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Hardship
Kinds of Hardship Selected AbstractsHow Do Families Manage Their Economic Hardship?FAMILY RELATIONS, Issue 4 2010Eunyoung Baek Using data from the 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances, this study examined how families manage their economic hardship. A conceptual model was developed based on risk management theory and the permanent income hypothesis. About half of families used credit and about a third used their own savings to make up the difference between income and spending. The results of multinomial logit analysis showed that families' use of management methods differed when they faced economic hardship, depending on their situation. [source] Personal Characteristics and Resilience to Economic Hardship and Its Consequences: Conceptual Issues and Empirical IllustrationsJOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 6 2009M. Brent Donnellan ABSTRACT This article describes a theoretical model that links personal characteristics with resilience to economic hardship and its psychological and interpersonal consequences. This transactional model integrates social influence and social selection perspectives concerning the relation between socioeconomic circumstances and the development of individuals and families. In addition, this article discusses methodological and conceptual issues related to investigating the effects of personal characteristics in this context. Finally, initial empirical support for some of the key predictions from the proposed model are provided using longitudinal data collected from a sample of Midwestern families. Specifically, adolescent academic achievement, self-reports of Conscientiousness, and self-reports of low Neuroticism during adolescence predicted relevant outcomes in adulthood such as less economic pressure, more satisfying romantic relationships, and less harsh parenting behaviors. These preliminary findings support the hypothesized model and extend research concerning the life course outcomes associated with personal characteristics. [source] Plebiscites, Fiscal Policy and the Poor: Learning from US Experience with Direct DemocracyDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 5 2005Arthur A. Goldsmith Many countries are contemplating direct political participation as a way of giving marginalised people more say in national fiscal policies. The United States is a natural laboratory for studying how large-scale direct democracy actually works in this regard. Every state allows voters to decide certain ballot questions about how to raise and spend public revenue. The 100-year record shows, however, that state-wide plebiscites fail to produce uniformly equitable or financially sustainable government budgets, or to mobilise low-income groups to defend their economic interests. When called upon to make decisions about state government spending, the electorate is apt to disregard any hardship for poor people. Traditional political parties and advocacy organisations are usually a more promising avenue for promoting anti-poverty budgets. [source] Ageing and unused capacity in Europe: is there an early retirement trap?ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 59 2009Viola Angelini Summary We address the issue of how early retirement may interact with limited use of financial markets in producing financial hardship later in life, when some risks (such as long-term care) are not insured. We argue that the presence of financially attractive early retirement schemes in a world of imperfect financial and insurance markets can lead to an ,early retirement trap'. Indeed, Europe witnesses many (early) retired individuals in financial distress. In our analysis we use data on 10 European countries, which differ in their pension and welfare systems, in prevailing retirement age and in households' access to financial markets. We find evidence that an early retirement trap exists, particularly in some Southern and Central European countries: people who retired early in life are more likely to be in financial hardship in the long run. Our analysis implies that governments should stop making early retirement attractive, let retirees go back to work, improve access to financial markets and make sure long-term care problems are adequately insured. , Viola Angelini, Agar Brugiavini and Guglielmo Weber [source] The Origins of Modern DivorceFAMILY PROCESS, Issue 1 2007STEPHANIE COONTZ High rates of marital dissolution and easy access to divorce are not unprecedented, historically or cross-culturally. But contemporary divorce in North America and Western Europe has different origins and features than divorce in previous cultures. The origins of modern divorce patterns date back more than 200 years, to the invention of the historically unprecedented idea that marriage should be based on love and mutual affection. Ironically, then, the fragility of modern marriage stems from the same values that have elevated the marital relationship above all other personal and familial commitments: the concentration of emotion, passion, personal identity, and self-validation in the couple relationship and the attenuation of emotional attachments and obligations beyond the conjugal unit. The immediate causes of divorce may range from factors as diverse as the personal psychological characteristics of one or both spouses to the stresses of economic hardship and community disintegration. But in a larger perspective, the role of divorce in modern societies and its relatively high occurrence both flow from the same complex of factors that have made good marriages so much more central to people's happiness than through most of the past, and deterioration of a marital relationship so much more traumatic. [source] How Do Families Manage Their Economic Hardship?FAMILY RELATIONS, Issue 4 2010Eunyoung Baek Using data from the 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances, this study examined how families manage their economic hardship. A conceptual model was developed based on risk management theory and the permanent income hypothesis. About half of families used credit and about a third used their own savings to make up the difference between income and spending. The results of multinomial logit analysis showed that families' use of management methods differed when they faced economic hardship, depending on their situation. [source] Trouble on the reef: the imperative for managing vulnerable and valuable fisheriesFISH AND FISHERIES, Issue 3 2005Yvonne Sadovy Abstract Reef fishes are significant socially, nutritionally and economically, yet biologically they are vulnerable to both over-exploitation and degradation of their habitat. Their importance in the tropics for living conditions, human health, food security and economic development is enormous, with millions of people and hundreds of thousands of communities directly dependent, and many more indirectly so. Reef fish fisheries are also critical safety valves in times of economic or social hardship or disturbance, and are more efficient, less wasteful and support far more livelihoods per tonne produced than industrial scale fisheries. Yet, relative to other fisheries globally, those associated with coral reefs are under-managed, under-funded, under-monitored, and as a consequence, poorly understood or little regarded by national governments. Even among non-governmental organizations, which are increasingly active in tropical marine issues, there is typically little focus on reef-associated resources, the interest being more on biodiversity per se or protection of coral reef habitat. This essay explores the background and history to this situation, examines fishery trends over the last 30 years, and charts a possible way forward given the current realities of funding, capacity, development patterns and scientific understanding of coral reef ecosystems. The luxury live reef food-fish trade is used throughout as a case study because it exemplifies many of the problems and challenges of attaining sustainable use of coral reef-associated resources. The thesis developed is that sustaining reef fish fisheries and conserving biodiversity can be complementary, rather than contradictory, in terms of yield from reef systems. I identify changes in perspectives needed to move forward, suggest that we must be cautious of ,fashionable' solutions or apparent ,quick fixes', and argue that fundamental decisions must be made concerning the short and long-term values of coral reef-associated resources, particularly fish, for food and cash and regarding alternative sources of protein. Not to address the problems will inevitably lead to growing poverty, hardship and social unrest in many areas. [source] Developing co-management in an artisanal gill net fishery of a deep hydro-electric reservoir in Sri LankaFISHERIES MANAGEMENT & ECOLOGY, Issue 5 2002S. NATHANAEL Abstract Victoria, is a recently (1984) impounded, deep, hydro-electric reservoir in Sri Lanka with an established commercial fishery. Participatory appraisal of the fishing community revealed decreasing reliance on fishing income with many fishermen moving away to supplementary occupations because of declining fish catches. Illegal fishing and theft of fishing gear resulting from open access, difficulties encountered in enforcing fisheries regulations and the need for fishermen to find alternative sources of income during low water levels are the major management problems. The top,down centralized management approach previously practised was ineffective in addressing any of these issues. Therefore, the possibilities and limitations for introducing co-management as an alternative management strategy were discussed. Financial hardship coupled with perceived benefits through state sponsored welfare schemes caused a positive attitude change among fishermen, making them respond favourably to fishery management. Establishing a licensing system for controlled access, ensuring greater user-group participation through equitable distribution of state sponsored benefits among members, attempting to enforce penalties for illegal fishing linked with surprise checks to enforce management regulations, and obtaining stakeholder perceptions regarding management issues are some of the recent steps taken by the Fishermen's Co-operative Society which would positively contribute towards developing effective co-management in this reservoir. [source] Consumer morality in times of economic hardship: evidence from the European Social SurveyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 2 2010*Article first published online: 1 FEB 2010, Cláudia Abreu Lopes Abstract Crimes of everyday life, often referred to as unfair or unethical practices committed in the marketplace by those who see themselves and are seen as respectable citizens, have burgeoned as a result of the transformations in the European economy in the late 20th century, namely the transition to neo-liberal markets and the emergence of consumer society. A ,cornucopia of new criminal opportunities' has given rise to a new range of crimes such as ripping software, making false insurance claims or paying cash on hand to circumvent taxes. These shady behaviours (legal or not) are part of people's experience, albeit they are collectively regarded as morally dubious. Taken collectively, crimes of everyday life are indicators of the moral stage of a particular society and therefore a valuable instrument for social and political analysis. This paper addresses the question of whether and under which conditions feelings of economic hardship trigger crimes of everyday life. A multilevel theoretical and empirical perspective that integrates theories stemming from political science, sociology, and social psychology is adopted. I start by exploring the embeddedness of economic morality in social institutions, followed by an elaboration of the concept of market anomie to account for deviant behaviour in the marketplace, to finally step down to the examination of the correspondence between social attitudes and consumer behaviour, as postulated by the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The empirical study relies on micro data from the European Social Survey (ESS) (Round 2) and attempts to model, for each country, a formative measure of crimes of everyday life based on socio-demographic variables and the current economic situation, as it is perceived by the individual (taken as a measure of relative deprivation). The resultant country-specific regression coefficients are mapped onto the broader economic and normative context of 23 European countries. The results reveal that crimes of everyday life are driven by feelings of economic hardship only in countries where normative factors dictate their deviance. In countries where fraudulent behaviour is more generalized, inner motivations to offend play a secondary role as the more privileged consumers are more likely to commit fraud as they interact more often with the market. In turn, normative aspects result from a dynamic interplay of cultural and economic factors. As the economy grows faster, the tendency to offend in the market becomes more visible, but only in countries whose gross domestic product (GDP) stands above the European average. In countries with low GDP, the normative landscape is shaped by cultural factors that seem to obfuscate the power of economic factors favourable to consumer fraud. [source] Coping with long,term unemployment: economic security, labour market integration and well,being.INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 3 2002Results from a Danish panel study On the basis of a Danish panel study of the long,term unemployed 1994,1999, the article challenges core premises underlying labour market reforms, assigning too high a priority to work and work incentives, and too little priority to social protection. Economic hardship has become widespread among long,term unemployed even in Denmark, and this is a more serious threat against well,being than unemployment as such. Generous social security, denounced as ,passive support', enables the unemployed to cope with their situation, and there are no signs of any ,dependency culture'. Incentives in terms of economic hardship may stimulate active job seeking but the panel study reveals that it has no positive effect on subsequent labour market integration. [source] Sense of coherence during unemploymentINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 2 2001Bengt Starrin The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between different forms of hardship during unemployment and the sense of coherence (SOC). These hardships were considered in the framework of the finances,shame model, which has been developed to help provide a greater understanding of why unemployment is so painful to some whilst others are hardly affected by it. The hypothesis in this study was that the greater the financial hardships during unemployment and the more a person has been subjected to shaming by others because they are unemployed, the lower his or her SOC will be, and vice versa. The empirical data were collected by means of a cross-sectional survey of 1,249 unemployed people in a region in southern Sweden who at the time of the survey were engaged in some form of labour-market training or workfare programme. The dropout rate was 23%. The results from the study lent strong support to the finances,shame model. Among those who were exposed to a greater degree of financial hardship and also had more shaming experiences, the mean SOC score was 42.14 for women and 42.41 for men. The corresponding figures for those facing a lesser degree of financial hardship and with fewer shaming experiences were 67.10 and 66.66 respectively, i.e. figures which are on a par with or somewhat higher than for population studies covering the whole population. [source] A Country on the Move: International Migration in Post-Communist Albania1INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, Issue 4 2006Calogero Carletto Albania is a country on the move. This mobility plays a key role in household-level strategies to cope with the economic hardship of transition. With the relaxing of controls on emigration at the beginning of the 1990s, international migration has exploded, becoming the single most important political, social, and economic phenomenon in post-communist Albania. Based on the 1989 and 2001 population censuses we estimate that over 600,000 Albanians live abroad, mostly in nearby Greece and Italy, with the vast majority coming from a limited number of districts located at the coastal and transport gateways to these destination countries, as well as Tirana. The available data also suggest that a similar number have considered migrating, and of these, half have tried and failed. Almost one-half of the children who since 1990 no longer live with their parents are now living abroad, a number of almost exodus proportions. This article also identifies clear patterns of temporary migration, with Greece being by far the most important destination and rural areas from the Center and North-East of the country being the primary origins of these flows. Although migration, with the resulting remittances, has become an indispensable part of Albanian economic development, there is increasing consensus on the necessity to devise more appropriate, sustainable strategies to lift households out of poverty and promote the country's growth. [source] "A Hand upon the Throat of the Nation": Economic Sanctions and State Repression, 1976,2001INTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2008Reed M. Wood While intended as a nonviolent foreign policy alternative to military intervention, sanctions have often worsened humanitarian and human rights conditions in the target country. This article examines the relationship between economic sanctions and state-sponsored repression of human rights. Drawing on both the public choice and institutional constraints literature, I argue that the imposition of economic sanctions negatively impacts human rights conditions in the target state by encouraging incumbents to increase repression. Specifically, sanctions threaten the stability of target incumbents, leading them to augment their level of repression in an effort to stabilize the regime, protect core supporters, minimize the threat posed by potential challengers, and suppress popular dissent. The empirical results support this theory. These findings provide further evidence that sanctions impose political, social, and physical hardship on civilian populations. They also underscore a need for improvements in current strategies and mechanisms by which states pursue foreign-policy goals and the international community enforces international law and stability. [source] Mental Health Problems in Young People with Intellectual Disabilities: The Impact on ParentsJOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 5 2008Hannah Faust Background, Young people with intellectual disabilities seem to be at increased risk of developing mental health problems. The present study set out to examine the impact such difficulties can have on parents. Method, Semi-structured in-depth interviews were carried out with 13 parents and one adult sibling of 11 young people with intellectual disabilities and additional mental health problems. Results, Parents described far reaching negative consequences of the young person's mental health problems. In many parents these re-evoked intense past feelings of grief and triggered feelings of helplessness and despair. Conclusions, Parents' experiences appear to be characterized by confusion, loss and hardship. Services do not seem to be attuned to the high level of emotional and practical needs of these parents. [source] Nursing students' experiences of their first encounter with death during clinical practice in TaiwanJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 15-16 2010Xuan-Yi Huang Aims and objectives., The aim of this study was to elucidate the experiences of first encountering death by nursing students during clinical practice. The objective is to assist nursing educational and clinical professionals to provide essential assistance for nursing students who encounter patient death. Background., Increasingly, deaths are occurring in hospitals. However, there has been little qualitative research in Taiwan on the experiences of nursing students who encounter patient death for the first time. Design., A descriptive qualitative method was employed to explore nursing students' first experience with death during clinical practice in Taiwan. Methods., Purposive sampling, one-on-one, in-depth with semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data. Participants were selected from an acute haematological ward in a major teaching hospital in Central Taiwan. Narratives were analysed using Colaizzi's seven-step method. Results., Data saturation was achieved after interviewing 12 nursing students. The average age of the students was 20, and seven and half days was the average time spent attending dying patients. Three themes and eleven sub-themes were identified: Providing Care During the Dying Period (feelings of dread and terror, hardship of experiencing patient's life fading away, devotion to patient care and self-affirmation); Facing the Moment of Patient Death (state of being scared or trapped, emotional breakdown); Adjustment after Patient Death (acceptance or avoidance, growth or escape). Conclusions., Findings demonstrate the importance of understanding such first experiences, and the results are beneficial to clinical instructors and nursing personnel in understanding the students' pressure and difficulties experienced before, during and after the patients' death. Relevance to clinical practice., Several recommendations have been made, including teaching and support not only in the period of dying, but at the moment of patient death and postmortality. Avoiding topics about death in local culture have been noted. [source] ,You've got to grow up when you've got a kid': Marginalized young women's accounts of motherhoodJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2008Alison Rolfe Abstract Teenage motherhood has been a source of considerable debate in policy and media circles in recent years. This paper explores the meanings of teenage motherhood for young women who were mothers before the age of 21, who were living in economically deprived areas of England and most of whom had been in residential or foster care. Qualitative interviews were carried out at several sites across England, with a total of 33 young women taking part in group interviews and one-to-one interviews. The accounts of the young women suggest that they talk about motherhood in three main ways: as ,hardship and reward', ,growing up and responsibility' and ,doing things differently'. It is argued that these ways of talking about motherhood present a different picture of teenage motherhood from that of dominant discourses. Furthermore, the young women are active in negotiating and constructing their own identities as mothers, carers and women. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Economic Crisis and Marital Problems in Turkey: Testing the Family Stress ModelJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 3 2009ik A. Aytaç This paper applied the family stress model to the case of Turkey in the wake of the 2001 economic crisis. Using structural equation modeling and a nationally representative urban sample of 711 married women and 490 married men, we tested whether economic hardship and the associated family economic strain on families resulted in greater marital problems. Our results showed a modified family stress model applies to Turkey. In contrast to most previous research, economic strain had a direct effect on marital problems, and the indirect effect of strain, via emotional distress, was only significant for women. The results were interpreted in light of social and cultural factors that condition how economic distress affects marital relations. [source] Economic hardship in the family of origin and children's psychological well-Being in adulthoodJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 1 2005Juliana M. Sobolewski Past research consistently indicates that poverty and economic hardship have negative consequences for children. Few studies, however, have examined whether these consequences persist into adulthood. This study addresses this gap by assessing whether economic resources in the family of origin have long-term effects on psychological well-being in adulthood. Specifically, we test two processes,one involving interpersonal processes in the family of origin, and the other involving children's socioeconomic attainment,that may help to explain the link between early economic factors and later well-being. Using 17-year longitudinal data from two generations (N= 589), we find evidence that economic hardship in the family of origin predicts later adult well-being through the parents' marital relationship, the parent-teen relationship, children's educational attainment, and children's earned income. Supplementary analyses suggest that economic hardship is particularly problematic when it is of long duration or when it occurs during adolescence. [source] Personal Characteristics and Resilience to Economic Hardship and Its Consequences: Conceptual Issues and Empirical IllustrationsJOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 6 2009M. Brent Donnellan ABSTRACT This article describes a theoretical model that links personal characteristics with resilience to economic hardship and its psychological and interpersonal consequences. This transactional model integrates social influence and social selection perspectives concerning the relation between socioeconomic circumstances and the development of individuals and families. In addition, this article discusses methodological and conceptual issues related to investigating the effects of personal characteristics in this context. Finally, initial empirical support for some of the key predictions from the proposed model are provided using longitudinal data collected from a sample of Midwestern families. Specifically, adolescent academic achievement, self-reports of Conscientiousness, and self-reports of low Neuroticism during adolescence predicted relevant outcomes in adulthood such as less economic pressure, more satisfying romantic relationships, and less harsh parenting behaviors. These preliminary findings support the hypothesized model and extend research concerning the life course outcomes associated with personal characteristics. [source] Five-year effects of an anti-poverty program on marriage among never-married mothersJOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2006Anna Gassman-Pines Using data from an experimental evaluation of the New Hope project, an anti-poverty program that increased employment and income, this study examined the effects of New Hope on entry into marriage among never-married mothers. Among never-married mothers, New Hope significantly increased rates of marriage. Five years after random assignment, 21 percent of women assigned to the New Hope condition were married, compared to 12 percent of those assigned to the control group. The New Hope impact on marriage was robust to variations in model specification. The program also increased income, wage growth, and goal efficacy among never-married mothers, and decreased depression. In non-experimental analyses, income and earnings were associated with higher probability of marriage and material hardship was associated with lower probability of marriage. © 2006 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management [source] Coping with Family Conflict and Economic Strain: The Adolescent PerspectiveJOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 2 2002Martha E. Wadsworth This study tested two models of family economic problems and adolescent psychological adjustment. Using adolescents' survey data and information regarding school lunch program enrollment, the associations among family SES, perceived economic strain, family conflict, and coping responses were examined in a sample of 364 adolescents from rural New England. Two theoretical models were tested using structural equation modeling , one tested coping as a mediator of the stress , psychopathology relation and the other tested coping as a moderator. Results revealed that family economic hardship was related to aggression and anxiety/depression primarily through two proximal stressors: perceived economic strain and conflict among family members. Family conflict partially mediated the relation between economic strain and adolescent adjustment, and coping further mediated the relation between family conflict and adjustment. These analyses identified two types of coping that were associated with fewer anxiety/depression and aggression problems in the face of these stressors , primary and secondary control coping. Although primary and secondary control coping were associated with fewer adjustment problems, youth who were experiencing higher amounts of stress tended to use less of these potentially helpful coping strategies and used more of the potentially detrimental disengagement coping. The models did not differ according to the age or gender of the adolescents, nor whether they lived with two parents or fewer. No support was found for coping as a moderator of stress. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research involving coping with economic stressors are reviewed. [source] Money matters: students' perceptions of the costs associated with placementsMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 10 2007Natalie Wray Context, Placements are an integral component of the medical, nursing and allied health curricula. However, apart from the relocation costs associated with placements, little research on students' understandings and experiences of the financial implications of placements has been carried out. Objectives, We report on students' financial concerns associated with placements, which emerged as a main theme in a broader study we conducted on the impact of undergraduate student placement experiences on graduate practice. Methods, We conducted a qualitative study which included focus group discussions (n = 17), individual interviews (n = 48) and written responses (n = 2) with undergraduate students (n = 103) and graduates (n = 27) from a tertiary institution in Victoria, Australia. Results, Students identified that income generation and the costs associated with transport and placement location contributed to the financial burden of placements. Students also spoke of the implications of high financial strain impacting on their accumulation of debt as well as on their health and wellbeing. Discussion, Our study advances our understanding of the implications of financial hardship experienced by medical, nursing and allied health students. In our study, students, regardless of their placement location, experienced increased demands and associated stress as a result of managing placements, paid employment and limited financial resources. We recommend that further quantitative research be conducted to measure the variables identified as emerging themes in this study. [source] Access to institutional resources as a measure of social exclusion: Relations with family process and cognitive development in the context of immigrationNEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILD & ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT, Issue 121 2008Hirokazu Yoshikawa Few studies have examined how experiences associated with being an undocumented immigrant parent affects children's development. In this article, the authors apply social exclusion theory to examine how access to institutional resources that require identification may matter for parents and children in immigrant families. As hypothesized, groups with higher proportions of undocumented parents in New York City (e.g., Mexicans compared to Dominicans) reported lower levels of access to checking accounts, savings accounts, credit, and drivers' licenses. Lack of access to such resources, in turn, was associated with higher economic hardship and psychological distress among parents, and lower levels of cognitive ability in their 24-month-old children. [source] Contradictions in Nigeria's Fertility Transition: The Burdens and Benefits of Having PeoplePOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 2 2004Daniel Jordan Smith Nigeria appears to be experiencing a transition to lower fertility. Based on ethnographic research, this article shows how Nigerians navigate a paradoxical political-economic and cultural context, wherein they face powerful pressures both to limit their fertility and to have relatively large families. The main argument advanced here is that Nigerians' fertility behavior must be understood in the context of the ways that parenthood, children, family, and kinship are inextricably intertwined with how people survive in a political economy organized around patron-clientism. Despite the fact that fertility transition is widely associated with broad processes of modernization and development, ordinary Nigerians experience the pressures to limit fertility in terms of a failed economy, development disappointments, and personal hardship,even while they see relatively smaller families as essential if they are to educate their children properly and adapt to a changing society. [source] Population change due to geographic mobility in Albania, 1989,2001, and the repercussions of internal migration for the enlargement of TiranaPOPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 6 2007Michalis Agorastakis Abstract Being a country in transition, Albania has sustained vast political and socio-economic changes over the past 15 years, mostly due to its engagement in democratisation and transformation to an open market economy. The pathway to transition has involved economic hardship and political unrest and has been accompanied by intense, large-scale, geographical mobility. This paper describes population change due to internal and international migration, 1989,2001, using Census data at district level. Its contribution is a technical one in applying a method that allows new estimates to be made of the scale of internal migration in Albania. Descriptive analysis of population changes in 36 Albanian districts, based on the last two censuses, lead to the identification of poles of attraction of internal migrants. Limited data concerning the 1989 Census and the 12 years between the censuses resulted in the creation of various indices that characterise internal migration, such as the Attraction and Expulsion Index stemming from the Origin,Destination Matrix of the districts. In addition an Index of Conservation of the population and an Index of External Migration were also derived at the district level. By considering internal and international migration as two separate phenomena, we emphasise their uniqueness in affecting population change in Albania. The District of Tirana, capital of Albania, absorbed the majority of the inflow of internal migrants. The latter part of the paper focuses on the population of Tirana as the county's major migration destination. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] How far are the left-behind left behind?POPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 3 2007A preliminary study in rural China Abstract While the linkage between migration and development has attracted much academic and policy attention, a key aspect of the linkage, namely those left behind in the community of origin, remains under-researched. As one of the first academic attempts to provide a systematic overview of this group in China, this paper describes the basic problems faced by it, discusses the institutional causes of the problems, and explores long-term and short-term solutions. The paper first establishes the fact that, while it seems that individuals decide who migrates and who stays back, there are fundamental institutional constraints on such decisions. The paper then shows that the three main left-behind groups, namely wives, the elderly and children, encounter various problems, but in general their situation is not much worse than that of those living with all family members. Their problems cannot just be attributed to being left-behind individuals; instead, the fundamental cause is that many rural communities as a whole have been left behind economically and socially. Although migration exacerbates the hardship, preventing migration is certainly not a solution. The paper instead calls for measures to redress the urban,rural divide and to improve the provision of public goods in rural communities. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Rates and Impact of Trauma and Current Stressors Among Darfuri Refugees in Eastern ChadAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2010Andrew Rasmussen Darfur refugees face hardships associated with chronic displacement, including lack of basic needs and safety concerns. Psychiatric research on refugees has focused on trauma, but daily stressors may contribute more to variance in distress. This article reports rates of past trauma and current stressors among Darfur refugees and gauges the contribution of each to psychological distress and functional impairment. A representative sample of 848 Darfuris in 2 refugee camps were interviewed about traumatic events, stressors faced in the camps, psychological distress, and functional impairment. Basic needs and safety concerns were more strongly correlated with measures of distress (rs = .19,.31) than were war-related traumatic events (rs = .09,.20). Hierarchical regression supported models in which effects of trauma on distress were mediated by current stressors. Although war-related traumatic events are the initial causes of refugees' hardship, findings suggest that the day-to-day challenges and concerns in camps mediate psychological distress associated with these events. [source] Extreme versus quotidian: addressing temporal dichotomies in Philippine disaster managementPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2008Francisco G. Delfin Jr. Abstract Brief narratives of two recent events in Luzon island,a flashflood in Angeles City and an eruption of Mayon volcano,underscore the disparity between natural hazards as amplifiers of everyday hardship for many Filipinos and the Philippine disaster management system's orientation towards extreme-event response. Three major factors contribute to this dichotomy. First, population dynamics combined with the lack of access to resources compels poor Filipinos to live and work in hazardous areas, discounting risk from extreme natural events to focus on daily needs. Second, the institutional setting of the country's disaster management within the military establishment makes it difficult, though not impossible, to focus and address the underlying causes of vulnerability. Third, existing modes of funding disaster expenditures are all biased towards immediate response rather than long-term risk-reduction. The implications of these findings to disaster management and research in the Philippines are identified. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Friday at Frontier Nursing ServicePUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, Issue 2 2009Anna May January ABSTRACT The Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) was founded in 1925 in eastern Kentucky by Mary Breckinridge, a nurse whose interest in improving rural health and midwifery changed the course of rural public health nursing and improved health outcomes for some of the most isolated and poorest people in 20th century America. The visual image of Breckinridge on horseback visiting her scattered rural patients is imprinted on the minds of most public health nurses in the United States and has, perhaps, been the wellspring of many nursing career aspirations. The daily life of FNS nurses was one of hardship, uncertainty and variey, as is evidenced in this tale of one day; nonetheless, the experiment of a rural nursing service combining midwifery and generalized nursing was ultimately a tremendous success. The following historical reprint recounts a singular day in the life of Anna January, a nurse midwife at the FNS in Confluence, Kentucky. She captures the dialect and earthiness of the region and the period in her story, but the events she relates also illustrate how interconnected life events can be in rural communities. The original article appeared in the December 1948 issue of Public Health Nursing [Volume 40 (12), 601,602]. [source] Reservoir resettlement in China: past experience and the Three Gorges DamTHE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL, Issue 3 2001Li Heming This paper reviews involuntary resettlement resulting from dam-building, which has been ignored relative to the dominant focus of migration research in China, rural to urban migration. Reservoir resettlement in China has a long history, often of misery and hardship for those displaced. Relocatees affected by the Three Gorges Project (1994,2009) on the Yangtze River face a similar situation. In China priority has been given to building the dam to provide electricity, flood control and navigation. Less attention has been paid to the problems of the people affected by the reservoir inundation. The rural population forced to relocate and rural-urban migrants in general have been discriminated against by national policies. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||