Intercultural relations in the European Union: Economic convergences verses social mobility

The purpose of this paper is to analyze intercultural relations within the European Union, with the 10 new members that have joined in 2004. We define intercultural relations in terms of the difference between the benefits of economic convergence versus the problems of social mobility issues implied by the economic convergence in the European Union, especially with regard to the labor market. This analysis has implications for any region that is experiencing rapid globalization.     

Institutionalization of Trust as Response to Globalization: The Case of Consumer Cooperatives in South Korea

This paper explores an explanation which elaborates how individuals effectively enact and sustain trust in the sphere of social economy and the capability. I discuss how value employed by actors and the strategies and power relation in the socio-economic value sphere and focus on the function of ‘trust’ as the key mechanism of the interaction. This paper examine South Korean consumer cooperative Hansalim as a case of social economy which successfully institutionalize their system in competitive economic market arena.      

A content analysis of the newspaper coverage of the three major hurricanes in 2005

As the primary means of communication between government agencies and the general population, the media play an important role in shaping how the public perceives a potential risk. Risk communicators should carefully consider media coverage of disaster to successfully communicate with the public in the future. This paper examines the content of Hurricane news stories and the framing patterns (e.g., emotional vs. logical) used by local newspapers 1 week before the occurrences of three major hurricanes in 2005. “Actions to take to prevent the risk” was the most frequently covered content, followed by “anticipated damages.” The majority of the risk content was presented using logical framing patterns.     

Marital Quality,Socioeconomic Status,and Physical Health

Recent efforts to promote marriage among the socioeconomically disadvantaged are based on the assumption that marriage is equally beneficial for persons with varying levels of socioeconomic status. Using 3 waves of data from a sample of married adults (the National Survey of Families and Households; N = 1,849), the authors evaluated whether the health benefits of marital happiness and the health costs of marital conflict might vary by education and income levels. They found that increases in marital happiness were associated with increases in self‐rated health for individuals with more education. In addition, increases in marital conflict were linked to greater increases in functional impairment for persons with lower income. Although the results were not consistent and effect sizes were modest, the evidence nonetheless tentatively suggests that higher levels of marital happiness may be less beneficial for health and that higher levels of marital conflict may be more detrimental to health among persons with lower socioeconomic status.     

Youth suicide in Australia

This paper reviews the incidence of youth suicide in Australia in comparison with other industrialized countries around the mid-1990s. It focuses on fatal suicides in Australia and records changes in suicide mortality levels and patterns since the 1950s. An attempt is made to estimate the global extent of the problem of suicidal behaviour (suicides plus attempted suicides). The discussion concentrates on the presumed factors associated with the recent epidemic of self-destruction among young Australian males: drug and alcohol abuse, and unemployment. Finally, some of the attempts at prevention of suicidal acts and their effectiveness are reviewed.     

Does market competition facilitate resident-centred care among nursing homes? A comparative analysis

This study examines the impact of market competition on resident-centred care in nursing homes, through a comparative analysis of non-profit and for-profit settings. The study was carried out in South Korea, where the nursing care market has recently expanded dramatically. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire, mailed to 1000 random participants nationwide. The findings are drawn from 239 nursing homes that completed the survey and indicate that perceived competition is positively associated with resident-centred care in non-profit settings, but not in for-profit settings. The study presents implications for practice and future research.