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The chapter examines the physical, psychological, and emotional challenges faced by researcher and research participant in qualitative field research into the underlying drivers of violent communal conflict, as well as inhibitors to successful resolution. The reflections in this chapter are drawn from the author’s qualitative field research experiences in Somalia, Yemen, Darfur Sudan, Niger, Colombia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The utility of this chapter is a deeper appreciation of the importance of qualitative field research in studies involving violent communal conflict, and an understanding of how transference and countertransference work to degrade data collection and analysis.
Using a variety of novel data sources from the RegData project, we show that population levels and the amount of regulation are highly correlated across countries and time, and that more-populated US states, Australian states and Canadian provinces tend to be more heavily regulated than less-populated states and provinces. A doubling of population size is associated with a 22 to 33 per cent increase in regulation. This provides support for the theory that the fixed costs associated with regulating partly determine where and when regulations occur.
The past 20 years have seen an increase in the percentage of families headed by single parents in virtually all countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In the United States, for example, the percentage rose from 22.7 to 27.1 between 1986 and 1996 (OECD, 1999). Over the same period of time, the rate of expansion of government programmes and transfers among OECD countries has declined. Because of these two trends, the collection of private child support has increasingly come to be perceived as a vital source of financial support for single parent families and an important issue in public policy. Several OECD countries, for example, have established new policies and programmes aimed at increasing the number and level of private child support payments.
Have these attempts succeeded? Have these countries improved their collection of child support over time and in relation to other OECD countries? More generally, how has the collection of private child support evolved in OECD countries over the past two decades? Where do we stand today? In this chapter, we provide preliminary answers to these questions using data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) between the late 1970s and the mid-1990s to examine the levels and trends of child support payments in seven OECD countries. This chapter proceeds as follows. In the next section, we present some background information about child support in general and provide a brief overview of recent changes in child support policies in the countries we examine. Next, we describe the data and methodology used to answer these questions. We then present our results and discuss their implications.
The ‘travel ban’ or ‘Muslim ban’, issued by the Trump administration in 2017, was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018 in its third iteration. It was rescinded by President Biden. This article focuses on the mobilisation of Arab and Muslim Americans as minorities facing intentional discrimination. Responses from diasporas in metropolitan Detroit, which emphasise Muslim- and Arab-American community mobilisation, are examined in detail. The ban led to ten responses, including protests, media activism, communications with Congress and legal action. The research agenda incorporates original research on the activity of 12 organisations in metropolitan Detroit. Analysis focuses on interactions between and among Arab Muslims, other Muslims, Arabic-speaking Christians, Japanese Americans, Latinos and women’s organisations. Examining this active minority response to discrimination tells the story anew – looking at groups’ politicisation, alliances among related but distinct Arab-American and Muslim communities, and coalitions across ethnicities. The research contributes to the academic literatures on Muslim and Arab diasporas.
The chapter summarizes our findings about the roles of national health systems and ngo’s as well as the international ones in addressing health concerns in the three countries under study. Since many of the health-care issues discussed have been specifically gendered, we look at the opening provided to both faith-based and secular ngo’s under the MDG framework since 2000. We posit future areas of research affecting the interaction of secular and faith-based health providers in Africa.
This chapter concludes the study of the role of religion in health-care processes and outcomes. The results of Uganda, Mozambique, and Ethiopia underscore the critical importance of religion concerning the provision and consumption of health care. Results affirm the frame of reference offered by the Social Determinants of Health about processes. Faith-inspired organizations are important, even essential, in health care. Health seeking behaviour is impacted upon by a holistic mindset that views physical and mental health as intertwined. Africans thus pursue health care in a rational way, with an openness to and even preference for faith-based provision. A review of gendered health outcomes, centered around the Millennium Development Goals, reveals clear progress in meeting goals.
This chapter focuses on religion and health in Ethiopia. The two basic questions motivating this study are answered through the research of this chapter: “What is the role of religion in the Social Determinants of Health?”; and “How is it connected to outcomes?” The political, economic, health, and religious contexts of Ethiopia are reviewed. Ethiopia is an ancient and significantly rural state that by African standards is relatively poor. Religion plays an essential role in Ethiopia with regard to both the provision and seeking of health care. Ethiopians convey a holistic view of health, in place for a very long time. Traditional healing continues to be important; even those who believe in modern medicine may begin their process of health-seeking with that option.
This chapter describes and analyzes how religion affects the provision and consumption of health services in Uganda. This is addressed by examining the political, economic, health, and religious contexts of the Uganda, reviewing existing research on religion and health care in Uganda, and presenting the results of interviews conducted by researchers. Interview material is organized into subsections corresponding to the general importance of religion, religion and health provision, religion and health-seeking behaviour, traditional and spiritual healing, and an evaluation of the role of religion in health care. This chapter also focuses on outcomes, evaluating evidence about religious determinants of health in terms of processes (conveyed by interviewees) and outcomes (in the context of the Millennium Development Goals).
This chapter examines religion and health care in Mozambique. The two basic questions are (1) “How does religion factor into the Social Determinants of Health?”; and (2) “What is its connection to outcomes?” The political, economic, health, and religious contexts of Mozambique are reviewed. The country is challenged by persistent poverty and underdevelopment. Mozambique had a Marxist government that suppressed religion. Religion nonetheless influences health care quite significantly in contemporary Mozambique. Christian and Muslim Faith-Based Organizations play an important role in fighting HIV/AIDS and the provision of health care in general. Pentecostalism is rising and plays a controversial role in its engagement with modern medicine. People often seek traditional health care and even combine such visits with more Western-style treatments from health centers and hospitals.
This chapter focuses on health services and religion in the African context, providing a foundation for the case studies of Uganda, Mozambique, and Ethiopia. The chapter reviews previously identified patterns regarding the role of religion in health within Africa. The nexus of religion and health care is of central interest. Background knowledge is gleaned from the literature on the intersection of religion, health, and Africa. Patterns are identified and subsequently to evaluated by the new evidence obtained through qualitative and quantitative research, confirming that health care is regarded in a holistic way by Africans. This informs theorizing from the perspective of the Social Determinants of Health, within which an emphasis on women’s health is applied to processes and outcomes.
