Village factionalism and class conflict in peasant communities

This article reviews the anthropological literature on the relationship between village factionalism and class conflict in peasant communities. The author also tries to develop a broader theoretical framework for analysing different types of social conflict in peasant communities. He argues that rural class structures must be more closely examined and that the anthropological approach to factionalism should be combined with the sociological study of the differential political behaviour of various kinds of peasants. A brief analysis of the political life of a rural Mexican municipio is also included as an illustration of such an approach.     

Model-based Clustering of Sequential Data with an Application to Contraceptive Use Dynamics

ABSTRACT

Multi-state models describe the transitions people experience as life unfolds. The transition probabilities depend on sex, age, and attributes of the person and the context. Empirical evidence suggests that attributes that cannot be measured directly may at most be inferred from a long list of observable characteristics. A cluster-based, discrete-time multi-state model is presented, where transition probabilities are estimated simultaneously for several subpopulations of a heterogeneous population. The subpopulations are not defined a priori but are determined on the basis of similarities in behavior in order to determine which women exhibit similar characteristics with respect to method choice, method switch, discontinuation and subsequent resumption of contraceptive use. The data are from the life history calendar based on the Brazilian Demographic and Health Survey 1996. The parameters of the model are estimated using the EM algorithm. Seven subpopulations with heterogeneous transition probabilities are identified.     

Religious differentials in infant and child mortality in Holland, 1855–1912

At least three kinds of hypothesis may be invoked to interpret religious differentials in mortality. They are (i) hypotheses that refer to characteristics, (ii) those that refer to lifestyle, and (iii) those that refer to the social isolation of minorities. This paper tests all three kinds of hypothesis using data on urban child mortality from The Hague just before and during the demographic transition. A hazard analysis suggests that economic and demographic characteristics do not account for much of the variation by religion. An analysis of seasonal mortality suggests that some of the variation may be explained by differences in lifestyle. The third kind of hypothesis is presented here for the first time. We suggest that the social isolation of small religious groups lowered their exposure to certain kinds of infectious disease. We use a simulation study to show that this hypothesis could account for part of the variation.     

Love,necessity and opportunity: Changing patterns of marital age homogamy in the Netherlands, 1850–1993

Abstract. This article examines long-term trends in the pattern of age homogamy among first marriages, using vital registration data on all first marriages contracted between 1850 and 1993 in the Netherlands. After discussing the main mechanisms that could account for trends in age differences, we show that age differences between spouses narrowed considerably between 1850 and 1970. After 1970 the trend becomes less clear-cut.