Housing vouchers in the United States,great Britain,and the Netherlands: Current issues and future perspectives

Abstract

We compare the current U.S. housing voucher program with the British housing benefit and the Dutch housing allowance programs. After presenting the theory behind income‐related housing support, which underpins both the U.S. and European systems, we compare the three programs with respect to their scope (the budgeted versus the entitlement approach), the relationship between housing support and rent levels, the poverty trap, moral hazards, and administrative problems.

The United States can learn from Great Britain and the Netherlands that a full entitlement program can best promote equity, but given the present political and economic climate, it is unlikely that Congress will adopt such a program anytime soon. Great Britain and the Netherlands can learn from the United States how to design a more efficient tenant subsidy program, one that provides incentives to find less expensive units and promotes family self‐sufficiency through enhanced job‐seeking behavior.     

Reviews

Ideology and Development in Africa by Crawford Young Yale University Press, New Haven (Connecticut), 1982. xviii plus 376 pp. including tables, notes and index. R62,57. R23,35 paperback.

Essays on the Political Economy of Rural Africa by Robert H. Bates Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1983. xiii plus 184 pp. including tables, notes and index. R40,95.

Political Development Theory: The Contemporary Debate by Richard A. Higgott Croom Helm, London, 1983. xvi plus 124 pp. including index. £6,95 paperback.

Decolonization: The Administration and Future of the Colonies, 1919–1960 by Rudolf von Albertini Holmes and Meier, Inc., New York, 1982 (reprint), xxx plus 680 pp. including notes, bibliography and index. $ 37,50. $19,50 paperback.

Foreign Policy‐Making in Developing States: A Comparative Approach edited by Christopher Clapham Saxon House, Westmead, 1977. x plus 184 pp. including tables, maps, bibliography and index. R45,8o.

The Politics of Basic Needs: Urban Aspects of Assaulting Poverty in Africa by Richard Sandbrook Heinemann, London, 1982. vi plus 250 pp. including tables, notes and index. £5,95 paperback.

Redistribution of Population in Africa edited by John I. Clarke and Leszek A. Kosiński Heinemann, London, 1982. xii plus 212 pp. including tables, figures, maps, index of names and subject index. £7,50 paperback.

Oral Historiography by David Henige Longman, London, 1982. x plus 150 pp. including notes, bibliography and index. £3,95 paperback.

Nigeria von der völkerrechtlichen Unabhangigkeit zur zweiten Republik: Analyse und Dokumentation by Joseph Lütke Entrup Verlag Hans Richarz, Sankt Augustin, 1981. 243 pp. including appendices and bibliography. DM29,80.

Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism: The Case of Sayyid Mahammad ‘Abdille Hasan by Said S. Samatar Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1982. xii plus 232 pp. including illustrations, figures, tables, notes, bibliography and index. R52,50.

Tom Mboya: The Man Kenya Wanted to Forget by David Goldsworthy Heinemann, London, 1982. xii plus 308 pp. including appendix and index. R30,80.

Development Policies and Approaches in Southern Africa edited by D. A. Kotzé Academica, Pretoria, 1983, 147 pp. including bibliography and index. R16,50.

Das südliche Afrika — I: Republik Südafrika‐Swasiland‐Lesotho by Ernst Klimm, Karl‐Günther Schneider and Bernd Wiese Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1980. 307 pp. including maps, tables, graphs and index. Also annexure of photographs. DM84,00.

Die Städte des südlichen Afrika by Karl‐Gunther Schneider and Bernd Wiese, Bornträger, Berlin and Stuttgart, 1983. 175 pp. including maps, tables, figures, graphs, photographs and index. DM98,00.

Südafrika: Fakten und Probleme by Karl‐Gunther Schneider and Bernd Wiese Seewald, Stuttgart, 1983. 187 pp. including maps, tables, figures, graphs, photographs and index. DM24,00.

Verkehrsgeographische Strukturwandlungen im südlichen Afrika, 1975–1980 by Joachim Jeske Institut für Afrika‐Kunde, Hamburg, 1981. 256 pp. including maps, tables and figures. DM22,00.

Malawi: Geographie eines unterentwickelten Landes by Cay Lienau Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1981. 243 pp. including maps, tables, graphs and index. Also annexure of photographs. DM89,00.

Kaunda on Violence by Kenneth D. Kaunda and edited by Colin M. Morris Willia m Collins, London, 1980. 184 pp. R6,95 paperback.

Under the Skin: The Death of White Rhodesia by David Caute Allen Lane, London, 1983. 447 pp. including maps and chronology. £14,95.

Race and Ethnicity: South African and International Perspectives edited by Hendrik W. van der Merwe and Robert A. Schrire, David Philip, Cape Town, 1980. 237 pp. including notes and index. R9,00 paperback.

South Africa in the World Economy edited by Jacqueline Matthews McGraw‐Hill, Johannesburg, 1983. xi plus 271pp. including index. R23,50.

Black Politics in South Africa since 1945 by Tom Lodge Ravan Press, Johannesburg, 1983. x plus 389 pp. including figures, notes, sources and index. R 14,95 paperback.

Which Way is South Africa Going? by Gwendolen M. Carter Indiana University Press, Bloomington (Indiana), and London, 1980. xii plus 162 pp. including maps, bibliographical notes and index. $12,95.

The God of the Xhosa: A Study of the Origins and Development of the Traditional Concepts of the Supreme Being by Janet Hodgson Oxford University Press, Cape Town, 1982. xiv plus 131 pp. including appendices, bibliography and index. R9,75 paperback.

Black People and the South African War, 1899–1902 by Peter Warwick Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1983. xiv plus 226 pp. including maps, tables, notes, select bibliography and index. R52,25.

Afrikaner Political Thought: Analysis and Documents — Volume I: 1780–1850 by André du Ton and Hermann Giliomee David Philip, Cape Town and Johannesburg, 1983. xxx plus 309 pp. including notes and index. R36,oo. R 18,00 paperback.     

Comparing Known and Reconstructed Circumstances of Death Involving a Blunt Force Trauma Mechanism through a Retrospective Analysis of 21 Skeletonized Individuals

Little is known about to what extent the events surrounding death can be reliably reconstructed from blunt force trauma analysis alone. In this study, we reconstruct circumstances of death from a blind blunt force trauma analysis using a sample of 21 individuals of known death circumstances, obtained from two identified skeletal collections in Portugal. Fresh versus dry bone trauma and probable mechanism of fracture production were identified. The overall pattern of injuries was then used to reconstruct the most likely circumstances of death. Results show an agreement between the proposed and the reported circumstances for 13 individuals (68.4%), disagreement for 3 (15.8%), and similarity in 3 cases (15.8%). Although the significant amount of agreement highlights the potential of trauma analysis, the cases with disagreement draw attention to the pitfalls and shortcomings of attempting to reconstruct the death circumstances from skeletal trauma analysis alone.     

A Reappraisal of Developing Permanent Tooth Length as an Estimate of Age in Human Immature Skeletal Remains

This study expands on existing juvenile age prediction models from tooth length by increasing sample size and using classical calibration. A sample of 178 individuals from two European known sex and age skeletal samples was used to calculate prediction formulae for each tooth for each sex separately and combined. Prediction errors, residuals, and percentage of individuals whose real age fell within the 95% prediction interval were calculated. An ANCOVA was used to test sex and sample differences. Tooth length for age does not differ between the samples except for the canine and second premolar, and no statistically significant sex differences were detected. The least prediction error was found in the incisors and the first molar, and the highest prediction error was found in the third molar. Age prediction formulae provided here can be easily used in a variety of contexts where tooth length is measured from any isolated tooth.     

Assisting the Courts in Understanding and Connecting with Experiences of Disconnection: Addressing Trauma-Related Dissociation as a Forensic Psychologist,Part I

Although trauma-related dissociation (TRD) is a common reaction to trauma often associated with significant impairment and prognoses that necessitate extended treatment, few assessors are knowledgeable about dissociation, its assessment, and methods for presenting information about it to courts in a way that is evidence-based yet understandable. This paper is the first part of a two-part series that aims to expand forensic assessors’ knowledge about TRD and enhance their ability to assess and present information about dissociation. This article provides overviews of research about dissociation and offers suggestions on how expert witnesses can assist counsel and courts in understanding dissociative reactions and their importance in personal injury cases. Specifically, we define dissociation; discuss the links between trauma, dissociation, and posttraumatic stress disorder; briefly review neurobiological findings related to dissociation; describe dissociative-related impairment and treatment; review challenges that can interfere with accepting and understanding dissociative symptoms; and suggest methods for helping counsel and courts accurately understand and consider TRD in assessing cases and deciding their outcomes.     

Trauma-Related Dissociation Is No Fantasy: Addressing the Errors of Omission and Commission in Merckelbach and Patihis (2018)

Dissociation is commonly a response to trauma that can be associated with significant impairment. In order to deal with dissociation in court from a comprehensive, scientifically informed, and valid perspective, Brand, Schielke, and Brams (Psychological Injury and Law, 10, 283-297, 2017a, b) provided a balanced view of dissociation, its characteristics, evidence base, and best assessment practices. Without an approach such as this, forensic experts risk having insufficient knowledge in its causation, phenomenology, and assessment and accordingly misunderstand trauma-related dissociation (TRD). Brand et al. (Psychological Injury and Law, 10, 283-297, 2017a, b) addressed this issue by providing an overview of TRD relevant to forensic contexts, acknowledging some of the erroneous and misinformed approaches to the topic. Merckelbach and Patihis (2018) offered a critique of Brand et al. (Psychological Injury and Law, 10, 283-297, 2017a, b) that illustrated this lack of knowledge and misunderstanding about TRD. Many of the statements made by these authors are conceptually inaccurate or scientifically misinformed. As we show, they were incorrect when they stated that research is lacking about the inter-rater reliability of dissociative disorder (DD) diagnoses. They were unaware of the error rates of tests and interviews among dissociative samples, which we present here. Merckelbach and Patihis challenged Brand et al., arguing their methods and literature review “lacked a connectivity to existing science” (p. 3), despite extensive citations of studies with DD patients. They argued that we failed to adequately consider malingering despite our discussions of empirically supported methods for assessing it. We show that Merckelbach and Patihis overlooked research that does not support their views. As we review their comments, we illustrate their pattern of misreading and misunderstanding our papers, as well as lapses in their reasoning. The current paper reinforces that in the forensic context, experts can acquire adequate understanding of TRD and its evidence base, and put forward arguments against any harsh critique of the area that is uninformed about, misunderstands, or includes omissions and errors in critical conceptualization, state-of-the-art assessment practices, and research methodology and results.     

Private extension-service provision for smallholder horticultural producers in Kenya: an approach

An approach to establishing improved private extension-service provision for smallholder horticultural producers in Kenya was developed between 2003 and 2005 by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology and Natural Resources Institute in the UK, in collaboration with EurepGAP FoodPLUS GmbH and the House of Quality–South Africa, international NGOs, export companies, and out-grower farmer groups. The approach focused on good agricultural practices, food safety, EU regulations on maximum pesticide-residue limits, and the EurepGAP Standard. The approach is not a blueprint, but the lessons learned are applicable to similar smallholder production systems in other African countries.     

Working Across Difference: Theory,Practice and Experience

Back in October 2015 I had the opportunity to chair the book launch for all three works discussed in this review essay. At the event, Shirley Anne Tate said, “Black feminist theory is the theory”. The comment referred to how it is not ‘just’ that Black feminist theory is typically marginalised within institutional contexts and academic scholarship, ‘even’ within critical, feminist and poststructural work, but also to highlight the capacity of Black feminist scholarship to unpick and destabilise the known and knowable in ways that are profoundly ontological, and which offer potential routes to meaningful social change through the hard task of working across difference. The three books reviewed here by Shirley Anne Tate, Suryia Nayak and Shona Hunter are theoretically rich and complex in breadth, scope and range, drawing on extensive Black feminist scholarship, as well as critical race, critical feminist, psychosocial, psychoanalytic, postcolonial, decolonial and poststructural approaches. Each book is embedded in everyday practices and social processes, offering multi-layered movement across different spatial-social and affective scales in ways that allow ‘big’ insights to emerge from the locatedness and particularity of human experience. They are reviewed in turn and some concluding comments identify important commonalities across the texts.