Individuals and Communities: the Importance of Neighbors Volunteering

In this analysis, I examine the effects of community-level volunteering on an individual’s choices regarding time – whether to work and whether to volunteer. In order to better explain the decision to volunteer, a classic pure public goods structure is contrasted with a less restrictive impure public goods model that admits other possible private motivations. The results of this study undermine the neoclassical notion that volunteering can be understood solely as a pure public good that is provided less when others are seen to be contributing. In fact, individuals are found to be more, not less, likely to volunteer when others in their communities do so. An innovative instrumental variables strategy is used to account for reflection bias and the possible endogeneity caused by selective sorting of individuals into neighborhoods, which allows for a causal interpretation of these results. Employment regressions provide preliminary evidence that average volunteering relates, to some extent, with the decision of whether to participate in the labor force. Variations in the effect of average volunteering across age and gender are also explored. The present work is unique by virtue of its use of a large and representative dataset, along with rigorous statistical testing. I use United States Census 2000 Summary File 3 and Current Population Survey (CPS) 2004–2007 September Supplement file data and control for various individual and community-level characteristics.     

Winning a Battle but Losing the War? Third Sector and Social Policy in Latin America: The Case of Uruguay

This paper analyzes some aspects of the third sector’s involvement process in the provision of public social services. Using evidence garnered in previous research based on in-depth interviews, I offer elements toward an assessment of the consequences this process has produced not only in terms of the gains and losses it has produced for social policy, but also for the very identity and constitutive characteristics of the third sector. The evidence hereby compiled strengthens skepticism toward the hypothesis that sees a transformative potential in the role of the third sector in social policy in Latin America. This skepticism arises from issues detected by involved actors themselves and that are linked to the weakness of the sector as a whole.     

Influence of Perceived Economic Strain on the Relationship Between Caregiver BMI and Child BMI

As maternal BMI is a risk factor for higher child BMI, this exploratory study investigated perceived economic strain as a protective factor modifying this well-established relationship. Primary low-income female caregivers (n = 432) of preschoolers ages 3–5 years were interviewed using the Family Economic Strain Scale. Caregiver and child heights and weights were measured. Significant differences were found in perceived economic strain between normal versus underweight, overweight, and obese caregivers. A moderating effect approaching significance was noted such that at low levels of reported economic strain, caregiver BMI classification had no effect on child BMI z-score for normal weight, overweight, or obese caregivers. This study is the first to demonstrate that reduced perception of economic strain may act to buffer the impact of maternal overweight/obesity on child weight status. Given this biologically strong relationship, the potential for any modifiable factor to be detected is encouraging. Further collaborative research between economists and family resiliency researchers is suggested.     

Emergency Saving and Household Hardship

Households with limited income and wealth often struggle to access the financial liquidity needed to address unexpected expenses or income drops. Emergency savings can act as form of insurance against such economic shocks and reduce the risk of hardships that influence family wellbeing. Prior research has established that threshold amounts of liquid assets can reduce the risk of economic hardship. This study used a measure of self-reported emergency saving behavior to examine whether households who reported saving for emergencies were less likely to experience subsequent economic hardships in a longitudinal sample of households in disadvantaged neighborhoods from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Making Connections project. Results across a range of regression models suggest that households who saved for emergencies experienced slightly less overall hardship and were less likely to report several specific hardships, such as food insecurity and having a phone disconnected, three years later. This study supports the idea that small, unrestricted savings may play a protective role for low-income households.     

现代社会中的灵性

灵性(the spiritual)与世俗(the secular)在欧美现代性中同时被构建成为与制度性宗教(institutionalized religion)相关联的两个替代物.灵性的概念存在着矛盾,即:它既被视为具有普遍性的概念,又与民族认同相关联.再者,灵性的概念在全球传播的同时,被植入不同的历史进程中,它的发展轨迹在各个地方是不同的.本文认为:印度和中国的现代性是两国与[西方]帝国现代性互动后的产物.灵性在印度的相对成功与其在中国的相对失败不能简单地归结为中国共产主义的兴起.从更深层次上讲,有一个普遍观点,即中国的传统必须被西方的科学所取代,这在建国前早已被描绘成中国现代性的特征.而在印度,各类传统被当作反抗帝国主义斗争的资源,其所反抗的是从文化和政治上使印度从属于西方强权的物质现代化.     

少数民族地区水电移民安置的特殊性问题——来自四川少数民族移民的调查

西部水电资源的开发使少数民族移民问题日益突出,政策与实践的不匹配集中体现了现行政策框架未充分考虑少数民族的特殊性。目前水电移民研究多集中于移民安置补偿、扶持政策、利益分配等一般理论与实践层次,尚缺乏针对少数民族地区水电移民特殊性的深入研究。本文欲通过对少数民族地区水电移民安置特殊性问题的分析及探讨,旨在探求适应其发展的相应政策和途径,真正实现少数民族地区资源、人和社会的和谐发展,从而促进我国西部水电资源的可持续开发。     

民族、语言和宗教——解读《一个青年艺术家的画像》的三个关键词

詹姆斯.乔伊斯的长篇小说《一个青年艺术家的画像》表现了作者鲜明的民族观、语言观、宗教观及其反殖民主义的态度和立场。在乔伊斯看来,爱尔兰的落后与苦难不能单方面归咎于英国殖民政策,同时必须反思爱尔兰自身的堕落。正是这种强烈的民族意识与深刻的反思精神,才使得他能够最终走向世界主义,在自我流放的文化之旅中完成一位民族作家的文化使命。     

试谈测试回冲效应对外语课堂教学的启发

本文从教师角度回顾了国内外有关测试回冲效应的实证研究,阐释了测试回冲对英语教学之间的关系;帮助英语教师从多角度认识并进一步了解外语课堂教学中的测试,以求达到更好的课堂测试效果。     

高等教育大众化进程中高校毕业生就业问题研究

针对高等教育大众化条件下的大学生就业,主要存在毕业生的就业观念还不能适应新形势的要求、社会用人单位过于重视学历、毕业生自身实力不足等原因.提出要实现大学生充分就业,必须坚持理想教育,确立正确的职业理想、毕业生应转变就业观念、充分发挥政府在高校毕业生中的作用等对策.