Biographies and family solidarity in Québec

In Québec, the 2004 survey Biographies et solidarités familiales (‘biographies and family solidarity in Québec’) was the first quantitative survey to deal with the question of the diverse forms of family solidarity as they have changed over time and in line with modifications in family, work, and public policies. Our purpose here is to present the survey itself along with a certain number of its results. The latter bear, on the one hand, on what we have termed Québec ‘family solidarity spaces’, referring by that to the structural data previous to forms of solidarity as we know them now and, on the other hand, on the changes in the provision of early childhood care over three generations.     

性别失衡背景下大龄未婚男性的商业性行为——基于中国农村地区的研究发现

基于2008年安徽省CH市JC区的调查数据,通过与同年龄段已婚男性的对比,对性别失衡背景下中国农村大龄未婚男性的商业性行为、安全套使用情况及其影响因素进行分析。研究发现,在中国性别失衡背景下,男性婚姻挤压导致大龄未婚男性难以获取正常、稳定的性行为,商业性行为作为一种有效的替代和弥补方式,其发生率在农村地区的大龄未婚男性当中存在显著升高的可能性;相对于较高的商业性行为发生率而言,大龄未婚男性的安全套使用率处于较低的水平,使得大龄未婚男性的商业性行为具有高风险特征。     

New Labour's appropriation of the concept of community: a critique

This article analyses the ways in which ‘community’,one of the most important yet ill-defined concepts in SocialSciences, has been ‘appropriated’ in the discourseof the UK's New Labour government. It argues that the highlystrategic ways in which the term is used leads to associatedmeanings that neglect the intrinsically complex nature of theconcept and risk essentializing group identities, thus adverselyaffecting the most deprived sections of society.     

Parents' Attitudes and Knowledge Regarding Gambling Among Youths

This study evaluates attitudes and knowledge of parents regarding gambling behaviors among youths, aged 5 to 17 years. Telephone interviews were conducted among 279 randomly selected parents (32% fathers and 68% mothers) in the Quebec City region. Results indicate that parents overestimate the age of children's first wagers and underestimate the probability that their own child has already gambled. Most parents (86%) believe that the availability of gambling for youths should be reduced and that schools should include prevention programs concerning problem gambling. Results also show that parents fail to associate excessive gambling with poor grades or with alcohol and drug use. Finally, 84% of the parents reported that they would accept buying lottery tickets for their child. These results suggest that prevention programs for excessive gambling among children should include information for parents.     

Robust rank-based variable selection in double generalized linear models with diverging number of parameters under adaptive Lasso

We propose a robust rank-based estimation and variable selection in double generalized linear models when the number of parameters diverges with the sample size. The consistency of the variable selection procedure and asymptotic properties of the resulting estimators are established under appropriate selection of tuning parameters. Simulations are performed to assess the finite sample performance of the proposed estimation and variable selection procedure. In the presence of gross outliers, the proposed method is showing that the variable selection method works better. For practical application, a real data application is provided using nutritional epidemiology data, in which we explore the relationship between plasma beta-carotene levels and personal characteristics (e.g. age, gender, fat, etc.) as well as dietary factors (e.g. smoking status, intake of cholesterol, etc.).     

“From cause to cure”: A qualitative study on contemporary forms of mother blaming experienced by mothers of young children with autism spectrum disorder

ABSTRACT

In the past, the behaviours and personalities of mothers have been identified as potential causes of autism. More recently, other etiological hypotheses have been used to explain autism spectrum disorder, suggesting that this specific type of mother-blaming is now uncommon. However, some authors have pointed out that mothers are still being held responsible for their children’s condition and behaviours, as they are now expected to extensively promote their children’s development. The present article explores contemporary forms of mother-blaming experienced by thirteen mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder. The results are discussed in relation to the consequences of mother-blaming, such as social isolation and health related problems. It is hoped that this article will encourage social workers and professionals to understand the mothers’ perspectives and to recognize the importance of supporting them without generating or increasing mother-blaming.     

Psychosocial Profile of Children Having Participated in an Intervention Program for Their Sexual Behavior Problems: The Predictor Role of Maltreatment

This study sought to verify if a history of maltreatment may predict the psychosocial profile of children who participated in an intervention program aiming at reducing sexual behavior problems. Data were collected at both the beginning and the end of the intervention program using a clinical protocol and standardized tests selected on the basis of the intervention targets. In general, the results indicate that children who had experienced maltreatment display a psychosocial profile that is similar to that of children who had not experienced maltreatment. However, children who had experienced psychological abuse or neglect may display greater externalized or sexualized behaviors, whereas children who have a parent who had been a victim of sexual abuse may display fewer sexualized behaviors.     

The use of pesticides in French viticulture: a badly controlled technology transfer!

The use of pesticides is one of the techniques employed in modern agriculture and in particular in intensive agriculture. The risks for the environment and for worker health have been debated in western countries for about ten years. Recent developments in epidemiology, toxicology and ergotoxicology have clearly revealed that pesticides could harm the health of farmers (cancers, neurological diseases and reproductive disorders). Failures and shortcomings in the risk prevention systems have also come to light. This paper aims to address the risks associated to the use of pesticides in French vineyards. The chosen approach draws from an anthropological approach as well as from developments in ergotoxicology applied to the French vineyard work. We shall discuss the use of pesticides from the point of view of the transfer of technology. Our recent research has shown that this technology transfer was not completely controlled by the different stakeholders.     

中国农村大龄未婚男性的性行为调查和分析

性别失衡是男孩偏好的家庭和婚姻制度在人口结构中的最直接体现,同时由于“普婚制”和婚姻梯度模式的影响,性别失衡将通过婚姻挤压等方式对男女两性都产生不利影响。为了深入剖析性别失衡在个人层次的微观后果,利用安徽省JC区农村大龄男性的生殖健康和家庭生活调查数据,对性别失衡背景下中国农村大龄未婚男性的性行为进行了分析。结果发现农村大龄未婚男性的性福利受到损害,41％的人处于极度性匮乏状态,从未有过性生活;他们的平均性伴侣数量少,但类型多样,18％的人曾经为了发生性行为而付过钱,或得到过对方的钱;自慰是弥补大龄未婚男性性福利损害的一种重要方式,在一定程度上可以起到替代性伴侣的作用。最后指出了研究的局限性,并对未来的研究方向和策略提出了建议。     

School Engagement Trajectories and Their Differential Predictive Relations to Dropout

Although most theories draw upon the construct of school engagement in their conceptualization of the dropout process, research addressing its hypothesized prospective relation with dropout remains scarce and does not account for the academic and social heterogeneity of students who leave school prematurely. This study explores the reality of different life-course pathways of school engagement and their predictive relations to dropout. Using an accelerated longitudinal design, we used growth mixture modeling to generate seven distinct trajectories of school engagement with 12- to 16-year-old students (N = 13,300). A vast majority of students were classified into three stable trajectories, distinguishing themselves at moderate to very high levels of school engagement. We refer to these as developmentally normative pathways in light of their frequent occurrence and stability. Although regrouping only one-tenth of participants, four other nonnormative (or unexpected pathways) accounted for the vast majority of dropouts. Dropout risk was closely linked with unstable pathways of school engagement. We conclude by debating the delicate investment balance between universal strategies and more selective and differentiated strategies to prevent dropout. We also discuss the need to better understand why, within normative trajectories, some students with high levels of school engagement drop out of school .