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Founding editor of The Independent Review Robert Higgs reminds us that '[i]ncome inequality is a statistical artifact.... The aggregate of the measure is arbitrary: why, for example, should inequality be [...]

Purpose: This longitudinal study assessed continuity and stability of productive language (vocabulary and grammar) and discourse features (turn-taking; asking and responding to questions) during mother-child play. Method: Parent-child language use in 119 Spanish-speaking, Mexican immigrant mothers and their children at two ages (M = 2.5 and 3.6 years) was evaluated from transcriptions of interactions. Results: Child productive language significantly increased over the year, whereas mothers showed commensurate increases in vocabulary diversity but very little change in grammatical complexity. Mother-child discourse was characterized by discontinuity: Mothers decreased their turn length and asked fewer questions while children increased on both measures. Rates of responding to questions remained high for both mothers and children even as children increased and mothers decreased over time. Mothers and children showed significant rankorder stability in productive language and measures of discourse. Mothers' rate of asking questions and children's responses to questions during the first interaction predicted children's receptive vocabulary a year later. Conclusions: As children become more sophisticated communicators, language input remains important, with discourse features growing in relevance. Children's early opportunities to respond to parents' questions in the context of play benefit their language skills. This work extends the evidence base from monolingual English-speaking families and is interpreted in the context of prior research on parenting practices in U.S. families of Mexican origin., Current theories of language development highlight the transition from toddlerhood to the early preschool years as pivotal for semantic and syntactic development and children's acquisition of conversational discourse skills (Clark, [...]

THE CARCERAL SPIRIT OF THIS NEOLIBERAL ERA EXTENDS FAR BEYOND the physical walls of correctional facilities; indeed, both governmental and private actors play essential roles in criminalizing, confining, and amplifying [...]

This paper reviews the current social protection system in Vietnam with a special focus on access of the poor and vulnerable people. It shows that the system has been expanded to cover more poor and vulnerable people. However, at the same time, delivery of services and financing are still unequal between groups, in which advantaged groups have better utilization of services than disadvantaged groups. To reach a social protection floor, especially a universal health insurance coverage by 2015, the paper argues that the Government of Vietnam will face a number of challenges, in which financing is the most critical. Also, to expand retirements and social assistance effectively, focusing on the poor and vulnerable groups will ensure a sustainable poverty reduction. Keywords: Poverty, social protection, service delivery, vulnerability, Vietnam., I. Introduction Over the past two decades Vietnam has experienced strong economic growth along with deeper regional and global integration. As a result, the poverty rate fell from 58.1 per [...]

Through the sixteenth century, the Christian tradition upheld the biblical denunciation of usury as the oppression of the poor and the neighbor. The church should critically retrieve this understanding as a contribution to the public discourse about the oppressive use of interest and debt in the current worldwide fiscal crises. 'Lend, expecting nothing in return' (Matt 6:35), Polonius advises his son Laertes, 'Neither a borrower nor a lender be.' (1) And with good reason. Lending and borrowing are so much the source of unhappiness for many persons [...]

Consonant with the family stress model, in this study family economic disadvantage, concomitant with cumulative family stressors, concurrently contributed to poor family functioning of 504 Chinese families in an impoverished neighborhood in Hong Kong, in which the latter factor appeared to be more pronounced. Implications were briefly discussed. DOI 10.2466/02.13.21.PR0.107.6.740-748

This article focuses on the Rwandan peasantry to confirm how 'views from below' can contribute to a better understanding of the 'pro-poor' growth challenge. Based on micro-level evidence gathered in 2007, it examines local peasants' perceptions of the characteristics and degree of poverty for different socioeconomic categories (i.e., peasant groups). It looks at the various opportunities and constraints that influence the potential of these categories or groups for social mobility and their capacity to participate in growth strategies. Further, it considers how local peasants perceive specific policy measures in the Rwandan government's 'pro-poor' rural strategies. Their insights could inspire Rwandan policymakers and supporting donors to redirect their efforts toward distribution-oriented growth strategies. Cet article se concentre sur la situation des fermiers ruandais pour soutenir le fait que les perceptions venant 'du bas' de 1' echelle sociale peuvent contribuer a une meilleure comprehension des obstacles du progres 'pour les pauvres.' En me basant sur les observations d'une etude locale conduite en 2007, j'examine les perceptions que les paysans locaux ont des caracteristiques et niveaux de pauvrete pour differentes categories socioeconomiques (groupes paysans). J'examine les differentes opportunites et contraintes qui influencent la mobilite sociale de ces groupes ou categories et leur capacite a participer aux strategies de croissance. De plus, cet article montre comment les paysans locaux percoivent certaines mesures strategiques mises en place 'pour les pauvres' par le gouvernement. Ces apercus pourraient inspirer les responsables politiques et les financeurs a rediriger leurs efforts vers des strategies de croissance basees sur des principes de distribution.

A study analyzes the implications of the relative accessibility deprivation indicators for urban settings such as distance traveled and type of individual by applying them to the case of food deserts in Montreal, Canada. Results reveal the variations in accessibility to food services between individuals in low-income households and the reference group, and the impact of vehicle ownership for the purpose, thereby highlighting the social exclusion implications of the factors.

Determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption, including affordability and attitudes, have been poorly investigated, especially in European deprived populations. Our objective was to analyze various determinants of low consumption of fruits and vegetables in disadvantaged participants. Our participants were randomized into 2 groups, 1 which received nutritional advice alone and 1 that also received vouchers that were exchangeable for fruits and vegetables during a 12-mo period. Socioeconomic characteristics, food insufficiency, affordability, and motivation for eating fruits and vegetables were assessed. A short FFQ was administered. Determinants of consumption of doi: 10.3945/jn.109.118273

There is undoubtedly something presumptuous about any claim to speak on behalf of others. Too often we have seen an arrogant attitude manifested in the development agendas imposed on others [...]

It has commonly been suggested that in modern cities individual or household deprivation (for example, low income or education) is amplified by area level deprivation (for example, lack of jobs or good schools), in ways which damage the health of the poorest and increase health inequalities. The aim of this study was to determine the location of a range of resources and exposures by deprivation in a UK city. We examined the location of 42 resources in Glasgow City, Scotland, in 2005-2006, by quintile of small area deprivation. Measures included number per 1000 population, network distance to nearest resource, and percentage of data zones containing at least one of each type of resource. Twelve resources had higher density in, and/or were closer to or more common in, more deprived neighbourhoods: public nurseries, public primary schools, police stations, pharmacies, credit unions, post offices, bus stops, bingo halls, public swimming pools, public sports centres, outdoor play areas, and vacant and derelict land/buildings. Sixteen had higher density in, and/or were closer to, or more common in, more affluent neighbourhoods: public secondary schools, private schools, banks, building societies, museums/art galleries. railway stations, subway stations, tennis courts, bowling greens, private health clubs, private swimming pools, colleges, A & E hospitals, parks, waste disposal sites, and tourist attractions. Private nurseries. Universities, fire stations, general, dental and ophthalmic practices, pawn brokers, ATMs, supermarkets, fast food chains, cafes, public libraries, golf courses, and cinemas showed no clear pattern by deprivation. Thus it appears that in the early 21st century access to resources does not always disadvantage poorer neighbourhoods in the UK. We conclude that we need to ensure that theories and policies are based on up-to-date and context-specific empirical evidence on the distribution of neighbourhood resources, and to engage in further research on interactions between individual and environmental factors in shaping health and health inequalities. Keywords: Scotland Area deprivation Location of resources Deprivation amplification Environmental justice UK Health inequalities

A study was conducted to examine the processes of identity-building used by poor and middle-income inhabitants of Santiago, Chile. It is argued that these processes express the current type of urban segregation in the city. It is concluded that the 'new' urban segregation has led to a practice of neo-communitarian lifestyles.

A study was conducted to question the effectiveness of Elinor Kstrom's 'design principles' in providing solutions to social divisions by social capital building and institutionalized participation. It is concluded that the practices of good governance can undermine the limited social capital of poor people.

This study analyzes the difficulties that poor parents faced when they lost an adult child to AIDS in Togo. The death of a child is believed to be more distressful to parents compared to the death of a spouse. Evidence also suggests that parental grief is more lasting and may be the most complicated form of grief. Furthermore, the roles played by the deceased child in the lives. of the parents also affect the parental grieving process. For instance, in low income regions where parents tend to be socio-economically challenged and where filial obligations are culturally expected, losing an adult child who provided material and financial assistance to parents will be more disastrous. Four kinds of difficulties were identified: financial and social difficulty, psychological difficulty, caregiving difficulty, and disclosure difficulty. The socioeconomic status of the parents made these issues all the more taxing, as respondents were grieving not only the loss of their children to AIDS but also the loss of financial providers. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.

Public opinion material from the 1930s and 1940s suggest that the New Deal era successes were more due to progressive state policies and less due to public commitment to uplift the poor.

This article presents new empirical findings from a qualitative, longitudinal study of low-income working family life. It explores the experiences and perceptions of a group of children living in low-income, working, lone-mother households. Their accounts disclose the impact on children's everyday lives of their mothers' move into low-paid employment following a period out of the labour market. Children's accounts show that their mothers' move into work had brought significant economic and social change to their lives. How children experienced their mothers' employment and made sense of changes in family life was mediated by a range of different factors including their age, changes in income and security, changes in family time and family practices, child care, and their perceptions of maternal wellbeing. The findings also reveal that children, as active social agents, were engaged in a complex range of caring and coping strategies that endeavoured to ease some of the pressures that low-income working life could generate in their family lives. The article concludes with a discussion about the implications of the findings for policy, particularly in relation to the quality of social and economic support that lone mothers and their children receive.

The issue of taking the victims' side, seeing the world from the perspective of reality that oppresses them daily and transforming both the victim and ourselves is discussed.

A comparative study conducted in Australia and the United States examined people's responses to protagonists who were either born rich or poor and who ended up either rich or poor as adults. Results reveal some cross-cultural similarities and some differences. Specifically, people in both countries perceive initially poor and subsequently rich individuals as more competent and likeable than initially rich and subsequently poor individuals, but these differences were greater in the American context than in the Australian context. In addition, being exposed to someone who was born rich (vs. born poor) led Americans to perceive the economic system as more fair and legitimate, but it led Australians to perceive the system as less fair and legitimate. Keywords: rich; poor; wealth; status; United States; Australia

The factors related to the desire of social work students to work with the poor are studied by examining three sets of variables, students' perceptions of the causes of poverty, the best way of dealing with it, and preferred professional interventions in a sample study. The findings suggest that interest to work with poor is associated with less inclination to perceive poverty as caused by lack of motivation, effort, and responsibility, more inclination to view the expansion of state provision as the best means of dealing with poverty, and more desire to employ policy practice and advocacy.

Byline: Colleen J. Howell (1), Ryan T. Howell (1), Kurt A. Schwabe (1) Keywords: indigenous; poverty; satisfaction with life scale; subjective well-being; wealth Abstract: Recent studies investigating need theory and the extent to which money can buy happiness have called for more research within culturally homogeneous samples from developing countries to explore this relationship. We examine wealth as a measure of possessions and savings and relate this to subjective well-being (SWB) among poor indigenous farmers in Peninsular Malaysia. With hierarchical multiple regression, we find that the association between wealth and life satisfaction, after controlling for demographic variables, is positive and significant, [beta] = 0.24, p Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA Article History: Registration Date: 03/03/2005 Accepted Date: 01/03/2005

Current theories of how individuals in poor neighborhoods access information and resources have focused primarily on social ties, with concepts such as social isolation dominating discussion. But these theories ignore that individuals often access resources through interorganizational ties. The author suggests that an important role of neighborhood institutions such as churches and childcare centers is to serve as resource brokers--organizations that have ties to businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies rich in resources and that provide their patrons with access to these resources. This article presents a set of propositions to understand how and why neighborhood institutions broker resources and applies these propositions to a case study of 16 childcare centers in high poverty neighborhoods in New York City. The author argues that resource brokers may be understood as interorganizationally networked, loosely coupled entities whose actors respond to pressures of multiple origins, including professional norms and state mandates. He shows that, through mechanisms that vary in their formality and staff dependence, childcare centers provide access to a remarkable array of resources from external organizations. Findings suggest that resource access among the poor should be understood as an organizationally embedded process, and that true disadvantage may result not merely from living in poor neighborhoods, but from not participating in well-connected neighborhood institutions.

This study examined belief in personal control among low-income single mothers (African American, Puerto Rican, and European American) in an economically distressed region in the Northeast, who were recruited from child care centers and community programs. A factor analysis of the Belief in Personal Control Scale supported the three hypothesized subscales of the measure--God-mediated control, external control, and exaggerated personal control. The results indicate that African American women had stronger God-mediated control and weaker external control than did European American women and that Puerto Rican women had greater external control and weaker exaggerated personal control than did European American women. They suggest that an instrument that measures belief in personal control can contribute to efforts to understand low-income single mothers' perceptions of their situations and that religious faith should be further explored as a key component of belief in personal control. Keywords: belief in personal control; empowerment; low-income single mothers; religious faith

The Moving to Opportunity (MTO) is a carefully designed, large demonstration to measure the impact of a neighborhood on the lives of very low-income families with children who initially lived in subsidized housing developments in concentrated-poverty areas in the United States. MTO serves as a platform for unbiased measurement of the ways that improvements in neighborhood can change the lives of very-low-income families with children.

There is a need to model and measure the cumulative effects of discrimination to provide a better way to see its impact and to see the extent to which it remains a salient social problem. One study finds that the sons of low-income black fathers are 63 percent likely to remain in the bottom quartile as compared to 32 percent for sons of low-income white fathers.

We explored the perspectives and experiences of low-income, predominantly African American families regarding children's school-readiness. Our research, which involved qualitative interviews, ethnographic case studies, and 'photovoice' methods, focused on families participating in the national evaluation of Early Head Start. While valuing academic skills, study parents emphasized the importance of social and emotional health in regard to both children's and parents' readiness to begin school. These developments are especially critical given the challenges parents perceive in local school environments. On the basis of a social ecology framework, we argue that psychological and environmental dimensions of school readiness are public health matters and that understanding the perspectives of low income and minority parents on such issues is a critical aspect of health communication dedicated to eliminating health disparities.

Social scientists have documented more negative reactions to the concept of welfare versus the concept of poor, despite the fact that both labels can be used almost interchangeably in current political discussions. We believe that the most proximal explanation rests in the different attributional information contained within the stereotypes of welfare recipients versus poor people. Three studies were conducted to test this idea. The results suggest that the attributional content within stereotypes of welfare recipients, particularly their greater responsibility for their impoverished state compared with poor people, most influences the public's more negative reaction to welfare. The results are discussed in terms of how the rhetoric of stereotypes may be exploited in the political domain.

Objective: Filicide, or parental murder of offspring, constitutes a major portion of lethal violence perpetrated against children worldwide. Despite the global nature of the phenomenon, researchers have focused their studies on the developed industrialized societies with the consequent neglect of small, developing societies. Second, there is a paucity of empirical data on child homicide committed by fathers. This study therefore explores the nature and extent of paternal filicides in Fiji, a non-Western society, and the social and cultural forces underlying them in order to enhance our knowledge of the phenomenon. Method: Information was obtained from a number of sources, including (a) a police homicide logbook, (b) newspaper reports of homicide, and (c) detailed interviews conducted with criminal justice and medical personnel. Information from these data sources were consolidated to construct case histories of paternal filicides. These cases were then analyzed for dominant themes. Case illustrations are presented in the text. Results: Several of the study's findings are congruent with other studies of paternal filicides: poor, working class fathers were the offenders in all cases. As a corollary, their victims were from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Regarding location, paternal filicides occurred in the home of the offender and victim. The filicides were the culmination of stresses and strains associated with marital disharmony and excessive corporal child-control strategies. Conclusions: The general conclusion of this study is that further research in non-Western societies has the potential to increase our understanding of the social factors and processes involved in paternal child murders. We will then be better positioned to craft effective intervention strategies. Keywords: Filicide; Homicide; Child murder; Child abuse; Fiji

In this article, we examine the social networks of low-income mothers, using a conceptual framework that differentiates social networks that offer support from those that yield leverage. This ethnographic analysis pays particular attention to how respondents generate social capital to obtain resources for survival and social mobility. Respondents identified at least three issues beyond resource constraints that work alone or in combination to positively or negatively influence their use of family as sources of social support: physical proximity, reciprocity, and family tensions. We also explore the conditions under which respondents generate social support through friendships and non-profit institutions. We find that social capital that improves opportunities for upward mobility can be obtained from relationships that provide advice, contacts, and encouragement to get ahead. We also find that social support and social leverage networks can work in tandem or in tension to allow (or preclude) day-to-day survival and mobility. Social support networks can inhibit social mobility by enforcing time-consuming and professionally limiting expectations on women. The size and heterogeneity of the network becomes important in such instances.

In this study, we examined attitudes toward poor women, stereotypes about them, attributions for their poverty, and whether these thoughts and feelings differ from those about poor men. In our Midwestern college students sample (n = 206), attitudes toward poor women were significantly more positive than attitudes toward poor men. In addition, stereotypes of poor women were both more positive and more consistent with gender stereotypes than were those of poor men. Participants endorsed internal attributions for the poverty of both women and men more strongly than external or cultural attributions. However, the content of these attributions was different for the two target groups. Poor women were held responsible for nontraditional familial and reproductive patterns, whereas poor men were held responsible for lack of initiative and self-improvement. For poor men, all types of attributions included references to ability or willingness to work. The three types of attributions were more conceptually distinct for p oor women. KEY WORDS: poverty; gender; attitudes.

The growth in the black middle class since the Civil Rights movement has spawned an interest in the relationships between the black middle class and the black poor. Scholars are interested in understanding how social and cultural capital among the black middle class both ameliorate and/or sustain the conditions of the black working poor. While this literature provides us with an understanding about the role of social and cultural capital in the lives of poor and middle class blacks, it says little about how ideology functions in intra-racial multi-class coalitions. Through materialist and culturalist frames of community problems confronting the black working poor, I argue that culturalist frames of community problems fail to address black working class issues. Drawing on a case study of a community's effort to use Afrocentric ideology to improve an urban school I demonstrate how black middle class community members misdiagnosed the problem at the school through culturalist framing. Findings indicate that social class plays a significant role in how problems are defined, interpreted and addressed.

Objective To examine relationships between gender, literacy and survival among adults in Meskan and Mareko district, Ethiopia. Methods On the basis of an established demographic surveillance system, an open-cohort analysis of 172 726 person-years covering the period January 1987 to December 1996 was conducted in 10 randomly selected local communities. Findings The crude mortality rate was 11.2 per 1000 person-years among adults aged [greater than or equal to] 15 years; the values for males and females were 11.9 and 10.6 per 1000 person-years, respectively. Kaplan-Meier estimates showed that literacy and being female were both favourable for survival throughout adulthood. Cox's regression models showed that age, gender, literacy and area (rural lowland, rural highland and urban) were significant factors in survival: younger, female, literate urban dwellers were the most favoured. Gender differences in mortality were small in the rural areas, possibly because of the harsh living conditions and the marginalization of women. Literacy was a more significant factor for survival in the rural areas, where mortality was highest, while gender was more important in the one urban area studied. The levels of literacy were lowest among rural females. Conclusion Special attention should be given to raising literacy levels among rural women with a view to improving their survival. Keywords Mortality; Survival; Educational status; Sex factors; Age factors; Socioeconomic factors; Rural population; Urban population; Men; Women; Adult; Cohort studies; Regression analysis; Ethiopia (source: MeSH, NLM). Mots cles Mortalite; Survie; Niveau instruction; Facteur sexuel; Facteur age; Facteur socio-economique; Population rurale; Population urbaine; Hommes; Femmes; Adulte; Etude cohorte; Analyse regression; Ethiopie (source: MeSH, INSERM). Palabras clave Mortalidad; Supervivencia; Escolaridad; Factores sexuales; Factores de edad; Factores socioeconomicos; Poblacion rural; Poblacion urbana; Hombres; Mujeres; Adulto; Estudios de cohortes; Analisis de regresion; Etiopia (fuente: DeCS, BIREME).). Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2002;80:714-720. Voir page 719 le resume en francais. En la pagina 719 figura un resumen en espanol., Introduction Many health indicators for adults exhibit considerable gender differences according to an individual's social position and role (1, 2). Worldwide, male mortality rates exceed those of females at all [...]

Partial privatization of Social Security is being considered as an integral part of the future Social Security program for American retirees. Because privatization creates uncertainty about the amount of retirement income that future retirees may expect to receive, the issue of a safety net is critical. This article presents the findings from an empirical study that investigated the degree to which the current Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs provide a safety net, separately and in combination, to the elderly poor. The major findings were that the Social Security program not only increases the income statuses of both posttransfer and pretransfer poor elderly people considerably, but that the program also significantly equalizes the distribution of income among them. In addition, the SSI program supplements the Social Security program in establishing an even greater safety net, especially for posttransfer poor elderly people. On the other hand, Social Security benefits make the income disparity among races greater between both posttransfer and pretransfer poor elderly people. Implications for policy are discussed. KEYWORDS. Safety net, elderly poor, Social Security, SSI

The author Erskine Caldwell's father advocated the sterilization of poor whites to stop supposed hereditary degeneracy. Caldwell himself, in his novel 'Tobacco Road', revealed his own feelings abou the issue. He was in favor of sterilization, but held no real hope that anything could cure the degeneracy of the poor.

The authors present the voices of 20 low-income fathers, all participants in a Responsible Fatherhood (RF) program in a large urban area. A hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was used to document participants' memories of becoming fathers, explain participants' perceptions of the benefits and the barriers to remaining involved with the program, and share participants' suggestions for program improvement. The results provide a preliminary evaluation of the program's services, and we discuss how these findings are helpful to future programmatic and policy initiatives.