Activity Involvement as an Ecological Asset: Profiles of Participation and Youth Outcomes

Prior research has demonstrated that participation in out-of-school time activities is associated with positive and healthy development among adolescents. However, fewer studies have examined how trajectories of participation across multiple activities can impact developmental outcomes. Using data from Wave 3 (approximately Grade 7) through Wave 8 (approximately Grade 12) of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, this study examined patterns of breadth in out-of-school time participation in activities and associated outcomes in positive youth development (PYD), Contribution to self and community, risk behaviors, and depressive symptoms. We assessed 927 students (on average across waves, 65.4 % female) from a relatively racially and ethnically homogeneous sample (about 74 % European American, across waves) with a mean age in Wave 3 of 12.98 years (SD = 0.52). The results indicated that high likelihood of participation in activities was consistently associated with fewer negative outcomes and higher scores on PYD and Contribution, as compared to low likelihood of participation in activities. Changes in the breadth of participation (in particular, moving from a high to a low likelihood of participation) were associated with increased substance use, depressive symptoms, and risk behaviors. Limitations of the current study, implications for future research, and applications to youth programs are discussed.     

Allocating Family Responsibilities for Dependent Older People in Mexico and Peru

This paper applies different analytical frameworks to explore processes of family bargaining about providing care for dependent older people in Mexico and Peru. These frameworks include cultural norms, life course effects and material exchange. The paper is based on 19 in-depth qualitative family case studies, which are linked to a wider set of quantitative survey data. Care arrangements and bargaining processes are revealed to be highly gendered, and largely conform to prevailing cultural norms. Rather than neutral and objective, the self-identified role as main carer is found to be subjective and potentially ambiguous. The few men who self-identify as main carers are more likely to play an indirect, organisational role than engage directly in daily care. As such, bargaining mainly relates to which woman performs the main care role, and large family networks mean that there is usually more than one candidate carer. Bargaining can occur inter-generationally and conjugally, but bargaining between siblings is of particular importance. Bargaining is framed by the uncertain trajectory of older people’s care needs, and arrangements are sometimes reconfigured in response to changing care needs or family circumstances. Taking the narratives at face value, the influence of life course effects on bargaining and care arrangements is more obvious than material exchange. There are, however, indications that economic considerations, particularly inheritance, still play an important behind the scenes role.     

Government capacity to contract: health sector experience and lessons

Using case-study material of contracting for clinical and ancillary services in the health care sector of developing countries, this article examines the capacities required for successful contracting and the main constraints which developing country governments face in developing and implementing contractual arrangements. Required capacities differ according to the type of service being contracted and the nature of the contractor. Contracting for clinical as opposed to ancillary services poses considerably greater challenges in terms of the information required for monitoring and contract design. Yet, in some of the case-studies examined, problems arose owing to government's limited capacity to perform even very basic functions such as paying contractors in a timely manner and keeping records of contracts negotiated. The external environment within which contracting takes place is also critical; in particular, the case-studies indicate that contracts embedded in slow-moving, rule-ridden bureaucracies will face substantial constraints to successful implementation. The article suggests that governments need to assess required capacities on a service-by-service basis. For any successful contracting, basic administrative systems must be functioning. In addition, there should be development of guidelines for contracting, clear lines of communication between all agents involved in the contracting process, and regular evaluations of contractual arrangements. Finally, in cases where government has weak capacity, direct service provision may be a lower-risk delivery strategy. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

PTSD compromises battered women's future safety

Intimate partner violence continues to be a social crisis that results in a complex array of physical and mental health problems. Although resources to counteract the effects of the violence are sometimes available, the posttrauma sequelae may prevent access by those in need. Using the Chicago Women's Health Risk Study, a naturalistic longitudinal study of 320 abused women, the current study examined the impact of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression on battered women's safety at follow-up. Participants completed both a baseline and follow-up interview, including data on abuse experiences. Results suggest symptoms of PTSD predict severity of violence at follow-up over the impact of help-seeking behaviors, perceived helpfulness of these behaviors, and social support. Implications of results are discussed.     

Community violence victimization and depressed mood: the moderating effects of coping and social support

The objectives of the current study were to (a) determine how lifetime community violence (CV) victimization, coping behavior, social support (SS), and depressed mood are related in young adults, and (b) assess whether the relationship between CV victimization and depressive reactions is moderated by perceived SS and coping style. Five hundred fifty college students (160 men, 355 women) completed questionnaires measuring lifetime experiences with violence, current depressed mood, perceptions of SS from family and friends, and general coping styles. Results of a series of hierarchical regressions indicated a positive relationship between frequency of CV victimization and depressed mood. Low levels of perceived SS and problem-focused coping and high levels of disengagement coping were associated with increased depression scores overall, but there was an interaction effect such that high disengagement coping strengthened the relationship between CV and depressed mood. Moreover, when controlling for the effect of posttraumatic stress, high-perceived friend support and low disengagement coping served as protective factors for depressed mood. These results were particularly strong in individuals whose last CV experience occurred within the previous 2 years. Findings suggest that perceptions of support and ability to actively cope with stressors are very important in the adjustment to CV victimization.     

The Czech transition banking sector instability: the role of operational cost management

In this article we show—using the estimated cost efficiency of banks—that besides the risk (proxied by the share of non-performing loans), the quality of operational cost management was an equally important determinant of bank failure risk during the decade of banking sector transformation in the Czech Republic.

Promoting competition or cooperation? The impact of EU funding on Czech advocacy organizations

What impact does European Union (EU) funding of advocacy organizations have? To address this question our article turns to the post-communist Czech Republic, an ideal laboratory for studying externally dependent non-governmental organizations. Employing social network analysis, the main objective of this article is to analyse the effect of EU funding on the cooperation networks of Czech advocacy organizations. Our source of data is a survey of these organizations. We aim to figure out whether there is an association between the dependency of advocacy organizations on EU resources, and their cooperation with other organizations. Contrary to the prevailing interpretation based on the competition argument, our hypothesis is that the greater the dependency on EU funding, the greater the cooperation capacity on the part of advocacy organizations.     

Rights,women, and the state of Pakistan

Violence against women is a problem around the world. Addressing the issues of physical and sexual violence against women has been a complicated endeavor for criminologists. Much of the traditional criminological research on violence against women has frequently focused on rape as a crime of power between individuals. However, this framework has been expanded to incorporate the analysis of rape during times of war and rape as a state crime. In these cases, rape serves a broader purpose within the military and social structure. By focusing on the specific case of the gang rape of Mukhtar Mai, the goal of this paper was to demonstrate and analyze the role of the state in many of these crimes. Mukhtar Mai’s case should not be understood in isolation, but as a way to illuminate the role of the state in these numerous crimes.