Does it matter where I live in Western Europe?

Regional differentials in life expectancy at birth during the 1980s in Belgium, The Netherlands and some parts of the former Federal Republic of Germany are presented and commented upon. Life expectancy at birth during the 1980s was highest in The Netherlands, and lowest in some parts of southern Belgium. Substantial differentials existed in 1980, particularly because of differential mortality due to diseases of the circulatory system, lung cancer, breast cancer, motor vehicle accidents and suicide. These differentials persisted throughout the 1980s, but gradually converged. Gains in life expectancy were mainly due to declining cardiovascular and cerebrovascular mortality. Sharp and persistent differentials between border regions in the study area point to societal and cultural forces bringing about dividing lines between relatively homogeneous mortality profiles.On présente et commente ici les différences d'espérance de vie à la naissance observées durant les années 1980 en Belgique, en Hollande et dans certaines parties de l'ancienne RFA. L'espérance de vie à la naissance était la plus élevée en Hollande et la plus basse dans certaines parties du sud de la Belgique. Des différences importantes existaient en 1980, particulièrement liées à la mortalité différentielle due aux maladies de l'appareil circulatoire, au cancer du poumon et du sein, aux accidents de véhicules à moteur et au suicide. Ces différences diminuent graduellement au cours des années 1980, mais persistent toujours. Les gains d'espérance de vie ont été surtout dus à un déclin de la mortalité cardiovasculaire et cérébrovasculaire. Des différences importantes qui subsistent toujours entre régions frontières signalent des effets sociaux et culturels qui entraînent des lignes de démarcation entre des profils de mortalité relativement homogènes.     

Dropout from exercise programs for seniors: a prospective cohort study

This study examines dropout incidence, moment of dropout, and switching behavior in organized exercise programs for seniors in the Netherlands, as determined in a prospective cohort study (with baseline measurements at the start of the exercise program and follow-up after 6 months; N = 1,725, response rate 73%). Participants were community-living individuals 50+ who participated in different forms of organized exercise programs. The average dropout incidence was 0.15 per 6 months, which is lower than that for the general population. The dropout incidence and the timing of dropout differed substantially between the exercise programs. In total, 31% of people who dropped out of one type of exercise program switched to another type of exercise. The type of program and exercise had a strong effect on differences in this switching behavior. It is recommended that switching behavior be monitored in future studies.     

Alcohol and Power on Palm Island

By analysing the circumstances surrounding criminal behaviour on Palm Island, a close association is found between alcohol abuse and crimes of disorderly behaviour and violence. It is argued that one of the reasons for this association is alcohol's capacity to provide an experience of personalized power and in the case of Australian Aborigines this effect of alcohol is enhanced by the role played by alcohol throughout the history of Aboriginal legislation. Viewed in this way, the prevention of Aboriginal alcohol abuse becomes a political rather than an educational issue.     

Child sexual abuse programs: Recommendation for refinement and study

Child assault prevention programs have increasingly been instituted in school systems throughout the country. this paper reviews and summarizes research findings on child abuse, child abuse prevention programs, and evaluations of child abuse prevention programs. In addition, the author presents issues for program developers to consider as they re-examine and refine existing child abuse prevention programs.     

Exchange rates and the Swiss economy

Safe haven capital inflows and other factors have caused the Swiss franc to appreciate and posed challenges for policymakers. We find that these exchange rate changes do not affect the volume of exports from Switzerland’s most advanced sectors, pharmaceuticals and watches, but do matter for exports of medium-high-technology products such as capital goods and machinery. We also report that appreciations do not affect stock prices and goods prices for the pharmaceutical and watch industries but cause both stock and goods prices to tumble for the capital goods and machinery sectors. We draw many policy lessons from these findings for Switzerland and for the rest of the world.     

The sociologist and the state. An assessment of Pierre Bourdieu's sociology

This paper provides an assessment of Pierre Bourdieu's sociology based on a reading of his posthumously published lectures on the state in Sur l'État. It argues that the state was a foundational element in Bourdieu's rendition of the symbolic order of everyday life. As such, the state becomes equally pivotal in Bourdieu's sociology, the applicability of which rests on the existence of the state, which stabilizes the social fields and their symbolic action that constitute the object of sociology. The state, which Bourdieu considers a ‘meta'‐ordering principle in social life, ensures that sociology has a well‐ordered object of study, vis‐à‐vis which it can posit itself as ‘meta‐meta’. The state thus functions as an epistemic guarantee in Bourdieu's sociology. A critical analysis of Bourdieu's sociology of the state offers the chance of a more fundamental overall assessment of Bourdieu's conception of sociology that has relevance for any critical sociological perspective that rests on the assumption of a meta‐social entity, such as the state in Bourdieu's work, as a final ordering instance.