This paper uses quantitative methods to measure the impacts from selected shocks and evaluates the sensitivity of different welfare indicators to those shocks. The data sets from 2004--05 household and community surveys in the Central Highland of Angola are used for this study. Oaxaca decomposition analysis is conducted to examine how much of the differential in the values of welfare indicators can be explained by group differences in characteristics, and how much may be due to shock impacts. This study then examines the sensitivity of each welfare indicator to different shocks and illustrates the distribution of shock impacts on indicators using the nonparametric density estimation method. The inferences from the above study are later verified with the help of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) analysis. Suitable welfare indicators for the vulnerability assessment under each selected shock are identified. The study results suggest that there is no all-purpose welfare indicator in existence for vulnerability analysis. The groups of population at risk of falling below the poverty line or having their poverty status deteriorated with shock impacts are identified using the welfare indicators with ex ante data. The methods used in this paper are experimental yet innovative in vulnerability study. They are expected to improve the efficiency and accuracy of vulnerability assessment, and to facilitate aid/after-shock relief distribution and policy making / acase@tulane.edu

This study examines the system of family care for orphaned children in sub-Saharan Africa with the example of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Applying a retrospective research design - the case-control design - to the study of orphaned children, the research attempts to explain why some orphans leave their relatives and enter orphanages while the other larger group is taken in by members of the extended family Two groups of children are compared: orphans staying at the sites of orphanages and orphans from a similar background that continue to live with family members. All children in the sample have lost one or both of their parents and are between 8 and 20 years old. A total of 880 children have been interviewed. Children in orphanages and children in family care are compared with respect to three sets of risk factors: (a) demographic risk factors, (b) social risk factors, and (c) experiences of violence and discrimination in the family The data analysis suggests that among the indicators that were examined, experiences of violence and discrimination are most important in predicting the outcome variable. Some of the demographic characteristics also figured prominently as predictors. Surprisingly, the social characteristics appear to be less relevant in differentiating between cases and controls. Orphans at high risk to leave the family include (a) maternal orphans, (b) children that lost their parent(s) at a young age, (c) orphans from families with few adult relatives, (d) orphans without sibling support, (e) orphans without access to essential social services, in particular schooling, and (f) children that suffer violence, discrimination or other forms of abuse by a family adult. The cultural phenomenon of children accused of sorcery ('enfants dits sorciers') is especially disturbing. With more than 50% of the children in orphanages and 20% of the children in family care accused of sorcery by family members, the research confirms earlier impressions that the belief in sorcery is becoming a most significant factor in child abandonment in the Democratic Republic of Congo / acase@tulane.edu

Contemporary welfare research recognizes the increasing importance of norms and values in shaping popular assessment of social policy and the need to more fully incorporate cultural beliefs into the empirical study of public opinion. This research is a comparative study of factors influencing public attitudes towards government policies in fourteen countries: Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, former Czechoslovakia, former East Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, the United States, and former West Germany. I use data from the 1992 International Social Survey Program (ISSP): Social Inequality (International Social Survey Program, 1992) to examine the effect of individual-level characteristics and beliefs about stratification on public attitudes toward welfare policies in each country. I test a model specifying that support for government policies is a product of the interplay between objective and subjective status and beliefs about economic justice. I compare how the proposed relationships vary across national context. I find that the effect of both socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and stratification beliefs varies across Western nations in accordance with national differences in the institutional organization of their welfare programs and the predominance of individualistic versus collectivist values in national cultures. I examine also how the model developed for the case of stable industrialized Western democracies applies in the post-communist societies of Eastern Europe. In these countries I do not find more pronounced socioeconomic and demographic cleavages in attitudes yet the effects of stratification beliefs in shaping public support for government policies are notably weaker than in the West. The empirical results confirm the need for an embedded approach in comparative welfare research / acase@tulane.edu

Previous evaluation and research studies focused on planning have indicated that the incorporation of natural hazards into comprehensive plans results in a reduction in property loss following a disaster event (R. J. Burby et al., 1999, 2000; A. C. Nelson & S. P. French, 2002; R. B. Olshansky, 2001). To date, minimal research has been conducted on the efficacy of stand-alone mitigation plans to reduce disaster loss. With passage of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 and its emphasis on mitigation planning, analysis of its efficacy in reducing disaster expenditures is important. The dearth of related research increases the relevancy of this study This current study sought to determine whether mitigation planning improves community disaster resiliency through the reduction of disaster recovery costs. The purpose of this research was to investigate whether vulnerable populations and property are protected from loss due to natural disasters by continued investment in mitigation planning under the present legislative framework. This research examines the Local Mitigation Strategies implemented within Florida and over 25 federally declared events from 1994 through 2004. The Local Mitigation Strategy served as the pilot program for the planning requirement introduced in the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. A multivariate model was applied to determine whether disaster expenditures or per capita expenditure from the natural disasters under study could have been reduced had a mitigation plan been in place. It was found that having a plan did not reduce either type of expenditure. Based upon these findings, changes are strongly recommended in the manner in which mitigation planning is conducted under the current framework to reduce the loss of life and property from natural disaster events / acase@tulane.edu

Adolescence is a critical developmental period marked by complex transitions. The wellbeing of this population, currently the largest in human history, is important, as adolescents are the future world leaders, citizens, workers, mothers and fathers. Subjective wellbeing research has become popular in recent years, but there are important gaps in the literature. Cross-cultural examinations and comparisons of subjective wellbeing have focused on developed countries. Less is known about subjective wellbeing in developing countries. There are gaps in research on special populations or groups and in the comparison of sub-groups within a population This analysis assesses the subjective wellbeing of adolescents in Cote d'Ivoire, a developing country in sub-Saharan Africa. Multiple measures are used to evaluate adolescent wellbeing from an overall perspective and to explore satisfaction with specific life domains. Potential adolescent risk factors and protective factors are examined to explore if and how they may influence individual assessments of wellbeing. Gender and age-related differences in self-reported wellbeing are examined to explore if and how these groups experience adolescence differently. The Personal Wellbeing Index for School Children is tested as valid a cross-cultural measure of subjective wellbeing Findings suggest that Ivorian adolescents overall report high satisfaction with life. Evidence for gender and age-related differences in subjective wellbeing produced mixed results, which warrants further investigation. The findings also indicate that the experience of different risk and protective factors effects adolescents' perceptions of wellbeing. The results indicate there are gender and age-related differences in the effects of these factors on subjective wellbeing In addition, the evidence suggests that the PWI-SC is a moderately valid and reliable tool for assessing subjective wellbeing in Ivorian adolescents. Ultimately, additional research with adolescent populations in other developing countries is needed to further assess the validity of the PWI-SC as a cross-cultural measure of subjective wellbeing The findings may be used to inform policy on programs targeting adolescents in developing countries. This research could provide guidance to policy makers and program planners about specific factors and domains that could be incorporated into the design of policies and programs intended to protect and/or improve the wellbeing of adolescents / acase@tulane.edu

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The aim of this study was to develop methods for parent-driven research by involving parents of children with severe emotional and behavioral disorders in the process of conceptualizing and evaluating mental health service needs. A parent team consisting of three service recipients in Louisiana Office of Mental Health Region 1 was employed to work integrally with the principal researcher through all phases of the study. With the parent team leading the process, qualitative focus group data were gathered. With this data, the team worked collaboratively with the principal researcher to generate items for a new survey to assess service needs. Using the strengths perspective, ecological model and constructivist principles to guide the ethos and methods for working with and training the parent team, the Service-Needs-Utilization-Gaps Survey (S.N.U.G.) was developed. The parent team field tested the survey by gathering data from 60 parent respondents whose children use state mental health services at several clinics in Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes in Louisiana. The findings from this study offer some preliminary information to support the reliability and validity of the S.N.U.G. survey. Recommendations for further development of both the methods for parent-driven evaluation and of the S.N.U.G. survey are made. Implications for social work practice and research are discussed / acase@tulane.edu

A sample of 211 male street prostitutes were interviewed and tested for antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Based on the constructs of the Health Belief Model, subjects' perceptions of susceptibility to HIV infection, severity of HIV infection, benefit to engagement in preventive health behavior to avoid infection, and barriers to the reduction of HIV-related risk behaviors were examined. Serological data from the study confirms an HIV point prevalence rate of (175 per 1,000) among the sample. Sexual behaviors associated with increased risk of HIV infection were, engagement in anal sex and oral-genital sex, history of syphilis, and a self-defined sexual orientation of homosexual Based on previous research and the theoretical framework suggested by the Health Belief Model, it was expected that increased HIV-related risk behavior among the male street prostitutes would be inversely related to perceived severity of HIV infection, perceived susceptibility to HIV infection and perceived benefit to prevention of HIV infection and positively related to an increased perception of barriers to preventive health behavior. The findings partially support this model. Increases in perceived susceptibility and benefit to HIV prevention were significantly related to reduced risk. However, prostitutes' level of perceived severity of HIV infection was not significantly associated with risk behavior. Three lifestyle factors were found to function as barriers to engaging in risk reduction behavior. Subjects who were more economically dependent on prostitution, perceived less control over the hustling encounter and reported increased pleasure from sexual activity with their customers were more likely to engage in HIV-related risk behaviors. The data suggest that male prostitutes engage in numerous unprotected sexual acts placing them at high risk for not only the acquisition of HIV infection but the transmission of HIV to other partners. Further research focusing on HIV-related risk behaviors of both male prostitutes and their customers is recommended. Utilization of the findings from this study in the design and implementation of future HIV-related preventive health education programs is discussed / acase@tulane.edu

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