Fertility, union status and partners in the WFS Guyana and Jamaica Surveys, 1975-1976

Abstract In this paper differences in the level of fertility are examined according to women's union status and their number mf partners. A number of approaches are used to analyse these relationships: differentials by current union status, the pattern of union history, and a measure of the sum synthetic composed of periods spent in each type of union, are discussed. The trend in these differentials is also analysed; using earlier surveys and census data forcomparison, we find that union status differentials have changed noticeably since the 1950s. Fertility differentials by number of partners (or the second measure proposed - number of dissolutioom) are also analysed. The data suggest that the long-existing interrelationship between union history and number of partners has now resulted in changing union status differentials within the new context of increasing use of contraception.     

Rethinking Political Elites' Mass-Linkage Strategies: Lessons from the Study of Indira Gandhi's Political Habitus

In this article, I critique available elite-mass linkage theories that depict elites either as structurally determined or rational actors. Taking cues from Bourdieu's political field theory, I argue that elites' mass-linkage strategies are a product of their point of view on politics structured by their trajectory in historically specific structures of politics. I demonstrate my argument by documenting shifts in the mass-linkage strategies of Indira Gandhi, one of the most influential leaders of postcolonial India. The general lesson to be drawn from this study is that it is important to examine political elites' past mass-linkage experiences in historically specific conditions of the political structure in order to explain their current choices of mass-linkage strategies.     

Loudness registers: Normalizing cosmopolitan identities in a narrative of ethnic othering

An analysis of one narrative shows how loudness of voice acquires indexical meaning in interaction and becomes a resource for the narrator to position himself along an axis of social differentiation defined in terms of morality. The narrative was collected among young, male, migrant hip hop artists in Delhi who experienced ethnic othering. In the narrative, loudness registers are used to establish voice contrasts between two antagonistic characters: the racist people of Delhi and the cosmopolitan hip hop self. The racist people speak in soft (piano) and loud (forte) registers, while the cosmopolitan self speaks in normal‐volume registers. The prosodic normalization of the self allows the narrator to differentiate himself from racist others, take moral stances on global solidarity, and construct his cosmopolitan identity.     

Notions of self: lived realities of children with disabilities

To research children’s notions of self, semi‐structured interviews, drawings and focused group discussions were used with 14 children with mobility ‘impairments’ aged 11–16 years. The objective was to capture children’s ‘lived realities’. Findings illuminated immense variation and fluidity in children’s understanding of ‘disability’. Children desired to appear similar to ‘non‐disabled’ children. Most attributed ‘disability’ to existential causes. Parents’ ambivalent attitudes and societal reactions to ‘disabled’ children are discussed. The study points out the unremitting hope and potential of these children, which is often silenced by the overarching ‘negativism’ that surrounds ‘disability’.     

The social worker as intellectual

This paper examines the state of intellectual activity within social work under the conditions of neo-liberalism. It is motivated by concern with the demise of what previously was termed ‘bottom-up’ social work and a growing sense of despair amongst front line social workers regarding their capacity to engage with users, citizens and communities in ways other than those determined by managerial and regulatory mechanisms. This leads us into a discussion about the possibilities of what it might mean for social workers to think of themselves as ‘intellectuals’. It considers the different meanings of the term ‘intellectual’ and argues that social work has much to gain from the tradition which has identified new kinds of public sector professionals as ‘transformative intellectuals’.     

America in the Psyche of Bangla Authors: Opening of the Space by Tagore

The essay, divided into five sections, explores how the Cultural Space called ‘America’ (and ‘Americanism’) are reflected in the works of a far-away literary-cultural community called Bangla (or Bengali) in South Asia, and how this inter-relationship was strengthened by Rabindranath Tagore. It begins with the post-Tagore post-WWII literary scene where America occurs as a backdrop and then touches upon Tagore’s contemporaries who referred to America. But it focuses on how Tagore, in his polemical writing, views the role of America in the international arena, or how he conceptualises Indo-American relations while commenting on American Society and its beliefs and practices — especially how it handles linguistic plurality, majority-minority relationships, and less-privileged groups. In particular, it discusses the concepts such as Individuality, Plurality, Diversity, Liberty and Civilization — all relevant for foreign policy initiatives then as well as now, and how America is viewed as a land of promise and opportunity.     

Design and analysis of mixture experiments with process variable

A mixture experiment is an experiment in which the response is assumed to depend on the relative proportions of the ingredients present in the mixture and not on the total amount of the mixture. In such experiment process, variables do not form any portion of the mixture but the levels changed could affect the blending properties of the ingredients. Sometimes, the mixture experiments are costly and the experiments are to be conducted in less number of runs. Here, a general method for construction of efficient mixture experiments in a minimum number of runs by the method for projection of efficient response surface design onto the constrained region is obtained. The efficient designs with a less number of runs have been constructed for 3rd, 4th, and 5th component of mixture experiments with one process variable.     

Calibration approach estimation of the mean in stratified sampling and stratified double sampling

Calibration estimation improves the precision of the estimates of population parameters by incorporating specified auxiliary information. A class of calibration estimators has been proposed for estimating the population mean by making use of a set of calibration constraints in stratified sampling. The estimator of variance of the proposed calibration estimator of the mean is derived using a lower level calibration approach. The idea is extended for stratified double sampling. A simulation study is used to evaluate the performances of the proposed estimators by comparing them with the similar estimators developed by Tracy, Singh and Arnab (2003 Tracy, D.S., Singh, S., Arnab, R. (2003). Note on calibration in stratified and double sampling. Surv. Methodol. 29(1): 99–104. [Google Scholar]) based on different sets of calibration constraints.