Remittances in Ghana: Origin, Destination and Issues of Measurement

Few studies on remittances have focused on sub-Saharan Africa. This paper analyses a nationwide survey of 5,998 households to determine the characteristics of both internal and overseas remittances in Ghana. Particular attention is paid to the poverty-alleviation potential of remittances. Furthermore, this study uses a smaller scale pilot project with a matched sample of senders and receivers of remittances to identify some problems with using household-level surveys to assess the volume and impact of overseas remittances, and offers some suggestions as to how to handle these problems. The paper estimates that foreign remittances may be three times as large as Bank of Ghana estimates, bringing Ghana on par with large remittance receiving countries such as the Philippines and Mexico. The paper concludes that while foreign remittances are larger in value, locally sent remittances reach poorer segments of the population. Both foreign and local remittances are unevenly geographically distributed, being received more in the centre and southern regions than in northern Ghana where the poorest regions are. The paper argues a need to study multiplier effects of foreign remittances, as these can be large and eventually accrue to rural populations.     

Measuring ego-centered social networks on the web: Questionnaire design issues

Collecting survey data on ego-centered social networks is a difficult task, owing to the complex questionnaire format. Usually, the interviewer handles the dynamics of the question–answer exchange, motivates the respondent and ensures the proper recording of the data. Self-administered modes of data collection, especially web data collection, are more problematic, as the respondents are left alone with a complex and burdensome questionnaire. Therefore, questionnaire layout is crucial for ensuring cooperation and data quality. In this paper we examined three key components of the corresponding web questionnaire: the number of name boxes using a single name generator, question format for assessing alter characteristics (i.e. alter-wise vs. question-wise) and number of name interpreters (i.e. alter characteristics). The number of name boxes was found to be essential for the reported size of social networks and also for some aspects of data quality. Specific data quality effects were also found with respect to variations in question format, where question-wise format performed better than alter-wise. The number of name interpreters had a relatively minor effect. Suggestions for possible standardization of the web interface layout are also given, so that equivalence with other data collection modes can be established.     

Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Italian Version of the Homosexuality Scale of the Trueblood Sexual Attitudes Questionnaire

The aim of the present study was to translate the Homosexuality scale of the Trueblood Sexual Attitudes Questionnaire into the Italian language and to assess its factor structure and psychometric properties in Italian psychology students. The questionnaire was originally developed and validated in U.S. college students, and later in Turkish social work students, showing high internal consistency. It measures attitudes toward several sexual practices and behaviors, regarding self and others. Particularly, the Homosexuality scale measures attitudes toward different sexual and romantic practices with people of the same sex. A total of 199 Italian psychology students participated to the study, and they were administered the Italian translation of the scale. We applied exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Results showed that the scale has high internal consistency, and that the original two-factor model accounting for attitudes toward self and others fits the data well. Implications for education and assessment in student populations are discussed.     

Reunifying Versus Living Apart Together Across Borders: A Comparative Analysis of sub‐Saharan Migration to Europe

This article studies the process of reunification in Europe among “living apart together across borders” (LATAB) couples of African origin (DR Congo, Ghana, and Senegal). Couple reunion is conceived as a multilevel process, wherein state selection (through immigration policies in destination countries) interacts with self‐selection (at the couple level), under influence of the social context at origin. Based on event history analyses of the MAFE project, empirical results show that LATAB is a majority and durable living arrangement for sub‐Saharan migrants, that the odds if reunifying depend on gender and inter‐generational relationships, and that restrictive contexts at destination do not deter couple reunion.     

Menopause and sexual desire: the role of testosterone

The present short review underlines the role of testosterone (T) in the motivational and satisfaction components of women's sexuality and critically discusses the strategies to treat hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), a condition of low desire associated with personal and/or interpersonal difficulties, which is more common in surgical menopausal women. There are multiple ways androgens target the brain regions (hypothalamic, limbic and cortical) involved in sexual function and behaviour. Even though circulating available androgens have been implicated in several domains of sexual response, they seem to be related weakly to symptoms, such as low sexual desire, poor sexual arousal, orgasm and diminished well-being in postmenopausal women. The possibilities of treating low sexual desire/HSDD are multifaceted and should include the combination of pharmacological treatments able to maximize biological signals driving the sexual response, and individualized psychosocial therapies in order to overcome personal and relational difficulties. Transdermal T has been shown to be effective at a dose of 300 μg/day both in surgically and naturally menopausal women replaced with estrogen or not, without any relevant side-effects. However, the decision to treat postmenopausal women with HSDD with T is mainly based on clinical judgement, after informed consent regarding the unknown long-term risks.     

On Baseline Conditions for Zero-Inflated Longitudinal Count Data

We describe a mixed-effect hurdle model for zero-inflated longitudinal count data, where a baseline variable is included in the model specification. Association between the count data process and the endogenous baseline variable is modeled through a latent structure, assumed to be dependent across equations. We show how model parameters can be estimated in a finite mixture context, allowing for overdispersion, multivariate association and endogeneity of the baseline variable. The model behavior is investigated through a large-scale simulation experiment. An empirical example on health care utilization data is provided.     

Sociological Conceptualisations of ‘Career’: A Review and Reorientation

In the last decades, the use and meaning of the concept of career has profoundly changed, shaped by a ‘new career’ literature rhetoric and a move away from mainstream sociological debate. Our aim in this article is to provide a critical assessment of the concept, and to make a productive contribution to the current debate on careers, and work more generally. Specifically, we seek to: (i) critique the lack of elaboration of the concept within the discipline of sociology in recent years; (ii) reposition the concept of careers as a key sociological category; and (iii) assess and reorient the current meanings of career. After tracing the history of career from linear to boundaryless, we situate the concept in a broader sociological understanding of gender and habitus and structure and agency, and through a methodological discussion of narrative approaches for studying careers. These concepts and approaches are especially effective for understanding careers. Having showed the added value of the concept of career for sociology, we conclude with a research agenda which attempts to overcome the voluntaristic pitfall of its use in recent years and opens up a more thoughtful and articulated understanding of careers for both teaching and research.