Assessing NGO Empowerment in Housing Development Frameworks: Discourse and Practice in the Philippines

Amid the rise of democratization movements since the 1980s, many governments in developing countries have proactively introduced the ideas of decentralization and devolution into the policy arena. In the pursuit of democratic planning processes where civil society is encouraged to be a part of the formal decision-making system, articles advocating the empowerment of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been included into a series of legislations. This shift was soon reflected in housing development frameworks for the poor, leading to the formulation of a new approach called "enablement." The Philippines' experience for the last two decades follows this line of development. Filipino NGOs are now prescribed as a catalyst to add further dynamism to the improvement of substandard living environments. Empirical findings of this study exemplify that NGO empowerment has been increasingly accelerated by the combination of NGOs' self-endeavors and governments' initiatives. By utilizing the paradigm shift under the enablement approach, NGOs are engaged in the attempt of alliance-formation and network-building to expand their influence. Contrary to ideals, however, NGO empowerment may reveal some adverse effects such as excessive dependency on NGOs and distorted representation by NGOs. Moreover, the professionalization of NGOs is an additional factor which generates hierarchization at the grass-roots level. This study suggests that further research analyze the depth and width to which NGO empowerment has been penetrated in order to precisely capture the processes and consequences resulting in disempowerment.     

In Vino Pecunia? The Association Between Beverage-Specific Drinking Behavior and Wages

The positive association between moderate alcohol consumption and wages is well documented in the economic literature. Positive health effects as well as networking mechanisms serve as explanations for the “alcohol–income puzzle.” Using individual-based microdata from the SOEP for 2006, we confirm that this relationship exists for Germany as well. More importantly, we shed light on the alcohol–income puzzle by analyzing, for the first time, the association between beverage-specific drinking behavior and wages. In our analysis, we disentangle the general wage effect of drinking into diverse effects for different types of drinkers. Mincerian estimates reveal significant and positive relationships between wine drinkers and wages as well as between multiple beverage drinkers and wages. When splitting the sample into age groups, the “drinking gain” disappears for employees under the age of 35 and increases in size and significance for higher age groups. We also find a “beer gain” for the oldest age group and male residents of rural areas as well as a “cocktail gain” for residents of urban areas. Several explanations for our empirical results are discussed in view of the likelihood that the alcohol–income puzzle is a multicausal phenomenon.

Family farmers and major retail chains in the Brazilian organic sector: Assessing new development pathways. A case study in a peri-urban district of São Paulo

The expansion of the organic sector in Brazil is seen as a leverage for the social emancipation of the small family farmers. Next to the traditional alternatives circuits of organic food and farming, new powerful capitalistic actors, such as supermarket chains, are rapidly entering the Brazilian organic arena. Can family farming benefit from the development of these “conventional” commercialisation circuits in the organic sector? Research undertaken in 2007, in a green belt rural community of São Paulo, shows how family farmers may have benefited from the implication of large retail chains in the organic sector and how an economically and ecologically outstanding agriculture may arise from these circumstances. However, we highlight the crucial role played by social regulation: only strong solidarity between farmers and the implication of technicians, militants and researchers in the process made it possible to counter the negative effects of the liberal logic governing the development of organic farming via the major retailers. Still, as tougher competition is expected on the regional organic market, the development of short supply chains involving “committed” consumers and the broader integration of the local farmers in networks of organic militancy appear crucial. It would guarantee a continuous enhancement of the local human and social capital, reinforce an emerging process of internal conversion and allow for a stronger social regulation of the future local development pattern.     

Perceived facilitators and barriers to saving among low-income youth

Asset-based social welfare programs focus on helping low- to moderate-income citizens to accumulate wealth in the form of homeownership, savings, small businesses, and higher education. Individual development accounts, savings accounts in which account holders’ deposits are matched, are a vehicle often used in these programs. In a national demonstration of individual development accounts for children (children's savings accounts), low-income youth were interviewed to learn what helped them to save and what made it difficult to save. We describe the young people's perceptions of these factors, and conclude with implications for policy and program design.     

Commodified language in Chinatown: A contextualized approach to linguistic landscape1

In Washington DC's newly gentrified Chinatown, recent commercial establishments, primarily non‐Chinese owned chains, use Chinese‐language signs as design features targeted towards people who neither read nor have ethnic ties to Chinese. Using this neighborhood as a case study, we advocate a contextualized, historicized and spatialized perspective on linguistic landscape which highlights that landscapes are not simply physical spaces but are instead ideologically charged constructions. Drawing from cultural geography and urban studies, we analyze how written language interacts with other features of the built environment to construct commodified urban places. Taking a contextually informed, qualitative approach, we link micro‐level analysis of individual Chinese‐language signs to the specific local socio‐geographic processes of spatial commodification. Such a qualitative approach to linguistic landscape, which emphasizes the importance of sociohistorical context, and which includes analysis of signage use, function, and history, leads to a greater understanding of the larger sociopolitical meanings of linguistic landscapes.     

C2C市场上消费者从众决策研究——基于面板数据模型

电子商务市场蓬勃发展的同时,也存在严重的信息不对称现象,给消费者带来极大的购物风险。文章基于信息不对称理论,利用淘宝网交易数据对 C2C 市场上消费者的从众决策行为进行研究。研究发现 C2C 市场上店铺的日销量在店铺间存在二八分布的特征,说明网络消费者在购买商品时有从众行为。基于面板模型对店铺市场份额的研究表明,店铺历史销量信息对消费者选择店铺的决策有显著正向影响,而店铺信用对消费者决策的影响并不显著。因此,建议 C2C 交易平台增加退货量指标、动态销量图以及销量和价格的相互对应信息等,以促进消费者理性购物。     

“口”“ 嘴”上位化的过程和原因

殷商到春秋时期,"口"专指人的嘴.战国以后,在转喻机制的作用下,"口"发生跨域演变,西汉时已成为由于概念域融合而新产生的{口嘴}概念域的上位词."嘴"专指鸟嘴,产生于东汉,之后其义域不断扩大,使用频率逐渐提高,至唐代完成了上位化演变,到清末则取代了"口"的强势上位词地位."口"上位化的原因在于古今范畴化方式发生了变化,"嘴"的上位化则是语用、语义、字形变化等各种因素综合作用的结果.     

位移边界对2D-FGM板热应力影响研究

考虑不同的位移边界条件,建立了常物性2D-FGM板研究模型,并采用有限元法,得到其冷却瞬态热应力场分布图形。位移边界条件对常物性2D-FGM平面区域冷却瞬态热应力分布影响颇大,在简支和一端固定情况下,2D-FGM板自由边界上的热应力σ_x=0;两端固定情况下,其左右两边界均形成上中下三个应力聚集,应力分布形状和数值都发生了巨大的变化;将四周均设置呈固定约束后,热应力数值增长幅度较两端固定情况时更为明显。此结果为该材料的设计、制备提供了准确的理论计算依据。     

京津冀协同发展背景下二语学习者语际语用能力提升策略研究

京津冀协同发展是近期华北地区的一个重要特点,这就意味着对科技人才的素质有了新的要求,对科技人才二语语际语用能力的要求也大大提高,而河北省大学生二语学习过程中的语际语用能力相对薄弱,缺乏竞争力;本文通过对在校大学生的语言策略培训,创造真实语言环境,改变传统课堂模式和教学内容,充分发挥学习者的潜力,提高语言应用能力和跨文化交际的能力,因而增强学习者的综合竞争力,以满足新的经济发展情况下对人才素质的要求。     

Seclusion,decision-making power,and gender disparities in adult health: Examining hypertension in India

Research on the social determinants of health in developing countries is increasingly focusing on the importance of gender. Cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension are a growing concern in developing countries, where they are now the leading cause of death. Researchers have documented differences in hypertension between men and women, but the importance of gendered practices in shaping these differences has been left unexamined. Using national data from the India Human Development Survey 2005 (N = 101,593), this study assesses the moderating role of two salient and widespread gendered practices—women’s seclusion and decision-making power—on hypertension disparities between women and men. Both seclusion and low decision-making power are associated with increased odds of hypertension for women, but in the case of seclusion reduced hypertension for men. Results also show the gender gap in hypertension is exacerbated with women’s seclusion and low decision-making power.