The birth and development of the language of global development in light of trends in global population,international politics,economics and globalisation

The 1940s saw an intensification of worldwide interest in the problems of development and underdevelopment. One consequence of this was a rapid evolution of the language of global development. The reconstruction of its genesis is most commonly attempted through the analysis of literature on the subject and accounts by those who took part in or observed the debates of the time concerning the world’s development and structure. This article proposes a different approach which locates important events in the evolution of the modern language of global development on timelines tracing populational, political, socio-economic and civilisational processes.     

Culture in the post-2015 development agenda: the anatomy of an international mobilisation

Throughout 2012–15 several actors were advocating that culture be explicitly integrated within the post-2015 UN development agenda. My article offers an anatomy of the recent international mobilisation in order to understand the cleavages and the contrasting visions. In doing so, it seeks to analyse the policy process through which the agenda is made, why and how a critical mass of actors is attempting to embrace the inclusion of culture in the post-2015 agenda and the political reactions vis-à-vis this mobilisation. The article argues, on the one hand, that the promotion of culture in the post-2015 agenda is largely based on UNESCO’s will to advance its policy agenda and enhance its position within the UN system and, on the other hand, that this mobilisation lacks political support from the most influential governments; therefore its chances of success are more than contingent.     

Deconstructing invisibility: race and politics of visual culture in Brazil

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss race relations and power-building in Brazil. It is well known that the Iberian colonizers developed special ways of imposing their supremacy, dissimulating the skin color standards to provoke some type of beliefs about shade stratification among African descendents, indigenous and mixed-race people. For the first time in South America there are deconstructive projects of that colonial paradigm still alive and strongly embedded in the media landscape. However, new identity politics and attitudes have been emerging amidst this old social cognition. This paper will discuss some speculative thoughts and power-building scenarios on new representations and struggles derived from these lived forms that are emerging in the new racial formations in Latin America. The question is: what will nation-building in the midst of this changing imagery be like? This paper proposes that a civic pedagogy is the only answer to rendering this phenomenon visible.     

African diasporas,development and the politics of context

This article seeks to add to the debate on the role of diasporas in development outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa by considering why diasporas are not apparently as effective as development agents in an African setting as they have proven thus far in other regions. It argues that changing diasporic engagement and activities on the continent should be examined against the backdrop of the emergence of a ‘liberalisation from below’ which emphasises local ownership of development outcomes, the historical variety of African state forms and the continuities in the exercise of power and the nature of these states. In so doing, it brings into focus the ongoing transformation in state–society relations whereby the dependence—of elites and ordinary citizens alike—on external resources continues to deepen, and the importance of this context in drawing any conclusions about the role of diasporas as agents of transformation.     

State formation,development, and the politics of self-help in Kenya

Issues of rural development, state formation, and political effectiveness are of paramount importance in Africa today. Analysis of Kenya's Harambee self-help approach to development contributes to our understanding of these issues by clarifying not only the ways in which political and economic concerns are linked in one African nation in a hierarchy based on a patrimonial model of political behavior but also some facets of elite behavior and peasant-state relationships. This paper argues that self-help is central to Kenyan politics and hence to the operation of this model of political behavior, serving the interests and needs of both Kenyan elites and rural communities. Through their self-help projects rural Kenyans neither reject the state retreating into the economy of affection nor permit elites exclusive access to the benefits of both public and private resources. Rather, using elite networks to gain support for self-help projects, residents of rural communities improve their access to highly valued collective goods. These processes are currently being modified in some important ways by the Moi government.     

Chapter 2. Mental Health in the Hispanic Immigrant Community

Abstract

This chapter addresses the mental health status of Hispanics in the United States. The prevalence and incidence of mental health disorders among different Hispanic ethnic subgroups is examined. Patterns of mental health services utilization and barriers to mental health care are also reviewed. Research specific to best mental health practices with Hispanics is stressed.     

State,identity, and the politics of music: Eurovision and nation-building in Azerbaijan

Albeit often – and fairly – degraded in the world of high culture as a populist and politicized representation of music, the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) – by sheer virtue of the populist and politicized nature of its essence – stands among the most consequential cultural encounters to which post-independence Azerbaijan has been exposed, in that the extent to which Baku's victory in the ESC-2011 – and the further developments this victory has generated – can potentially impact on, and contribute to, the very process of nation-building and national identity formation, with which this post-Soviet Muslim-majority country is currently struggling, is unparalleled by any of the state's earlier encounters of the kind. This paper focuses on, and examines, four intimately related ways in which the ESC and Azerbaijan's successful involvement with the latter worked to interfere with the country's nation-building: as a dubious factor in the evolution of the Western sense of self among Azerbaijanis; as a unifying force within the structure of the country's rapidly maturing civil society; as a medium working to open up a channel through which Western popular cultural elements could interfere with the evolving dynamics of, and work to globalize, indeed de-endogenize, indigenous Azerbaijani culture, on one hand, and unify the discursive realm within which the country's cultural domain is to further evolve, on the other; and, finally, as an important element serving to decouple the evolving processes within the country's cultural domain from the unfolding dynamics of conflict settlement and hence conducive to the diversification of public discourse in Azerbaijan.     

Culture,community-oriented learning and the post-2015 development agenda: a view from Laos

This article critically interrogates current policy-sector approaches to culturally sensitive development and the manner in which culture has been conceptualised within the post-2015 development agenda-setting process. By providing a brief interpretive summary of academic debates surrounding culture and development, an analysis of how ‘culturally sensitive’ practices have been pursued within the policy sector, and an examination of the insufficient consideration given to culturally sensitive development within post-2015 agenda setting, I argue that much uncertainty remains around how to translate complex academic understandings of culture and development into policy responses. Following this, I provide one case study drawn from the small, low-income country of Laos to suggest possibilities as to how culturally sensitive development may be better conceptualised and implemented within a post-2015 global development era.     

Dangerised youth: the politics of security and development in Timor-Leste

International organisations, the national government and civil society alike have identified youth as a potential threat to the stability of the young state of Timor-Leste over the last decade. In this article, I ask how these actors define the danger of youth and what reasons they identify for the potential threat of young citizens for the society and state. Guided by a theoretical framework of Critical Security and Development Studies, I argue that while political manipulation as reason for youth violence was a prominent part of the security discourse in the years after the crisis in 2006, the discourse on the danger of youth in very recent international and national documents has been depoliticised. Despite decreasing numbers of youth-related violence, the threat construction has not vanished; rather, the language on youth has been adapted to the existing international discourse on violent youth as a threat to successful development. In this way, international and national actors have sustained the image of a society in need of management.     

Psychological Distress,Formal Help-Seeking Behavior,and the Role of Victim Services Among Violent Crime Victims

Using data from the 2015 National Crime Victimization Survey, this research explores the characteristics related to psychological distress and formal help-seeking behavior among victims of violent crime. Logistic regression analyses indicate that psychological distress symptoms vary by victim and offense characteristics. As anticipated, for example, the odds of a victim of sexual assault reporting the highest level of psychological distress are 5.88 times higher than are the odds of simple assault victims. However, when looking at subsequent formal help-seeking behavior for psychological distress, sexual assault victims do not seek formal help for their distress more than victims of other violent crimes. The analyses reveal that only gender and disability consistently predict high psychological distress and formal help-seeking behavior. Contact with a victim service agency was shown to be a powerful predictor of formal help-seeking behavior, though the analyses illustrated that victims most in need of intervention are not always the ones who receive it. In fact, only 23% of victims sought formal help for their psychological distress. This study sheds additional light on the issue of psychological distress and the limited formal help-seeking behavior of violent crime victims, while illustrating characteristics predictive of formal help-seeking, such as intervention through victim services.     

Academia and the Legitimising of International Politics: studies of democratisation and world politics

This article aims to highlight the connection between academic studies and international politics and to provide an academic justification of foreign policies with particular reference to the case of democratisation studies. It embodies a two-way relationship. On the one hand, the conjunctures of international politics influence the nature of academic studies in the discipline of Political Science; on the other hand, academic studies may sometimes be employed as sources of legitimisation of the foreign policies of states. The article discusses these connections, providing particular examples of academic studies of the democratisation process during the Cold War and the post-cold war era.     

A global partnership for development and other unfulfilled promises of the millennium project

This article revisits the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (mdgs) set in 2000, timely now because policy makers are currently making plans for the period after 2015. After laying out a critical analysis of the mdgs, the article focuses on Millennium Goal 8, the global partnership for development. The argument made is that the absence of any goal to reset the asymmetrical power relations between the North and the South reveals the limitations of the endeavour. The pharmaceutical industry is discussed in detail because mdg8/Target 6 deals with access to affordable, essential drugs in developing countries. This target seems emblematic of a problem found throughout the millennium project: the unaddressed need for real economic development. Target 6 exemplifies both North–South and public–private conflicts of interest, which are carefully hidden in official documents behind the euphemism of ‘partnership’, as if countries of such unequal power could be partners.     

Chapter 6. Psychosocial Stressors,Psychiatric Diagnoses and Utilization of Mental Health Services Among Undocumented Immigrant Latinos

Abstract

The combined effects of minority status, specific ethnic group experiences (political, economic, trauma and immigration history), poverty, and illegal status pose a set of unique psychiatric risks for undocumented Latinos in the United States. Restrictive legislation and policy measures have limited access to health care, and other basic human services to undocumented immigrants and their children throughout the nation. However, little is known about the patterns of mental health care use, psychiatric diagnoses and psychosocial problems prevalent among the undocumented who do succeed in presenting to clinical settings and to the mental health sector. To begin to address the need for further understanding in this area, we completed a clinical chart review of 197 outpatient adult psychiatric charts in a Latino mental health outpatient treatment program located in an urban hospital system.

We compared the diagnoses and mental health care use of undocumented Latino immigrants (15%) with that of documented (73%) and US born Latinos (12%) treated in this clinical setting. The undocumented Latinos in our study were more likely to have a diagnosis of anxiety, adjustment and alcohol abuse disorders. The undocumented also had a significantly greater mean number of concurrent psychosocial stressors (mean number = 5, p < .001) ascompared to documented immigrants and US born groups, which both had a mean number of 3 stressors identified at evaluation. The undocumented were more likely to have psychosocial problems related to occupation, access to healthcare and the legal system. However, the undocumented had a lower mean number of total mental health appointments attended (mean visits = 4.3, p < .001) in which to address these stressors as compared to documented immigrants (mean visits = 7.9) and US born (mean visits = 13.3). In terms of other previous mental health service use, the undocumented group had lower rates of lifetime inpatient and outpatient treatment use.

The results of this study suggest the importance of early assessment of psychosocial stressors, substance use and barriers to care when treating undocumented immigrants. Although all Latino groups included in this investigation demonstrated numerable concurrent stressors, our investigation highlights the particular importance of accessible social services and supports for addressing psychosocial stressors in the lives of undocumented patients. Our results stress the importance of reexamining policies, that restrict access to social services and healthcare for the undocumented. Our results also suggest the importance of culturally appropriate evaluation and treatment of substance abuse disorders as well as addressing other psychological and behavioral responses to multiple stressors among undocumented individuals.     

An Examination of Mental Health and Psychiatric Care among Older Prisoners in the United States

Despite that prisons in the United States (and other high-income countries) have witnessed an increase in the proportion of older inmates, and that prison populations exhibit high rates of psychiatric illness, there is limited knowledge on the nature of older inmates’ psychological health and use/provision of psychiatric care. The present study addresses these gaps, analyzing a nationally representative sample of 1,907 male and female older inmates (age range = 50–84 years; M = 56) housed in U.S. state and federal prisons. The results highlight: (a) the prevalence of psychological issues among older prisoners; (b) factors associated with certain mental disorders and symptoms of mental health issues; (c) the prevalence of psychiatric treatment before and during imprisonment for those with (and without) reported psychological health issues; (d) similarities and differences between male and female older inmates in relation to psychological health, factors associated with psychological issues, and the use/provision of psychiatric care. Discussion points toward recommendations for managing inmate mental health, as well as direction for further research on older inmate mental health and psychiatric care.     

Refugees Who Have Experienced Extreme Cruelty: A Qualitative Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing after Being Granted Leave to Remain in the UK

Abstract

This study explores how vulnerable refugees’ experiences in the first year after being granted leave to remain in the UK impact on mental health and wellbeing. Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with refugee survivors of extreme cruelty. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis with a narrative influence. Reported challenges included requirements to organize housing, finances and welfare benefits rapidly. Most respondents reported low mood, worry, exacerbated PTSD symptoms, physical ailments and isolation, but valued stable housing, meaningful activities, emotional support and service provider sensitivity in managing this transition. Policy and service recommendations are made, to assist integration and improve wellbeing.     

Ethnicity,Language Capacity,and Perception of Ethnic-Specific Services Agencies in Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities

Abstract

This study examined (1) the ethnicity and language similarity between professional staff and service users, and (2) client satisfaction in ethnic-specific services (ESS) agencies serving Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). A combined method of agency survey and focus groups was used to collect the data. Findings indicate that ESS served a diverse AAPI population, although some ethnic and language sub-groups remain to be under served. Service users clearly prefer ESS, which is associated with a higher level of trust than mainstream services. However, staff simply sharing similar language or ethnic background does not automatically warrant trust. Trust is developed through a sense of respect that staff demonstrates within a cultural context. The feeling of trust is likely to determine AAPI clients' commitment to remain in treatment, a prior condition for achieving any desirable outcome.