The evolution of French immigration policy after May 1981

Changes and continuities in French immigration policies, following the assumption of power by the socialist government in 1981, are described. Attention is focused on the political implications of immigration and on the role of immigrants in French politics. Efforts to restrict immigration to France were initiated in 1931, but clandestine immigration, especially from Portugal, remained largely unchecked for 4 decades. In the early 1970s, stricter enforcement measures were adopted, but these measures met with considerable international and national opposition. In 1977, the government altered its approach to immigration by offering financial aid to help illegal migrants return to their countries of origin. These efforts met with little success, and in 1980 the government initiated measures to promote the integration of immigrants into French society. The socialistic government basically adhered to the immigration policies of the preceding government. The current government seeks: 1) to stop further illegal immigration through the intensification of border controls, 2) to grant amnesty to illegal aliens who currently reside in the country and who meet certain employment requirements, 3) to penalize employers who hire illegal aliens or who contract to bring illegal aliens into the country, and 4) to improve living conditions for legal immigrants. The politicalization of immigration has increased in recent years. Current issues center on the human and political rights of migrants and on arbitary administrative efforts to control immigration. It was expected that migrants would acquire political rights after the 1981 election; however, this expectation was not realized, and the political status of immigrants remains an unsettled issue. Consequently migrants have become pawns in the political struggle between different groups in the population both at the national and the local level. Immigration threatens to become an explosive issue. At the same time, migrants themselves are playing an increasingly prominent role in political activities, such as rent strikes and protest movements.     

The behavioral function: An inquiry into the relation between behavior and utility

The idea that an individual's behavior is a function of its utility or Value represents a very common and fundamental assumption in the study of human conduct. In this paper it will be attempted to determine the nature of this function more precisely. Adopting a probabilistic conception of human action, it appears that an exponential function perfectly satisfies the empirical as well as formal conditions which it seems necessary to impose upon it initially. Empirical research into behavioral change lends additional support to the function thus constructed.     

Voicing by Adapting and Innovating Employees: An Empirical Study on How Personality and Environment Interact to Affect Voice Behavior

This article reports two studies exploring howcognitive style preferences for adaption innovationaffect the likelihood that employees will voice ideasfor organizational change toward their supervisors. As hypothesized, Study 1 demonstrates thatinnovatively compared to adaptively predisposed policeofficers are less likely to voice conventional ideas andmore likely to voice novel ideas for solvingwork-related problems. Besides a replication of thesefindings, Study 2 shows how work satisfaction and thequality of the supervisor as voice manager shape theimpact of adaption innovation on employee likelihood to voice. That is, compared to innovators,adaptors are more likely to voice conventional ideaswhen they are dissatisfied rather than satisfied withwork and perceive their supervisors as effective rather than ineffective voice managers. On the otherhand, innovators compared to adaptors report greaterlikelihood to voice novel ideas when they are satisfiedrather than dissatisfied with work and perceive their supervisors as effective rather thanineffective voice managers. Theoretical and practicalimplications of the findings are discussed.     

On the maximal life span of humans

"Mortality data from the Netherlands are analyzed using recently developed statistical methods in the field of extreme value theory. It is shown that there is a finite age limit. A 95% confidence interval for the age limit is 113-124 years. The results suggest differences between men and women. The suggested hypotheses could be tested on a larger data set." (SUMMARY IN FRE)     

The Influence of Advance Letters on Response in Telephone Surveys: A Meta-Analysis

Recently, the leading position of telephone surveys as the majormode of data collection has been challenged. Telephone surveyssuffer from a growing nonresponse, partly due to the generalnonresponse trend for all surveys and partly due to changesin society and technology influencing contactability and willingnessto answer. One way to counteract the increasing nonresponseis the use of an advance letter. In mail and face-to-face surveys,advance letters have been proven effective. Based on the proveneffectiveness in face-to-face and mail surveys, survey handbooksadvise the use of advance letters in telephone surveys. Thisstudy reviews the evidence for this advice and presents a quantitativesummary of empirical studies on the effectiveness of advanceletters in raising the response rate for telephone surveys.The major conclusion is that advance letters are also an effectivetool in telephone surveys, with an average increase in responserate (RR1) from 58 percent (no letter) to 66 percent (advanceletter), and an average increase in cooperation rate (COOP1)from 64 percent (no letter) to 75 percent (advance letter).     

Understanding sources and types of social capital in Peru

Social capital is broadly defined as the ‘value’of social relationships. A substantial amount of work has beenconducted into the role of social capital, but little of ithas focused on Latin America and Peru in particular. Standardtools are often used to measure social capital in differentcultural settings. We argue that while there are common themes,the exact nature of social capital is dependent upon the specificnorms of behaviour, networks and organizations that characterizea given setting. Social capital is a multidimensional and culturallyspecific concept. The contribution that different organizationsand networks make to different aspects of social capital variesby setting (rural/urban), person involved (male/female), andover time, highlighting the need for culturally sensitive measures.Two approaches are used to describe the characteristics of socialcapital in Peru: a literature review of research on social capitalin Peru, and qualitative in-depth interviews with twenty respondentsfrom one rural and two urban areas of Peru.     

Classroom approach for managing dietary restraint, negative eating styles, and body image concerns among college women

OBJECTIVE: In this exploratory study, the authors evaluated the impact of an elective college course on dieting levels, eating styles, and body image among college women. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were a convenience sample of 29 self-selected female students at a western university who were mostly white, normal-weight seniors with significant dieting experience. METHODS: The authors used valid and reliable instruments to collect data both before and after testing. An instructor conducted the program in an undergraduate course that met twice weekly for 15 weeks. Theory-based lessons focused on resisting media pressure, modifying dietary restraint, eating in response to hunger (intrinsic eating), and achieving healthy body image. Dependent variables included intrinsic eating, dieting involvement, emotional eating, body image, and self-esteem. RESULTS: A comparison of pretest and posttest scores identified significant improvements for most measures. CONCLUSIONS: A theory-driven elective course implemented within a college setting may improve women's eating styles and body image.