Editorial: Crossed Up at the Border

Population and Environment -     

Problematic Bodies: Past,Present, and Future

Good Days, Bad Days: The Self in Chronic Illness and Time , by Kathy Charmaz. At The Will of The Body: Reflections on Illness , by Arthur W. Frank. The Body: Social Process and Cultural Theory , edited by Mike Featherstone, Mike Hepworth, and Bryan S. Turner.     

Acclimation Effects and Separate Opinion Writing in the U.S. Courts of Appeals*

Objective. This article investigates the existence of a freshman effect on separate opinion authorship on the U.S. Courts of Appeals. First, we evaluate the extent to which freshman judges demonstrate unique behavior with respect to writing concurring and dissenting opinions. Second, we examine the potential for background factors to condition any freshman effect. Methods. Individual judges' decisions to author separate opinions, drawn from the Courts of Appeals Database (1960 to 1988), are modeled as a function of a host of individual‐ and circuit‐level factors, including the freshman status of the judge. Results. After controlling for alternative explanations, we find that freshman judges on the courts of appeals are less likely to author concurring and dissenting opinions. Prior federal or appellate court experience, however, does not appear to condition the freshman effect. Conclusion. Freshman circuit court judges experience significant acclimation effects following their elevation to the federal appellate bench.     

The Serbian Banking System: Recent Development and Major Players

The paper analyzes the banking system of Serbia. First, we briefly overview the institutional and legal framework of the banking system and describe the main structural features of the sector. Then we discuss the evolution in traditional banking intermediation, and outline the main features of the banking competitive environment, focusing on the transformations in ownership structure of banks, especially on the increasing importance of foreign ownership, and summarising the key characteristics of major players.     

Value Traits Reinforcement and Perceived Importance: Does Context Matter?

This study examines whether business students' perception of value trait reinforcement and importance differ by their university context. Student perceptions in coeducational religious, coeducational public and all-female religious schools were compared. The results of this study indicate areas of similarity and differences among students in regard to the context of school type and that reinforcement differences seemed to contribute to the differences. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Comparison of Poverty and Income Disparity of Single Mothers and Fathers Across Three Decades: 1990–2010

As the potential for more children being raised by single parents increases, so does the societal need to examine this phenomena of single parent earnings and the impact it will have on the ability to support a family above the poverty line. Research suggests a substantial pay gap between men and women, but most research is limited to individuals in traditional families. This study explores income disparity and poverty between single mothers and single fathers across three decades (1990–2010), using a US nationally representative sample. Based on human capital theory, our analysis reveals that single mothers were more likely to be in poverty at far greater rates than single fathers, after controlling for a host of demographic, human capital, and work related variables. We also found that a contributing factor to this disparity is that single mothers were penalized for having more children while single fathers were not. We find that gendered poverty and the gender pay gap narrowed between 1990 and 2000, but have stayed stable since. Overall, human capital decreases the gender income and poverty gap, but a substantial gap still remains. Implications for policy-makers are discussed.