"My spirit in my heart": identity experiences and challenges among American Indian two-spirit women

Many Native women embrace the term two-spirit to capture their sexuality and gender expression. By analyzing the narratives of five two-spirit women who are Native activists, we explored contemporary understandings of the concept and what it means for Native communities. The incorporation of the identity within indigenous worldviews, its manifestation in terms of (be)coming out, and the triple stressors of heterosexism, racism, and sexism emerged as key themes.     

Elder abuse and neglect among veterans in Greater Los Angeles: prevalence, types, and intervention outcomes

This study examined the prevalence, types, and intervention outcomes of elder abuse/neglect among a veteran population. A review of medical records of 575 veterans who had received services from the Veteran's Affairs Geriatric Outpatient Clinic in Los Angeles during a three-year period found 31 veterans (5.4%) who had an elder abuse report filed on their behalf. Prevalence of elder abuse/neglect was higher among older (80+) and Caucasian and African American veterans. Eight of 31 victims suffered from more than one type of elder abuse including self-neglect. Financial abuse and self-neglect were the most commonly reported types. Family members were perpetrators in the majority of the cases, excluding self-neglect. However, three-quarters of financial abuse cases were committed by non-family members. Almost one-half of the victims had dementia and eight were clinically depressed. The most common intervention was to move victims from their unsafe home into a nursing home or board and care facility, followed by conservatorship arrangement. These interventions were most frequently used for victims with dementia, and conservatorship was often arranged with another type of intervention, such as a move to a nursing home. Victims who remained at home received conservatorship or outside supportive services or a combination of both. This study calls for more comprehensive and systematic research on elder abuse/neglect at multi-settings in order to generate useful information for prevention and detection of, and effective intervention in elder abuse and neglect in the veteran population.     

Happiness and Childbearing Across Europe

Using happiness as a well-being measure and comparative data from the European social survey we focus in this paper on the link between happiness and childbearing across European countries. The analysis motivates from the recent lows in fertility in many European countries and that economic wellbeing measures are problematic when considering childbearing. We find significant country differences, though the direct association between happiness and childbearing is modest. However, partnership status plays an important role for both men and women. Working fathers are always happier, whereas working mothers are not, though mothers?? happiness tends to increase with household income.     

Relations Between Media,Perceived Social Support and Personal Well-Being in Adolescence

This paper’s main objective is to show relations between interest in media, perceived social support and adolescents’ personal well-being. For this purpose, 1,589 Brazilian adolescents answered a questionnaire containing Cummins’ Personal Well-Being, Vaux’s Social Support Appraisals and Casas’ interest in media scales. The media in study are: The Internet, computer games, video games, computer, cell phone and television. For the data analysis this research used Structural Equation Modeling, a statistical methodology based on the confirmation of hypotheses previously established by theoretical frameworks on data. A final model of relations between media, support and well-being was obtained with a fit considered satisfactory by the literature. Implications of media on adolescents’ well-being based on this model are considered.     

Strategic approaches to sustainability in fashion supply chain management

Today, the sustainability challenge has become a relevant issue in the fashion industry. However, given that the request for sustainability is relatively new in this industry, empirical research that could guide companies towards supply chain sustainability is lacking. This study aims to deepen the understanding of the main strategic approaches to sustainability used in fashion supply chain management (SCM). Ten case studies were examined in terms of the practices that characterise these approaches. Moreover, contextual factors, drivers and barriers that support or hinder different approaches were identified. To accomplish this goal, both environmental sustainability and social sustainability were investigated, and all the areas of fashion SCM (i.e. new product development, source, make, deliver, retail, return, governance) were considered simultaneously to offer a wide overview of this industry’s sustainability issue.     

Crowding out,crowding in or just a matter of transformation? Informal financial support in Portugal and Sweden

This investigation examines the role of informal financial support among university students in two different welfare states, Portugal and Sweden. Using data from a questionnaire (N = 525), students’ experiences of receiving loans and gifts, and differences in norms and attitudes towards informal financial support, are explored. The data reveal that the Swedish students receive more financial support in terms of monetary loans and gifts from persons in their social network, while for Portuguese students support from their parents to a higher degree is embedded in patterns of living conditions. Furthermore, the interaction processes of exchange of support, for both groups is characterised by reflexivity and complexity, not only framed by resource conditions, but also by relational and situational factors. The results are discussed in the theoretical framework of crowding out/crowding in theories.     

Listening Is… Five Personal Worlds of Listening: An Auto-Ethnographic Approach

What is effective listening? This question intrigues both scholars and the general public. Theoretical explorations provide insight into the listening process as well as pragmatic guidelines for how to be a good listener. But even the most learned listening scholar will often fall back on the observation that they know effective listening best when they experience it.

Five renowned listening experts were asked to respond to the question, “What is listening from the perspective of your lived experience?” Each was asked to work from an auto-ethnographic methodology. The five lifeworlds described in this study represent their responses to this question and offer unique, individual ethnographic contexts describing the listening experience of each of the participants.     

Psychological Adjustment in Intercountry and Domestic Adopted Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Understanding if adoptees present a higher risk of developing psychological problems, compared to non-adopted peers, is a research topic that has aroused considerable interest. This paper reviews research results focusing on the psychological adjustment in intercountry and domestic adopted adolescents. Two hundred and fifty-eight publications were initially identified in different databases but, due to previously defined inclusion criteria, only twelve studies, published between January 2004 and June 2016, were analyzed. Results indicate that, when compared to non-adopted peers, these adoptees showed more psychological problems, namely in externalized behaviors, and a higher attendance at mental health services. A considerable relationship was found between the age at adoption and the likelihood of the development of behavioral and emotional problems. Nevertheless, the relevance of taking into account adoption related variables in order to understand the variability of adoptees’ psychological adjustment is also underlined. This systematic review draws attention to the need for further studies in this topic resorting to more complex research designs which will allow for the identification of different pathways that may lead to (mal) adaptive functioning, psychological (mal) adjustment and the wellbeing of adolescent adoptees.