Soc. Sci., Volume 2, Issue 4 (December 2013) – 8 articles , Pages 208-340

The European sovereign-debt crisis began in Greece when the government announced in December, 2009, that its debt reached 121% of GDP (or 300 billion euros) and its 2009 budget deficit was 12.7% of GDP, four times the level allowed by the Maastricht Treaty. The Greek crisis soon spread to other Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) countries, notably Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy. Using quarterly data for the 2000–2011 period, we implement a panel-vector autoregressive (PVAR) model for 11 EMU countries to examine the extent to which a rise in a country’s bond-yield spread or debt-to-GDP ratio affects another EMU countries’ fiscal and macroeconomic outcomes. To distinguish between interdependence and contagion among EMU countries, we compare results obtained for the pre-crisis period (2000–2007) with the crisis period (2008–2011) and control for global risk aversion. Full article

In this paper, we draw on multi-level census data, in-depth interviews, ethnographic and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) methods to examine the effects of median household income, ethnoracial diversity, and flood damage on rates of post-Katrina repopulation in New Orleans. Our main finding is that New Orleans neighborhoods have been experiencing modest increases in ethnoracial diversity as well as a retrenchment of socio-spatial inequalities, as measured by low diversity scores, low median household income levels, and high poverty rates. In addition to documenting the objective indicators of “recovery”, we draw attention to the socially constructed nature of resilience. Based on interviews and ethnographic field observations, we investigate how resident constructions of resilience shape their views of the post-Katrina recovery process, provide a compelling and reassuring story of community revitalization, and convey a sense of collective power and control despite continued vulnerability to hazards and disasters. Full article

This article deals with the impact of external R&D evaluations as one of the institutional factors that can encourage (or discourage) the progress of the social sciences. A critical overview is presented of the increasing use of bibliometric indicators in the external R&D evaluation procedures employed by the Slovenian Research Agency, which is the leading research council for financing the public sector of social sciences in Slovenia. We attempt to establish that, in order to ensure a good external R&D evaluation practice for a small social science community, it is insufficient to only have reliable bibliometric meta-databases. It is argued that it is equally important to formulate very precise criteria to ascertain their validity. Full article

Although the paperless office (PLO) management system has been established with the goal of paper usage reduction, demand for paper has still showed an uptrend over the years. Given the substantial pressure on forest ecosystems due to a continued increase of paper consumption, understanding the behavioral aspects of paper consumption is, therefore, required. This present paper aims at exploring the factors underlying paper consumption behavior. Empirical data was acquired through a survey of 266 Indonesian students, involving both undergraduate and postgraduate students. A theoretical model, based on the Comprehensive Action Determination Model (CADM), was tested against the empirical data. It was found that the model received reasonable support from the data. Results indicate that reducing paper consumption behavior is strongly influenced by habit and, marginally significant, by intention. Furthermore, habit formation is influenced by both normative processes and situational influences. The results, to some extent, explain the PLO paradox in a way that the PLO program should have focused on breaking the habit of paper usage instead of promoting the benefits of PLO. Introducing a paper quota and rationing (fee) to new students, as the main target, is a potential policy intervention implied from the results. Full article

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates that 238,590 U.S. men will develop PCa and 29,720 men will die from the disease in 2013. PCa exhibits the most profound racial disparities of all cancers with African American men having a 70% higher incidence rate and more than two times higher mortality rate than Caucasian men. Published research on PCa disparities focuses on singular outcomes such as incidence, mortality or quality of life. The objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive summary of the racial disparities found at each stage of the PCa Care Continuum which includes prevention, detection, treatments, and outcomes and survival. It focuses primarily on disparities among Caucasian (white) and African American men. Full article

Bullying is an understudied issue of public health importance in low-income countries. In the present study, we aimed to explore social and demographic factors associated with bullying among adolescents in a low-income country urban setting. We divided a sample of 2,154 school-attending adolescents into two groups, those who had been bullied during a 30-day period and those who were not. We considered age, sex, mental health, parent-relationship, hunger and social deprivation and truancy in our comparison of these two groups using logistic regression. Multinomial regression was also used to determine if there was a dose response relationship between bullying frequency and the aforementioned selected variables. We found that school-attending adolescents in Dar es Salaam were more likely to be truant, suffer from mental health problems and have experienced hunger. Adolescents who had parents which were more aware of their free time activities, were less likely to report being bullied. There were also significant differences in bullying frequency and certain variables, most notably with truancy, economic and social deprivation, and signs of depression. School settings in Dar es Salaam offer a potential for intervening in what are potentially harmful effects of bullying behavior among bully victims. Full article

Taking a historical perspective of economic changes, this paper argues that muddling through crises-induced reforms characterizes well the evolutionary process of forming currency unions. The economic distortions facing the euro include structural challenges in the labor and product markets, and financial distortions. While both structural and financial distortions are costly and prevalent, they differ in fundamental ways. Financial distortions are moving at the speed of the Internet, and their welfare costs are determined more by the access to credit lines and leverage, than by the GDP of each country. In contrast, the structural distortions are moving at a slow pace relative to the financial distortions, and their effects are determined by inter-generational dynamics. These considerations suggest that the priority should be given to dealing with the financial distortions. A more perfect Eurozone is not assured without successfully muddling through painful periodic crises. Full article

Bullying is an issue of public health importance among adolescents worldwide. The present study aimed at explaining differences in bullying rates among adolescents in 15 low- and middle-income countries using globally comparable indicators of social and economic well-being. Using data derived from the Global School-based Health Survey, we performed bivariate analyses to examine differences in bullying rates by country and by bullying type. We then constructed a multi-level model using four fixed variables (age, gender, hunger and truancy) at the individual level, random effects at the classroom and school levels and four fixed variables at the country level (Gini coefficient, per capita Gross Domestic Project, homicide rate and pupil to teacher ratio). Bullying rates differed significantly by classroom, school and by country, with Egypt (34.2%) and Macedonia (3.6%) having the highest and lowest rates, respectively. Eleven-year-olds were the most likely of the studied age groups to report being bullied, as was being a male. Hunger and truancy were found to significantly predict higher rates of bullying. None of the explanatory variables at the country level remained in the final model. While self-reported bullying varied significantly between countries, the variance between classrooms better explained these differences. Our findings suggest that classroom settings should be considered when designing approaches aimed at bullying prevention. Full article