Contested universalism: from Bonosol to Renta Dignidad in Bolivia

Bolivia is the only Latin American country to feature a universal old-age pension scheme. Though strikingly modest, originating at US$248 per annum, this benefit runs counter to the prevailing targeting paradigm. Ten years after the scheme's controversial start in South America's poorest country, this article is the first to focus on the interesting political economy of the universal benefit. The introduction of the benefit was not motivated by social policy considerations but by the desire to privatise state-owned enterprises and pensions. Conceived by neoliberal structural reformers, the benefit was challenged first by the international financial institutions and then by Bolivia's developmentalist government, before the latter found a way to reconcile its re-nationalisation project with a re-branded universal pension.     

Sawu bona = Ich sehe dich

Sawu bona = I’m aware of you. Playback Theatre as a supporting method for consulting processesPlayback Theatre is an interactive improvisational theatre. People from the audience tell their stories, their thoughts and ideas and the actors perform them immediately, playing back a fresh image of the story for the teller. The processes in Playback Theatre and organisational consultancy are comparable: Similar stages include listening, respecting, giving back and integrating. The expression of feelings and the appropriate use of humour can greatly aid the facilitation of successful change across many different contexts.     

Physiological Reactivity to Infant Crying and Observed Maternal Sensitivity

Relations between maternal sensitivity and physiological reactivity to infant crying were examined using measures of heart rate (HR) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in 49 mothers of second‐born infants. Using the Ainsworth Sensitivity Scale, an independent assessment of maternal sensitivity was made during maternal free play and bathing of their infants. Physiological reactivity was measured while mothers listened to three blocks of infant cry sounds in a standard cry paradigm. Mothers scoring high on sensitivity were compared to less sensitive mothers on both their physiological reactivity to the presented crying sounds and their physiological mean‐level differences. Significant interaction effects were found for both HR and RSA. Highly sensitive mothers showed a larger increase in HR and stronger RSA withdrawal in response to the first block of cry sounds compared to less sensitive mothers. Main effects showed that highly sensitive mothers had lower mean overall HR, and higher mean RSA levels across all three blocks of crying sounds compared to less sensitive mothers. RSA withdrawal and accompanying HR increases are discussed from a polyvagal perspective as indicative of a better capability in responding to infant signals of negative affect.     

Prevention of homicidal violence in schools in Germany: the Berlin Leaking Project and the Networks Against School Shootings Project (NETWASS)

Since 1999, Germany has experienced at least twelve serious cases of targeted school violence. This article describes two projects designed to fill the gap between universal prevention and emergency response in preventing severe forms of school violence in Germany. The Berlin Leaking Project examined the viability of preventive efforts based on early identification of leaking behavior that often precedes targeted school attacks. Leaking refers to any behavior or communication that indicates a student is preparing to carry out a violent attack. This would include explicit or implied threats of violence, apparent fascination with prior acts of violence such as Columbine, and any evidence of planning or preparation to carry out an attack. The NETWASS project will test a training program and intervention strategy based on those findings, examining the usefulness of a threat assessment approach to prevent violence by training teachers to recognize leaking behavior by students. This approach is extended by training teachers on a larger scale to identify leaking and then having a school-based team evaluate the student and initiate appropriate interventions, such as mental health services, and in some cases, law enforcement action.     

How (not) to “Hollaback”: towards a transnational debate on the “Red Zora” and militant tactics in the feminist struggle against gender-based violence

Abstract

The Red Zora was formed in the mid-1970s as a subgroup within the militant leftist network Revolutionary Cells. Like other militant leftist groups in West Germany, the Red Zora deemed the use of physical force against property, and in some cases people, to be a necessary part of national and international political interventions. But the group had a radical feminist philosophy. Between 1977 and 1995, the Red Zora carried out dozens of attacks with an explicitly feminist agenda. This paper gives a brief overview of the activities of the Red Zora and of feminist responses to the group. Against the background of Germany’s fascist past and political violence in the FRG, feminist activists in Germany were understandably reluctant to discuss ideas and activities that could associate the women’s movement with left-wing “terrorism.” This article shows that “Hollaback!,” #aufschrei and other recent campaigns by feminist activists in Germany have reinforced rather than challenged the feminist silence on the Red Zora. While German feminists have only begun to document the history of the group, activists in other countries show that one does not have to agree with the tactics of the Red Zora to productively engage with the activities of this group.     

Social Investment Policies and Childbearing Across 20 Countries: Longitudinal and Micro-Level Analyses

This study analyses the influence of family policies on women’s first and second births in 20 countries over the period 1995 to 2007. Welfare states have shifted towards social investment policies, yet family policy–fertility research has not explicitly considered this development. We distinguish between social investment-oriented and passive support that families may receive upon the birth of a child and consider changes in policies over time. These indicators are merged with fertility histories provided by harmonized individual-level data, and we use time-conditioned, fixed effects linear probability models. We find higher social investment-oriented support to be correlated with increased first birth probabilities, in contrast to passive family support. First birth probabilities particularly declined with higher passive family support for women over age 30, which points to a potential increase in childlessness. Social investment-oriented support is positively related to first and second births particularly for lower-educated women and has no relationship to childbirth for highly educated women, countering the Matthew-effect assumptions about social investment policies. Passive support is negatively related to second births for post-secondary educated women and those who are studying. Family policies that support women’s employment and labour market attachment are positively linked to family expansion and these policies minimize educational differences in childbearing.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10680-022-09626-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Supporting the agency of cities as climate migration destinations

As climate migration has garnered the interest of research and policy communities over the last two decades, the focus has been on whether, how and where climate stresses might precipitate out-migration, and how to assist and protect those affected. Less attention has gone to the places that receive climate migrants, and how their arrival might affect adaptation at destination. Against the backdrop of increasingly severe climate disruptions, this paper examines the likelihood of climate-related movements going into urban areas, and the challenges that this may entail for those who move and for urban governance. With much of climate migration projected to feed into existing urbanization trends, we see the need for data and research to help bolster the agency of communities and cities to plan and act locally, and across geographies, for inclusion and resilience, and to advocate collectively for enabling policy frameworks and increased national and international support.     

Profiles of early career insecurity and its outcomes in adolescence: A four-wave longitudinal study

This study investigated the developmental profiles of perceived early career insecurity (ECI) and their outcomes among adolescents (n = 1416) during a critical educational transition from basic education to upper secondary education. We found three distinct latent profiles with varying amounts of ECI: Profile 1: Moderate and decreasing ECI before the transition (57%); Profile 2: Low-decreasing ECI before the transition but increasing ECI after the transition (31%); and Profile 3: High and stable ECI during the transition (12%). Moreover, the ECI profiles related to school and life satisfaction as well as to school stress and dropout intentions in a meaningful way consistent with the stressor hypothesis. Chronically high and increasing ECI was related to negative outcomes.