Financial Planning for College: Parental Preparation and Capital Conversion

This study explores the conversion of cultural capital into economic capital, and specifically financial capital in the form of parental financial planning for children’s college education, including reported financial preparations and savings. Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study (ELS:2002), logistic regression-based analyses of aspects of cultural capital indicated that parental involvement exhibited the most prevalent relationship with financial planning and the amount saved, and that parents’ expectations, but not their aspirations, corresponded to engagement in financial planning. Findings support the conclusion that some parents convert part of their cultural capital to financial capital in preparation for paying for their child’s college education, perhaps representing a typically hidden facet of social class reproduction.     

Looking at intra-European mobilities through migrant types: young Spanish and Polish migrants in London and The Hague

This paper echoes the need to further explore the social effects of European Union integration by examining the increasingly complex and diverse scenario of intra-European mobility. Much research has focused on the intensification of East-to-West migrant flows after the enlargements of 2004 and 2007, inspiring a rich conceptualization of migrant typologies. Theoretically, this paper argues that some of these typologies can be extrapolated to better understand the experiences of other European movers. Empirically, it offers a qualitative and comparative analysis of diverse European young adults’ experiences of mobility: 8 Polish citizens in The Hague and 10 Spaniards in London. The analysis is based on four main dimensions derived from the literature: (1) Motivations to migrate, (2) Labour market participation, (3) Attachments and transnational ties and (4) Family composition and future outlooks. Results map individual differences and similarities contextualized by generational, gendered, educational and socio-economic aspects.     

How volunteerism inhibits mobilization: a case study of shelter animal advocates

This paper presents an analysis of how volunteerism can neutralize impulses for mobilization. An ethnographic case study of shelter animal advocates, or individuals promoting shelter reform to ensure that companion animals impounded at animal shelters receive proper medical and behavioral care and are given opportunity for adoption, illuminates a specific set of mechanisms that explain why they have not engaged in collective action such as protest. The findings speak to the complex debate about the relationship between volunteerism, political engagement, and social change by identifying five processes that undercut shelter animal advocates’ capacity to act collectively in protest of how the shelter is run: (1) periods of grievance interruption; (2) exposure to the target’s institutional narratives; (3) relational ties to the target; (4) conflict avoidance; and (5) maintenance of identity as volunteers.     

Mental illness etiology beliefs among African American men with serious mental illness and their social support networks

Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 26 African American men with serious mental illness who were consumers of community mental health services and 26 members of their social support networks. All participants were asked what they believed had caused the consumers’ mental illness. Consumer participants most commonly identified chronic life stressors as a causal factor, while social supports most often identified intrinsic factors such as genetics or biology as causes of mental illness. Some support participants believed that unintentional drug use had precipitated the onset of mental illness or had no causal theories. The fact that some support participants could not identify a causal explanation may indicate failure on the part of mental health care systems to engage with consumers’ social support networks and provide education about mental illness and its causes. The implications of etiology beliefs on mental health service utilization are discussed.     

Potential nitrogen mineralization responses of urban and rural forest soils to elevated temperature in Louisville,KY

Soil nitrogen (N) mineralization is an important process determining terrestrial N availability, and evidence suggests elevated temperatures will enhance N mineralization rates. Along a 40 km urban-rural gradient of chestnut oak forest stands in Louisville, KY, we expected N mineralization rates would be higher in urban than in rural forests in part due to increased temperatures caused by the urban heat island. However, a 12-month field study along this Louisville gradient showed that annual N mineralization rates were lower in urban than in rural stands. Since variation in precipitation inputs and other factors across this land-use gradient may be influencing soil N mineralization rates, we conducted a three-month soil incubation experiment in the lab to determine the extent to which a + 2 °C temperature difference could affect soil N mineralization in urban and rural soils. Across the range of temperatures tested, rural soils mineralized N at twice the rate of urban soils under base (7.86 vs. 3.65 mg N kg^?1 AFDW soil d^?1) and elevated (9.08 vs. 4.76 mg N kg^?1 AFDW soil d^?1) temperatures (p < 0.01). A 2 °C temperature difference, did not significantly alter total inorganic N production in urban (p = 0.272) or rural soils (p = 0.293). The proportion of nitrate produced was lower in the urban (15.1 %) than in the rural soils (72.3 %; p < 0.01). These results suggest that differences in soil organic matter quality and potentially decomposer community composition are the primary explanatory factors for forests along this Louisville gradient.     

Effects of land use on sediment composition in low-order tropical streams

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relative effects of watershed land-use on streambed substrate composition in eight low-order tropical streams. Data were collected at 24 sampling sites for eight wadeable streams in the Pirapó River Basin, southern Brazil. According to the percentage of impervious surfaces in the watershed, we defined the streams as either urban or rural. We estimate the percentages of the different streambed substrates, hydrological variables, and the rainfall intensity. The results showed that silt, sand and coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) contributed to significant differences in streambed substrate composition between urban and rural streams. Silt, sand and CPOM were found in a higher mean proportion in the rural streams. Probably the urban streams have a greater bed load, promoted by precipitation and discharge, than rural streams, especially fine sediment. Rural streams have soft hydrographs, with stream flow slowly increasing during a rainstorm and subsequently decreasing over a long period after the rain event is over. These characteristics can provide the lixiviation of fine sediments into the stream channels due to land-surface clearance for agricultural activities and their accumulation in the streambed due to the moderate discharge regime.     

Does education influence wildlife friendly landscaping preferences?

In sprawling metropolitan areas, residential landscaping is a major concern with respect to biodiversity conservation, and it could play a critical role in conserving wildlife habitat. In the United States, residential landscaping typically consists of maintained lawns with specimen plantings of non-native trees and shrubs; such designs provide poor habitat for urban wildlife species. We conducted a case study of Raleigh, North Carolina residents to determine how providing information about the benefits of native plant landscaping to bird species influenced urban residents’ landscaping preferences. We used Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests to determine if respondent preferences for 0, 50, 75 and 100 % native plant landscaping coverages changed after residents were informed about the benefits that native plants provide for birds. Initially, the 50 % native landscaping coverage was most preferred by residents; however, preferences for all four native plant landscaping coverage designs were significantly different after the informational treatment. Neutrality changed to opposition for the 0 % native plant coverage, while opposition changed to support and neutrality for the 75 and 100 % native plant coverage designs, respectively. After the informational treatment, the 50 and 75 % native plant landscaping coverage had the highest mean preference levels, although the 100 % design was ranked first more than any other design. Our findings suggest that residential support for native plant landscaping is higher than is reflected by typical residential landscaping practices, and that dissemination of information regarding the benefits of native plant landscaping to birds could alter public preferences for native plant landscaping.     

Roma and the politics of double discourse in contemporary Europe

ABSTRACT

The article analyses the politics of ‘double discourse’ in relation to Roma that has evolved in contemporary neoliberal Europe. On the one hand, the double discourse promotes the integration, rights and equal opportunities of Roma, on the other, it denies recognition of, and ways to address, enduring structural violence and rising social insecurity. The article argues that the politics of ‘double discourse’, as a neoliberal approach towards Roma, is structured by two contradictory discourses that speak to different audiences, using duplicitous approaches to create anti-Roma consensus and maintain the critical difference and subordinated position of the racialised Romani populations in Europe. By studying the representation of Roma in the cases of so-called 'child theft' in Greece and Ireland, and in the recent ‘refugee crisis’, the paper identifies and discusses three dimensions of contemporary neoliberal double discourse: racialised de-Europeanisation, neoliberal undeservingness and (dis)articulation of citizenship.     

Critical Discourse,Applied Inquiry and Public Health Action with Urban Middle School Students: Lessons Learned Engaging Youth in Critical Service-Learning

The Nuestro Futuro Saludable partnership designed a critical service-learning intervention focused on health equity and action. The 10-week afterschool intervention was implemented in a Boston middle school. Youths who took part in the intervention were knowledgeable about the social determinants of health in their communities, as well as to the barriers to health. Our findings indicate that engaging young people in a meaningful way will be critical if health improvement efforts are to be realized. We found that a critical service-learning framework that incorporates elements of applied inquiry and critical pedagogy was effective as a health intervention and provided opportunities for action.