Realities of life and future prospects within two cultures: unaccompanied minor refugees from South East Asia in the Federal Republic of Germany

From August 1979 on, more than 30,000 refugees from South East Asia were accepted in the Federal Republic of Germany as quota refugees in a special program; among them were 1600 unaccompanied minor refugees. About 1500 were accompanied Vietnamese children and youths who had fled their home country as 'boat people' across the South China Sea. Unaccompanied minor refugees have, like all other recognized refugees, a legal claim to family reunion in the Federal Republic. Today, only parents can join their children and vice versa, and spouses their spouses. The 1st phase of socialization in the lives of the unaccompanied minor refugees evolved in the cultural traditions of their South East Asian country of origin up to the age of 10 to 15 years. In the 2nd phase of socialization--the enculturation--the child establishes its culturally specific emotionality, language, mentality, and patterns of behavior through interaction and verbal communication with the people nearest him. The 3rd phase of socialization begins at school age and reaches full significance at the age of starting to work, with the accompanying expectations of society. Most of the minor unaccompanied refugees from South Asia had already completed their enculturation--the establishment of their cultural identity. The realities of life the young single refugees as foreigners in German society are determined by 4 special factors: 1) the great cultural differences between their country of originin South East Asia and the resettlement country, 2) the young people left their homes as refugees and their resettlement in the Federal Repulic was determined by chance events, 3) they have to live there alone and without the emotional support of their families in a situation of cultural change, and 4) because of their Asian physiognomy they will always appear as foreigners even if they have integrated well. The future prospects of the young South East Asian refugees in German society will be determined primarily by to what extent they will be able to find a satisfactory place within both cultures.     

The use of metaphor in therapeutic communication with young adolescents

The ability to utilize metaphor is presented as the normal stage in the development of the capacity to symbolize that is characteristic of the young adolescent. Symbolization is considered to be the basic structure through which the individual constructs a knowledge of the reality and of the self. Therefore, staying within the framework of the metaphor in treatment with the young adolescent is beginning where the client is but equally as importantly it is assisting the youngster to further develop both his symbolic capacities and himself. A case illustration is utilized to demonstrate both healthy and pathological usage of metaphorical language.     

Secularization and the politics of traditionalism: The case of the right-to-life movement

Research on the traditionalist movement against abortion needs alignment with currents in historical sociology, the theory of social movements and the sociology of politics. The religious (specifically, Christian) basis of the right-to-life movement has attracted considerable attention in the literature. The movement is seen as a traditionalist bloc claiming to oppose secularization and return to customary restrictions. However the tradition in question appears to be a recent social construction. There is slim warrant in the actual traditions of Western religion for asserting a categorical right to life. As a result, the movement's ideology is best approached as the product of—rather than the antidote to—secularizing processes (including the demographic transition, discourse about rights, markets for symbolic entrepreneurs and the separation of church and state) and possibly as an unintended import from non-Western religion. Implications for traditionalism, the functions of religion, and the study of countermovements are explored. This case illustrates the value of attending to historical sequences and the external cultural environments of social movements.     

Stochastic modelling of regional annual rainfall anomalies in East Africa

ARIMA (p, d, q) models were fitted to areal annual rainfall of two homogeneous regions in East Africa with rainfall records extending between the period 1922–80. The areal estimates of the regional rainfall were derived from the time series of the first eigenvector, which was significantly dominant at each of the two regions. The first eigenvector accounted for about 80% of the total rainfall variance in each region.

The class of ARIMA (p, d, q) models which best fitted the areal indices of relative wetness/dryness were the A R M A (3, 1) models. Tests of forecasting skill however indicated low skill in the forecasts given by these models. In all cases the models accounted for less than 50% of the total variance.

Spectral analysis of the indices time series indicated dominant quasi-periodic fluctuations around 2.2–2.8 years, 3–3.7 years, 5–6 years and 10–13 years. These spectral bands however accounted for very low proportion of the total rainfall variance.     

Child health,breast-feeding,and survival in Malaysia: a random-effects logit approach

This study examines the possibility that estimation of the effect of breast-feeding on infant survival is affected by selection bias, in that children who are healthier at birth may be more likely to be breast-fed. Data are from the 1976 Malaysian Family Life Survey. "Ordinary logit models for breast-feeding and survival are estimated, and the results suggest that selection is indeed present. For example, children of higher birth weight appear to be more likely to be breast-fed and likely to survive. In addition, weight at birth and the duration of breast-feeding appear to be linked." Using birth weight as an indicator for the child's health, the authors conclude that "the direct influence of breast-feeding on survival remains of overwhelming importance even after corrections for selection bias are made."     

Computer support of placement planning: the use of expert systems in child welfare

Computers have become commonplace in nearly every setting, from home to office. In addition to their usefulness for managerial tasks, they have the potential to aid the primary decision-making tasks of professional social service workers. The benefits and background of such "expert systems" are explored, and the structure of one experimental consulting program for child welfare workers, PLACECON, is presented.     

How bad can a voting location be

Two questions concerning the location of a single facility by a voting process are investigated for transportation networks:

- What is the maximum number of customers located on the network preferring some rival point over a voting solution?

- How does the average distance of the customers to the facility increase when a voting location instead of a Weber location is chosen for the facility?

Complete answers are given for general networks and for certain planar networks, viz., the so-called generalized cacti.     

Picking the Winners: Politician vs. Voter Predictions of Two Controversial Ballot Measures

Abstract Both politicians and voters were asked to predict outcomesof two Oregon ballot measures in 1982. As expected, politicians'predictions always were closer to the mark than voters' were.Further, voters showed stronger signs of wishful thinking (the"Looking-Glass effect") in their predictions than did politicians.Using published preelection polls apparently improved politicians'accuracy in 1982, as well as voters' accuracy in a separate1984 survey. No other sources of data improved predictive accuracy.Findings have implications for theories of representative governmentand are consistent with a new theory of public opinion.     

Statistical materials. Part 3: fertility,mortality, and natural increase

In this one-page statistical summary, data are presented for the USSR as a whole on fertility, mortality, and natural increase. The data are for five-year intervals from 1940 to 1980 and for single years from 1980 and are presented in terms of both totals and rates.     

Treatment of the emotionally disturbed,mildly retarded youngster in the foster care system

This paper demonstrates the need for a broad array of clinical services in treating the emotionally disturbed, mildly retarded youngster in the foster care system. A hypothesis suggests that cognitive deficits and borderline pathology are interrelated, and that treatment involves modifications of traditional therapeutic techniques. The definition of clinical is expanded to include seemingly concrete and environmental services, in addition to the office therapy session. Finally, some systemic impediments to effective treatment of the population are explored.This paper was completed as a requirement of the Post-Master's Program in Advanced Clinical Social Work of Hunter College School of Social Work.