Female Tourists, Casual Sex, and HIV Risk in Costa Rica

This paper describes the involvement of young female tourists who visit rural Costa Rica with gringueros (i.e., local men who actively seek relationships with foreign women), and explores the implications of these relations, which gringueros see as outlets for sexual adventure, for sexual behaviors that could contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS. The findings highlight the need to use tourism-related locales to implement HIV/AIDS awareness strategies targeted at women tourists, gringueros, and other local youth.

Engagement, but for what kind of marriage?: community members and local planning authorities

In recent years there has been an international trend to encouragegreater participation by community members in making decisionsover local developments. A small study of the experiences ofcommunity activists residing in the City of Moreland (Australia)indicates that existing political and economic structures areneither flexible nor supportive of greater, substantive, democracy.Indeed the kinds of barriers reported at the grassroots suggestthat deep reforms in the traditional patterns of engagementbetween political and bureaucratic authorities and neighbourhoodcommunities are necessary in order to enhance the power of communitymembers. This analysis of community engagement practices drawsa parallel between the multi-various scales of struggles necessitatedfor women's liberation and the breadth of reforms necessaryfor neighbourhood residents to achieve greater power in decisionmaking over local developments.     

基于非线性假设的人口和碳排放关系研究

理论和实证分析表明,人口和碳排放的关系具有动态性,碳排放量对人口要素的弹性系数是人口数量、年龄结构、家庭规模、城市化、性别结构、经济发展水平等因素的非线性函数。本文发现,基于人口和碳排放非线性关系假设构建的碳排放模型对历史数据的拟合能力明显优于传统模型,能够较好地揭示不同人口发展阶段和经济发展水平下的人口动态对于碳排放的影响。从各国人口发展实际状况出发,制定相应的减排策略是应对气候变化的必然选择。     

The Analysis on the Potential and Trend of the Non-agricultural Transfer of Chinese Rural Labor in the Following 20 Years

The non-agriculturalization of rural labors,which has caught much research attention,is an ecessary phenomenonin the process of urbanization. However, conflicts exsitson some basic issues due to the disagreement on the concept and data of the rural non-agricultural labor force,and there is alack of systemic and quantitative research on the potentials of rural labor’s non-agricultural transfer in the future. By predicting the changing trend of future rural labor force, the demand for agricultural labors, and the trend of rural labor’s non-agricultural transfer, this paper estimated the potentials of Chinese rural labor’s non-agricultural transfer in the next 20 years. It found that the surplus labors in the countryside will decrease annually, and its total number will range between 100 million and 250 million by 2030. Although there is still some increase potential of the stock of rural labor’s non-agricultural transfer in the near future, its increase will approach to zero in 10 years, and rural transferrable surplus labor will also approach to zero in about 5 to 10 years.     

Temporary Agency Workers in Italy: Alternative Techniques of Classification

Abstract. Cluster analysis and the classification tree technique are applied to investigate the relationship between the individual characteristics of Italian temporary help agency (THA) workers and their probability of achieving a temporary job. The application aims to show some advantages of these techniques with respect to traditional econometric tools. Sketches of the most common profiles among Italian THA workers are obtained as a result. Besides the typical THA worker pointed out by previous studies (young male workers, with a medium–high level of education, living in the Northern regions), two new profiles have been identified: the first comprising male manual workers with previous job experience, whose average age is over 30 and whose educational level is low; the second comprising young female workers with a medium–high level of education, working in the service sector or in the public sector. The results are compared with the more usual logit analysis and show their robustness.     

The role of the medical provider in the evaluation of sexually abused children and adolescents

It was only 30 years ago that the medical community began to develop an increased awareness of child sexual abuse, and the role of the medical provider in the evaluation of sexually abused children has evolved significantly. As clinicians worldwide develop a greater understanding of the impact of the sexual abuse evaluation on the child, the roles of the physician and nurse have changed. In the United States, current practice often uses a multidisciplinary assessment involving skilled forensic interviewing of the child and a medical examination done by a medical provider with specialized training in sexual abuse. In order to minimize child interviews, these assessments are frequently held in settings such as child advocacy centers, where forensic interviewers and medical clinicians, child protective service workers, and police and district attorneys can work jointly to address the legal and protective issues in a coordinated fashion.     

The Five Cs of Positive Youth Development: Configurations of Thriving in Four U.S. Adolescent Samples

Positive youth development (PYD) models are widespread, but the empirical evidence for them is primarily nomothetic (i.e., investigations of universal patterns). Contemporary developmental theory suggests that concepts and processes within PYD models should also be explored with respect to specificity. This study demonstrates how the Five Cs Model, a predominant PYD model, can be advanced using group-differential methods. Secondary data from four studies of adolescents were used to test: (1) Whether there were subgroups who varied in their patterns of scores across the Five Cs, and (2) Whether subgroups also varied in Contribution behaviors. Unexpectedly, the four data sets used could not be combined, yielding an opportunity to discuss consistencies and inconsistencies in findings across the four data sets through contextual and sample differences. Findings demonstrate how understanding specificity in theorized concepts and processes in PYD models can complement studies of universal patterns, which are both necessary to advance PYD research and practice.     

Voluntary childlessness in a society reluctant to change

Voluntary childlessness constitutes a social and generational rupture from tradition and culture, with significant effects on the reproduction of the so-called life and family cycle. This study aims at understanding the reasons why people decide to remain childless and the social pressures that this decision generates. A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted on the emerging decision of non-motherhood and non-fatherhood based on semi-structured interviews with 56 people who autonomously made the decision to opt out of parenthood. This paper underscores the multiple biographical situations involved in the decision, in addition to the concerns about personal development and future. The current social crisis context serves as a means of justification to lessen social and family pressure. We conclude that people who have made this decision promote a different meaning from that of reproduction as a mechanism of the social order.     

Changes in couple,parenting, and individual functioning following Family Expectations program participation

The current study investigated changes in couple, parenting, and individual functioning following participation in Family Expectations, a relationship and parenting education program for new or expectant parents. The sample comprised 339 couples who participated in most sessions of the Family Expectations program and completed assessments at three different time points over a 12-month period. Study analyses examined: (a) change shortly following completion of the program, (b) associations between short-term change and subsequent change in outcomes at 12-month follow-up, and (c) differences in short-term change between married and unmarried couples. Significant improvements were observed in all three domains at short-term follow-up. Short-term changes, particularly for psychological distress, were predictive of long-term change in multiple domains. Few moderation effects by marital status were evident; those that appeared suggested stronger effects for married participants compared to unmarried. Study findings inform ongoing discussions into the utility of federally-funded relationship and parenting programming.     

Randomized controlled trial of the Marriage Checkup: Stress outcomes

Several couple interventions targeting relationship distress also show beneficial effects on individual mental health. Yet, strikingly few studies report effects on perceived stress. This study examined the effects of a brief couple intervention, the Marriage Checkup (MC), on perceived stress. We randomly assigned 231 couples to receive two MCs (Weeks 7 and 51) or to a waitlist control. Survey data were collected at seven time points over 2 years and analyzed using multilevel models. We found no significant between-group treatment effects on average stress at any time point. However, women, but not men, in the intervention group experienced decreased stress after the second MC (d = −0.23) and more women in the intervention group (26.5%) compared with the control group (14.9%) experienced reliable improvements in stress after the second MC. Overall, the MC did not result in main effects on stress but caused temporary reliable change in terms of stress relief for women.