Trauma Events, Residence in Refugee Camps, and Educational Attainment as Predictors of Trauma Symptoms of Albanian Refugees in Macedonia

Adult members of 79 Albanian families who had fled from Kosovo to Macedonia during the immediate postwar period (June–August 1999) were interviewed. In conjunction with therapeutic intervention, the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) and the General Health Questionnaire (GTQ) were administered. Trauma symptoms as measured by the HTQ and psychological distress as measured by the GHQ were highly correlated. The best predictor of psychological distress was severity of the trauma experienced. Refugees with high educational attainment had fewer trauma symptoms than those with lower educational attainment. Refugees who lived with host families in towns showed fewer trauma symptoms than those who lived in camps, but they were also more highly educated. The results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses suggested that educational attainment may mediate the effect of place of residence. Educational attainment may be an indicator of resourceful and effective coping strategies that ameliorate the effects of trauma.     

Analyse biographique du travail féminin

Cet article montre comment l'application d'une méthode d'analyse biographique d'interaction à un domaine où l'interaction paraît évidente — activité féminine et fécondite — ouvre des perspectives nouvelles. En effet, les limites qui apparaissent lors de cette analyse conduisent les auteurs à conclure que ce n'est pas en raffinant les méthodes mais plutôt la collecte que l'on parviendra à progresser dans ce domaine. Le problème des interactions de l'activité et de la fécondité semble mal posé avant même le recours à la méthode. Cela justifie la nécessité de saisir le travail féminin comme concept unifié ne dissociant pas la sphère domestique et la sphère rémunérée. Cela conduit les auteurs à dégager quelques principes de collecte mieux adaptés aux préoccupations récentes dans ce domaine: des données biographiques sur le travail féminin. L'interaction collectée à sa source se prêterait alors à une analyse biographique plus révélatrice que celle qui confronte deux processus sans en évaluer les modalités changeantes.This article demonstrates how life event history analysis applied to the interaction between fertility and female economic activity can lead to new perspectives in the analysis of this complicated relationship. The authors identify limits to the analysis of the interaction given the anticipatory nature of behaviour. They conclude that progress in this field requires not the refinement of methods but rather a fundamental change in the approach to the data collected. If fertility and employment are considered separately, a problem is created even before the methods of analysis are applied. They recommend a conception of women's work as a whole, a conception that does not dissociate domestic and paid work. The authors go on to identify ways of improving the relevance of data collection to contemporary issues in the life history analysis of women's work. They argue that data on the interaction, collected at its source, would yield a more revealing life history than that which sees domestic work and paid work as separate spheres, and fails to take account of changes in their relationship.     

A Macro-Economic Framework for Evaluation of Cyber Security Risks Related to Protection of Intellectual Property

The article is based on the premise that, from a macro-economic viewpoint, cyber attacks with long-lasting effects are the most economically significant, and as a result require more attention than attacks with short-lasting effects that have historically been more represented in literature. In particular, the article deals with evaluation of cyber security risks related to one type of attack with long-lasting effects, namely, theft of intellectual property (IP) by foreign perpetrators. An International Consequence Analysis Framework is presented to determine (1) the potential macro-economic consequences of cyber attacks that result in stolen IP from companies in the United States, and (2) the likely sources of such attacks. The framework presented focuses on IP theft that enables foreign companies to make economic gains that would have otherwise benefited the U.S. economy. Initial results are presented.     

Distribution of exotic monk parakeets across an urban landscape

Monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) are the most abundant and widely distributed of the naturalized parrots in the United States. Their presence is simultaneously encouraged by some humans (through use of bird feeders) and discouraged by others (through removal of their nests) and, as a result, they show an interesting spatial distribution across urban areas. We used an online public survey and field surveys to examine the influence of human activities and land use on the distribution of this exotic species around Chicago, IL (USA). These efforts resulted in detection of 249 nesting structures and approximately 778 birds across the region. A CART analysis successfully separated nesting sites from random sites and correctly classified 90?% of the nesting sites. The most important factor in the model was land use, with nests typically found in areas with less than 84?% residential zoning. We found nests on a wide variety of substrates including trees, cell phone towers, and stadium lights. Spatial point pattern analysis indicated that nests in trees and nests in built substrates were significantly dissociated with each other at all scales. Nests on built substrates were closer to railroads and highways or in areas with lower human population density, suggesting either a difference in substrate availability or human tolerance between these settings. While humans may have a positive effect on distribution of monk parakeets at large spatial scales, at the scale of this study we see a potentially negative effect of too many humans on the distribution of monk parakeet nests.     

Gender,gambling settings and gambling behaviours among undergraduate poker players

A gender divide in gambling is commonly observed among college populations. This study examines whether settings where students gamble on poker mediate the relationship between gender and poker gambling behaviours. Undergraduate poker players, 126 females and 242 males, were randomly sampled from three universities in Montreal, Canada. Three outcomes measuring risky behaviours were considered: severity of gambling problems as measured by the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), past-year poker spending and past-year poker debt. Multiple mediation analyses were conducted. The effect of gender on outcomes was analysed through three putative mediators: gambling on poker in private residences, in public locations or on the Internet. Male gender positively relates to risky gambling behaviours and occurrence of gambling in various settings. Risky gambling behaviours are positively related to gambling in various settings. Overall, the occurrence of playing poker in public locations and on the Internet emerged as significant mediators in relation to PGSI score, past-year poker spending and past-year poker debt. Given the nature of the processes by which gender is related to risky gambling behaviours among undergraduate students, gambling needs to be understood through a perspective that focuses as much on contexts as it does on individuals.     

Utilization of Mixed Distributions in the Calculation of Polarization: The Case of Spain

Social Indicators Research - This study analyzes the evolution of salary polarization in the Spanish labor market. The paper proposes the use of mixed distributions to examine the consequences of...     

20 years of Bologna - a story of success,a story of failure

The Bologna Process is a unique harmonisation process taking place outside the policy-making framework of the European Union. It aims at enhancing the comparability and compatibility of higher education structures and degrees across Europe, as well as to institutionalise quality assurance mechanisms. The aim of this article is to provide a condensed, up-to-date overview of the Bologna Process with regard to structural characteristics, before embedding it into a discussion on processes on voluntary policy convergence and to which extent we should be able to find this kind of policy harmonisation in the realm of the Bologna Process. Related to this are questions why this, in principle, completely voluntary process of policy harmonisation, has appealed to so many countries and why they might or might not feel committed to the implementation of its policies and tools.