The Effects of Early Institutionalization and Foster Care Intervention on Children's Social Behaviors at the Age of Eight

The present study compared the social behaviors of eight‐year‐old previously institutionalized Romanian children from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP) in two groups: (1) children randomized to foster care homes (FCG), and (2) children randomized to care as usual (remaining in institutions) (CAUG). Children were observed interacting with an age‐ and gender‐matched unfamiliar, non‐institutionalized peer from the community during six interactive tasks, and their behavior was coded for speech reticence, social engagement, task orientation, social withdrawal, and conversational competence. Group comparisons revealed that FCG children were rated as significantly less reticent during a speech task than CAUG children. For CAUG children, longer time spent in institutional care was related to greater speech reticence and lower social engagement. Using an actor–partner interdependence model, CAUG children's behaviors, but not FCG, were found to influence the behavior of unfamiliar peers. These findings are the first to characterize institutionalized children's observed social behaviors toward new peers during middle childhood and highlight the positive effects of foster care intervention in the social domain.     

The development of interindividual differences in sympathy: The role of child personality and adults’ responsiveness to distress

In a three‐wave longitudinal study of 85 children (43 girls) at 5, 6, and 7 years of age, the role played by child personality (inhibition, aggressiveness) and adults’ responsiveness to distress in children's sympathy was examined. At all three times, sympathy was measured via standardized observations as well as children's self‐reports. Child inhibition and aggressiveness were assessed with reports by teachers at T1 and T2. Parents’ and teachers’ responsiveness to distress were inferred from interviews with the children at T1 and T2. Longitudinal analyses via latent regression using structural equation models showed that earlier sympathy explained most of the variance in later sympathy. Additionally, higher inhibition at T1 predicted less sympathy at T2. Higher sympathy at T1 predicted more adult responsiveness at T2. Higher aggressiveness at T2 predicted less sympathy at T3. Within time, at T1, sympathy was positively related to adults’ responsiveness. At T2, inhibition and sympathy were negatively related. The discussion focuses on the question of how child personality as well as parental and non‐parental socialization experiences work in concert to explain interindividual differences in sympathy.     

Temperament and Social Problem Solving Competence in Preschool: Influences on Academic Skills in Early Elementary School

The goals of the current study were to examine whether children's social problem solving (SPS) skills are a mechanism through which temperament influences later academic achievement and whether sex moderates these associations. The participants included 1117 children enrolled in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care. During preschool, mothers and childcare providers rated children's temperamental shyness and inhibitory control, and SPS was assessed using a hypothetical–reflective measure during a laboratory visit. During kindergarten and first grade, teacher‐report of math and language skills was collected. The results indicated that high ratings of inhibitory control in preschool, but not shyness, predicted better kindergarten and first‐grade academic skills. Furthermore, children's SPS competence mediated the relations between both shyness and inhibitory control on later academic skills. The child's sex did not moderate these associations. The results suggest that preventative efforts targeting early SPS skills may buffer against later academic adjustment problems among temperamentally extreme children.     

Poverty and the business cycle: A regional panel data analysis for Spain using alternative measures of unemployment

Conventional wisdom predicts that changes in the aggregate unemployment rate may significantly affect a country’s income distribution and, consequently, have a relevant impact on the evolution of its poverty rate. However, the relationship between labour macroeconomic indicators and poverty seems to have become weaker recently. Using panel data on unemployment and poverty for Spanish regions, we estimate a system GMM model to model this relationship using alternative measures of the unemployment rate. We also test the hypothesis of asymmetric effects of the business cycle on the share of poor individuals in the population. Our results show that unemployment has a positive impact on severe poverty, while inflation has a negative effect. We also highlight the extent to which results differ when alternative intra-household unemployment distribution-sensitive measures are considered. Regarding the existence of asymmetric business cycle effects on severe poverty, our results show that despite the fact that the Great Recession has had a strong and positive effect on severe poverty, the effects of expansions and recessions on poverty are not significantly different.     

DOES BEAUTY MATTER IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION?

Physically attractive individuals achieve greater success in terms of earnings and status than those who are less attractive. However, whether this “beauty premium” arises primarily because of differences in ability or confidence, bias, or sorting remains unknown. We use a rich dataset from a women's college to evaluate each of these three mechanisms at the college level. We find that students judged to be more attractive perform significantly worse on standardized tests but, conditional on test scores, are not evaluated more favorably at the point of admission, suggesting that more attractive people do not possess greater abilities at the beginning of college. Controlling for test scores, more attractive students receive only marginally better grades in some specifications, and the magnitudes of the differences are very small. Finally, there is substantial beauty‐based sorting into areas of study and occupations. (JEL J16, I21, I23)     

States and standardisation: constructing the co-ethnic migrant story in Germany

ABSTRACT

This article addresses the standardisation of stories about diaspora return (also called ‘co-ethnic migration’ or ‘repatriation’). Using the concept of ‘standards’, the author analyses how the German state distributes certain texts about diaspora history over others, forming a legible and homogenous narrative of co-ethnic migrant identity. The article is based on a critical discourse analysis of texts relating to Russian–German history and analysis of biographical narratives of co-ethnic Germans residing in Germany. The study identifies mechanisms by which states homogenise narratives, and to understand which co-ethnic history and identity constructions are reproduced by the state, and which are silenced. This approach enriches the study of diasporas in two ways: first, it sheds light on how states govern diaspora members who have migrated ‘back’ to their ‘origin’ countries; second, it departs from the state-centric approach prevalent in the study of diaspora governance by focusing on stories told by diaspora members.     

School pathways and economic practices of Portuguese Ciganos: some continuities and changes

The main aim of this article is to offer a comprehensive perspective to a better understanding of the actual situation of Portuguese Ciganos.¹ In Portugal, the lack of recognition of Ciganos (Roma) and the sometimes incorrect ‘knowledge’ about them which are reflected in images that are limitative and distorted, suggest inferiority and are full of disdain, all of which negatively affects and restricts the life of Ciganos persons. This article intends to presents some of the main results of two qualitative studies conducted between 2004–2010, one of which sought to get to know Ciganos’ representations of domains, practices and situations perceived as discriminatory, while the other looked at the social integration paths of these persons. These studies produce new knowledge about both individual academic and occupational trajectories, and some of the main intergenerational changes that have occurred among Portuguese Ciganos. In addition, the article offers a new view about some social policies in Portugal and its impacts on Ciganos singularities. In fact, it’s possible to conclude that the universalism of the national social policies has not produced the desired effects in terms of a reduction in levels of poverty, exclusion, discrimination among Portuguese Ciganos.     

Assessing Climate Change Impacts on Wildfire Exposure in Mediterranean Areas

We used simulation modeling to assess potential climate change impacts on wildfire exposure in Italy and Corsica (France). Weather data were obtained from a regional climate model for the period 1981–2070 using the IPCC A1B emissions scenario. Wildfire simulations were performed with the minimum travel time fire spread algorithm using predicted fuel moisture, wind speed, and wind direction to simulate expected changes in weather for three climatic periods (1981–2010, 2011–2040, and 2041–2070). Overall, the wildfire simulations showed very slight changes in flame length, while other outputs such as burn probability and fire size increased significantly in the second future period (2041–2070), especially in the southern portion of the study area. The projected changes fuel moisture could result in a lengthening of the fire season for the entire study area. This work represents the first application in Europe of a methodology based on high resolution (250 m) landscape wildfire modeling to assess potential impacts of climate changes on wildfire exposure at a national scale. The findings can provide information and support in wildfire management planning and fire risk mitigation activities.     

Flood Hazard and Flood Risk Assessment Using a Time Series of Satellite Images: A Case Study in Namibia

In this article, the use of time series of satellite imagery to flood hazard mapping and flood risk assessment is presented. Flooded areas are extracted from satellite images for the flood‐prone territory, and a maximum flood extent image for each flood event is produced. These maps are further fused to determine relative frequency of inundation (RFI). The study shows that RFI values and relative water depth exhibit the same probabilistic distribution, which is confirmed by Kolmogorov‐Smirnov test. The produced RFI map can be used as a flood hazard map, especially in cases when flood modeling is complicated by lack of available data and high uncertainties. The derived RFI map is further used for flood risk assessment. Efficiency of the presented approach is demonstrated for the Katima Mulilo region (Namibia). A time series of Landsat‐5/7 satellite images acquired from 1989 to 2012 is processed to derive RFI map using the presented approach. The following direct damage categories are considered in the study for flood risk assessment: dwelling units, roads, health facilities, and schools. The produced flood risk map shows that the risk is distributed uniformly all over the region. The cities and villages with the highest risk are identified. The proposed approach has minimum data requirements, and RFI maps can be generated rapidly to assist rescuers and decisionmakers in case of emergencies. On the other hand, limitations include: strong dependence on the available data sets, and limitations in simulations with extrapolated water depth values.