Deviance and Definitional Processes: a Conceptual and Empirical Analysis*

The failure of the labeling perspective to account for informal reaction processes is noted. Viewing informal labeling in terms of emergence and the documentary method, definitional processes are divided into two categories: (1) intra-situational definitions concerning the practical problems of negotiating an inter-actional encounter, and (2) trans-situational definitions in which the actor is evaluated in terms of cultural knowledge and prior experience. A repeated measures experimental study is discussed which indicates that intra-situational and trans-situational definitions are differentially responsive to variations over time in the typicality of an actor's behavior. Implications for the concept of “aligning actions” are discussed.     

“This rabid fight for survival”: Small NGO manager's experiences of funding reform

This article explores the experiences of small Non‐Government Organisation (NGO) managers who are experiencing significant funding reforms. Drawing on a desk review of the literature, and semi‐structured interviews with managers of small NGOs in a case study site of Glebe, New South Wales, we present some of the issues arising from these new modes of funding governance. Findings revealed that funding is increasingly complex, with variations in timeframe, funder and geographic boundaries. The short‐term nature of funding contributed to NGO managers stating that they have been operating in a “survival” mode characterised by a high‐level uncertainty. Changes to funding regimes have led to a need to seek out future funding, engage in competitive tendering processes and comply with multiple and growing funding reporting requirements – tasks that are time‐consuming and at times stressful. Overall, managers experienced overwhelming funding complexity, which impeded the NGO's ability to focus on the needs of clients — an outcome which is surely antithetical to the aims of the various reforms to funding governance.     

Barriers to Sexual and Reproductive Health Programming for Adolescents Living with HIV in Uganda

Despite revising their reproductive health policies in line with the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action, a major challenge facing many developing countries is the inability to fully implement the policies owing to lack of funds, bureaucratic delays, and limited awareness among various stakeholders. In some countries, the policies fail to adequately address sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs of vulnerable groups. This study examines the barriers to SRH programming for adolescents living with HIV from the perspectives of key stakeholders involved in SRH issues in Uganda. The data are from qualitative interviews conducted in 2007 with 23 key informants from bilateral institutions, government ministries, and civil society organizations. The study findings confirm that policy and programmatic gaps exist in addressing the SRH needs of HIV-positive adolescents. This is attributable to: (1) lack of clear guidelines on how to address the SRH of HIV-positive adolescents; (2) challenges of dealing with adolescent SRH in general; (3) HIV/AIDS treatment, care, and support services that are either pediatric- or adult-oriented; and (4) limited institutional and provider capacity to offer SRH services to HIV-positive adolescents despite recognizing that this is an emerging area that requires intervention. These results suggest the need for: (1) clear guidelines on dealing with SRH of HIV-positive adolescents; (2) establishing transition clinics or youth-friendly corners to cater for the needs of adolescents who cannot fit in either pediatric or adult clinics; and (3) providing training and reorientation on SRH of HIV-positive adolescents to service providers/counsellors.     

Measuring socioeconomic mortality differentials over time

Using 1973 Current Population Survey data matched to 1973-1978 Social Security mortality records, this study measures the relationship between the income and education of men and their subsequent mortality. The estimated relationships are compared with socioeconomic mortality differentials found by Kitagawa and Hauser in their study of 1960 census-death certificate matched data. The comparison suggests that there has been no improvement in the relative mortality experience of low socioeconomic status men. More generally, the article discusses how Social Security data could be used to monitor, on a continual basis, our progress toward eradicating significant mortality differentials in the United States.     

Contraceptive sterilization in the U. S.: 1965 and 1970

There was an impressive increase between 1965 and 1970 in the prevalence of contraceptive sterilization, an increase that accelerated in the later years of the period and was shared in by virtually all subgroups considered. Among couples in 1970 for whom sterilization had been an option (recognizing that it is a terminal method), about one of every five had chosen this method of contraception. About half of all sterilizations were vasectomies, though vasectomies have outnumbered tubal ligations in recent years. Differentials in prevalence and in increases during 1965–1970 are reported for a number of life-cycle and social variables. In addition, a profile of the contraceptive sterile is presented for recent sterilizations. Significant proportions are relatively young and of low parity at the time of sterilization. In the context of the continued diffusion of the pill and IUD and increases in legal abortion, the net demographic effect of increasing sterilization is regarded as low, though sterilization is an important component of an effective fertility control regime.