The family structures are changing—but what about the idea of the family?

In contemporary societies, stepfamilies usually emerge following divorce and remarriage. This family form has become more prevalent in Finland during the 1980s. The present article focuses on the public discourse surrounding the stepfamily as this is reflected in family and women's magazines. This discourse reveals the still prevailing strong cultural norms regarding family life: living in a family is defined as the normal way of living, with bonds of belonging together and biological ties defined as primary. The stepfamily is expected to fulfil these expectations. The ideology governing the stepfamily is therefore very similar to that of the traditional nuclear family unit.     

The right to be different: Multiculturalism and the racialization of scandinavian welfare politics; The case of Denmark

‘Multiculturalism’ as an influential ideology for structuring ethnic relations has become exposed to increasing critique also in the Scandinavian context. The paper discusses a racialized political debate, legislation, and institutional practices, taking Denmark as the prime example. An increasingly ‘dual welfare’ is becoming legitimized through a hegemonic culturalized language, consistently interpreting ‘the right to be different’ as ‘being different’, and ‘being different’ as being ‘non‐integrated’. In a society where public debate on ethnic and racial discrimination is less than rudimentary, tolerant claims of multiculturalist relativism are effectively turned upside down in the service of neo‐racism, the preachings of which are imperceptibly becoming adopted as the conventional wisdom. This calls for a discussion on ‘politics of recognition’ which brings the debate on the universalism and particularity out of the abstract, while focusing on the vicissitudes of contemporary democracy in a changing welfare state.     

Reforming electricity rates: Benefits to low-income households

The electricity rate reforms proposed in the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act reflect the quest for an energy policy which encourages conservation, efficiency, and equity. Focusing on equity concerns, this research examines the relative effectiveness of lifeline and time-of-day rates in easing the burden of rising household energy prices among the low-income population. Lifeline rates establish a minimum number of kilowatt hours (kWh) required for basic necessities and a special low rate for these kWh. Time-of-day rates provide lower electricity prices to those households using electricity during off-peak generating hours. The data indicate that lifeline rates would assist low-income households in general, with the greatest benefits going to poor households with small numbers of members and older heads of household. Time-of-day rates would immediately benefit smaller households and those with older household heads. Some lifestyle changes, in the form of appliance use patterns, would be required among the low-income population if they are to benefit from time-of-day rates.This research was supported by a Department of Energy grant from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (DE-FG-01-79 RG 10220) to the National Energy Law and Policy Institute at the University of Tulsa.     

Events that Trigger Poverty Entries and Exits*

Objective. This article examines how events—such as changes in household composition, employment status, disability status, and economic conditions—affect poverty entries and exits. We also examine whether the role these events play in poverty transitions differs in the pre‐ and post‐welfare‐reform periods. Methods. The analysis uses discrete‐time multivariate hazard models along with monthly, longitudinal data from the 1988, 1990, and 1996 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Results. Analyses show that many events are related to the likelihood of entering and exiting poverty. Of the trigger events examined, individuals living in households that experience a loss or gain of employment are the most likely to enter and exit poverty. We also find that changes in employment are more important in the 1996 to 1999 time period—after welfare reform—than in the 1988 to 1992 time period—prior to welfare reform. Finally, changes in household composition, disability status, and educational attainment are found to play a role in throwing people into poverty and helping them exit from poverty in both time periods. Conclusions. There is no single path into or out of poverty, suggesting that multiple policies can be considered to help alleviate poverty.     

Infants' Ability to Distinguish Between Intentional and Accidental Actions and Its Relation to Internal State Language

The experiment reported here investigated infants' concept of intention, as well as the relation among intention understanding, general productive vocabulary, and internal state language production during the 2nd year. Results from an imitation task indicated that 18‐month‐olds are better able to differentiate between intentional and accidental actions than 14‐month‐olds. Although there was no relation between infants' performance on the intention task and their general productive vocabulary, internal state language production at 30 months was predicted by infants' ability to differentiate between intentional and accidental actions about a year earlier. These findings shed light on the developmental progression of infants' concept of intention, as well as on the continuity between infants' understanding of intentional action and their ability to use internal state words.     

Financial challenges in remarriage

Remarried couples, especially those with children from a previous marriage, face financial complexities unknown to couples in their first marriages. The few empirical investigations which have explored this feature of stepfamily life have revealed that couples often have a difficult time with the financial functioning aspect of their remarriage. While further research is needed to examine the dynamics of the financial aspects of remarriage, educators and counselors need to begin to help remarried couples to develop management strategies for coping with their unique situations. Recommendations for a workshop are made and resources are listed.Supported in part by Utah State University Vice President for Research. Scientific contribution Number 1480 from the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station.Jean M. Lown received her Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Family Economics and Consumer Studies. Currently Dr. Lown is assistant professor, Department of Home Economics and Consumer Education, UMC-2910, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322.Elizabeth M. Dolan is associate professor, Department of Family and Consumer Studies, Pettee Hall, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824. Drs. Lown and Dolan are collaborating on a research investigation into the dynamics of financial management in remarried families.     

奥古斯丁：内在逻各斯的普遍性

奥古斯丁在西方解释学史上具有重要的地位,这不仅表现在《圣经》解释学上,而且也表现在哲学的解释学方面。他接受了西方古代的斯多葛学派关于“内在逻各斯”与“外在逻各斯”的区分,并将其运用到基督教教义(如“道成肉身”、“三位一体”)的解释中,明确了在上帝那里,这两者只有理论上的差别,而在实际上是统一的,但在人那里,这两者并不总是能统一。这种差别导致了人在对内在逻各斯的追求中的过程因素,并体现为一种辩证法的精神。这些思想对伽达默尔产生了巨大的影响。这种影响集中表现在后者对解释学的普遍性的理解方面,而这种普遍性指的是内在的逻各斯,而不是外在的逻各斯。伽达默尔在这方面与奥古斯丁存在着的内在的一致性,是我们深刻地理解哲学解释学的思想之关键。     

Becker's Side-Bet Theory of Commitment Revisited: Is It Time for a Moratorium or a Resurrection?

The results of Cohen and Lowenberg's 1990meta-analysis of 50 studies that empirically testBecker's (1960) side-bet model provide little empiricalsupport for his theory of commitment. They conclude that severe limitations of past research, both interms of measuring commitment and the strategies used totest the side-bet model, may be responsible for the lackof empirical support. Alternatively, they submit that if these methodological problems are notat fault, we should consider abandoning the side-bettheory. Three limitations of past side-bet research areaddressed in this study. The results of this study suggest that it is time to resurrect Becker'sside-bet theory of commitment. In doing so, we shouldsubject his theory to tests that employ more valid anddirect measures of the side-bet variables, that use measures of continuance commitment ratherthan affective commitment, and that apply to bothorganizational and occupational commitment.