“Making a plan”: responses amongst the wealthy to declining socioeconomic conditions in suburban Harare

Although the term “crisis” is often used to describe politico-economic conditions in post-2000 Zimbabwe, the period of hyperinflation in Zimbabwe was also accompanied by creative responses to declining socioeconomic conditions. In this paper, I consider the ways in which wealthy suburban Zimbabweans resident in Harare during this period dealt with the withdrawal of the state from some aspects of daily life: most notably, experienced through a decline in municipal services such as the provision of water and electricity. I argue that whilst poor urbanites experienced socioeconomic conditions as a decline in modernity even while they engaged in creative responses to those conditions, for wealthier (Black and White) urbanites the withdrawal of local government services led to a revival of ideas of innovation (“making a plan”) that were similar to a pre-Independence discourse of self-reliance in the face of economic sanctions imposed in the 1970s. Ideas of self-sufficiency and innovation in the present day were invoked by both Black and White respondents, and can be read as partly rhetorical, given the realities of complex engagements and negotiations that occurred in Harare between residents and the municipality and state services. The innovation required to “make a plan” was always complexly social: although people could no longer rely on local government for services, they were forced by the erratic nature of service delivery to rely upon one another, and to engage with municipal institutions and local government structures in ways that had previously been unnecessary. Attempts to maintain a “proper” life in Harare involved creating forms of community amongst the wealthy, and connections between the wealthy and the state, that had not necessarily existed before the so-called crisis.     

Race,Gender, and Social Exchange in Young Adult Unions

Abstract

Social scientists often conceptualize romantic partner selection as an asymmetric exchange in which partners of different race or gender offer different desired qualities. For example, white women might leverage racial status into upward mobility by marrying socioeconomically advantaged minority men, or minority women might exchange beauty, sexual access, and domestic services for white men’s higher racial status and income. However, such approaches frequently assume gender and race asymmetry in preferences—for example, that men attach greater value to potential partners’ physical attractiveness than women do. These assumptions may be unwarranted, especially among contemporary young couples. In turn, assuming asymmetry in exchange can generate misleading results if partnering patterns are actually symmetric. Accordingly, we use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), including a supplementary sample of romantic partners, to reconsider recent findings with an emphasis on evaluating (a)symmetry.     

Everyday Life,Everyday Death

In this article I note limits of cultural activism in third-wave feminism, demonstrating that this activism often relies on a music scene that neglects intersections of race and gender. I offer the space of the online fansite as an alternative site for analysis, describing it as a site for everyday activism and consumer activism. Specifically, I explore the online fansite of the HBO show Six Feet Under, describing how fans treat subjects of gender and race in the show and in their everyday lives. Although fans discuss race and gender in limited ways in their explorations of the show and their daily lives, when they discuss the subject of death, they more productively address intersections of both race and gender, considering differences in burial and funereal practices among diverse cultures. Fans also construct the fansite as a place for consumer activism, sharing information about how to be active consumers in the funeral industry and to direct the course of their own burials.     

The devil is in the details: self-neglect in Australia

Although elder self-neglect is of significant concern to adult protective service (APS) workers in the United States, minimal research has been conducted on this topic in Australia. Using qualitative research methods, this article examines how 24 Australian professionals understand situations of self-neglect. Unlike in the United States, where the term self-neglect is used in a broad and all-encompassing manner, participants in this research differentiated among self-neglect (the neglect of self), squalor (extreme neglect of environment), collecting (the accumulation of certain objects), and hoarding (the inability to throw objects away). It is argued that separating out the various behaviors that are classified under the broad umbrella of neglect can be useful in fostering reflective interventions in these situations.     

Women's risk for revictimization by a new abusive partner: for what should we be looking?

The purpose of this article was to examine the prevalence of, as well as risk factors for, revictimization by a new partner. Data was collected via face-to-face interviews at Time 1 (about 5 weeks after obtaining a protective order against a violent partner [DVO partner]) and at Time 2 (approximately 12 months later). Of those women who reported having a new partner at Time 2 (n = 412), 35.2% reported abuse. Findings indicate that there is a subset of women who are at greater risk of experiencing abuse by future partners: women with greater cumulative lifetime victimization and those who abuse or are dependent on illicit drugs. Intervening with women when they obtain a protective order is a critical point of intervention to reduce women's risk for revictimization.     

Managing the critical transition from volume to value

Experts say value-based health care delivery truly is the wave of the future. Learn what you need to do to get ready to embrace the change.     

Parental Depression and Child Outcomes: The Mediating Effects of Abuse and Neglect

Using longitudinal data on 1,813 children and parents from a nationally representative child‐welfare sample, National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well‐Being (NSCAW), this study investigated physically abusive and neglectful parenting as mediating the effects of parent depression on child mental health by developmental stage. Findings from latent growth models indicated that parental depression had a significant impact on child outcomes for all youths, but of the 2 types of parenting behaviors, only neglectful parenting mediated the relationship for preschool and school‐aged children. Neither parenting behavior mediated the effects of parental depression for adolescents.     

Patterns and Predictors of Early Care and Education for Children in Foster Care

Patterns and predictors of center-based early care and education (ECE) of children in foster care were examined. Participants included 192 pre-Kindergarten age children in foster care. Foster parents reported demographics, ECE and other service use. Foster care history data was abstracted from case files. High rates of attendance in ECE prior to Kindergarten, including Head Start, other center-based ECE, or both were found. Children who attended Head Start were younger when first placed in foster care. Children who attended other center-based ECE services were more likely to live with kinship foster parents and foster families with higher incomes. Latent class analysis of ECE quantity, quality, type, and duration revealed three patterns: part-time Head Start, part-time other ECE, and full-time mixed ECE. Child and foster family characteristics predicted these patterns, illustrating distinct groups with potential implications for the development of children in foster care.     

Problem gambling: One view from the gaming industry side

An experienced lawyer for the gaming industry argues that the very appellation of compulsive gambling is misleading. Advocates of the medical model of compulsive gambling have created a strange new disease, where individuals are viewed as not responsible for their misdeeds but as solely responsible for their own cure. The fact that some individuals have problems because of gambling does not lead to the conclusion that casinos bear the ultimate legal or moral responsibility. More research and dialogue is needed; but so is the acceptance by problem gamblers and those who study and treat them that individuals have to take responsibility for their own conduct.     

Social Class Differentials During Fertility Decline: England and Wales Revisited

This paper reviews the relationship between landholdings and fertility. Two dimensions of land are identified as salient for fertility behaviour: size of operational holdings and land ownership. It is suggested that these two dimensions and the resulting income streams have disparate effects on fertility. Size of holdings is assumed to have a positive influence on fertility due to the greater labour demands of larger holdings, while land ownership is posited to exert a negative long-term effect because of the increase in old-age security associated with the income returns to equity. In addition to these effects on the demand for children, landholding is also thought to influence the supply of children. A systematic review of the literature finds support for the impact of both dimensions of landholding on fertility preferences, contraceptive behaviour, the proximate determinants and fertility. Both the demand and supply of children appear to be influenced by landholdings. The observed regularities suggest the need for further research on this connection, not the abandonment of this line of inquiry.