How parties frame social citizenship and the inclusion of immigrants in Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom

Recent research on the transformation of West European party systems emphasises that cultural issues such as immigration have gained in importance besides the traditional socio-economic cleavage. While this literature shows that parties address not only cultural but also economic is-sues, it has paid less attention on whether parties combine cultural and economic issues. In this paper we focus on immigrants’ social rights by analysing if and how mainstream parties combine immigration and redistributive issues. Drawing on Faist (1995), we distinguish three different perspectives how political actors, here mainstream parties, might react to the welfare chauvinist claims that aim to restrict immigrants’ social rights. Our analysis relies on party manifestos in Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom between 1999 and 2011. The results of the anal-ysis indicate that variation is found among party families, in particular among the left. Even though the purpose of the paper is not to ‘prove’ that the populist challenge explains how the mainstream left-wing parties behave, the results allow nonetheless for interpreting mainstream parties’ strategic combination of welfare and immigration issues as a response to anti-immigration and anti-integration issues raised by populist challengers.

The Secular State Under Siege: Religion and Politics in Europe and America

Throughout human history, religion and politics have entertained the most intimate of connections as systems of authority regulating individuals and society. While the two have come apart through the process of secularization, secularism is challenged today by the return of public religion. This cogent analysis unravels the nature of the connection, disconnection, and attempted reconnection between religion and politics in the West. In a comparison of Western Europe and North America, Christianity and Islam, Joppke advances far-reaching theoretical, historical, and comparative-political arguments. With respect to theory, it is argued that only a “substantive” concept of religion, as pertaining to the existence of supra-human powers, opens up the possibility of a historical-comparative perspective on religion. At the level of history, secularization is shown to be the distinct outcome of Latin Christianity itself. And at the level of comparative politics, the Christian Right in America which has attacked the “wall of separation” between religion and state and Islam in Europe with the controversial insistence on sharia law and other “illiberal” claims from some quarters are taken to be counterpart incarnations of public religion and challenges to the secular state. This clearly argued, sweeping book will provide an invaluable framework for approaching an array of critical issues at the intersection of religion, law and politics for advanced students and researchers across the social sciences and legal studies, as well as for the interested public.

Social capital and adolescent health risk behavior in El Salvador

An emerging body of research suggests that the social capital available in one's social environment, as defined by supportive and caring interpersonal relationships, may provide a protective effect against a number of youth risk behaviors. In exploring the potential protective effect of social capital at school and at home on adolescent health and social risk behavior, a comprehensive youth risk behavior study was carried out in El Salvador during the summer of 1999 with a sample of 984 secondary school students attending 16 public rural and urban schools. The following dissertation, entitled Social Capital and Adolescent Health Risk Behavior in El Salvador, presents three papers centered on the topics of social capital and risk behavior. ^ Paper #1. Dangers in the Adolescent River of Life: A Descriptive Study of Youth Risk Behavior among Urban and Rural presents prevalence estimates of four principal youth risk behavior domains—aggression, depression, substance use, and sexual behaviors among students primarily between the ages of 13 and 17 who attend public schools in El Salvador. The prevalence and distribution of risk behaviors is examined by gender, geographic school location, age, and subjective economic status. ^ Paper #2. Social Capital and Adolescent Health Risk Behavior among Secondary School Students in El Salvador explores the relationship between social resources (social capital) within the school context and several youth risk behaviors. Results indicated that students who perceived higher social cohesion at school and higher parental social support were significantly less likely to report fighting, having been threatened or hurt with a weapon, suicidal ideation, and sexual intercourse than students with lower perceived social cohesion at school and parental social support after adjusting for several socio-demographic variables. ^ Lastly, paper #3. School Health Environment and Social Capital : Moving beyond the individual to the broader social developmental context provides a theoretical and empirical basis for moving beyond the predominant individual-focus and physical health concerns of school health promotion to the larger social context of schools and social health of students. This paper explores the concept of social capital and relevant adolescent development theories in relation to the influence of social context on adolescent health and behavior. ^

The influence of social connectedness and self-esteem on participant retention in a bi-ethnic longitudinal study

In prospective studies it is essential that the study sample accurately represents the target population for meaningful inferences to be drawn. Understanding why some individuals do not participate, or fail to continue to participate, in longitudinal studies can provide an empirical basis for the development of effective recruitment and retention strategies to improve response rates. This study examined the influence of social connectedness and self-esteem on long-term retention of participants, using secondary data from the “San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging” (SALSA), a population-based study of Mexican Americans (MAs) and European Americans (EAs) aged over 65 years residing in San Antonio, Texas. We tested the effect of social connectedness, self-esteem and socioeconomic status on participant retention in both ethnic groups. In MAs only, we analyzed whether acculturation and assimilation moderated these associations and/or had a direct effect on participant retention. ^ Low income, low frequency of social contacts and length of recruitment interval were significant predictors of non-completer status. Participants with low levels of social contacts were almost twice as likely as those with high levels of social contacts to be non-completers, even after adjustment for age, sex, ethnic group, education, household income, and recruitment interval (OR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.26–3.01, p = 0.003). Recruitment interval consistently and strongly predicted non-completer status in all the models tested. Depending on the model, for each year beyond baseline there was a 25–33% greater likelihood of non-completion. The only significant interaction, or moderating, effect observed was between social contacts and cultural values among MAs. Specifically, MAs with both low social contacts and low acculturation on cultural values (i.e., placed high value on preserving Mexican cultural origins) were three and half times more likely to be non-completers compared with MAs in other subgroups comprised of the combination of these variables, even after adjustment for covariates. ^ Long term studies with older and minority participants are challenging for participant retention. Strategies can be designed to enhance retention by paying special attention to participants with low social contacts and, in MAs, participants with both low social contacts and low acculturation on cultural values. Minimizing the time interval between baseline and follow-up recruitment, and maintaining frequent contact with participants during this interval should also be is integral to the study design.^

SOCIAL, ATTITUDINAL AND BEHAVIORAL CORRELATES OF WEIGHT CHANGE AMONG MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN (OBESITY, DIET, TEXAS)

In industrialized countries the prevalence of obesity among women decreases with increasing socioeconomic status. While this relation has been amply documented, its explanation and implications for other causal factors of obesity has received much less attention. Differences in childbearing patterns, norms and attitudes about fatness, dietary behaviors and physical activity are some of the factors that have been proposed to explain the inverse relation.^ The objectives of this investigation were to (1) examine the associations among social characteristics and weight-related attitudes and behaviors, and (2) examine the relations of these factors to weight change and obesity. Information on social characteristics, weight-related attitudes, dietary behaviors, physical activity and childbearing were collected from 304 Mexican American women aged 19 to 50 living in Starr County, Texas, who were at high risk for developing diabetes. Their weights were recorded both at an initial physical examination and at a follow-up interview one to two and one-half years later, permitting the computation of current Body Mass Index (weight/height('2)) and weight change during the interval for each subject. Path analysis was used to examine direct and indirect relations among the variables.^ The major findings were: (1) After controlling for age, childbearing was not an independent predictor of weight change or Body Mass Index. (2) Neither planned exercise nor total daily physical activity were independent predictors of weight change. (3) Women with higher social characteristics scores reported less frequent meals and less use of calorically dense foods, factors associated with lower risk for weight gain. (4) Dietary intake measures were not significantly related to Body Mass Index. However, dietary behaviors (frequency of meals and snacks, use of high and low caloric density foods, eating restraint and disinhibition of restraint) did explain a significant portion (17.4 percent) of the variance in weight change, indicating the importance of using dynamic measures of weight status in studies of the development of obesity. This study highlights factors amenable to intervention to reverse or to prevent weight gain in this population, and thereby reduce the prevalence of diabetes and its sequelae. ^

Posttraumatic stress disorder among veterans of the Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) wars: Psychological comorbidities, postdeployment social support and unit support

Much attention has been given to treating Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring (OIF/OEF) Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, little attention is given to those Veterans who do not meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD but who may still benefit from intervention. Research is needed to investigate the impact of how different racial/ethnic backgrounds, different levels of social support and comorbid mental health disorders impact OIF/OEF Veterans with varying levels of PTSD. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the association of comorbid Axis I disorders, race/ethnicity, different levels of postdeployment social support and unit support on OIF/OEF Veterans with varying levels of PTSD. Data for this dissertation were from postdeployment screenings of OIF/OEF Veterans from a large Veterans Affairs hospital in southeast Texas. To examine the study hypotheses, we conducted multinomial logistic regressions of the clinician reported data. ^ The first article examined the prevalence of subthreshold and full levels of PTSD and compared Axis I and alcohol use comorbidity rates among 1,362 OIF/OEF Veterans with varying levels of PTSD. Results suggest that OIF/OEF Veterans with subthreshold PTSD experience similar levels of psychological distress as those with full PTSD and highlight the need to provide timely and appropriate mental health services to individuals who may not meet the diagnostic criteria for full PTSD. ^ These results suggest that OIF/OEF Veterans of all race/ethnicities can benefit from strong social support systems. Postdeployment social support was found to be a protective factor against the development of PTSD among White, Black and Hispanic veterans while deployment unit support was a protective factor only among Black Veterans. The second article investigated the association between postdeployment social support and unit support with varying levels of PTSD by race/ethnicity among 1,115 OIF/OEF Veterans. ^ The results of this study can help to formulate treatment and interventions for OIF/OEF Veterans with varying levels of PTSD and social support systems.^

La diversidad familiar en situaciones de exclusión social. Resultados y reflexiones sobre actividades de investigación, formación y transferencia de conocimientos

El presente artículo se propone caracterizar las configuraciones familiares que habitan en contextos de exclusión social; aportar conceptualizaciones sobre sus modos de funcionamiento a través de la sistematización de los datos recogidos y destacar los efectos formativos que las prácticas interdisciplinarias barriales con esas familias, van produciendo en los psicólogos recién graduados, a través de una tarea de transferencia del enfoque sobre la diversidad tanto en el interior de las investigaciones como a partir de las intervenciones realizadas con las familias en las tareas de incorporados al Programa de Extensión. Asimismo, nos ha interesado poder efectuar una tarea de transferencia del enfoque sobre la diversidad en la formación de los profesionales jóvenes, tanto en el interior de las investigaciones como en el de las intervenciones realizadas con familias en las tareas de extensión. Este trabajo surge de resultados y reflexiones provenientes de tres fuentes: de lo producido en el marco de una Beca de iniciación a la Investigación; de las investigaciones sobre parentalidad, que desde el año 2001 venimos realizando en la Cátedra de Psicología Evolutiva II y del trabajo interdisciplinario con familias asistidas psicológicamente en el interior del Programa de Extensión Universitaria ?Consultorios Jurídicos Gratuitos?, asentados en doce barrios suburbanos de la ciudad de La Plata (convenio entre la Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales y la Facultad de Psicología, U.N.L.P.) A partir de una metodología cualitativa, con participación interdisciplinaria, los resultados obtenidos han permitido por un lado arribar a la caracterización y conceptualizaciones propuestas acerca de las familias incluidas y al mismo tiempo precisar los beneficios que para la formación de estudiantes avanzados y jóvenes graduados trae aparejado el trabajo que articula actividades de investigación y extensión

La diversidad familiar en situaciones de exclusión social. Resultados y reflexiones sobre actividades de investigación, formación y transferencia de conocimientos

El presente artículo se propone caracterizar las configuraciones familiares que habitan en contextos de exclusión social; aportar conceptualizaciones sobre sus modos de funcionamiento a través de la sistematización de los datos recogidos y destacar los efectos formativos que las prácticas interdisciplinarias barriales con esas familias, van produciendo en los psicólogos recién graduados, a través de una tarea de transferencia del enfoque sobre la diversidad tanto en el interior de las investigaciones como a partir de las intervenciones realizadas con las familias en las tareas de incorporados al Programa de Extensión. Asimismo, nos ha interesado poder efectuar una tarea de transferencia del enfoque sobre la diversidad en la formación de los profesionales jóvenes, tanto en el interior de las investigaciones como en el de las intervenciones realizadas con familias en las tareas de extensión. Este trabajo surge de resultados y reflexiones provenientes de tres fuentes: de lo producido en el marco de una Beca de iniciación a la Investigación; de las investigaciones sobre parentalidad, que desde el año 2001 venimos realizando en la Cátedra de Psicología Evolutiva II y del trabajo interdisciplinario con familias asistidas psicológicamente en el interior del Programa de Extensión Universitaria ?Consultorios Jurídicos Gratuitos?, asentados en doce barrios suburbanos de la ciudad de La Plata (convenio entre la Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales y la Facultad de Psicología, U.N.L.P.) A partir de una metodología cualitativa, con participación interdisciplinaria, los resultados obtenidos han permitido por un lado arribar a la caracterización y conceptualizaciones propuestas acerca de las familias incluidas y al mismo tiempo precisar los beneficios que para la formación de estudiantes avanzados y jóvenes graduados trae aparejado el trabajo que articula actividades de investigación y extensión

La diversidad familiar en situaciones de exclusión social. Resultados y reflexiones sobre actividades de investigación, formación y transferencia de conocimientos

El presente artículo se propone caracterizar las configuraciones familiares que habitan en contextos de exclusión social; aportar conceptualizaciones sobre sus modos de funcionamiento a través de la sistematización de los datos recogidos y destacar los efectos formativos que las prácticas interdisciplinarias barriales con esas familias, van produciendo en los psicólogos recién graduados, a través de una tarea de transferencia del enfoque sobre la diversidad tanto en el interior de las investigaciones como a partir de las intervenciones realizadas con las familias en las tareas de incorporados al Programa de Extensión. Asimismo, nos ha interesado poder efectuar una tarea de transferencia del enfoque sobre la diversidad en la formación de los profesionales jóvenes, tanto en el interior de las investigaciones como en el de las intervenciones realizadas con familias en las tareas de extensión. Este trabajo surge de resultados y reflexiones provenientes de tres fuentes: de lo producido en el marco de una Beca de iniciación a la Investigación; de las investigaciones sobre parentalidad, que desde el año 2001 venimos realizando en la Cátedra de Psicología Evolutiva II y del trabajo interdisciplinario con familias asistidas psicológicamente en el interior del Programa de Extensión Universitaria ?Consultorios Jurídicos Gratuitos?, asentados en doce barrios suburbanos de la ciudad de La Plata (convenio entre la Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales y la Facultad de Psicología, U.N.L.P.) A partir de una metodología cualitativa, con participación interdisciplinaria, los resultados obtenidos han permitido por un lado arribar a la caracterización y conceptualizaciones propuestas acerca de las familias incluidas y al mismo tiempo precisar los beneficios que para la formación de estudiantes avanzados y jóvenes graduados trae aparejado el trabajo que articula actividades de investigación y extensión

Social stress and the reactivation of latent herpes simplex virus type 1

Psychological stress is thought to contribute to reactivation of latent herpes simplex virus (HSV). Although several animal models have been developed in an effort to reproduce different pathogenic aspects of HSV keratitis or labialis, until now, no good animal model existed in which application of a psychological laboratory stressor results in reliable reactivation of the virus. Reported herein, disruption of the social hierarchy within colonies of mice increased aggression among cohorts, activated the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and caused reactivation of latent HSV type 1 in greater than 40% of latently infected animals. However, activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis using restraint stress did not activate the latent virus. Thus, the use of social stress in mice provides a good model in which to investigate the neuroendocrine mechanisms that underlie behaviorally mediated reactivation of latent herpesviruses.

TravelBot: Journey Disruption Alerts Utilising Social Media and Linked Data

Postprint

A guide to reading in social ethics and allied subjects: lists of books and articles selected and described for the use of general readers

by teachers in Harvard University.

Diritti sociali e crisi del costituzionalismo europeo [Social rights and the crisis of European constitutionalism]. WP C.S.D.L.E. “Massimo D’Antona”.INT – 95/2012

In the face of what looks like a real impasse of the the line of European constitutionalism, partly due to an orientation of the Court of Justice which tends to favor the protection of economic freedoms over the protection of social rights, two opposing trends occurr. The first amounts to a new "constitutional patriotism"; the second entrusts the protection of fundamental social rights no longer to a single Chart or to a single court but to a multi-level system of protection. A dialogue between the European courts that truly valorizes fundamental rights, however, might be hindered by what someone has seen as a resurgence of the dualist theories, evident in an ECJ’s decision as Kadi.