Chronic and Transient Poverty and Vulnerability to Poverty in the Philippines: Evidence Using a Simple Spells Approach

This paper uses panel data and two welfare indicators, namely per capita expenditure and per capita food expenditure, to determine the frequency that the households enter poverty and food poverty in the Philippines. Unlike other studies, this paper attributes similar factors to explain transient and chronic poverty but finds that these factors are more pronounced for the chronic case. Significant factors that contribute to both chronic and transient poverty and food poverty are the household heads’ low educational level, affiliation in economically unstable and risky occupations such as those in the agriculture, fishery and resource sectors and those who are unskilled laborers, the lack of health insurance and high dependency burden. The paper also finds that that vulnerability to poverty and food poverty in the Philippines is high especially in the rural districts and areas with armed conflict. Households that experience higher earnings, new job, abundant harvest, better health or receipt of remittance/inheritance are less likely to be chronically poor. Shocks related to labor market affect both transient and chronic food poverty while natural calamities or health deterioration of any household member increase the probability of the household falling into chronic food poverty. Policy suggestions to address both types of poverty are provided.     

Anticipating relocation: concerns about moving among NORC residents

Most older adults prefer to live at home as long as possible, requiring supports and services to help them age in place. This study examines the relocation concerns of a group of older adults in a suburban naturally-occurring retirement community (NORC). Twenty-six percent of the 324 residents interviewed expressed concern about having to move in the next few years. Residents who were worried differed from those who did not worry on a number of demographic and biopsychosocial characteristics. Overall, residents present a profile of vulnerability that calls for preemptive action to help them stay in their homes. A NORC is an ideal setting in which to provide supportive services.     

Recurrence,eruptions, and a transnational turn: Three decades of strained relations between migrants to Norway and the Child Welfare Services

The relations between the Norwegian Child Welfare Services (CWS) and various migrant groups are notably strained. Numerous media accounts and a growing body of research reveal that many migrants to Norway fear the CWS. By combining quantitative and qualitative analyses of media accounts, this paper addresses the historical evolvement of such strained relations in Norway. Previous research has neglected this aspect. Findings show that migration issues related to the CWS have been topics of public debate in Norway for three decades, with foster care being a particularly intractable concern. With the onset of the decade beginning in 2010, however, matters have intensified and taken on transnational dimensions. In the discussion of our findings, we emphasize in particular how digital and social media have contributed to the recent changes.     

Let Them Eat Prozac: The Unhealthy Relationship Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression by David Healy

This article examines the activities of Jane Addams and the Progressive party campaign for President of the United States in 1912. Using primary and secondary data, the article addresses the many decisions and challenges faced by Addams and supporters of Progressive party candidate, Theodore Roosevelt. In particular, I focus on the ways in which issues associated with race, class, and gender shaped the election and Addams' experience within it and the ways in which, despite their apparent differences, Addams was able to support and actively campaign for Roosevelt. Moreover, I examine the struggles of Progressives to define themselves outside the parameters of Socialism in 1912 and the role by played by red-baiting in that effort. In sum, this article seeks to develop a deeper understanding of Addams, the settlement-house movement, and Progressivism and to elevate in importance the 1912 election for President in that larger history.     

Empowering Alliances in Pursuit of Social Justice: Social Workers Supporting Psychiatric-Survivor Movements

This article reviews historical and current examples of harmful and forced treatments as well as scientific discrimination that have been applied to people diagnosed with mental illness. It discusses anti-psychiatric social action in North America from 1970 to the present. A review of social work's foundations in social justice, empowerment, and person-in-the-environment perspectives highlights the congruencies and communal benefits for both the social work profession and psychiatric-survivor movements. Through this discussion, it is apparent that the professed values of the social work profession are actually more compatible with psychiatric-survivor movements than with any allegiances to the biomedical model of psychiatry.