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Using the social assistance register we were able to study intergenerational correlations of social assistance recipiency in Finland and how the length of the observation window for identifying recipiency affects on the correlation coefficients. Parents' social assistance was observed in 1990, and that of their children aged 18–32 was observed in 2005. The intergenerational correlation was .15 on average when the observation window was a calendar year for both parents and children. The correlation varied substantially according to the length of the observation window, the gender and the age of child. The intergenerational correlation was stronger in the early twenties (.20), and substantially lower (.10) in the early thirties. The correlation was stronger for boys (.19) than for girls (.12). As expected from the theory and previous studies, a shorter observation window for parents yielded higher estimates for the intergenerational correlation, and a shorter observation window for children yielded lower estimates. There are two sources of bias when using a shorter observation window. The downward identification bias results when households receiving social assistance for a short spell outside the observation window are classified as non-recipients. The upward selection bias results when households receiving long-term social assistance are over-represented as compared to parents who receive social assistance only for a short spell. These two sources of bias operate in a complex way and the direction of bias they cause for the intergenerational correlation is essentially an empirical question. Hence, when drawing (policy) conclusions from studies on intergenerational correlations, one should keep in mind that the correlation estimates are very sensitive to the length for the observation windows and to the life stage when the children's social assistance recipiency is observed.

Two long-standing research problems of interest to sociologists are sources of variations in social inequalities and differential contributions of the temporal dimensions of age, time period, and cohort to variations in social phenomena. Recently, scholars have introduced a model called Variance Function Regression for the study of the former problem, and a model called Hierarchical Age-Period-Cohort regression has been developed for the study of the latter. This article presents an integration of these two models as a means to study the evolution of social inequalities along distinct temporal dimensions. We apply the integrated model to survey data on subjective health status. We find substantial age, period, and cohort effects, as well as gender differences, not only for the conditional mean of self-rated health (i.e., between-group disparities), but also for the variance in this mean (i.e., within-group disparities)—and it is detection of age, period, and cohort variations in the latter disparities that application of the integrated model permits. Net of effects of age and individual-level covariates, in recent decades, cohort differences in conditional means of self-rated health have been less important than period differences that cut across all cohorts. By contrast, cohort differences of variances in these conditional means have dominated period differences. In particular, post-baby boom birth cohorts show significant and increasing levels of within-group disparities. These findings illustrate how the integrated model provides a powerful framework through which to identify and study the evolution of variations in social inequalities across age, period, and cohort temporal dimensions. Accordingly, this model should be broadly applicable to the study of social inequality in many different substantive contexts.

A recent advertising campaign for a product named Bio-Oil promises to restore women's 'natural' (that is, hetero) femininity – their attractiveness, desirability and self-confidence – through eradicating scars which are posited as detrimental to a fully functioning life as a woman. In this paper I draw on my research with three women who experience stigmatised embodiment as a result of the scars of self-injury alongside my own experience of (primarily) medically-inflicted scarring to challenge the imperative to normative gendered embodiment which are promoted by this product. I use feminist and queer approaches to embodiment, difference and The Human to critique the normative, gendered body-self ideals which are perpetuated in the Bio-Oil advert and which also reflect the broader normalising projects of bio-medicine in terms of gender, sexuality and disability. I go on to apply this queer, feminist and embodied approach to a research ethic through which I explore three women's experiences of stigmatised embodiment and the alternative journeys they have made using creative practices to develop an embodied self beyond normative and stigmatising ideals. These experiences further emphasise the ways in which normalising body projects only further fragment and alienate an already socially problematised self, while the women's individual, creative reflections of their unique corporeality and its history offer a more coherent and productive identity (in each woman's individual terms).This creative ethos is also mirrored in the empirical orientation of this paper, in which I aim towards an experiential and affective methodology which invites readers to engage in an intimate dialogue with stigmatised bodies/selves (including my own) and to experience the alternative possibilities that working with and through (rather than normalising and eradicating) stigmatised embodiment can offer.

Background: Migrants in Europe may suffer from depression more often than the native-born population of the particular host country. Reports about the prevalence of depression in migrants are, however, heterogeneous and the possible causes are the subject of controversial discussion. Aims: The aims of this study are to determine the incidence of depressiveness in a large multi-ethnic working population with and without a history of migration, and to investigate possible connections with migration status and acculturation criteria. Methods: The cross-sectional study asked 7062 employees of a university hospital to complete a self-rating questionnaire concerning socio-demographic data, migration status and indicators of acculturation. Depressiveness was assessed by means of the German version of the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Results: The response rate was 41.7% ( N = 2932); 14.9% of the participants ( n = 419) reported a history of migration, 275 (65.8%) of whom were first-generation (M1) and 143 (34.2%) second-generation (M2) migrants. According to the CES-D scores, 8.7% of non-migrants ( n = 207) suffered from clinically relevant depressive symptoms, compared to 16% ( n = 44) of the M1 group (OR = 2.10, 95% CI: 1.44–3.04, p < .001) and 14% ( n = 20) in M2 (OR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.01–2.79, p = .048). Taking gender into consideration revealed that only the female migrants showed a statistically significant increased rate of depressiveness (χ 2 = 16.68, p < .001). Conclusions: Our results suggest that first- and second-generation female migrants are more likely to suffer from depressiveness than non-migrant females. In this model a history of migration is shown to be an independent risk factor for depressiveness.

Backround: Stigmatization of psychiatric patients is present both in the general population and among healthcare professionals. Aim: To determine the attitudes and behaviour of medical students towards a person who goes to a psychiatrist, before and after psychiatric rotation, and to compare those attitudes between medical and non-medical students. Methods: The study included 525 medical students (second and sixth year of studies) and 154 students of law. The study instrument was a three-part self-reported questionnaire (socio-demographic data, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and a vignette depicting a young, mentally healthy person). The experimental intervention consisted of ascribing a 'psychiatric label' to only one set of vignettes. All the vignettes (with or without the 'psychiatric label') were followed by 14 statements addressing the acceptance of a person described by vignette, as judged by social distance (four-point Likert scale). Results: Higher tendency to stigmatize was found in medical students in the final year, after psychiatric rotation ( Z U = −3.12, p = .002), particularly in a closer relationship ( Z U = −2.67, p = .007) between a student and a hypothetical person who goes to a psychiatrist. The non-medical students had a similar tendency to stigmatize as medical students before psychiatric rotation ( Z U = −0.03, p = .975). Neither gender, nor the size of student's place of origin or average academic mark was associated with the tendency to stigmatize in our sample. However, student's elf-esteem was lower in those with a tendency to stigmatize more in a distant relationship (ρ = −0.157, p = .005). Conclusions: Psychiatric education can either reinforce stigmatization or reduce it. Therefore, detailed analyses of educational domains that reinforce stigma will be the starting point for anti-stigma action.

Globalization is one of the most frequently discussed economic, political, social and cultural phenomenon of the twenty-first century, however there are very few studies that seek to uncover how young people, the future generation of the globalizing world, perceive these processes.
Most of the existing studies target attitudes toward the economic changes and youth in Western European societies. There has been no study to investigate the perception and attitudes of young adults in post-socialist countries; therefore the goal of the present research was to explore Hungarian
university students' views. Altogether 103 respondents of two different majors (humanities and social sciences/economics) participated in the research. A closed-ended questionnaire including a semantic differential scale and a 4-point Likert-type attitude scale consisting of 30 items regarding
the most common mentioned economic, political, cultural and environmental benefits and dangers of globalization was administered. The analysis of the data revealed that while the participants consider the influence of globalization on Hungary large, they are neither fearful nor enthusiastic
about its effects, however they considered their general impact slightly more negative than positive. Items expressing different aspects of globalization resulted in five factors: Decreasing Differences, Multiculturalism, Globalization as a Threat, Benefits of Globalization, and Cultural and
Economic Hegemony. University major proved to be a better predictor of the attitude towards globalization than gender. Students of economics evaluated globalization significantly as being more good, exciting and useful than students of humanities. They seemed to have a more definite and elaborated
picture about what is needed for success in a globalized world in terms of skills. Economics students also had higher means in Factor 4 'Benefits of Globalization' and they evaluated the specific effects of globalization more positively.

<i>Background:</i> Community attitudes research regarding genetic issues is important when contemplating the potential value and utilisation of predictive testing for common diseases in mainstream health services. This article aims to report population-based attitudes and discuss their relevance to integrating genetic services in primary health contexts. <i>Methods:</i> Men's and women's attitudes were investigated via population-based omnibus telephone survey in Queensland, Australia. Randomly selected adults (n = 1,230) with a mean age of 48.8 years were interviewed regarding perceptions of genetic determinants of health; benefits of genetic testing that predict 'certain' versus 'probable' future illness; and concern, if any, regarding potential misuse of genetic test information. <i>Results:</i> Most (75%) respondents believed genetic factors significantly influenced health status; 85% regarded genetic testing positively although attitudes varied with age. Risk-based information was less valued than certainty-based information, but women valued risk information significantly more highly than men. Respondents reported 'concern' (44%) and 'no concern' (47%) regarding potential misuse of genetic information. <i>Conclusions:</i> This study contributes important population-based data as most research has involved selected individuals closely impacted by genetic disorders. While community attitudes were positive regarding genetic testing, genetic literacy is important to establish. The nature of gender differences regarding risk perception merits further study and has policy and service implications. Community concern about potential genetic discrimination must be addressed if health benefits of testing are to be maximised. Larger questions remain in scientific, policy, service delivery, and professional practice domains before predictive testing for common disorders is efficacious in mainstream health care.

SummaryThis study investigates how various social, demographic and economic factors affect spousal agreement on preferred waiting time to next birth. Data for matched cohabiting couples from ten Demographic and Health Surveys in sub-Saharan Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe), conducted between 2003 and 2006, were analysed to compare reported waiting time to next birth by the husband and the wife. Couples where the reported waiting time to next birth was the same for both partners (difference is 0 months) were defined as having agreement on waiting time to next birth. In sub-Saharan Africa, spousal agreement on waiting time to next birth was found to be associated with wanting the next child sooner. When the spouses disagree on waiting time to next birth, the wives want to wait longer than their husbands in most cases. Additionally, the study found that demographic factors are the primary determinants of spousal agreement on waiting time to next birth, not socioeconomic factors. The strongest predictors of spousal agreement on waiting time to next birth were number of living children, difference between the number of ideal and living children and wife's age. Couples with fewer children, a younger wife and those with a difference of five or more children between ideal and living number of children were more likely to agree on waiting time to next birth. Effects of socioeconomic factors, such as education and wealth status, on spousal agreement on waiting time to next birth were generally weak and inconsistent. The findings highlight some of the challenges in developing programmes to promote spousal communication and birth spacing and underscore the need for programmes to be gender-sensitive.

This work deals with the participation of Hellenistic queens in the euergetism —a system characteristic of Greek and Roman societies— as a mechanism for satisfying needs of civic communities, as well for social control and supporting power. Through benefactions, the queens acted as agents of social cohesion and welfare, and contributed to the support of power of the royal dynasties they belonged. In an international level, these benefactions were a mechanism of royal diplomacy, serving to spread the influence of their kingdoms over the nominally independent Greek cities. By analysing these queen's activities we will reach a more comprehensive understanding of the euergetism system and the societies that produced it, as it is intersected by gender. And especially this analysis implies a reflection on women's power, that, when speaking about queens, means political power. ; Este artículo trata sobre la participación de las reinas helenísticas en el sistema, típico de las sociedades griega y romana, del evergetismo, como mecanismo tanto para satisfacer necesidades de las comunidades ciudadanas, como de control social y afianzamiento del poder. Mediante donaciones y servicios, las reinas actuaron como agentes de cohesión y bienestar sociales, y contribuyeron al sostenimiento del poder de las dinastías a las que pertenecían. Cuando tenían carácter interestatal, eran un mecanismo de la diplomacia real, sirviendo a la extensión de influencia de sus reinos sobre las ciudades griegas formalmente independientes. Analizar estas actuaciones es esencial para comprender el sistema del evergetismo en su conjunto y las sociedades que lo originaron, pues se intersecta con el sistema de género. Y ante todo supone reflexionar sobre el poder de las mujeres, lo cual significa, cuando hablamos de reinas, sobre el poder político.

The aim of this paper is to discuss three main critical challenges which research and policymaking in the feld of collective youth violence in urban contexts face today. This paper argues that we need to shift the focus of research in this area from "problematic" youth to the study of the ways in which violence permeates daily lives and becomes normalised through specifc local social and political conditions. The paper then suggests that, in light of recent theory and empirical research, the relationship between violence and poverty should be re-evaluated. Additionally, and in order to properly address the causes of youth collective violence, this paper argues for a change of focus in the analysis of youth violent mobilisation. The suggested focus rests on the appeal of the symbolic revenues that mark the search for a valued social status and possibilities in contexts of adversity and violence. In fact, symbolic factors associated with the involvement in drugs traffcking and other violent activities and with youths' contact with frearms are key factors, namely the search for status, power and respect, and attracting recognition from their male and female peers. The adrenaline and danger which youth experience through these activities are highly connected with gender constructions. Finally, this paper supports the progressively accepted evidence in favour of an urgent shift in how to address and prevent youth violence, claiming that repressive policies have hitherto failed to contain violence and to contribute to improving the formulation of preventive policies. This paper is based on data collection and analysis as well as reports from several studies conducted since 2006 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), San Salvador (El Salvador), Praia (Cape Verde) and Bissau (Guinea-Bissau).

The South African government has publicized plans to install one million solar water heaters in households throughout South Africa by the year 2014, with the goals of reducing strain on existing electricity resources, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, creating employment and alleviating poverty. This paper examines two existing solar water heater installation projects with the aim of investigating the social contribution of the installation of solar water heaters in low-income households in South Africa. The Sustainable Urban Livelihoods approach (SULA) was adjusted to provide an analytical framework for the development of suitable indicators of social change in the context of renewable energies and energy poverty. Increases in household capital and the reduction of household vulnerability to shocks, stressors and seasonal variability as the result of solar water heater installation were investigated in projects in low-income housing developments in the cities of Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Data collected from paired household surveys (before and after installation) in over 600 households and qualitative information (Most Significant Change stories) show that the provision of a constant, cheap source of heated water contributed positively to the alleviation of energy poverty. Household capitals (categorised as Human, Social, Financial, Physical, Natural and Gender capital), including aspects such as health benefits and time and financial savings, were all positively effected by the installation of solar water heaters. In addition, improved energy security greatly reduced household vulnerability to shocks, stressors and seasonal variability. Comparison between the two projects revealed that the geographical setting (climatic conditions in particular), and the approach and strategies adopted by the implementers of the solar water heater installation project, greatly determine the extent to which benefits to the households are realised.

The South African government has publicized plans to install one million solar water heaters in households throughout South Africa by the year 2014, with the goals of reducing strain on existing electricity resources, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, creating employment and alleviating poverty. This paper examines two existing solar water heater installation projects with the aim of investigating the social contribution of the installation of solar water heaters in low-income households in South Africa. The Sustainable Urban Livelihoods approach (SULA) was adjusted to provide an analytical framework for the development of suitable indicators of social change in the context of renewable energies and energy poverty. Increases in household capital and the reduction of household vulnerability to shocks, stressors and seasonal variability as the result of solar water heater installation were investigated in projects in low-income housing developments in the cities of Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, South Africa.Data collected from paired household surveys (before and after installation) in over 600 households and qualitative information (Most Significant Change stories) show that the provision of a constant, cheap source of heated water contributed positively to the alleviation of energy poverty. Household capitals (categorised as Human, Social, Financial, Physical, Natural and Gender capital), including aspects such as health benefits and time and financial savings, were all positively effected by the installation of solar water heaters. In addition, improved energy security greatly reduced household vulnerability to shocks, stressors and seasonal variability. Comparison between the two projects revealed that the geographical setting (climatic conditions in particular), and the approach and strategies adopted by the implementers of the solar water heater installation project, greatly determine the extent to which benefits to the households are realised.

The word "cama'i" in the title, pronounced cha-my, is the Alutiiq word for "hello." Given that in the nineteenth-century Alutiiqs, working in California, passed the word on to Kashaya speaking Pomo whom still presently use the greeting in their language today, I use the term to underscore global geopolitical articulations in the field of Native American and Indigenous studies. The first chapter, "Cama'i America," examines oral narratives by conscripted Alaska Natives and colonized Kashaya Indians at the village of Metini, California during the Fort Ross trading period in the early nineteenth-century. The second chapter, "Citizens/Subjects in the Last Frontier," analyzes Alaska Native citizenship during the movement that resulted in statehood in 1959. This chapter focuses on the textuality of the Alaska flag, adopted in 1927, and how images and representations of Jon "Benny" Benson, the flag's Alutiiq designer, and the children of Athabascan Chief Luke, relate to the perceived incorporation of the region's indigenous people into the nation's racial culture and gender hierarchy. The third chapter, "Impossible Sovereignty," reads the indigenously-produced films Our Aleut History: Alaska Natives in Progress (1986) and Aleut Story (2005) as indigenous heritage recovery projects with contrasting goals, covering twentieth-century enslavement, World War II internment, and United States citizenship. Chapter four, "Of Displacement and Domestication," turns to the play River Woman as Tlingit writer and Alaska politician Diane E. Benson's dramaturgical response to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. The final chapter, "The Ends of Imperialism," articulates the Bering region as an indigenous cultural center reading the Cold War-era politics of transcontinental Yupik culture through the work of "American" and "Russian" Bering Strait Yupik women writers.

The lesson taught by every historical attempt to construct society in accordance with an idea: where utopia is, wreckage will follow. So we have been told, and do, in large part, believe. The empire of capitalist parliamentarism, sovereign police, and conventional skepticism rises from the ruins of futures past. This symposium invited four inventive, provocative, and engaged thinkers to reflect upon utopia and its wreckages, to help us understand the valences of realization and ruination, of wreaking and wrecking, within socialist/post-socialist, sovereign/post-sovereign, imperial/post-imperial, feminist, and queer political programmes. Boris Buden is a writer and cultural critic. He studied philosophy in Zagreb and cultural theory at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Among his many publications are Barikade (Zagreb 1996) and Zone des Übergangs. Vom Ende des Postkommunismus (2009). Among his translations into Croatian are two books of Sigmund Freud. Bini Adamczak is an unstable alliance of everyday reproduction modes, unwanted heritages, and quarrelsome spectres, such as deconstructivist feminisms and the orthodox critique of value. She's a performer, visual artist, and independent author of borderlining texts such as Kommunismus. Kleine Geschichte wie alles anders wird (2004) and Gestern Morgen. Über die Einsamkeit kommunistischer Gespenster und die Rekonstruktion der Zukunft (Münster, 2007). Daniel Loick teaches social and political philosophy at Goethe University Frankfurt. His book on sovereignty, Ironien des Politischen. Elemente einer kritischen Theorie der Souveränität (2011) will be published this fall. He is also co-organizer of the international conference Re-Thinking Marx at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Karen Tongson is associate professor of English and Gender Studies at the University of Southern California. Her book on race, sexuality, popular culture, and the suburbs, Relocations: Queer Suburban Imaginaries, will appear in August 2011. She is on of the editors of the series Postmillennial Pop ...

Based on the concepts of cultural citizenship and media-constructed spaces of identity the article explores how issues of migration, residency and citizenship are discussed in the Austrian press. The authors are interested in two questions: Which spaces of identity does media create for migrants and locals? And which markers of citizenship are used in migration policies? The analysed articles stem from a national quality paper (Der Standard), a very influential boulevard paper (Kronen Zeitung) and one of the major regional newspapers (Salzburger Nachrichten). The analysis focuses on four case studies: Arigona Zogaj and her family were denied permanent residency after having spent many years in Austria. In the only terrorist trial in Austria to date, Mona S. was symbolically excluded from Austrian citizenship. The reporting in these cases is contrasted with those related to two persons in the attention of public nterest– the famous opera singer Anna Netrebko and the actor Christoph Waltz –, who were granted citizenship rights on the grounds of exceptional cultural achievements in the interest of the Austrian nation. The media coverage shows that cultural dimensions of citizenship are used as important indicators for determining the entitlement to permanent residency and citizenship. Belonging to a nation is linked to cultural factors such as wearing the right clothes, behaving properly or speaking the language and having attended an Austrian school. Along these lines migrants are divided into two groups of good and bad foreigners, but issues of power and social hierarchies of gender, race and class are involved here as well. While this holds true for all three papers, the Boulevard press is adhering to an extremely personalized style, while the quality paper is linking the specific cases to the debate on migration policies and laws.