Lifestyle Options and Economic Strategies: Subsistence Activities in the Mississippi Delta1

Abstract "Subsistence" and "informal economy" are contrasted in their utility as sociological concepts and their ability to explain a variety of activities in two rural Mississippi Delta communities. Literature on subsistence stresses that the desired outcome of participation is not an increase in income but the social rewards of participation itself. Two underlying dimensions of participation in these activities are documented through the literature and through a confirmatory factor analysis of empirical data: life-style choice and economic strategy. These were constructed into indexes and examined individually and in combination as dependent variables using regressors at the community, household, and individual levels. Community ties were weakly associated with participation in such activities. Whites and those with higher incomes participated more in lifestyle choice oriented activities. Participation in general was statistically related to households needing less weekly income and being of larger size. Potential connections with persistent rural poverty are discussed.     

The Limitations and Opportunities of Business Process Re-engineering in a Politicized Organizational Climate

This paper is concerned with the organizationalchange and project management issues raised by theimplementation of a business process re-engineering(BPR) approach in the politicized hospital context. This is a report of research in progress,focusing on the issues arising at the problem definitionand project planning stages of a BPR application in anoperating theaters department experiencing problems with scheduling and delays. The research designrelies on a case study approach, with the researcher asparticipant observer, as both an adviser to the projectteam and as field interviewer. The paper argues that an ambitious BPR agenda is compromised inat least two regards. First, the lack of precisionsurrounding the focus and methodology of BPR givespolitically motivated actors considerable influence with respect to defining terms of reference in wayswhich will shape potential outcomes in their favor.Second, the complexity and indeterminacy of the businessprocess or patient trail can also diluteredesign attempts. The principal limitations of theapproach thus concern the impracticality of embarking onrapid and radical change working from a blanksheet of paper with respect to organizational and job design. BPR, unlike other organizationdevelopment interventions, is not a contextsensitive approach. The role of project manageris critical in establishing a working balance betweenindividual, occupational, and organizational goals in a manner perceivedto be legitimate in the context. Effective BPR projectmanagement thus requires a combination of political andprocess analysis skills. The principal opportunities of BPR derive from its process orientation,which brings a fresh perspective to a traditionally andfunctionally fragmented organizational setting, andwhich presents a potentially valuable platform for anevolutionary approach to process improvement.     

The problem of reconciling divergent perspectives on urban crime: Personal experience,social ideology and scholarly research

The author examines influences of his personal experience with crime, his ideology, and his theoretical knowledge on his approach to the study of crime. Personal experience led to observations that (a) responses to crime are often gut-level rather than rational, (b) both street crime and the criminal justice system are characterized by incompetence, and (c) the retributive impulse must be considered in the study of crime. The radical ideology of the author led to the conclusion that crime is linked with the structure of the economic system. Finally, the author's scholarly knowledge led to recognition of the importance of the causality/meaning and determinism/voluntarism debates for the study of crime and for policy planning. He concludes that one must recognize the importance of all three sources of one's understanding of crime in order to engage in criminological research.

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Health education evaluation and beliefs and practices in rural Tamil Nadu

This paper reports the findings of 2 studies in North Arcot District of Tamil Nadu, one of which was an evaluation of health education programs. A wide range of information is made available on the local Tamil names for allopathic diseases, their etiology, beliefs related to preventive and curative practices, significance and medical consequences of recourse to doctors and practitioners of indigenous systems of medicine. The attitude survey covers a variety of topics about which not much is known -- immunization, sanitation, environment, antenatal care and allopathic medicine. The data suggest that allopathic treatment is preferred for most diseases, although traditional or spiritual methods continue to be used for certain diseases, many of which are believed to be the cause of infant and child mortality.     

Multiproblem families: A social-psychological perspective

Summary It is generally conceded that our allied mental health professions have fallen short in our attempts to provide adequate services to those people whose need is most desperate, those individuals and families ambiguously and condescendingly designated multiproblem. It could be said that we, the caregivers, have been unwilling or unable to be good enough mothers to these, our motherless children. In fact, the early, formative experience of the people with whom we are concerned has invariably been marked by gross discontinuities in mothering; the consequent defects in controlling, regulatory psychic structure (ego defects) are most prominently manifested in the chaotic life-style which characterizes these individuals and families. Our task as caregivers, when viewed from this perspective, is clear: we must somehow bring order out of disorder. But, with tragic regularity, disorder prevails; the provider of service succumbs to the same painful feelings of disorganization, bewilderment, frustration, and helplessness with which his client struggles, and, eventually, both give up in despair. What is more, this sense of fragmentation and futility pervades the institutions responsible for provision of services. Client, caregiver, and institution, all are trapped in the same tortuous maze. How, then, are we to extricate ourselves? Certainly not by drafting yet another master plan which promises everything and delivers nothing. Both realistic and humanistic considerations dictate more modest goals: We might not be able to rescue everyone who needs assistance, but we can help a few. And, whatever approach we may adopt, the service we offer can only be effective if it is based upon a sustained and sustaining (in essence, maternal) relationship.Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child     

Understanding changes in Māori incomes and income inequality 1997–2003

This paper examines recent changes in weekly income levels and dispersion for Māori, New Zealand’s indigenous ethnic group. Changes in the Māori income distribution between 1997 and 2003 reflect rapid increases in economic growth and employment rate. A reduced proportion of people had zero or benefit-level incomes and a higher proportion had high incomes. Income inequality declined for working-aged Māori and was stable for employed Māori. The average income gap between Māori and Europeans declined. The increased Māori employment rate during this period was the single most important driver of changes in the Māori income distribution.

Changes in HIV/AIDS knowledge and testing behavior in Africa: how much and for whom?

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Estimating chance reproducibility in Guttman Scaling

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