Cell phones,electronic delivery systems and social cash transfers: Recent evidence and experiences from Africa

Electronic delivery systems for social cash transfer programmes offer advantages to programme implementers and benefit recipients in terms of enhanced cost efficiency and flexibility. The rapid penetration of cell phone infrastructure, combined with a growing interest from banks to extend financial services, is likely to make the electronic delivery of cash transfers an increasingly viable option. Taking into account the broader benefits for cash transfer recipients arising from improved access to financial services infrastructure, this article elaborates recent evidence and experiences from Kenya, Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland. The article concludes with an assessment of the opportunities and challenges for scaling‐up electronic delivery systems.     

Extended moment results for improving inferences based on mre'p

The MRPP test statistic studied by Mielke and others is the weighted average distance between pairs of observations within a group. They defined 12 symmetric functions to obtainits first three moments. We define 23 additional symmetric functions to obtain the fourth moment. This can beuseful instudying further approximations to its sampling distribution. We also study the special case when the distance function is the Euclidean distance between ranks of observations     

A synthesis of stein-rule and mixed regression procedures inlinear regression models under non-normality

Stein-rule philosophy and mixed regression technique are combined to develop two families of improved estimators of regression coefficients in the linear regression model under incomplete prior information. The properties of these estimators are studied when disturbances are small and non-normal. Conditions for their dominance over mixed regression estimator are derived taking risk as the criterion for performance.     

Book reviews

Theory and Society -     

THE CULTURAL CONTEXT MODEL: THERAPY FOR COUPLES WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

This article offers a brief analysis of heterosexual dominance within various cultures toward a larger understanding of domestic violence. It then describes the Cultural Context Model, developed over 15 years of experience treating domestic violence in its broader context, utilizing separate "culture circles" for men and women before and during couple therapy. It then identifies guidelines for assessment and intervention with a discussion of the special issues raised when substance abuse is involved.     

Intimate partner violence and Hurricane Katrina: predictors and associated mental health outcomes

This study sought to establish the prevalence and correlates of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization in the 6 months before and after Hurricane Katrina. Participants were 445 married or cohabiting persons who were living in the 23 southernmost counties of Mississippi at the time of Hurricane Katrina. Data for this study were collected as part of a larger, population-based, representative study. The percentage of women reporting psychological victimization increased from 33.6% prior to Hurricane Katrina to 45.2% following Hurricane Katrina (p < .001). The percentage of men reporting psychological victimization increased from 36.7% to 43.1% (p = .01). Reports of physical victimization increased from 4.2% to 8.3% for women (p = .01) but were unchanged for men. Significant predictors of post-Katrina victimization included pre-Katrina victimization, age, educational attainment, marital status, and hurricane-related stressors. Reports of IPV were associated with greater risk of post-Katrina depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. Data from the first population-based study to document IPV following a large-scale natural disaster suggest that IPV may be an important but often overlooked public health concern following disasters.     

Female and foreign: An intersectional exploration of the experiences of skilled migrant women in Qatar

This article explores how the intersection of gender and foreignness shapes the experiences of skilled migrant women. Drawing on interviews with skilled migrant women working in Qatar, we situate their experiences in institutional, organizational and sociocultural terms to show how the intersection is articulated and mobilized to subordinate, marginalize and exclude them in work and social spaces. Findings show that the intersection is used to reinforce the status of the women as outsiders to the country (foreignness) and its cultural order (gender), resulting in structural and qualitative differences in the experiences of the group. In highlighting their nuanced experiences, we contribute to debates about gender, skilled migration and work in the Middle East. We also contribute to intersectionality debates by expanding the conceptual limits and analytical use of social categories of difference to explain experiences of work and unpack the simultaneity of subject positioning within institutional, organizational and sociocultural dynamics.     

The Density of Nonprofit Organizations: Beyond Community Diversity and Resource Availability

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - This paper examines the determinants of the density of nonprofits registered in the USA by using alternative measures of...     

Stream salamander persistence influenced by the interaction between exurban housing age and development

Urban Ecosystems - Exurban development is the fastest growing form of land use in the United States and already predominates southern New England. These housing developments alter stream ecosystems...     

Vestiges of the medical model: a critical exploration of the Ontario Disability Support Program in Ontario,Canada

Although ample literature exists on workfare in Ontario, Canada, research on the social assistance programme for disabled people, the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), is relatively scant. What we do know points to similar shortcomings. We present a critical disability study considering four policy domains to explore how disabled people are identified and accommodated in Ontario. Discussing the principles of universal design, we argue for policy design that meets the needs of as many individuals as possible, while accounting for significant human variability. We conclude that the ODSP, in failing to adopt a rights-based framework, violates the dignity and rights of disabled people.