Loss of Life Caused by the Flooding of New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina: Analysis of the Relationship Between Flood Characteristics and Mortality

In this article a preliminary analysis of the loss of life caused by Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans metropolitan area is presented. The hurricane caused more than 1,100 fatalities in the state of Louisiana. A preliminary data set that gives information on the recovery locations and individual characteristics for 771 fatalities has been analyzed. One-third of the analyzed fatalities occurred outside the flooded areas or in hospitals and shelters in the flooded area. These fatalities were due to the adverse public health situation that developed after the floods. Two-thirds of the analyzed fatalities were most likely associated with the direct physical impacts of the flood and mostly caused by drowning. The majority of victims were elderly: nearly 60% of fatalities were over 65 years old. Similar to historical flood events, mortality rates were highest in areas near severe breaches and in areas with large water depths. An empirical relationship has been derived between the water depth and mortality and this has been compared with similar mortality functions proposed based on data for other flood events. The overall mortality among the exposed population for this event was approximately 1%, which is similar to findings for historical flood events. Despite the fact that the presented results are preliminary they give important insights into the determinants of loss of life and the relationship between mortality and flood characteristics.     

Family Check Up effects on adolescent arrest trajectories: Variation by developmental subtype

This study examines the effect of the Family Check Up intervention on the probability of arrests from ages 12 to 17 years for youth following heterogeneous developmental trajectories of antisocial behavior. Latent Growth Mixture Modeling results supported the presence of three developmental trajectories of arrests, including a large group of youth with few police contacts, a smaller group of youth showing early onset and chronic arrests, and a group with adolescent-onset arrests. In line with hypotheses, effects of intervention were seen within the adolescent-onset group, but not in the early onset chronic arrest trajectory group, or those youth with little police contact. The trajectory groups were differentiated by peer, family, behavioral and academic risk variables at age 11.     

Work, income, the economy, and married fathers as child-care providers

Previous research on fathers as child-care providers indicates a need to study the father’s role in child care in the context of different economic cycles. Using data from the 1988, 1991, and 1993 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we examine whether father’ availability and the couple’s economic resources are differentially related to child care by fathers over time. We focus on the differences between 1991—a recession year—and 1988 and 1993—two nonrecession years. Increased availability of fathers is significantly related to higher levels of fathers’ participation in child care in all three years. Relative economic resources between husbands and wives help explain care by fathers only during the recession year, whereas family income is important only in the nonrecession years. These results suggest that in the future, researchers should acknowledge fluctuations in the economy when studying husbands’ participation in traditional female tasks, as macroeconomic shifts appear to impact the likelihood of married fathers caring for their preschoolers during mothers’ working hours.     

The working practices of Birmingham's Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies

This article offers a history of the working practices of the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies. Based on extensive interviews with former members and on research into a new archive of the Centre, housed in the Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham, it argues that cultural studies as practised in the 1970s was always a heterogeneous subject. The CCCS was heavily influenced by the events of 1968 when it tried to develop a new type of radical and collaborative research and teaching agenda. Despite Stuart Hall's efforts to impose a focused link between politics and academic practice, the agenda soon gave way to a series of diverse and fruitful initiatives associated with the ‘sub-groups’ model of research.     

Paradigms,Theories, and Methods in Contemporary Rural Sociology: A Critical Reaction to Critical Questions

Abstract The content analysis by Falk and Zhao (1989) of theoretical orientations shown in Rural Sociology articles during the span 1976–1985 is critically evaluated as to its methodological adequacy and substantive conclusions. The former is shown as suspect and, therefore, the latter become moot. Discussion is particularly focused on the elaboration by Falk and Zhao on the wisdom of the metatheoretical underpinnings of the field in the decade explored. While they are less critical in judgment of rural sociology's performance than was the earlier study being “replicated” (Picou et al. 1978a), the assertion made by Falk and Zhao is still fundamentally misdirected. Until rural sociology faces the issue of data quality, its improvements in “theory” activity will not be substantial.     

Do People with a Mental Handicap Have Rights?

The notion of 'rights' in relation to people with a mental handicap has become increasingly fashionable in policy statements in Britain and elsewhere. However, the concept has rarely been used in a clear way, and the application of it has been weak. This article distinguishes between 'claim rights' and 'moral rights' and relates each to specific discriminatory domains. It is argued that in Britain, people with a mental handicap are routinely denied both types of rights, and that this is a sobering context within which to set policies structured upon 'normalisation' principles. It is suggested that more conceptual analysis is needed, alongside a clearer commitment to enforcement through a code of practice and the application of adult rights.     

Access and Child Contact Centres in England and Wales: An Ethnographic Perspective

SUMMARY. Access centres are a recent development in service provision for families facing difficulties over child contact following divorce or separation. The author has worked for over two years as a volunteer at an access centre and provides a personal view of key issues in the organisation and operation of access centres. Discussion of detailed case material throws light on the paradoxes which arise when a pro-access ideology is exercised in an informal setting.