Spontaneously settled refugees in Northwestern Province,Zambia

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) commissioned researchers from the University of Zambia to conduct a socioeconomic survey and census of "spontaneously settled" Zairean and Angolan refugees in the Northwestern Province of Zambia in 1982. The sample consisted of 188 Angolans, 201 Zaireans, and 2 South Africans. The difficulties experienced by refugees in Northwestern Province in achieving integration were related to a combination of factors including the lack of a clear national policy on refugees and refugee status, a national concern for maintaining security, the popular belief that aliens are responsible for an increasing crime rate, the desire by immigration officials for stricter laws to control alien infiltration, conflict between traditional and modern leaders, and Zambia's deteriorating economic situation. In spite of the problems described, the integration of refugees into existing communities is a desirable goal and should be encouraged. One should not assume that self-settling refugees are able to live with ethnic kin, receive assistance and hospitality, and thus are better off than those in camps. The Zambian case provides ample evidence that integration is not easy even with kin support, shared ethnicity, language, and historical connections. Moreover, given the fact that Zambia will continue to receive refugees it is vital that there is a well defined refugee policy and an administrative mechanism for implementing that policy at all levels. This will be particularly important in Zambia as it will undoubtedly continue to receive large influxes of refugees, from countries such as Namibia, Uganda, Angola, Mozambique, and South Africa.     

Ethnomethodology and Marxism: Their use for critical theorizing

Conclusion Each theory and, ultimately, school of theorizing exposes and criticizes the theorizing of others, and at the same time contains false or misleading statements. Theory as it is must rest on some presuppositions. Thus, Marxism exposes the flaws and lies of capitalism while positing another world view-Marxism—which it does not treat critically. Marxism also provides a critique of positivistic thinking. In The Grundrisse, Marx engages in a dialogue with economists and philosophers of his day. His theory emerges out of the rejection of their theory. Ethnomethodology can be seen as critique of positivism, too. It can also tell us something about Marxism, as some of its concerns are similar, although the methods are dissimilar. At the same time, ethnomethodology denies us certain information about itself. Theorists, then, question others and not themselves. Theory can be seen as a product of inquiry; the theorist shows only the product and hides what made the product. Indeed, just as the statistician reveals a correlation between two variables and omits all the common sense reasoning that went into the process (a method of theorizing ethnomethodologists criticize), so does the ethnomethodologist or Marxist omit, to a great extent, the process of theorizing involved.Thus, while neither form of theorizing, taken literally, can be critical (for to be critical, one must sometimes suspend belief in one's own theory, bracket it, or see it as strange), either form, if taken metaphorically (and in a way that is unfaithful to Marxism and ethnomethodology), can be used for critique.The ethnomethodological and Marxist critiques of social information, as in their processual framework and their emphasis on the thinking individual, provide critiques of contemporary society and an impetus to try to change it. Links between the two schools of theorizing would perhaps help overcome the deficiencies of each mode of theorizing. Taylor, Walton, and Young advocated (although they never carried it out) building a bridge in criminology so to speak, between ethnomethodology and Marxism. The advantage would be to enable us to escape from the straitjacket of an economic determinism and the relativism of some subjective approaches to a theory of contradiction in a social structure which recognizes in deviance the acts of men (men and women) in the process of actively making, rather than passively taking, the external world.Our special thanks to Ishna Abrams, Igor Freund, and Peter Schwarzburg for their tireless assistance.     

Do the Privileged Always Win? Economic Consequences of Divorce by Income and Gender Groups

Social Indicators Research - The heterogeneous economic results of divorce have received limited attention. The current study analyzes such consequences from an intersectionality perspective, where...     

Stressful Life Events Across the Life Span and Insecure Attachment Following Combat Trauma

Attachment orientations are mostly considered to be stable interpersonal patterns. Still, a growing body of literature shows changes in attachment orientations following stressful and traumatic events. This study examined the implications of stressful life events (SLEs) throughout the life cycle in insecure attachment orientations (anxious attachment and avoidant attachment). The sample included 664 Israeli war veterans from the 1982 Lebanon War, of whom 363 suffered from acute combat stress reaction (CSR) on the battlefield, and 301 comprised a matched control group without antecedent CSR. The findings reveal a positive correlation between insecure attachment and both acute (CSR) and chronic (post-traumatic stress disorder) stress reactions. In addition, post-war SLEs were more powerful predictors of insecure attachment than other types of SLEs. Combat exposure, as well as pre-war SLEs in childhood and adulthood, made differential contributions to both types of insecure attachment orientations. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Career Engagement: Investigating Intraindividual Predictors of Weekly Fluctuations in Proactive Career Behaviors

This study applied a microlevel perspective on how within‐individual differences in motivational and social‐cognitive factors affected the weekly fluctuations of engagement in proactive career behaviors among a group of 67 German university students. Career self‐efficacy beliefs, perceived career barriers, experienced social career support, positive and negative emotions, and career engagement were assessed weekly for 13 consecutive weeks. Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that above average levels of career engagement within individuals were predicted by higher than average perceived social support and positive emotions during a given week. Conversely, within‐individual differences in self‐efficacy, barriers, and negative emotions had no effect. The results suggest that career interventions should provide boosts in social support and positive emotions.     

The measurement of diversity: Ethnic and socioeconomic mixing in residential areas

Units of observation such as census tracts continue to be analyzed according to various modal characteristics while the variation or diversity existent in such units is often ignored. The qualitative or nominal-level indicators of diversity are examined which (1) are operative in the polytomous situation, and (2) measure within-unit diversity rather than divergences among units. Six qualitative indicators are explained and compared both theoretically and by example, with the Index of Qualitative Variation suggested as the most appropriate measure of diversity when variables representing a nominal scale are used. Quantitative or interval-level diversity also was examined with six measures analyzed, representing three operational situations. Because of the susceptibilities of five of the quantitative measures to skewness and variable sample sizes, the coefficient of variation was recommended for interval-level variables to evaluate within-unit diversity.     

A Multi-Faceted Response to an Adolescent's School Failure*

A family-based, multi-system intervention is described as a response to three years of an adolescent's school failure. In a case study describing an unmotivated family, unmotivated school, and systems-oriented helpers, an intervention plan is developed that is directed toward improving the adolescent's school behavior and performance. Family therapy occurred concurrently with those interventions. A family-trained psycho educational consultant is employed to mediate between family and school to avoid disturbing the integrity of the therapists relationship with the family. Short-term effects of these procedures are described.     

The Lottery and Income Inequality in the States*

Objective. Since the early 1970s, income inequality in the United States has increased dramatically. We examine the impact of state lotteries on income inequality in the American states from 1976–1995. Methods. We use cross‐sectional time‐series data to evaluate the effect of lotteries as well as those of other state tax policies, redistributive programs, and demographic factors on income inequality. Results. We find that state lotteries foster income concentration. Ceteris paribus, states with lotteries have higher levels of income inequality than those states without a lottery. We also find that additional demographic and policy factors have an impact on income inequality in the states. Conclusions. One of the most important policy‐oriented determinants of income inequality is the lottery and a significant portion of the increase in income inequality over our two‐decade time period is attributable to the increasing prevalence and popularity of state lotteries.