European cosmopolitanism and civil society

The discussion of European cosmopolitanism and civil society has failed to take questions of culture seriously enough. While remaining sympathetic to liberal forms of cosmopolitanism, this article considers the view that such proposals fail to make space for the ‘Other’. In the context of histories of nationalist violence, masculinism and consumerism this article discusses the charge that ideas of European civilization need to be reconsidered. In the final part of the article, I discuss the view that cultural feminism and certain versions of multiculturalism have much to contribute towards the European project. However, at this point, I seek to distance myself from essentialist arguments in respect of identity. A generative European cosmopolitanism would do well to take questions of cultural domination seriously without reducing the complexity of modern identities.     

The socialist blues? Citizenship,class and civil society

This article seeks to explore the relationship between the British labour movement, the Left and the Labour party. It does so through the intellectual prism of debates around citizenship and civil society. In this respect, I seek to recover a critical politics around questions of class from the New Left who were always critical of more mainstream ideas of citizenship. However, I also point to the limitations of those who have argued that meaningful forms of citizenship can no longer be connected to political parties and only occurs outside of state organizations. Political parties continue to need intellectual narratives to legitimate their role in society and to connect with the broader civil order. The Labour Party in this respect has seemingly broken with ‘New Labour’ and is searching for a new narrative. The rise of an intellectual grouping around ‘Blue Labour’ has made considerable headway recently and I seek to take a critical view of some of their ideas and ethical frameworks. Here I argue that changing class formations and a more pluralistic society potentially ask difficult questions of those who seek to revive the labour movement in troubled times.     

The Equity and Poverty Impacts of Aquaculture: Insights from the Philippines

Recent literature is sceptical about the ability of aquaculture development to enhance equity and reduce poverty. This article investigates the issue empirically by surveying 148 households randomly selected in five coastal communities of the Philippines. There is overwhelming evidence that aquaculture benefits the poor in important ways and that it is perceived very positively by poor and non‐poor alike. In particular, the poor derive a relatively larger share of their income from it than the rich, and a lowering of the poverty line only reinforces this result. A Gini decomposition exercise also shows unambiguously that aquaculture represents an inequality‐reducing source of income, providing employment to a large number of unskilled workers in communities characterised by large labour surpluses.     

Posterior probability estimators in classification simulations

Class specific stratified posterior probability estimators of misclassification probabilities in discriminant analysis simulations are introduced. These estimators afford a significant variance reduction over the usual count estimators. Sufficient conditions for a variance reduction are given. The stratified posterior probability estimator is generalized to other class specific expectations.     

Nursing Home Ownership Trends and Their Impacts on Quality of Care: A Study Using Detailed Ownership Data From Texas

The role of ownership in the provision of nursing home care has long been a challenging issue for policy makers and researchers. Although much of the focus historically has been on differences between for-profit and not-for-profit facilities, this simple distinction has become less useful in recent years as companies have employed more complicated ownership and management structures. Using detailed ownership data from the state of Texas, we describe the evolution of nursing home corporate structures from 2000 to 2007, analyze the effect of these structures on quality of care and staffing in nursing homes, and discuss the policy implications of these changes.     

Explorations in ‘Event Ecology’: The Case of the International Gay Games

Mega-events increasingly shape and reinforce the identities and economies of cities and nations. Major sporting events such as the Olympic Games attract enormous interest, consume vast resources and generate substantial material and cultural capital. In what has become a competition of place and identity, an ecology of events can be discerned which highlights the considerable differences that exist between events in terms of their nature and internal objectives and their intersections with the discourses and politics of host cities. Through a study of selected gay and mainstream media coverage of the International Gay Games held in Sydney in 2002, this paper explores the consequences of, and deep contradictions inherent in, an agenda of cosmopolitan advocacy that requires the endorsement of different publics with competing interests. The paper argues that the emphasis on urban sophistication and anticipated economic benefits at the heart of the promotion of the Games to mainstream Sydney were at odds with the identity building and sexual political advocacy agenda of the gay and lesbian community. Through this analysis, the paper contributes to academic understanding of the contemporary event ecology and its wider significance for social identities, cultural formations and political interventions.     

You matter to me: important relationships and self‐esteem of adolescents in foster care

This study examined the extent to which relationships with biological mothers, foster parents and peers influenced the self‐esteem of adolescents in foster care. A subsample from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well‐Being of adolescents in long‐term foster care was used for this study (n = 188). The findings indicated that when considering relationships with biological mothers, foster parents and peers and controlling for demographic characteristics in one regression model, relationships with peers had the greatest impact on self‐esteem of adolescents. Implications for child welfare and clinical work are discussed.     

Working with African American clients: considering the "homeplace" in marriage and family therapy practices

In this article, we discuss perspectives on the "homeplace" that are important to consider in marriage and family therapy involving African American clients. The homeplace comprises individual and family processes that are anchored in a defined physical space that elicits feelings of empowerment, rootedness, ownership, safety, and renewal. Critical elements of the homeplace include social relationships that shape individuals' and families' sense of social and cultural identity. We draw on our ethnographic and clinical research with African American families in urban and rural settings to describe typical schisms between therapists and African American clients when communicating about the homeplace. We also explore the impact of homeplace disruptions on experiences of "yearning." Recommendations for integrating a homeplace perspective into therapy practices are provided.     

Controlling the supply of long-term care providers in thirteen states

Many states have responded to growing Medicaid long-term care expenditures by limiting the number of long-term care providers through certificate-of-need (CON) programs and moratoriums on new construction or certification for participation in the Medicaid program. This article focuses on the use of these policies in 13 states. Most of the 13 states control the supply of nursing home beds and hospital conversions with CONs or moratoriums, but they are struggling to adapt the role of supply policy to the growth of home health and residential care. As an increasing proportion of Medicaid long-term care spending goes to these nursing home alternatives, supply policy needs to keep pace with the changing provider market and the changing demographics of the consumer market if it hopes to ensure access to long-term care and control Medicaid expenditures.