Immigrant suicide in Australia,Canada, England and Wales,and the United States

Factors influencing the suicide rates of numerous immigrants in groups in Australia, Canada, England and Wales, and the United States during the period 1959–73 were examined. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated for the origin, immigrant and destination native-born populations using the Canadian native-born age-sex-specific suicide rates as the standard. For males, the foreign-born in England and Wales had the lowest suicide rates and the foreign-born in the United States the highest. For females the variation was smaller, with immigrants in the United States having the lowest rates, and those in Australia the highest. Agespecific suicide rates indicated that relative to the native-born, foreign-born elderly had substantially elevated risks of suicide.     

Current work on the social indicators system for the Federal Republic of Germany

The paper in hand deals with the construction of the SPES Indicators Tableau and its extensions and modifications which are carried out by current work. Advantages of time series regression analysis for social reporting as well as classifying social change are discussed. The paper ends with a short prospect on the publication in preparation which shall continue the social reporting of the SPES Indicators Tableau.     

Weighted Approximations to Continuous Time Martingales with Applications

A weighted approximation to a sequence of continuous time martingales by a time transformed Wiener process is established. The basic tool of proof is the Skorohod imbedding for martingale difference sequences. As an application of the main result a useful weighted approximation to the randomly weighted uniform empirical process is derived. A number of other applications are also discussed.     

Activist online resource mobilization: Relationship building features that fulfill resource dependencies

This study examined activist group websites (N = 300) to determine how activists are engaging in resource mobilization online and provides a benchmark for current mobilization practices by activists. Website features asking visitors to donate, join the organization, and links to other activist groups were most common on the sites. The study positions resource mobilization in terms of online relationships and organizational linkages, argues that resource dependencies drive mobilization efforts and that resource-based relationships with publics may be established in the mobilization process.     

Anwendungsorientierte Sozialforschung

Der Artikel gibt einen Diskussionsansto?, anwendungsorientierte Sozialforschung auf einem Kontinuum zwischen klassisch-akademischen Forschung und Organisationsberatung neu zu positionieren. Nach einer Einordnung in den Diskurs um die Ver?nderung der Sozialwissenschaft wird eine definitorische Ortsbestimmung nach sechs verschiedenen Kriterien vorgenommen. Dabei wird aufgezeigt, dass es sich nicht um geschlossene Begriffstypen, sondern um flie?ende überg?nge zwischen akademischer Forschung, anwendungsorientierter Sozialforschung und Organisationsberatung handelt. Mit Hilfe des Stakeholder-Ansatzes, der unterschiedliche Einflussgruppen auf die einzelnen Felder beschreibt, werden Erkl?rungsans?tze für die Entwicklung und Abgrenzung zwischen akademischer und anwendungsorientierter Forschung gegeben. Zum Schluss werden Qualit?tskriterien für eine gute anwendungsorientierte Sozialforschung zur Diskussion vorgeschlagen.     

Social representations of the euro in Austria

In summer 1997, a survey on attitudes and social representations of the single European currency was conducted in Austria on a sample of 534 respondents. Participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire on economic expectations and psychological aspects relating to the change of the national currencies to the single European currency. In addition to the standard questionnaire distributed in all 15 EU member states (Müller-Peters et al., 1998. Explaining attitudes towards the cure. Design of a cross-national study. Journal of Economic Psychology 19, 663–680), subjects in Austria were asked to indicate what they freely associated with the term “European single currency” and to evaluate their own associations. On the basis of individuals' attitudes towards the euro, the total sample was divided into five sub-samples of (a) strong opponents of the euro, (b) moderate opponents, (c) neutral or indifferent respondents, (d) moderate supporters, and (e) strong supporters. Social representations of these sub-samples were then analysed. Firstly, frequencies of associations within the five groups were investigated by correspondence analysis. It was found that opponents associated mainly negative feelings with the euro, thinking of currency instability and financial losses in conjunction with it. Moreover, strong euro opponents feared a loss of national autonomy and the unjust distribution of EU-related benefits and costs. Supporters, on the other hand, most frequently mentioned the facilitation of tourism and trading opportunities. Comparability of prices and incomes across Europe and the stimulation of the national economy were other frequently mentioned positive consequences. Secondly, sequences of associations were analysed. Four groups showed a tendency to more extreme emotions, that is, positive or negative, at the beginning of the association process with a shift towards neutral associations after their initial associations. The belief in a stronger European identity and a threat to Austrian identity, respectively, proved to be a relevant cause for subjective support of or opposition to the euro. Moderate opposition seems to be related to anticipated financial restrictions, both at the individual and the national level.