Inclusion or transformation? An early assessment of an empowerment project for disabled people in occupied Palestine

Can disabled people become advocates in occupied Palestine? This article presents findings from a current three-year project. It examines the environmental, attitudinal and institutional barriers faced by disabled people and the activities being undertaken to challenge social discrimination. The article considers the project in relation to liberation theory and the struggle by young disabled Palestinians to achieve social inclusion – and eventually social transformation.     

Is the Partner Who Decides to Divorce More Attractive? A Comparison Between Initiators and Noninitiators

Five hundred eighty divorced individuals from Germany, Italy, and Switzerland provided retrospective reports on the perceived similarities and differences between themselves and their former partner and on their own and their partner's attractiveness. Initiators and noninitiators were compared with regard to these different variables. Results demonstrated that most divorcees perceived themselves to be quite similar to their former partner. Initiating women were more likely than noninitiating women to perceive themselves as different from their former partner in personality, norms, and needs and to evaluate their former partner to be less attractive. Initiating men were more likely than noninitiating men to perceive differences with regard to the personality between themselves and their partners.     

Investigating Longitudinal and Cross Cultural Measurement Invariance of Inglehart’s Short Post-materialism Scale

Inglehart applies a four item ranking scale to measure post-materialism which is used for cross-cultural and cross-temporal comparative purposes. The aim of this research is to test measurement invariance of the scale to establish to what extent the scale produces comparable results in time and between countries. We use Eurobarometer data to test longitudinal comparability for ten countries (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, West-Germany, Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland, Great Britain and North Ireland) over a period of 20 years (1976–1997). With the exception of Denmark the within-country longitudinal comparisons indicate that measurement invariance is a tenable assumption. However, the findings of the cross-cultural analyses indicate that the meaning assigned to the four items differs slightly between countries, indicating a lack of comparability of the average level of post-materialism between countries. Findings also suggest that a lack of unidimensionality of the scale might cause this incomparability.     

Mental Health of Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Youth and Young Adults: Differential Effects of Age,Gender, Religiosity,and Sexual Orientation

Drawing on minority stress theory, this study examined the mental health effects of the added burden of disadvantaged social status in an Israeli sample of 461 self‐identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youths. Bisexuality was associated with lower levels of well‐being, and, at a younger age, with higher levels of mental distress. In bisexuals, this relationship was fully mediated by family support and acceptance, internalized homophobia, and LGB social contact. Religiosity was associated with low levels of family and friends’ support and acceptance, and high levels of internalized homophobia. These findings highlight the mental vulnerability of LGB adolescents and bisexuals, as well as the social vulnerability of sexual minorities in the religious sector, and the importance of social support to increase mental health.     

Truth in advertising: Rationalizing ads and knowing consumers in the early twentieth-century United States

This article examines the way advertising was rationalized in the early twentieth-century United States. Drawing on a targeted archival comparison with the United Kingdom, I show how the extensive mobilization undertaken to legitimate and rationalize advertising, rather than changes in the techniques employed in the content of ads themselves, were seen by actors in the mid-1920s to explain most of the extraordinary advances made by American advertising. Building on that comparison, I show how American advertising was transformed, particularly around World War I, into a legitimate profession situated at the center of a network of expertise about consumers and their media. Under the banner of “truth in advertising” ads came to be regarded as a legitimate, rational, and sustained business investment, leading to an enormous increase in aggregate expenditures. I argue that future research should examine how this process fuelled mass media and contributed to the conditions for modern consumerism.     

Segmentation and Communications to Solve the Blood Shortage: An Exploration of the Problem with Recommendations

This report summarizes the dire straits of the current blood supply and identifies a number of factors which contribute to this situation (low percentage of the population who donate regularly, increasing number of factors which preclude a willing donor from donating, short shelf life of donated blood, lack of a synthetic substitute). The current situation is gleaned from a literature review and the results suggested that a new source of donors (people aged 17–25) be examined to see if they might provide a way to end the shortage. A pilot survey was conducted with undergraduate students at East Carolina University and the results were surprising and encouraging. Students reported that they are donating at from 3 to 5 times the rate of all age groups. Developing an effective way to communicate with people as they reach the age to donate may be the critical step to be taken.     

Attachment‐Based Family Therapy With a 13‐Year‐Old Girl Presenting With High Risk for Suicide

This article describes the application of Attachment‐Based Family Therapy (ABFT) to the treatment of a 13‐year‐old female adolescent presenting with high risk of suicide, complicated by a history of depression and sexual trauma. The article begins with an overview of ABFT, including (a) how attachment theory guides treatment; (b) the structure of the clinical model; and (c) the data that provide empirical support. A case example is then presented that exemplifies the primary clinical procedures used to reach therapeutic goals in ABFT, including attachment repair and autonomy/competence promotion. Weekly changes in suicide ideation and depression scores are presented. The article concludes with a discussion about implications for family‐based treatment of suicidal youth.     

Viet Nam: The development of national health insurance

Since 1987, Viet Nam has been moving from a centrally planned to a market economy. The public sector became weaker, and public resources were no longer sufficient to respond to all healthcare needs. The government then recognized the need for cost-sharing, and in August 1992 issued a national Health Insurance Decree calling for compulsory health insurance for salaried workers in both the public and private sectors. Voluntary membership for dependants, farmers and the self-employed was also encouraged from the start. Currently, the number of insured persons reaches almost 9.5 million. Future challenges include the extension of coverage, especially to the low-income rural and urban population, modification of provider payment methods so as to enhance cost-containment, and organizational development in general.