Housing Conditions of Nuclear and Extended Households in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale Area

Arrivals of new immigrants into the south Florida area have put increased pressure on housing markets and fostered renewed efforts to provide more affordable housing. Many view household extension largely as a response to the lack of a sufficient amount of affordable housing. This paper examines the nature, proportion and housing condition of nuclear and extended households in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area. The study also investigates how the incidence and housing situation of extended households has changed during the period from 1986 to 1990. This study illustrates that extended families in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area are not uniformly worse off than nuclear families, given ethnicity and income level. While the area's housing problems require attention, some of that attention should be focused on removing institutional barriers to household extension and to providing broader housing choices for minority ethnic groups.     

Punks,Goths, and Other Eye‐Catching Peer Crowds: Do They Fulfill a Function for Shy Youths?

Adolescent peer crowds such as Punks and Goths are mainly identified by their strikingly unusual or even shocking appearances. Although many studies find these crowds, few have tried to explain why some youths take on these startling or shocking appearances. We hypothesized that an off‐putting appearance is a way to cope with behavioral inhibition by limiting social contacts. Using data from 1,200 7th–11th graders, we compared peer crowds characterized by their startling appearance (“Radical” crowds) with three theoretically relevant comparison groups. Results showed that youths affiliating with Radical crowds were more inhibited than other youths, including those in crowds previously shown to be shy or socially anxious. Inhibited Radicals, however, had poorer emotional adjustment than inhibited youths in other crowds. If Radical styles are a way for inhibited youths to cope by limiting social contacts, the strategy does not seem to be beneficial for emotional adjustment.     

Ecological research can augment restoration practice in urban areas degraded by invasive species—examples from Chicago Wilderness

Urban biodiversity conservation needs a firm scientific foundation, one that draws upon active and regionally calibrated research programs. Until recently this foundation has not existed. In this paper we examine the way in which the emerging discipline of restoration ecology in an urban context can learn from the experiences of ongoing restoration projects and in turn how novel insights from research of urban soils can help these projects define and reach their goals. Limitations on collaboration between academic researchers and practitioners continues be problematic. We discuss a model whereby this impediment may be removed. A case study of Rhamnus cathartica, an invader of Midwestern woodlands which modifies some important soil ecosystem properties will be used to illustrate the potential for engagement between research and practice.     

Employment and earnings of foreign-born scientists and engineers

Population Research and Policy Review -     

Vulnerable young people and substance misuse: expanding on the risk and protection‐focused approach using social psychology

This paper critically reviews recent research exploring risk and protective factors for the development of problematic substance use in populations of young people. Specific populations of young people who are most vulnerable to developing problematic patterns of use are identified, and alterations to methods of data collection which would improve the ability of local authorities to monitor these populations and more efficiently target them for early preventative interventions are highlighted. It is argued that social‐psychological research techniques and approaches should be used to complement a risk and protection‐focused approach in order to improve the design and evaluation of interventions, and provide decision‐aids for practitioners when assessing the needs of vulnerable young people. Examples are provided to demonstrate the utility of social psychology in this regard, and the paper concludes with specific recommendations for future research and services. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Potential of A College Town As A Retirement Community

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential of college towns as retirement communities. The uniqueness of college towns as potential retirement communities are identified and discussed. Differences between college towns and Sunbelt state retirement destinations regarding the factors that are most concerned by retiree migrants in their decision-making for relocation were compared. The results showed no differences between the college towns and the Sunbelt state retirement cities. Only a few differences existed among the college town subgroups. The findings are of value to the senior living industry, local government and chamber of commerce in their efforts in marketing college towns as prospective retirement communities.