Insuring September 11th: Market Recovery and Transparency

The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center caused unprecedented economic and structural ramifications in the insurance markets, resulting in considerable uncertainty and informational asymmetry. We test several theoretical models of how markets respond to and recover from extreme capital shocks. Using the capacity constraint, post-loss investment and implicit insurance contract models, we develop testable hypotheses predicting the temporal and cross sectional variation in insurance company stock prices following September 11th. We find evidence consistent with the models' predictions, in particular, the predictions regarding relations between net losses and leverage and stock price performance after the shock.     

中国经济保增长的若干问题思考

中国经济遇到了自1998年以来首次出现的经济增长速度严重下滑的压力.实际上,中国经济增长出问题并不仅仅是因为美国的次贷危机,原因还包括长期以来企业的高成本、出口的不断增长、虚拟经济与实体经济不协调等原因.为此,必须理性地应对经济增速下滑,努力保就业和保企业,启动潜在的内需,调整经济结构、进行收入分配改革,提高社会中低收入阶层的收入水平.     

Discourses about children's mental health and developmental disorders in North American women's magazines 1990–2012

This paper describes and analyses the portrayal of children's mental health and developmental issues (CMHI) in articles located in a random sample of a selection of available high‐circulating English language North American ‘women's magazines’ indexed in the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature from 1990 to 2012. It is based upon a qualitative discourse analysis. CMHI are portrayed as materially, biologically real, prevalent and growing in incidence, and severity. They are also portrayed as located in the ‘non‐normal’, ‘non‐nice’, ‘disliked’ and ‘non‐successful’ individual child. Neither the facticity nor the biomedicalization of CMHI is questioned. The psy‐scientists and practitioners cited as experts for the ‘disorders’ offer contradictory and confusing information and advice. The possible theoretical and pragmatic explanations and consequences of this portrayal are discussed.     

Working with children in women's refuges

At a time when there is increasing interest amongst child care professionals in how to respond to children living with domestic violence, this paper derives from a study of a specialist context for such work: child work in women's refuges. The qualitative aspect of the research, which is reported on here, consisted of in-depth visits to eight refuges. Group and individual interviews with children, women and workers covered the needs (and also the strengths) presented by a wide range of children, and the scope of work undertaken with them and their mothers.A child-centred and non-violent ethos was found to be offering high levels of support to children and young people, despite low levels of resourcing. Certain groups were identified as still requiring developments in particular responses to their needs. Greater recognition of refuge child work is called for from statutory agencies, including those with access to funding.     

Gender equity and women's contraception use

Gender equity describes the distribution between men and women of social and material resources and decision‐making powers. Women's experiences of gender equity are likely to influence their contraceptive use. Multilevel analysis of two databases: the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles from the United Kingdom and the United Nations' Fertility and Family Surveys, was undertaken to explore the association between gender equity measured at two spatial scales (small areas and countries) and women's contraception use. Results suggest that the spatial scale at which gender equity is considered is important. Gender equity was associated with contraception use at a local level, but not at the country level. Further, gender equity (at a local level) benefited women with less education in terms of increasing their likelihood of contraception use compared with more highly educated women. Results suggest gender equity is a potential pathway to reducing socio‐economic inequalities in health in developed settings.     

The therapeutic value of women's adult friendships

Abstract

In 1980, thirty‐five years after the end of World War II, the long‐term impact of war‐trauma on individuals’ lives led to concern about Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder. While the focus here is not on “disorders,” it is on interactive patterns of “defensive” caretaking behaviors which contribute to intergenerational transmission of anxiety, silence and losses related to the Holocaust. In this long‐term group, defensive caretaking patterns are conceptualized as second‐generation behaviors which focus on parental needs thereby avoiding addressing second‐generation vulnerabilities. Relevant concepts of Sullivan, Winnicott, Bion and Fairbairn are applied. In an innovative trauma group design, defensive caretaking patterns are illustrated through clinical examples and interventions by the therapist as a “validating object” work to mitigate transmission to still the next generation.     

Swedish and Lithuanian employed women's subjective well-being

National differences in subjective well-being (SWB) and relationships between SWB and socio-demographic factors were investigated in samples of middle-aged employed Swedish (N = 316) and Lithuanian (N = 308) women. The results showed that the Swedish women scored significantly higher on each SWB component than their counterparts in Lithuania, except in extrinsic job satisfaction. For the Swedish sample, the largest mean differences between different socio-demographic groups were found for global life satisfaction between married/co-habiting and single women and between women who had at least one child and those without children. For the Lithuanian sample, the largest differences in all SWB components were found between women characterised by high or low education/income.     

Intimate partner violence and women's experiences of grief

A greater understanding of women's emotional and behavioural responses to intimate partner violence (IPV) may be aided by an examination of the grief course. Women going through the process of leaving their abusers, like women leaving non‐violent partners, experience grief during and at the termination of their relationship, even if they feel relief at the cessation of violence. Through qualitative interviews with 14 female survivors of IPV, we critically examine the utility of Kubler‐Ross' grief model to understand how women come to terms with their experiences of violence and the end of their violent relationships. Results suggest that Kubler‐Ross' model helps explain the emotional reactions and decision‐making of IPV survivors in regard to staying, leaving and returning to their partners. While a model developed to explain grief due to death may not entirely explain the reactions of IPV survivors going through the process of leaving abusive partners, and does not account for psychological reactions to trauma, social workers and mental‐health professionals can use this grief model as a framework to better tailor services to survivors of IPV.     

Addressing older women's homelessness: service and housing models

There is limited understanding of the nature and extent of older women's homelessness in Australia and how it can be alleviated. The aim of this project is to ascertain the combination of program and housing models that is likely to be most effective in addressing older women's homelessness. The data comprise interviews and correspondence with 14 Australian and international stakeholders. The findings draw on insight from housing, gerontology and gender studies, and highlight the need to match welfare and housing programs with the diverse life experiences and current needs of older women. Alongside flagship models of practice in housing provision are assumptions within housing and homelessness sectors of what older women need. There is a lack of understanding that most older women in housing crisis have limited knowledge of the welfare sector, and with provision of mainstream housing (and community aged care if needed) will live independently. Traditional homelessness programs and specialised supportive housing, associated with both seniors and homelessness sectors, are appropriate for women who have lived with ongoing disruption and substantive health concerns. Addressing older women's homelessness in Australia requires a range of services and housing responses, with increased attention given to a discourse of housing – affordable, secure housing – rather than continued discourse of homelessness.     

Social Inclusion and Sport: Culturally diverse women's perspectives

Sport and recreation can help communities to build social inclusion and celebrate diversity. Yet some sport and recreation activities require conformity to social and cultural norms, risking suppressing difference and reinforcing inequality and exclusion. This paper explores these tensions by examining access and barriers to sport and recreation for a large group of Australian women: those from culturally diverse backgrounds. Qualitative data shows that while sport industry representatives justify catering primarily for a mainstream participant base, culturally diverse women identify barriers requiring strategic and targeted policy and program intervention. Implicating the spatial organisation of sport and recreation as sources of marginalisation, culturally diverse women highlight how access‐enhancing initiatives in public, commercial and community sport facilities can play key roles in promoting social inclusion.     

The importance of social circumstances for Swedish women's subjective wellbeing

The importance of social circumstances for middle-age women's general subjective wellbeing (SWB) was investigated in a representative sample of Swedish women, aged 43 (N = 369). The results showed non-existent to moderate relationships between a number of social circumstances variables and general SWB. The strongest relationship was found between marital status and global life satisfaction. Being off work because of illness and household income were the strongest predictors of negative affect. A moderate relationship was found between a cumulated social disadvantage index and SWB, indicating that extreme differences in this index were related to fairly large differences in SWB. In person-oriented analyses, social circumstances were compared between women with a typical profile of generalised low SWB and women with a typical profile of generalised above-average SWB. The results indicated stronger relationships between SWB and the cumulative disadvantage index and unemployment than was the case in the variable-oriented analyses. When personality factors were controlled for, they eliminated nearly all relationships between the social circumstances variables and SWB, except for those between global life satisfaction and marital status or unemployment.     

Undergraduate women's reactions to body image and eating disorder research

The purpose of the study was to determine college women's (N = 405) reactions to body image and eating disorder research as well as predictors of negative reactions. Results suggested that the majority of women (94%) did not experience negative reactions and reported benefits to participating. Regression analyses revealed that disordered eating and poorer body esteem were predictive of negative reactions to research participation. Additional analyses were conducted to better understand those participants (N = 26; 6%) who reported negative reactions. Overall, results indicated that body image and eating disorder research is not distressing for the vast majority of participants.     

Older women's experiences of psychological violence in their marital relationships

Violence within older couples is a reality, not a myth. In this study, qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 women ages 60 to 81 who had suffered marital psychological violence. Husbands' psychologically violent behaviors were grouped into 14 categories: control, denigration, deprivation, intimidation, threats, abdication of responsibility, manipulation, blame, harassment, negation of reality, indifference, making the wife feel guilty, sulking, and infantilization. Control behaviors were found to be the central category. Control dynamics increased at retirement, when children left home and when husbands experienced a decrease in health status. Implications for practice are also discussed.     

Studying women's lives: research questions,strategies and lessons

The last 20 years have witnessed major changes both in the methodology of social science and in the questions being asked. The author sees a tendency today to discount data or archives, particularly longitudinal archives, which appear limited or unsystematic. Using his life course studies of women in relation to the family, the author discusses some of the advantages of longitudinal research and the importance of creative use of archive material.     

Social development strategies of a non-governmental grassroots women's organisation in Nigeria

Social development initiatives of rural and poor urban women in Africa are efforts that redress the post-colonial economic development planning oversights of many African nations. Grass roots movements are responsive initiatives that have provided rural women with bottom-up management and planning opportunities focused on quality of life issues for themselves, their families, the community, and, ultimately, the nation. Since 1982, Country Women's Association of Nigeria (COWAN), a non-governmental organisation, has addressed the needs of rural and urban poor women through economic activities that have empowered them and increased their levels of self-sufficiency. With COWAN's emphasis on popular participation and indigenous leadership, macro-community development practices are employed, as is the recognition of individual and collective skills and talents. Social workers of today should be aware of commonalities that exists in the struggles of these and other Third World women, for their struggles are not unlike those of oppressed groups found in the USA and other developed countries.     

Reproducing women's nature: media constructions of IVF and related issues

This paper presents a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the way the Australian press constructed the issues related to conceptive technologies (IVF and IVF-surrogacy particularly) during the period when the technologies were most visibly controversial. It asks how medical technology, the profession, ethical debates and research were presented, focussing on the representation of women's bodies, ‘motherhood’, and consumerist conceptions of medical solutions to infertility. Moral, ethical and political issues, including feminist critiques of conceptive technologies and medical power were found to be presented in limited and partial ways - by the ‘medical-miracle’ (human interest) or the ‘experts-debate-legal-issues’ genres of press report. In text and in photographs, the press showed mothers and babies as the (positive) products of technology. Women were shown reacting, in emotional terms, to the productive power of technology. Men were active, protective, expert, and the source of rational, abstract talk. The press relied heavily on proponents of the technologies for their news stories. The results are discussed in terms of Foucault's general analysis of the history of discourses of sexuality and feminist critiques of conceptive technologies.