a framework of family financial well-being to examine the economic consequences of rearing grandchildren. Based on family life interviews with 26 grandfamilies residing in Montana, we explore the challenges grandparents experience generating and shifting income streams in later life, the variability in received income, and the array of expected and unexpected expenses incurred as a result of taking in their grandchildren. As custodial grandparents strive for financial well-being, there are few resources—especially in rural areas—to help them navigate these new financial waters.     

What Does a “Thank you” Cost? Informal Exchange and the Case of “Brift” in Contemporary Russia

Qualitative Sociology - The following article addresses the complex nature of informal exchange in contemporary Russia. I borrow the term “brift” from Abel Polese in order to analyze a...     

Does acclamation equal agreement? Rethinking collective effervescence through the case of the presidential “tour de France” during the twentieth century

This article discusses the integrative function frequently assigned to festive events by scholars. This function can be summed up in a proposition: experiencing similar emotions during collective gatherings is a powerful element of socialization. The article rejects this oft-developed idea according to which popular fervor could be an efficient tool to measure civic engagement. It raises the following question: what makes enthusiasm “civic”, “patriotic”, “republican” or simply “political”? Based on a study of French presidential tours in France from 1888 to 2007, this article casts a different light on the topic. The enthusiasm of the crowds interacting with the successive French presidents is not civic because an inquiry may find “patriotism” into participants’ minds. It can be called civic simply because the forms and meaning of the festive jubilation, which may be summarized into the formula: “if spectators applaud, it means they support,” necessarily preexist its multiple manifestations.     

Decisions About the “If,” “When,” and “How” of Moving Home: Can a Relocation Service Help? A Welsh Case Study

This small-scale, Welsh qualitative study explores how a new “moving on” service empowered older people to move voluntarily from their home to an extra-care facility. Eighteen older people were interviewed about their experiences of the service, which offered in-person, bespoke information, advice, financial, practical, brokerage, and emotional support about moving. Findings indicate three service use patterns: continuous, partial, and discontinued. It was instrumental in empowering clients to exercise decisional, executional, delegated, and/or consumer autonomies. Recommendations for future developments of a prototype “moving on” service include a multipartner approach and caseworker case management training modeled on social work practice.