Attitudes toward poverty among exit students of undergraduate social work programs in eight Latin American countries

What is the attitude of Latin American undergraduate social work students toward poverty? An earlier study from Europe and other countries worldwide found that most graduating social work students who participated in the research were clear about the socio-structural causes of social problems such as poverty. Still, no data on this topic is available for Latin American countries. The aims of this study were: (1) to describe and to compare eight Latin American graduating undergraduate social work student groups regarding their attitudes toward poverty, as measured by two scales: Causes of poverty scale and Ways of dealing with poverty; and (2) to discuss some of the implications of the study for social work education and practice. Using a quantitative transnational-comparative design, a total sample of 525 nonrandomly selected, graduating undergraduate social work students from eight Latin American countries responded to a self-administered questionnaire. An individualistic attitude to understanding and to dealing with poverty emerged in the majority of the student groups. Multivariate procedures and inferential analyses demonstrated variations across the student groups. Implications for social work education and practice are discussed.     

“多元一体格局”理论视阈下和谐民族关系实现途径探讨

本文从＂中华民族多元一体格局＂理论视阈,论述了和谐民族关系的必要性与实现途径,要旨在于说明：古往今来,我国就是统一的多民族国家,构建和谐民族关系,始终是祖国统一、民族团结和国家安全的重要保障,也是增强中华民族凝聚力和当前实现民族复兴大业的关键所在;费孝通先生所提倡的＂中华民族多元一体格局＂理论,不仅是对中华各民族关系之历史与现状的精辟的理论概括和真实写照,而且对于我们正确认识中国国情,做好民族工作,构建社会主义和谐民族关系,亦有着非常重要的理论价值和现实意义。     

文明对话的发展及其世界意义

苏联解体 ,冷战结束 ,美国哈佛大学著名学者亨廷顿提出“文明冲突论”。他认为一场新的冷战为期不远 ,所不同的是已经过去的冷战是以意识形态为分野 ,而新的冷战是以文化为界线 ;过去的威胁是苏联 ,现在的威胁则是伊斯兰教—儒教的联盟。他的这个论点 ,国际大部分学者很难苟同。美国哈佛大学另一位著名学者杜维明教授则力主“文明对话论” ,他相信多元文化并存 ,通过对话和理解 ,通过各种文化自身的反省与变革 ,人类一定会迎来一个充满希望的新世纪。为此 ,几年来他在世界各地组织并参加一些“文明对话”的国际学术讨论会。在他的带动下 , 2 0 0 2年 8月哈佛大学—燕京学社与南京大学在南京召开了“文明对话国际学术讨论会” ,这是一次穆斯林学者与非穆斯林学者的文明对话的学术讨论会。本刊 2 0 0 2年第 4期已选载了这次会议的部分学术论文。在这次会议上杜维明先生发表了题为“文明对话的发展及其世界意义”的演讲 ,他视野开阔 ,观点新颖 ,在与会学者中引起很大的反响他认为很多杰出的学者已经看到亨廷顿“文明冲突论”非常狭隘的二分法破绽。如果要在全球化的过程中使各种不同的民族文化能够逐渐地在合而不同的背景下生存就需要通过对话,逐渐发展出生命共同 体的意愿 ;通过对话 ,大家都具有和平共     

海南省2003年生态足迹计算与发展能力分析

利用生态足迹与发展能力的基本理论,对海南省和各县(市)2003年的生态足迹与发展能力进行了计算和分析。结果表明,海南省2003年人均生态足迹为2.1338hm2,人均生态承载力为1.3111hm2,人均生态赤字为0.8227hm2;12个县(市)存在生态赤字。海南省及其大多数县市的资源利用效益比较低,经济社会发展在较大的生态压力下运行。同时,计算与分析了海南省和各县(市)2003年的生态足迹多样性及其发展能力。     

Investor response to appointment of female CEOs and CFOs

We study the impact of appointing women to top executive positions from an investor perspective. We analyze whether shareholders value announcement of appointment of women to top positions differently than they do appointment of men. This study uses an international sample of 100 announcements of top executive appointments of women who replace men and investigates how shareholders respond to such appointments. This research combines an event study with a matched pair analysis to compare the response from investors regarding appointment of female versus male CEOs and CFOs. We establish that investors do not seem to value appointment of women significantly differently from that of men. This finding suggests that, from the investor perspective, there appears to be no business case for a particular gender when it comes to appointing a CEO or CFO.     

Initial teacher training: understanding ‘race,’ diversity and inclusion

There is little research which has explored how students on Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses understand and conceptualise discourses of ‘race’, diversity and inclusion. This article will focus on student understandings of racialised identities; it will explore the discourses by which students understand what it means to be White and what it means to be Black, within the context of ITT. The article will examine the different facets and themes of identity within the context of belonging and exclusion which exist within higher education in the cultural and social contexts of English universities. The findings indicate that students’ understandings of ‘race’, diversity and inclusion on ITT courses are complex and multifaceted. The article argues that greater training is needed in relation to the practical assistance that student teachers require in terms of increasing their understanding of diversity and dealing with racism in the classroom.     

Resurrected pigs,dyed foxes and beloved cows: Religious diversity and nostalgia for socialism in rural Poland

The aim of my paper is to discuss the phenomenon of nostalgia for socialism in rural Poland. More precisely, I discuss how experiences of rurality and diverse religious beliefs intertwine with nostalgia. Depicting the memories of socialism, shared with me by the inhabitants of a multi-religious rural commune in Southern Poland, I aim to demonstrate the ways in which day-to-day experiences of rural life as well as religious diversity contribute to shaping people's remembrances. In order to do so, I describe both the present situation and the historical experiences of the inhabitants of the commune. I introduce representatives of different Christian communities – Roman Catholics, Greek Catholics, Orthodox and Pentecostals – and, by presenting their life stories, I address the issue of how villagers' religious creeds interrelate with the memories and (re)evaluation of the socialist past. My aim here is twofold. Firstly I aim to deconstruct the nostalgia for socialism, showing its complexity and proving that this nostalgia means in fact longing for very concrete experiences of rural life. Secondly, I argue that the study of various religious beliefs and practices is very important for a fuller interpretation of nostalgic discourses and responses to postsocialist transformations.     

How diverse is Cologne carnival? How migrants appropriate popular art spaces

The present article contributes to the ongoing academic debate on migrants’ appropriation of artistic and political spaces in Germany. Cologne, one of the largest cities in Germany, is an interesting example of the tension between political discourse centred around multiculturalism and cultural segregation processes. The ‘no fool is illegal’ carnival organised by asylum seekers shows their capacity to act, as they reinvent an old local tradition by reinterpreting medieval rituals. Today, different groups and associations appropriate this festive art space: migrants, gays and lesbians, feminists and far-left groups either organise their own parties or take part in the official parties and parades as separate groups. As a result, the celebration of diversity figures on the local political agenda and becomes part of the official carnival festivities. This leads to a blurring of boundaries, whereby mainstream popular culture becomes more and more influenced by multicultural elements.     

Intercultural education and communication in second language interactions

This article analyses intercultural education outcomes produced in the setting of teaching Italian as a second language (ISL) in an Italian school. Intercultural education is produced in interactions which are based on specific cultural presuppositions, i.e. expectations regarding learning, role hierarchy and evaluation of student performances. Sixteen hours of interactions associated with ISL teaching in a multicultural classroom were audiotaped, transcribed and analysed. The analysis highlights three ways in which cultural diversity becomes meaningful. First, cultural diversity is constructed as one task of learning. Second, cultural diversity is constructed as conflictive interaction. Third, cultural diversity is constructed as a point of departure for positive school performance. These three ways of giving meaning to cultural diversity reveal a prevailing ethnocentric form of ISL teaching, as a consequence of educational presuppositions which do not take the difficulties of intercultural communication seriously. Recently, ‘dialogue’ has been invoked to address ethnocentrism; however, the conditions of effective intercultural dialogue are uncertain.

Questo articolo analizza l’educazione interculturale prodotta nell’insegnamento dell’italiano come seconda lingua (ISL) in una scuola italiana. L’educazione interculturale è realizzata in interazioni che sono basate su specifici presupposti culturali, che sono aspettative di apprendimento, di gerarchie di ruolo e di prestazioni degli studenti. L’educazione interculturale si occupa del problema della diversità culturale, basata su presupposti culturali diversi che emergono nella comunicazione. Sono state audioregistrate, trascritte e analizzate 16 ore di interazione durante l’insegnamento di ISL in una classe multiculturale: l’analisi ha evidenziato tre modi in cui la diversità culturale è resa significativa. La diversità culturale è costruita anzitutto come compito di apprendimento, in secondo luogo come interazione conflittuale, infine come punto di partenza per conseguire una prestazione scolastica positiva. Questi tre modi di costruire la diversità culturale rivelano una forma prevalente di tipo etnocentrico per l’insegnamento ISL, che è una conseguenza di presupposti educativi che non permettono di prendere seriamente le difficoltà della comunicazione interculturale. Recentemente, si è proposto di usare il ‘dialogo’ per superare l’etnocentrismo; tuttavia c’è incertezza sulle condizioni di un dialogo interculturale efficace.     

Racial diversity, minority concentration, and trust in Canadian urban neighborhoods

Using a sample of 42,329 respondents nested within 4254 Canadian urban neighborhoods, this study demonstrates the conceptual and empirical importance of making a distinction between neighborhood racial diversity and minority concentration, and examines how each is uniquely associated with trust. Our analysis shows that at a given level of racial minority concentration, Whites are more trusting when their minority neighbors are more evenly distributed across racial minority groups. Meanwhile, Whites are less trusting as the neighborhood share of racial minorities increases. Overall, the effect of racial minority concentration tends to prevail over that of racial diversity.