Ad hoc rural regionalism

A new regionalism has been much documented and researched for metropolitan areas; this article documents that there is a new rural regionalism as well. In the United States, these groups appear most likely to emerge in areas that are challenged by outcomes characterizing globalization's effects on the rural condition: namely, exurban or metropolitan sprawl and the resulting landscape fragmentation, often in combination with extreme pressure on the profitability of small farms or other resource uses. This research asks: what impetus is behind rural regional efforts; and what sort of processes of institutionalization do these groups utilize? The paper builds on theory developed by the new regional geographers over the last twenty years, most notably Anne Gilbert and Anssi Paasi, and applies the theoretical framework to three North American case studies in what can be classified as ad hoc rural initiatives in contested landscapes, initiated by local or grassroots actors to foster a specific conceptualization of region. While specific programming varies for different groups, rural regionalism addressed the balance between and interconnections of landscape and land use change, social networks, economic viability, and impacts of global industry. Central to the case studies are actors' efforts to create a regional identity, including forming institutions, defining regional boundaries, and identifying social/symbolic shapes for the region. The research discusses the importance of viewing regionalization through the lens of agency.     

Bus rapid transit identity meets universal design

As bus rapid transit (BRT) systems continue to become more popular and as capital expenditure for such projects continues to grow, careful consideration of BRT identity design becomes ever more necessary. Properly considered identity systems can ensure accessibility to and usability of physical features and can also ensure that BRT systems are accessible and practical to use. Based on the seven principles of universal design, this article proposes a basic means to evaluate existing and planned BRT identity systems. The article concludes with recommendations for evaluators and guidelines for designers of BRT identity systems that will help to ensure the practical usability of BRT identity systems by a broad audience of diverse users, regardless of physical, cognitive or situational ability.     

Social process theory of emotion: A dynamic systems approach

In this paper we apply a dynamic systems perspective to infant emotional development. We propose that emotions are not states but self-organizing dynamic processes intimately tied to the flow of an individual's activity in a context. We review data on the relationship between emotional actions and the social context, in particular the development of smiling and laughter. These data are more adequately explained by our perspective than by other theories of emotional development. We provide a model for how emotional processes in early infancy become embedded into sociocultural systems, and suggest new avenues of research on emotional development.     

Unplanned adolescent pregnancy and the transitional object

This paper postulates that pre-oedipal factors are of major importance in understanding unplanned adolescent pregnancy. Of particular note is the adolescent's unconscious attempt to recreate by her pregnancy the pre-oedipal transitional object to meet her need for symbiosis and for individuation. Implications for understanding and treating the pregnant adolescent are discussed.in private practice and matriculated in the Doctor of Social Welfare Program of New York University.     

ASSERTION AND FAMILY VIOLENCE: CORRELATES OF SPOUSE ABUSE

Abusive couples, discordant couples, and satisfactorily married couples were compared on self-report measures of general assertion, spouse-specific assertion, spouse-specific aggression, and spousal physical aggression in their families of origin. Men and women in abusive relationships as well as those in discordant, but non-abusive, relationships have lower levels of spouse-specific assertion than satisfactorily married couples. However, men and women in abusive relationships did not differ from discordant, non-abusive men and women, on these measures. In brief, low levels of spouse-specific assertion are characteristic of discordant couples whether they are abusive or not. However, as in our past research, spousal violence in the family of origin was a critical distinguishing factor of physically abusive men versus discordant, but non-abusive, men. Also, as in ourpast research, violence in the family of origin was not a critical distinguishing characteristic of women in abusive relationships.     

The immigration–crime relationship: Evidence across US metropolitan areas

Despite popular commentary claiming a link between immigration and crime, empirical research exploring this relationship is sparse. Especially missing from the literature on immigration and crime is a consideration of how immigration affects rates of crime at the macro-level. Although individual-level studies of immigrant criminality and victimization tend to demonstrate that immigrants typically engage in less crime than their native-born counterparts, the effect of immigration on aggregate criminal offending is less clear. In this research, we attempt to address this weakness in the literature by examining the effects of aspects of immigration on crime rates in metropolitan areas. We combine 2000 US Census data and 2000 Uniform Crime Report data to explore how the foreign-born population influences criminal offending across a sample of metropolitan areas. After controlling for a host of demographic and economic characteristics, we find that immigration does not increase crime rates, and some aspects of immigration lessen crime in metropolitan areas.     

Motivational and nonmotivational determinants of child-number desires

The number of children desired by individuals—often referred to as family size desires or preferences—is a central construct in much research designed to understand and predict fertility. It is often used as a proxy for the construct of childbearing motivation. This paper presents a theoretical framework that organizes and elucidates the relationship between these two constructs. That relationship is examined using a reliable, valid measure of childbearing motivation and data from 195 husbands and 196 wives with no children and 196 husbands and 196 wives with one child. The results indicate that childbearing motivation has a complex relationship with child-number desires, characterized by curvilinearity and a failure to distinguish among those desiring more than two children. We discuss the implications of this pattern.     

Technical and Democratic Values in Risk Analysis1

So, we can argue that the lay public are not fools in their attitudes about risk. That nonexperts should show more concern over hazardous waste facilities in their neighborhoods than radon levels in their homes is not a sign of irrationality (because aggregate and individual risks are greater from the radon), but simply a sign that nonexperts are working from a different set of criteria. These criteria are incorporated in what I call the democratic model. The democratic model evaluates risk based on its social and political consequences, such as possible disruption in the social fabric or a loss of communality. Lay criteria for assessing the impact of risk decisions are not explicit, like the those of the risk analyst, but are embedded in cultural values. Similarly, lay evaluations of risk incorporate substantive and procedural democratic values, such as the acceptability of processes for making decisions, the ethics of the distribution of risk, and the capacity to control a source of risk in the community's interests. Finally, the democratic model relates judgments about risks to the competence (Can we trust them?) and the legitimacy (Should we trust them?) of the social institutions that impose and control those risks. The public's judgments about risk are not inferior, but different, and arguably richer than those of the experts.