The typification of Hispanics as criminals and support for punitive crime control policies

The Hispanic population is now the largest and fastest growing minority in the United States, so it is not surprising that ethnic threat linked to Hispanics has been associated with harsher crime control. While minority threat research has found that individuals who associate blacks with crime are more likely to support harsh criminal policies, the possibility that this relationship exists for those who typify Hispanics as criminal has yet to be examined. Using a national random sample, this study is the first to use HLM to find that perceptions of Hispanics as criminals do increase support for punitive crime control measures, controlling for various individual and state influences. Moderated and contextual analyses indicate this relationship is most applicable for individuals who are less apt to typify criminals as black, less prejudiced, less fearful of victimization, politically liberal or moderate, not parents, and living in states with relatively fewer Latin American immigrants.     

Fertility patterns of college graduates by field of study,US women born 1960–79

Building on recent European studies, we used the Survey of Income and Program Participation to provide the first analysis of fertility differences between groups of US college graduates by their undergraduate field of study. We used multilevel event-history models to investigate possible institutional and selection mechanisms linking field of study to delayed fertility and childlessness. The results are consistent with those found for Europe in showing an overall difference of 10 percentage points between levels of childlessness across fields, with the lowest levels occurring for women in health and education, intermediate levels for women in science and technology, and the highest levels for women in arts and social sciences. The mediating roles of the following field characteristics were assessed: motherhood employment penalties; percentage of men; family attitudes; and marriage patterns. Childlessness was higher among women in fields with a moderate representation of men, less traditional family attitudes, and late age at first marriage.     

Export agriculture is feeding malaria: a cross-national examination of the environmental and social causes of malaria prevalence

Malaria rates remain high across many less-developed regions, including Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of Latin America. Although case studies find elevated malaria rates in locales with increased levels of environmental degradation, the current body of comparative environmental research lacks investigation of infectious disease trends. This study draws upon world-system theorizing to consider agricultural export flows and resulting alterations to the natural environment in poor nations as key causes of malaria prevalence. Additionally, relationships among world-system position, economic development, and socio-health characteristics are examined alongside the environmental predictors using structural equation modeling for data on 99 less-developed nations. The findings emphasize that deforestation and biodiversity loss associated with primary sector export flows are key drivers of malaria rates, alongside notable influences of basic health and social services. The results suggest that environmental and social conditions greatly shape malaria transmission in poor societies.     

Modernization and the Demographic Transition: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analyses of a Revised Model

Abstract

We specify a revised model of the demographic transition which accounts for national fertility levels and changes over the past two decades. The model includes cultural, geographic, demographic and family planning program variables, in addition to a measure of national socio-economic modernization. Using crude birth rates for 117 countries, we operationalize and then apply the revised model to 1974 rates, and then test a longitudinal model of 1955–59 to 1974 change in rates. A final model for 81 less developed nations from the original set of 117 countries includes a measure of family planning program effort. Including this highly significant measure in a model of 1955–59 to 1974 change results in further evidence favoring modification of the traditional demographic transition model. Implications for the future course of fertility in underdeveloped countries are discussed.     

Building cultural competence: A systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of culturally sensitive interventions with ethnic minority youth

Growing diversity within the US population accentuates the need for the development and implementation of culturally competent services in the field of child welfare. Despite this, few studies exist that examine the effectiveness of culturally sensitive interventions (CSIs) with ethnic minority populations, who are considerably more at risk of developing psychosocial problems including substance and alcohol abuse, delinquency, low academic achievement, and poor self-esteem. With the demand for evidence-based practice it is imperative that we examine the effectiveness of CSIs designed to prevent and treat youth problems. The main goal of this review was to systematically analyze the methodology of recent CSI research with populations of ethnic minority youth in order to evaluate each intervention's ability to adhere to existing standards of evidence-based practice. The fifteen CSI studies examined in this review illustrate progress in their attempt to adhere to the methodological rigor required of evidence-based practice. This review encourages the field of child welfare to position itself analogously with and embrace the movement toward building cultural competence by further investigating the effectiveness of culturally-sensitive interventions with ethnic minority youth.