The Language of Learning: The Academic Engagement of Newcomer Immigrant Youth

The current study uses an accelerated longitudinal design to examine the role of three dimensions of academic engagement (behavioral, relational, and cognitive) in explaining the influence of English language proficiency on newcomer immigrant youths' academic performance across adolescence. The sample included 354 youth from Central America, China, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Mexico. As established with other populations, the behavioral, relational, and cognitive dimensions of academic engagement were closely associated to one another and significantly contributed to academic performance. Mediation analyses revealed that immigrant youth with limited English language proficiency were more likely to experience low levels of relational and behavioral engagement, which contributed to lower levels of academic performance over time.     

The logical structure of applied social science

In the present article the logical structure of applied social sciences will be discussed. Applied sciences don't regard causes and effects but only means and ends. Therefore the logical structure of means-end-argumentations in social sciences will be shown. One can perceive also the important part of normative statements. In summarizing, we can declare that in social sciences there is partly a need to reflect on the postulate of a value-free social science. But it is not our purpose to introduce normative statements as scientific ones. What counts is a liberal attitude towards all realizable norms.     

Factors Motivating Individuals to Take Precautionary Action for an Expected Earthquake in Istanbul

Istanbul is expected to experience an earthquake in the near future, but individuals show limited interest in preparing for it. This study aims to identify the factors associated with taking action to prepare for an earthquake and mitigate its effects at the individual level. A field survey was carried out in 2007 in two districts of Istanbul with different levels of earthquake risk. Within these districts, three socioeconomic levels were considered. A total of 1,123 people were interviewed face to face. Analysis indicated that the educational level of the respondents was the leading factor associated with taking at least three measures, followed by living in a higher earthquake risk area, having participated in rescue and solidarity activities in previous earthquakes, a higher level of knowledge about earthquakes, home ownership, a higher score for action‐stimulating attitudes, being younger, and a higher general safety score, in that order. The findings pointed to the role of knowledge about earthquakes and possible mitigation/preparedness measures, and thus the importance of developing effective awareness programs. Such programs should also consider the characteristics of different groups in the population. Motivated individuals, such as those who have participated in rescue and solidarity activities in previous earthquakes, could be involved in reaching other people.     

Religious dominance and empathy

Theory and Society - Why do some religious authorities empathize with outsiders while others espouse xenophobia? This paper argues that church leaders are less likely to display empathy when their...     

Is Any Job Better than No Job? Life Satisfaction and Re-employment

Using data for West Germany from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we analyse the impact of transitions from unemployment to full-time employment on life satisfaction, with special focus on the influence of job quality. We apply various indicators of job quality (self-reported job satisfaction, wages, type of contract, and indicators of the fit between the worker and job requirements). We control for the influence of income changes and other factors affecting life satisfaction, using a conditional logit estimator. Results suggest that job quality only matters to some extent, and often people in bad jobs are still better off than those who remain unemployed. This effect is statistically significant for most indicators of job quality, except for workers with low job satisfaction and for those whose new job is much worse than their pre-unemployment job.     

The “Sassy Woman” and the “Performing Man”: Heterosexual casual sex advice and the (re)constitution of gendered subjectivities

Media forums that provide “sex advice” are a rich source of (sexual) information for heterosexual individuals and have been critically examined for the ways in which they construct heterosexuality (and sexual subjectivities). The representations of (heterosexual) casual sex are also prevalent across the mass media. This paper uses a Foucauldian/poststructuralist mode of discourse analysis to explore how casual sex “advice” in three self-help books (two aimed at women, one aimed at men), and online advice articles, constituted casual sex and masculine and feminine heterosexual subjectivities. Four main (profoundly gendered) subject positions were identified in the texts: the “strategic man”; the “performing man”; the “sassy woman”; and the “vulnerable woman.” It is argued that although some alternative ways of constituting heterosexual identities were provided (particularly for women), gender difference was not only implicated in such advice but also, at times, crudely exaggerated. The implications of these representations are discussed in relation to contemporary heterosexualities, heterosexual sexual identities, and heterosexual power relations.