Housing Law Is Dead. Long Live European Housing Law?

The U.K. discipline of housing law is closely linked to the advice needs of individuals and local councils who have many housing responsibilities. This interdisciplinary study supports people in need of housing, particularly assisting access to social housing, often owned by councils. In France similar groups are supported by a strongly expressed right to housing, which is a principle of constitutional value. However, the French local government is too small and fragmented to support U.K.-type responsibility and stronger rights of other local people can block access to social housing. European influences mean that the U.K. has imported a series of ideas that could mean less access to social housing for people in need and the U.K. discipline of housing law is more complex, diffused, and difficult to promote as a study unit. French legal study suggests European trends: primarily public law, not empirical and oriented to construction, although this is improving. Several ideas for new European legal subject groupings are suggested, particularly rights. The right to housing might be currently ineffective in France but it is unavoidable because of pervasive European use. The discipline of the U.K. housing law is threatened, but such lawyers could create new disciplines adapting its traditional strengths to new European groupings.     

Maximizing the Sustainability of Integrated Housing Recovery Efforts

The large-scale and catastrophic impacts of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 challenged the efficacy of traditional postdisaster temporary housing methods. To address these challenges, the U.S. Congress appropriated $400 million to the Department of Homeland Security to support alternative housing pilot programs, which encourage innovative housing solutions that will facilitate sustainable and permanent affordable housing in addition to serving as temporary housing. Facilitating and maximizing the sustainability of postdisaster alternative housing is an important objective that has significant social, economic, and environmental impacts. This paper presents the development of a novel optimization model that is capable of (1) evaluating the sustainability of integrated housing recovery efforts under the alternative housing pilot program and (2) identifying the housing projects that maximize sustainability. An application example is analyzed to demonstrate the use of the developed model and its unique capabilities in maximizing the sustainability of integrated housing recovery efforts after natural disasters.     

When the Cold Wind Blows: Legal Strategies against Ghettoization in Denmark

The paper will present and analyze the Danish government’s strategy against “ghettoization.” This strategy includes a wide range of legal initiatives aiming to prevent certain social housing estates from developing into what the government defined as “ghettos.” The government’s strategy mainly promotes initiatives to control the access to socially exposed neighborhoods. The issue of controlling who should be removed from the neighborhoods is left to the discretion of the social housing organizations. These organizations have started a practice that involves evicting families with criminal children living at home. The right to housing is accordingly challenged within different frameworks. The right to access to housing is challenged in the light of government regulation which prohibits people on social welfare to move into the areas. The right to stay in housing is challenged in the light of social housing organizations initiating court procedures to evict unwanted tenants. Taking a rights-based approach to housing law, the paper will assess the legal consequences of these different strategies. Claiming that the strategies are silencing the real victims of ghettoization, the paper will explore the possible ways of addressing the discriminatory aspects of the legal strategies.     

Domestic violence in Russia.

Reported incidence and frequency rates of domestic violence in Russia exceed Western figures by 4 or 5 times. Although a grassroots social services movement has emerged to provide services for victims and families, a number of historical and cultural influences unique to Russia present challenges with regard to the problem of domestic violence. These include a history of institutional oppression of women, arcane legal procedures, a shortage of housing and shelters, untrained medical professionals, and widespread misinformation and myths about domestic violence. This article documents incidence and prevalence of domestic violence, cultural and historical influences, legal issues, and specific challenges to ending domestic violence in Russia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A group-intensive peer support model of case management for supported housing.

A group-intensive peer support (GIPS) model of case management for supported housing initiatives is proposed. The principles behind the model and initial experiences with its implementation are described. To promote social reintegration and recovery, GIPS provides housing subsidies and is clinically based on group meetings as the default mode of case management, relying on individual community-based case management interventions on an as-needed basis. The process of finding and sustaining independent housing is articulated as a 21-step process in which peers coach and support one another in achieving each of the steps. The GIPS model has been implemented at the Connecticut VA by five full-time case managers serving approximately 80 veterans. Group meetings are conducted four times a week at various locations ranging in size from three to 25 clients per group. Groups helped maintain frequent contact with clients, minimized staff travel time, and fostered client information-sharing, peer support, and community adaptation. Case vignettes from three different phases of GIPS are used to illustrate the potential benefit for both client well-being and more efficient use of staff time. GIPS is a conceptually promising alternative approach that may be of special value in large multisite programs because it promotes peer support, staff efficiency, and client social reintegration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affordable Housing in Latin America: Improved Role of the Academic Sector in the Case of Colombia

Housing deficit, which can be defined as the shortage of housing units, is a major problem in developing nations. In Latin American countries it affects a large proportion of the population. A number of factors hinder the ability of Colombia and other countries to overcome the challenge of providing housing units. These factors include the lack of adequate resources, a shortage of urban land, and financing risks. In Latin America the “academic sector” must go beyond its traditional role and become a facilitator for improvements in the housing production chain. It must be an innovator proposing better construction alternatives. The utilization of recycled polymers offers a housing solution with expected impact on waste reduction and on competitive housing materials.     

Impact of Property Management Services on Affordable Housing Residents in Atlanta, Georgia

Several challenges and complexities are involved in managing affordable housing properties, including social programming, meeting financial goals, budgeting, complying with governmental and local housing regulations, decreasing tenant turnover and vacancy rates, and maintaining the physical building structure. Nonprofit organizations have recently taken on the task of housing the nation’s less privileged, lower-income households. Most nonprofit owners contract property management services to private management companies. This research measures how satisfied residents are with property management services at Defoors Ferry Manor, a nonprofit multifamily affordable housing community owned by Atlanta Mutual Housing Association. Of the thirteen variables, residents were least satisfied with expediency in which property management staff addressed their issues. A plausible explanation for this finding is the high turnover rate in property management staff. This research provides recommendations for successfully transitioning between property management staff.     

Protecting confidentiality rights: The need for an ethical practice model.

All psychologists must uphold the same ethical standards about confidentiality even though each state imposes different legal limits on their ability to protect clients' confidences. The resulting ethical-legal confusion is exacerbated by legally based confidentiality training that treats legal exceptions as if they were the rule and fosters the impression that attorneys are now the only real experts about this aspect of practice. This article provides an ethics-based confidentiality practice model that clarifies the ethical rule and puts its legal exceptions into ethical perspective. Like the Confidentiality section of the American Psychological Association's (2002) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, this outline would apply to all psychologists regardless of state laws, but the details of its implementation would vary according to role and setting. It can be used as a universal training outline, a consultation and supervision tool, a guide to professional practice, and a basis for clearer ongoing conversation about the ethics of "conditional confidentiality." Psychologists can use this practice model to regain their status as experts about the confidentiality ethics of their own profession. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How much do I tell thee? Strategies for managing information to parents among American adolescents from Chinese, Mexican, and European backgrounds.

Strategies for managing information about activities to parents, including partial disclosure, avoidance, lying, and full disclosure, were examined in 479 American adolescents (M = 16.38 years, SD = 0.77) varying in generational status and from Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds. Information management strategies for personal, prudential, and overlapping (multifaceted) activities as defined within social domain theory were examined. With age, parental education, and generational status controlled, Chinese American adolescents partially disclosed more to mothers about personal and multifaceted activities than did Mexican American adolescents and more to fathers about personal activities than did European American teens. In contrast, European and Mexican American adolescents fully disclosed more to mothers about personal activities than did Chinese-origin adolescents. Strategies varied by generation among Chinese American youth; second-generation adolescents avoided discussing activities with parents more than did immigrants. Adolescents who fully disclosed about all activities and lied less about multifaceted and personal activities reported stronger endorsement of obligations to assist their families, more trust in parents, and less problem behavior. More depressed mood was associated with more lying about personal activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive and behavioral distancing from the poor.

The author argues that distancing is the dominant response to poor people on the part of those who are not poor and that distancing, separation, exclusion, and devaluing operationally define discrimination. Such responses, together with stereotypes and prejudice, define classism. The article focuses on classism in the United States. Classism is examined in the context of theoretical propositions about the moral exclusion of stigmatized others and is illustrated by cognitive distancing, institutional distancing (in education, housing, health care, legal assistance, politics, and public policy), and interpersonal distancing. The adoption of the Resolution on Poverty and Socioeconomic Status by the American Psychological Association Council of Representatives in August 2000 is cited as an important step in the direction of eliminating the invisibility of low-income persons in psychological research and theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reflections on a proposed theory of reservation-dwelling American Indian alcohol use: Comment on Spillane and Smith (2007).

In their recent article, N. Spillane and G. Smith (see record 2007-06095-002) suggested that reservation-dwelling American Indians have higher rates of problem drinking than do either non–American Indians or those American Indians living in nonreservation settings. These authors further argued that problematic alcohol use patterns in reservation communities are due to the lack of contingencies between drinking and “standard life reinforcers” (SLRs), such as employment, housing, education, and health care. This comment presents evidence that these arguments were based on a partial review of the literature. Weaknesses in the application of SLR constructs to American Indian reservation communities are identified as is the need for culturally contextualized empirical evidence supporting this theory and its application. Cautionary notes are offered about the development of literature reviews, theoretical frameworks, and policy recommendations for American Indian communities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial identity, social context, and race-related social cognition in African Americans during middle childhood.

This study examined the effect of changes in racial identity, cross-race friendships, same-race friendships, and classroom racial composition on changes in race-related social cognition from 3rd to 5th grade for 73 African American children. The goal of the study was to determine the extent to which preadolescent racial identity and social context predict expectations of racial discrimination in cross-race social interactions (social expectations). Expectations of racial discrimination were assessed using vignettes of cross-race social situations involving an African American child in a social interaction with European Americans. There were 3 major findings. First, expectations for discrimination declined slightly from 3rd to 5th grade. Second, although racial composition of children's classrooms, number of European American friends, gender, and family poverty status were largely unrelated to social expectations, having more African American friends was associated with expecting more discrimination in cross-racial interactions from 3rd to 5th grade. Third, increases in racial centrality were related to increases in discrimination expectations, and increases in public regard were associated with decreases in discrimination expectations. These data suggest that as early as 3rd grade, children are forming attitudes about their racial group that have implications for their cross-race social interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early predictors of sexually intimate behaviors in an urban sample of young girls.

In recent years, concern has been raised about girls’ involvement in sexual activity at progressively younger ages. Little is known about the prevalence of emerging intimate behaviors, the psychosocial factors associated with these behaviors, or the moderating effects of ethnicity on these associations in early adolescence. In the current prospective study, we examined the prevalence and predictors of sexually intimate behaviors at age 12 years in an urban community sample of 1,116 ethnically diverse girls. Cluster analysis revealed 3 groups at age 12: no sexual behavior, mild behavior (e.g., holding hands), and moderate behavior (e.g., laying together). Minority status girls reported higher rates of both mild and moderate sexually intimate behaviors compared with European American girls. After controlling for the significant effects of age 11 intimate behaviors, lifetime alcohol use, poor parent–child communication, deviant peer behavior, onset of menarche, and interactions between ethnicity and impulsivity, social self-worth and depression uniquely increased the odds of engaging in moderately intimate behaviors at age 12 years. Parenting characteristics increased the likelihood of moderate, relative to mild, behaviors. For European American girls only, high levels of impulsivity and low social self-worth were associated with a higher likelihood of engaging in moderate intimate behaviors, whereas high levels of depressive symptoms reduced the odds. The results suggest that early prevention efforts need to incorporate awareness of different social norms relating to sexual behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Legal and social contexts and mental health among lesbian and heterosexual mothers.

This study examines the role of legal and social context (the level of legal and social support offered by one's country of residence) and sexual orientation in the mental health of lesbian and heterosexual mothers. Participants were sampled from the United States and Canada because the two countries have many similarities (North American location, reliance on English language, and democratic structures) but provide different legal and social rights to their lesbian citizens. The study included 52 lesbian mothers and 153 heterosexual mothers in the United States and 35 lesbian mothers and 42 heterosexual mothers in Canada. Although there were no differences between heterosexual mothers as a function of legal and social context, lesbian mothers from the United States reported more family worries about legal status and discrimination (but not more general family worries) and more depressive symptoms than did lesbian mothers in Canada. Results indicate that legal and social context moderates the role of sexual orientation in maternal mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Composition of the Council of Representatives: Report on the apportionment ballot for representation year 2008.

Each year, the apportionment ballot is used to determine how many representatives each division and state, provincial, and territorial association will have on the Council of Representatives of the American Psychological Association. This article presents a table of the number of Council seats held by divisions and the number held by state, provincial, and territorial associations for the period 1972-2008. The results of the 2006 apportionment ballot for Council year 2008 are also provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and United Nations human rights efforts.

The American Psychological Association Council in February 1987 passed a resolution declaring that "the discipline of psychology, and the academic and professional activities of psychologists, are relevant for securing and maintaining human rights" and resolving that "the APA applauds the ongoing efforts of the United Nations to defend and protect human rights and undertakes to recommend the main UN human rights instruments and documents to the attention of its boards, committees, and membership at large." To help to implement this resolution, the present article first provides information about the development of human rights concepts and instruments; treaties and declarations concerning torture are used as examples, and the impact of these international agreements is shown in a recent history-making U.S. legal decision. Second, the article reviews APA human rights policies and actions and offers some conclusions about them. Third, it calls attention to a number of specific international statements of human rights that are relevant to psychology. Fourth, the article suggests some further steps that APA could take to implement its resolution. Finally, it provides references to sources that include the texts of the United Nations' human rights instruments and information about them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

African American client skin tone and clinical judgments of African American and European American psychologists.

After reviewing a photograph and case materials depicting an African American female client, African American and European American psychologists were randomly assigned to one of three skin tone versions of a photograph (light, medium, or dark) and completed a questionnaire. No relationships were found between client skin tone or psychologist sex and either primary diagnosis or treatment recommendation. However, African American psychologists rated the client more physically attractive and likely to benefit from therapy, and they expressed more positive feelings about the client and about working with the client, than did European American psychologists, who more strongly endorsed severe mental disorder diagnoses for the client. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The self as a mediator between personality and adjustment.

The self can be conceptualized as a mediating agent that translates personality into situated goal-directed activities and adaptation. This research used a level-of-analysis approach to link personality dimensions (Level 1) to self-systems (Level II) and to teacher ratings of adjustment in African American, Mexican American, and European American students (N?=?317). The authors hypothesized that links among aspects of self-esteem and teacher ratings of adjustment would be domain specific, and those links to dimensions of the 5-factor model would reflect the domain specificity. Structural equation modeling corroborated hypotheses about domain specificity in links between adjustment and 5-factor dimensions. Results were discussed in terms of levels of analysis for personality structure, personality development, and age-related adaptations to social contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The admissibility of expert testimony based upon clinical judgment and scientific research.

In reading the American Psychological Association Final Report on the Investigation of Memories of Childhood Abuse (J. L. Alpert et al, see record 2000-13581-002), the authors recognized that one of its most important implications for the law is whether and to what extent clinical testimony on recovered repressed memories of childhood abuse should be admitted into evidence in a court of law. A review of the legal literature suggested that the law did not have a satisfactory answer to the question, and that any proposed answer would have to apply to all clinical and scientific expert testimony if it is to accepted and used by the courts. This article uses examples that are far beyond the scope of the Working Group's report, and provides a suggested legal framework for courts to use when addressing both types of proffered testimony across the legal spectrum. It is suggested that the solution proposed is most poignantly illustrated in the case of claims of recovered repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

对新型物业管理模式的探讨

分析了我国城市住宅小区物业管理存在的问题，提出了新型物业管理模式，体现了规模效益，树立品牌意识，进行多经营，加强法制建设等市场变化措施，对解决当前城市住宅小区物业管理难题的社会现象具有指导意义。