Lives in limbo: Temporary Protected Status and immigrant identities

The United States formulates much of its immigration and refugee policy to match economic and political circumstances. We interpret these policy shifts as a set of graduated positions on immigration and refugee flows that attempts to discipline the lives of newcomers and, in so doing, shapes immigrant identities. In this article, we analyse the interplay between the US government and Salvadoran asylum applicants negotiating procedures that grant only temporary relief from deportation via the policy of Temporary Protected Status (TPS). We find that each policy shift results in the strategic renegotiation of asylum applicants’ identities so as to achieve the best opportunity for a successful outcome. Based on Foucault’s ideas of governmentality and Ong’s concept of flexible citizenship, we argue that what appears more superficially as a patchwork strategy of immigration laws and asylum practices may be theorized more deeply as a set of flexible responses by the state that turn on identity construction at different scales, and that aim to mediate transnational relations.     

The Impact of Cultural Events on Community Reputation and Pride in Maribor,The European Capital of Culture 2012

Social Indicators Research - This paper examines the cultural and social impacts of the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) on the case of the Slovenian city Maribor, the cultural capital of Europe...     

Regional Differences in the Gender Wage Gap in Spain

This study examines regional differences in the gender wage gap in Spain using matched employer–employee microdata, two different econometric decomposition methods and panel data techniques. Our findings suggest that Spain shows a significant regional heterogeneity in the size of the raw gap, roughly comparable to cross-country differences observed in the European context. The results from the decomposition analysis show that although the bulk of the gender wage gap in Spanish regions is due to differences in the endowments of productive characteristics between males and females there is still a substantial part of the gap that remains unexplained. The analysis of the causes behind the variation of both, the raw and the unexplained gender wage gap by region highlights that several economic, institutional and demographic elements identified in previous studies analysing international differences in the gender wage gap are also relevant to explain regional differences in the gender wage gap in Spain.     

Citizenship rights for immigrants: national political processes and cross-national convergence in western Europe, 1980-2008

Immigrant citizenship rights in the nation-state reference both theories of cross-national convergence and the resilience of national political processes. This article investigates European countries' attribution of rights to immigrants: Have these rights become more inclusive and more similar across countries? Are they affected by EU membership, the role of the judiciary, the party in power, the size of the immigrant electorate, or pressure exerted by anti-immigrant parties? Original data on 10 European countries, 1980-2008, reveal no evidence for cross-national convergence. Rights tended to become more inclusive until 2002, but stagnated afterward. Electoral changes drive these trends: growth of the immigrant electorate led to expansion, but countermobilization by right-wing parties slowed or reversed liberalizations. These electoral mechanisms are in turn shaped by long-standing policy traditions, leading to strong path dependence and the reproduction of preexisting cross-national differences.     

Long‐Term Effects of Language Course Timing on Language Acquisition and Social Contacts: Turkish and Moroccan Immigrants in Western Europe

This article investigates long‐term effects of the timing of language course participation among immigrants, focusing on self‐assessed immigration country language skills and interethnic social contacts among immigrants from Turkey and Morocco who came to Western Europe mainly during the guest worker period. Data stem from the 2008 Six Country Immigrant Integration Comparative Survey. We find a positive, long‐term impact of course participation in the first four years after immigration on language skills and social contacts. Results support linguistic theories on the benefits of early language instruction and sociopsychological theories on long‐term effects of (even short) social belonging interventions on participants' perseverance in achieving educational success.     

An environmental life cycle optimization model for the European pulp and paper industry

Will paper recycling reduce the environmental impact of the European pulp and paper sector? If so, is maximal paper recycling the best policy to optimize the life cycle of the pulp and paper sector? We explore these questions using an approach that combines materials accounting methods and optimization techniques. Environmental impact data are inputs for a linear programming network flow model to find optimal configurations for the sector. These configurations consist of a mix of different pulping technologies, a geographical distribution of pulp and paper production, and a level of recycling consistent with the lowest environmental impacts. We use the model to analyse scenarios with different recycling strategies. Recycling offers a reduction in environmental impact in regions with a high population and a large production of paper and board products. Regions with a large production of graphic products should focus on cleaner virgin pulp production with energy recovery. We conclude that relocation of paper production also offers a reduction in environmental impact. However, the severe effects on the economy make this policy less attractive than a combination of recycling, cleaner pulp production and energy recovery.     

The emergence of thanatology and current practice in death education

Thanatology is a recent field that contemplates death studies and employs an interdisciplinary approach to practice. This science emerged in a historical context marked by intense social, economic, and political changes that contributed to the concept of death being excluded from social life. This literature review aims to outline the history and evolution ofthanatology in Western society, delineating the contextual circumstances that led to its origin and drawing special attention to current works on death education. In our post-modern society, the call for studies in the field of thanatology appears to be increasing. However, although there have been significant contributions and promising research is underway, there are still many questions to be answered.     

The growing divide: the marginalisation of young Roma children in Bulgaria

This article evaluates how evolving social policies for very young children and their families affect the marginalisation of Roma children from mainstream Bulgarian society. The Roma (or 'gypsies') have long been ostracised by various societies and since the fall of communism in 1989 have become increasingly vulnerable to income poverty and social exclusion. The exclusion of Roma threatens Bulgaria's economic and political growth because the Roma constitute an increasing proportion of the population. The article compares the effects of current child and family policies on modifying the social and economic differences between very young Roma children under the age of three and those of majority Bulgarian children. It demonstrates how both universal social policies directed at helping all children and policies targeted on helping the most deprived children in a population, can, because of previous employment and other factors, further marginalise the most disadvantaged children in a population.     

Applying the Haddon Matrix to evaluate sexual assault interventions on college campuses

Abstract

Objective: A Haddon Matrix analysis was used to systematically review literature evaluating college campus sexual assault prevention programs to identify research gaps and intervention opportunities. Methods: Articles included were published from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2017; indexed in PubMed, PsycInfo, or Scopus; involving English-speaking undergraduate students in the US; with experimental or quasi-experimental design. Results: All 31 eligible studies evaluated educational programing; all relied on self-report measures; and three-quarters had follow-up periods ≤ 6?months. Significant positive effects were reported by 6 of 10 studies that measured bystander behavior, 6 of 10 that educated potential victims and assessed victimization, and one of four that educated potential perpetrators and measured perpetration. Conclusion: The Haddon Matrix analysis identified the need for interventions that address perpetrators and the post-assault period, as well as studies of the impact of enforcing existing policies and new environmental and situational approaches to sexual assault prevention.