Relative Spousal Earnings and Marital Happiness Among African American and White Women

The distinctive economic histories of African American and White wives suggest that involvement in household income production holds contextually situated unique meanings for these groups. Yet research has not addressed racial differences in the effects of relative earnings on marital well‐being. Surveying 431 employed wives in 21 U.S. cities, we found that wife‐to‐husband income ratio and marital happiness were negatively associated when women held traditional values, but in racially distinct ways. Among White women only, a negative association between income ratio and marital happiness was reversed when financial need was reported. Findings are discussed in terms of variability in the meaning of wives’ earnings as a function of situational, historical, and sociocultural dynamics.     

What does a casino mean to a tribe?: Assessing the impact of casino development on Indian reservations in Arizona and New Mexico

Using data from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. Census of Population and Housing, we examine five social and economic characteristics of individuals and households living on reservations in Arizona and New Mexico that have a casino to those that do not. This research differs in two ways from previous studies that have attempted to assess the social and economic impacts of Indian gaming. First, the unit of observation and analysis is the reservation, not a tribe. A focus on reservations allows us to assess the role casinos play in “place-based” economic development. Second, since reservations and tribes are not coterminous, we seek to differentiate the effects of casinos on the Indian population living on reservations from the effects for all reservation residents (Indians and others). The results show that casino gambling is associated with improvements in social and economic welfare for both the Indian and non-Indian populations alike. However, Indian gaming did not contribute to positive outcomes in all cases. Indeed, the effects of gaming are filtered through a myriad of structural and cultural contexts that shape who wins and who loses when a casino opens on a reservation. The implications of Indian gaming for economic development are discussed.     

REGULATION AND CONTROL OF SUBJECTIVITY AND PRIVATE LIFE IN THE CONTEXT OF ARMED CONFLICT IN COLOMBIA1

A qualitative study was carried out in four municipalities in four different conflict zones in Colombia. Intrafamilial violence and gender violence are studied through the testimonies of the people interviewed. The impact was analysed in terms of the exercise of control over the civilian population by paramilitaries in relation to subjectivity, the family, social networks and the prevailing moral order. In effect, the strengthening of barriers between traditional gender identities has enabled a de-structuring of traditional masculinity through moral co-optation, the reinforcement of traditional feminine identity and the objectification of the sexuality of young women, at the same time as they are manipulated sexually and emotionally. In general, strong legitimation of the model of the armed fighter as a paradigm of masculinity is found in children. In addition, the de-structuring of the family and its manipulation as a means of influence over civil society is one of the strategies employed for the installation of a regime of terror that fractures social networks. It does this through the erosion of confidence and the legitimation and mystification of the power of an actor whose mediation in inter-family and micro-social conflicts has been legitimated, instrumentalizing and scaling up traditional violence, taking advantage of the power vacuum and moral weaknesses in local culture.     

The Quality of Life in Some Local Metropolitan Labour Markets in Italy

This study forms part of a general programme of territorial research in Italy developed by the Italian National Statistical Institute (ISTAT). In particular we have studied the metropolitan communes, both with regard to movements within the city and to the attraction cities exert over the communes in the surrounding areas. Based on the daily work-related flows, we have identified the Local Labour Systems (LLSs). The LLSs having as their hub the twelve metropolitan communes constitute the Local Metropolitan Systems (LMSs). Among these we have chosen to analyse in detail the quality of life in the Systems of Milan, Genoa and Palermo, which have been singled out as exemplary cases of current socio-economic differentiations.     

Older disabled workers' perceptions of volunteering

The activity of volunteering is readily available to, and undertaken by, able-bodied people in Australia and is recognized as a valuable social pursuit, particularly among citizens of retirement age. Despite the known benefits of volunteering, however, there are few reports of disabled people participating as volunteers and little is understood of their experiences or perceptions of volunteering. The aim of this study was to explore how older workers within supported employment settings perceived the opportunities for and barriers to volunteering. Fourteen people with long-standing impairments participated in this small qualitative study. Overall the participants were positive about volunteering, but noted they might require support to volunteer successfully. Drawing upon the participants' views, recommendations are made for developing training. Disabled workers facing retirement need to be supported to have opportunities for active participation in the community as volunteers if so desired.     

The State of Care Management in Learning Disability and Mental Health Services 12 Years into Community Care

This paper reports on the organization of care management froma longitudinal study of community care for people resettledfrom long-stay learning disability and psychiatric hospitals.The findings from a 12-year follow-up of care management arrangementsin 12 learning disability and eight mental health study siteservices are described. The diversity of care management arrangementsfound at earlier points in the evaluation remained evident.Also, many of the former ‘care in the community’service users were excluded from mainstream care managementarrangements in their localities. The difficulty of developingperson-centred arrangements in learning disability and the lackof integration of the Care Programme Approach and care managementwere evident. The findings and observations are placed in thewider policy and practice context, with suggestions for takingcare management forward nationally and locally.     

Personal Letters, Oral Testimony and Scottish Migration to New Zealand in the 1950s: The Case of Lorna Carter

By blending emigrant letters and oral testimony and illuminating the benefits and drawbacks associated with each source, as revealed in this case study of a Scottish female migrant, this article contributes to the methodology of the use of personal testimony within migration studies. It shows that though there can be some discrepancies between contemporary documentation and later memory, interviews with migrants are particularly useful when they can flesh out areas of interest not contained in contemporary documents. This article therefore argues for greater integration of oral and written testimony in order to capture fully the rich and nuanced personal experience of migration from the perspective of its participants.     

Cultural Context of Career Choice: Meta‐Analysis of Race/Ethnicity Differences

The authors focus on career counseling from a cultural perspective, using the proxy construct of race/ethnicity. They briefly describe traditional career counseling and critique the degree to which the myriad cultural contexts that shape clients' career development are incorporated into vocational theories and practice. They conducted a meta‐analysis of research that has investigated the relationship between culture and vocational choice variables and concluded (a) that race/ethnicity differences do not greatly affect career aspirations but (b) that there are differences among racial/ethnic groups in perceptions of career‐related opportunities and barriers.     

Appropriation of African American slang by Asian American youth1

This article explores the ways in which Asian American teenagers creatively appropriated two African American slang terms: aite and na mean. While some teens racialized slang as belonging to African Americans, other teens authenticated identities as slang speakers. Through close analysis of slang‐in‐use and particularly of the metapragmatic discussions such uses inspired, this article examines how the teens specified relationships between language, race, age, region and class, while achieving multiple social purposes, such as identifying with African Americans, marking urban youth subcultural participation, and interactionally positioning themselves and others as teachers and students of slang. As slang emerged with local linguistic capital, the teens used slang to create social boundaries not only between teens and adults, but also between each other. The discursive salience of region implicitly indexed socio‐economic status and proximity to African Americans as markers that teens drew on to authenticate themselves and others as slang speakers.