Choice and circumstance: Qualitative insights into contemporary childlessness in Australia

Using data from in-depth interviews with 115 women, men and couples in eastern Australia for whom family formation was a recent, current or imminent future issue, this article explores contemporary childlessness among those physically able to have children. It differentiates between those childless by choice and by circumstance, and among other themes highlights (i) the role preservation of lifestyle appears to play as a motive for deliberate childlessness following development of a life course through early adulthood that both generates lifestyle aspirations and often places parenthood on the backburner until after age 30, and (ii) the roles difficulty forming suitable relationships, women’s desire for meaningful careers, and male involvement in family formation decisions play in bringing about childlessness by circumstance.     

Transition in Gender Ideology and Women Migrant’s Empowerment in Germany and Sweden: Inclusion of ‘Gender’ and ‘Integration’ Needs in Relevant Policies/Legislation

This study reviews the inclusion of ‘gender’ and ‘integration’ in the policies and legislation designed to facilitate the integration of women migrants and their impacts on migrant’s gender ideology in two European legislative regimes: Germany and Sweden. The study is conducted in four steps; (1) a thematic analysis of twenty conventions and recommendations of the UN, ILO, and EU, (2) latent analysis of ten policies/pieces of legislation, (3) survey with women migrants, and (4) in-depth interviews with experts. This study finds that existing legal frameworks do not fully comply with the international legal frame to meet women migrant’s ‘gender’ and ‘integration’ needs, although the situation seems relatively better in Germany than in Sweden. It is found that migration has brought positive changes in gender ideology for migrants in many arenas, except one. Migrant’s satisfaction with legal measures also contributes to this transition. The study summarizes three groups of barriers to the transformation of gender ideology for both countries. These are; agency-specific, institution-specific, and state-specific.     

受教育程度如何影响消费水平?——基于我国家庭结构、消费类别和居住区域的实证研究

社会成员的消费活动主要是由家庭所控制和实施。利用中国家庭金融调查（CHFS）相关数据并运用模糊二元对比决策方法研究发现,在家庭结构、消费类别、居住区域不同的条件下,教育对消费水平的影响不同。第一,从家庭结构看,夫妇核心家庭总消费受到教育的影响明显;其中,家庭总消费受到女方受教育程度的影响更大;一般（或缺损）核心家庭的总消费受到孩子受教育程度的影响最显著,而父母受教育程度对消费的影响作用较弱。第二,从消费类别看,家庭消费中家用消费受到教育的影响最大,出行消费受到教育的影响最小。第三,从居住区域看,东部和中部家庭消费受到教育的影响相当,较西部家庭更为明显;东中部地区家庭家用消费、教育培训消费、旅游探亲消费受到教育的影响特别明显,西部地区家庭的食品消费受到教育的影响最为显著。因此,社区应加强对家庭消费知识的宣传,学校应进一步重视消费教育,国家应加强对西部教育的投入以增强教育对家庭消费的积极作用,缩小东、中、西部的差距。     

The Effect of Union Status at First Childbirth on Union Stability: Evidence from Eastern and Western Germany

It is often assumed that cohabitation is much less stable than marriage. If cohabitation becomes more common among parents, children may be increasingly exposed to separation. However, little is known about how the proportion of cohabiting parents relates to their separation behavior. Higher shares of childbearing within cohabitation might reduce the proportion of negatively selected couples among cohabiting parents, which could in turn improve their union stability. This study focuses on parents who were cohabiting when they had their first child. It compares their union stability within a context in which they represent the majority or the minority. The German case is well-suited to this research goal because non-marital childbearing is common in eastern Germany (60 %) but not in western Germany (27 %). The data came from the German Family Panel (pairfam), and include 1,844 married and cohabiting mothers born in 1971–1973 and 1981–1983. The empirical results suggest that the union stability of cohabiting mothers is positively related to their prevalence: survival curves showed that eastern German cohabiting mothers had a greater degree of union stability than their western German counterparts. This difference increased in the event-history model, which accounted for the particular composition of eastern German society, including the relatively low level of religious affiliation among the population. Controlling for unobserved heterogeneity did not change this result. In sum, these findings indicate that context plays an important role in the union stability of cohabiting parents.     

农村人口老龄化、养老保障与土地流转

基于CFPS2014和CFPS2016数据,运用二元Logistic模型探讨了农村人口老龄化、养老保障对土地流转的影响,研究发现:1)家庭人口老龄化与土地转出呈现正向相关关系,与土地转入呈现负向相关关系;村庄人口老龄化与土地转出不存在相关关系,但与土地转入呈现正向相关关系。2)养老保障与土地转出呈现正相关关系,与土地转入呈现负相关关系。3)家庭人口老龄化对东中西部地区的土地流转影响基本显著;村庄人口老龄化主要对东部地区的土地流转产生显著影响;养老保障主要影响东西部地区的土地转出,对中部地区的土地转入具有显著影响。因此,提升养老保障水平,积极引导老龄农户退出农业生产,对提高土地流转水平具有重要意义。     

城镇化、水资源消耗的动态演进与门槛效应

基于中国30个省市1998—2015年面板数据,综合利用核密度估计函数、非动态面板门槛回归模型系统考察城镇化与水资源消耗的动态演进过程和非线性关系。研究结果表明:（1）全国城镇化率呈两极分化态势,东部、中部、西部三大区域间城镇化受经济发展等因素影响而存在差异;全国水资源消耗得到控制,但东部、中部、西部水资源消耗高的省份存在增加趋势。（2）全国城镇化对水资源消耗影响存在显著的经济发展和居民收入门槛,并具有显著的抑制效应;东部经济发展门槛具有抑制效应,中部居民收入门槛具有促进效应;西部门槛效应与全国相同,且经济发展抑制作用阶段性增强。（3）居民收入、资本存量、人力资本与水资源消耗正相关,而经济发展与之负相关。     

The Window of Ritual: Seeing the Intentions and Emotions of ‘Doing’ Gender

My goal in this paper is to revisit interaction ritual theory as a theoretical underpinning of West and Zimmerman’s ‘doing’ gender paradigm in order to develop a more nuanced understanding of what is taking place inside the interactions of men and women as they ‘do’ gender. Recent work in ritual theory, specifically the work of Bell (Ritual theory, ritual practice, 1992) and Collins (Interaction ritual chains, 2004) expands the role of the individual in the ritual process by conceptualizing ritual as a form of ‘practice’ that can be mobilized in the pursuit of emotional energy. Through the narratives of 24 married couples, I explore how domestic labor functions as an interaction ritual that is driven by ‘emotional energy’. This emotional energy shapes the localized intentions of men and women as they ‘do’ gender thus transforming gender into something that we ‘use’ as well as ‘do’. These emotions and intentions can be seen most clearly through a new ‘window’ of ritual.

Gender and work: The occupational expectations of young women and men in the 1990s

This article uses data from a longitudinal survey of youth to examine the effects of gender on the occupational expectations and attitudes of youth in the 1990s. Twelve hundred youth from central and eastern Canada were surveyed in 1989 and 1994. Results show few gender differences in the status rankings in the youths' expected occupations, or in their intentions to enter the paid labour force. However, there were differences in the ways females and males saw themselves combining work and family responsibilities—especially pre-school aged children. The attitudes and experiences of the young women's mothers appeared to affect these plans—plans that were unrelated to social class background. The results are discussed in the context of McCall's notion on gendered dispositions. where she has been faculty since 1975. Her research interests include the sociology of education, youth and gender issues. She currently holds two research grants funded by Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, one as principal investigator, the other as a member of a research network on longitudinal studies of youth. Her research interests include sociology of education and work, youth and gender issues.     

薪酬公平及外在工作机会对员工态度的影响

企业中的薪酬公平有利于抑制员工的离职倾向,同时工作满意度和感知的外在工作机会在该过程中也起到一定的作用。通过对一家大型国有企业下属四个研究院的员工进行的问卷调查表明,员工的工作满意度能够降低员工离职倾向;上述关系还受到感知的外在工作机会的调节作用,即当感知的外在工作机会较多时,员工在工作不满意时较容易产生较强的离职倾向。同时,当公司的薪酬公平水平较高时,员工离职倾向较低,并且工作满意度对这种关系起着中介作用,即薪酬公平通过影响员工的工作满意度进而影响其离职倾向。     

简析战后德国分区赔偿政策的执行

两德统一迄今已十余年 ,但冷战所造成的两德在政治、经济、民众心理等方面的差异却难以迅速弥合。二战后德国的分裂与美英苏制定的分区赔偿政策息息相关。本文分析了美英苏执行该计划的具体情况 ,认为由于不同的经济制度和意识形态导致美英、苏在执行分区赔偿政策的过程中采取了完全不同的方式 ,最终东占区所支付的战争赔偿远远大于西占区 ,而战后西德得以迅速复兴的直接原因之一就在于她在美国的帮助下将战争赔偿压缩到了最小限度。     

匹配工作绩效到离职模型:国有企业与民营企业的比较

在国有和民营两种不同体制下,中国员工离职倾向的影响因素构成情况存在差异,且其工作绩效和离职倾向之间的关系也有不同。研究结果发现,工作满意度、组织承诺并不影响绩效和离职倾向之间的关系;工作绩效和离职倾向之间的关系通过工作机会、离职想法、搜寻行为进行调节,而且国有企业和民营企业呈现出不同的绩效—离职路径模式。国有企业员工工作绩效通过其他中介对离职产生负向影响,而民营企业员工工作绩效通过其他中介对离职产生正向影响。基于推拉理论的分析表明,国有企业员工对于感情动力激励机制更加敏感,而民营企业员工对于契约和谋算动力的激励机制更加关注,并对成就需求表现出强烈渴望。在对员工离职决策进行干预时,要针对其相应的决策类型进行事前控制。     

从招聘信息比较东西部非公有制企业人才观

本文采用内容分析法,对东西部非公有制企业的人才招聘信息进行抽样调查、定量分析比较,揭示出东西部地区非公有制企业人才观的差异与共性特征,并提出了相应对策建议.     

The changing family and women’s issues in the 1990s

Since the early 1800s when the work place and the home first experienced a clear-cut separation, causing women and men to be perceived as workers and nonworkers, no other period in American history has altered women’s and families’ role so radically as the recent three decades. There is a structural and spiritual difference between the family of the 1950s and that of the 1980s and 1990s. The American family today ranges from the conventional Ozzie and Harriet type to the single parent, working couple, lesbian or gay, blended, unconnected, teen parent or grandparent-led, and homeless family. The attendant challenges for caregivers and providers, particularly women, vary immensely, as was clearly indicated by a group of testifiers at a public forum convened by a women’s body in San Mateo County, California. Drawing from those testimonies, this article examines the various configurations of the American family and assesses the public policy implications of the impact on women of the changing American family. The principal inference is that as the changing family trend gathers further momentum in the 1990s, it will be imperative for policy makers and the American socioeconomy to respond creatively and constructively to the new American family and to women’s changing role in the family and economy.     

Women,age, and the managerial career in postwar Britain: Exploring the roots of the barriers to women’s opportunities in management

This essay explores how the assumption that hierarchical position should be linked to a position-holder’s age acted as a barrier to women advancing into management positions. The close and unquestioned association between an individual’s age and what was considered an appropriate place on a bureaucratic hierarchy is one of the less often acknowledged barriers to women’s upward mobility. The study focuses on Britain in the years following the Second World War, because the increased participation of women in the workforce during the war had engendered optimism about women’s opportunities for long-term gains and advancement. Many women came out of the Second World War with a high degree of organizational capital that should have seen them advance into managerial positions. But as this study shows, through evidence gathered from archival as well as published historical documents, in the reality of the postwar world being the wrong age for the job constituted a significant barrier to women’s advancement. She holds an MA, MPhil, and PhD in Modern European History from Columbia University. Her current research focuses on changes in office work in the second half of the twentieth century.     

Attitudes Toward Married Persons’ Surnames in Twenty-First Century Japan

Through Article 750 of the Japanese Civil Code, Japan is the only developed country to require that a married couple must choose either the husband’s or the wife’s surname upon marriage. We examine how traditional gender ideology and preference for the three-generation family household are associated with the level of support for conjugal surname sharing, from full support for the wife taking her husband’s surname to support for neither the wife or husband changing their name. We estimate generalized ordered logit models with data from the 2000–2003, 2006, and 2010 Japanese General Social Survey. Findings indicate that those who hold more traditional gender ideology are more likely to endorse surname sharing at all levels. Those who prefer the traditional extended family household are more likely to acknowledge at least some merit in a married couple sharing a surname, but they are less likely to say that the wife should take her husband’s surname without question. Attitudes toward conjugal surname sharing may have important symbolic implications for gender equality as well as potential impact on the surname law.     

后东方文化与可持续发展

社会和环境可持续发展与人类文化有着密切的关系。本文论述了21世纪东西方文化的不同特点。西方文化的竞争性与侵略性,促进了西方资本主义的发展,使其至今处于世界科技、政治、经济和军事领先地位;但这种丛林法则,也带来了对社会和环境的严重破坏。与此相反,东方文化如儒学思想等,注重社会和环境的协调发展,这对人类社会与环境可持续发展提供了一种优秀的文化基础。当然,东方文化也有尚待完善之处,本着文化创新的原则,介绍了后东方文化的概念。在新世纪之初,通过文化创新,教育大众,提供社会与环境可持续发展的文化支持,使后东方文化能为人类的进步和和平共处做贡献。     

Resources, Living Arrangements and First Union Formation in the United States, the Netherlands and West Germany

This paper addresses the impact of the previous living arrangement (living in the parental home versus living away) on first union formation. We investigate differences between the living arrangements in the impact of individual and parental resources. Analyses are performed for three countries with different welfare regimes: the USA, the Netherlands and West Germany. Many of our findings are in line with the general hypothesis that resources matter less to union formation for those living away from the parents than for those still living in the parental home. Furthermore, the results suggest that resources matter less in Conservative Continental European welfare regimes than in the USA, a Liberal Market welfare regime. Mulder, C.H., Clark, W.A.V. and Wagner, M. 2005. Resources, Living Arrangements and First Union Formation in the United States, the Netherlands and West Germany. European Journal of Population, Mulder, C.H., Clark, W.A.V. et Wagner, M. 2005. Ressources, mode de logement et première entrée en union aux états-Unis, aux Pays-Bas et en Allemagne de l’ouest. Revue européenne de démographie.     

Societal Transition, Policy Changes and Family Formation: Evidence from Hungary

The paper uses the Hungarian Generations and Gender Survey ‘Turning Points in the Life-course’ (HGGS) to describe recent changes in union formation, onset of childbearing, leaving home and cohabitation. By estimating survivor functions and semi-parametric hazard regression models with time-varying covariates for the timing of first union and first birth, we find a long delay among the youngest cohorts, but also remarkably strong period effects. Reduced employment, increased educational enrolment, and a higher level of uncertainty are important drivers behind these changes. Moreover, our evidence suggests that certain policy changes during the transition have exacerbated this effect, having an asymmetric impact on family formation – depending on the social status of individuals.Aassve, A., Billari, F. C. et Spéder, Zs., 2006. Société en transition, changements de politiques et formation de la famille: le cas de la Hongrie. Revue europé enne de démographie 22: 127–152.     

Fertility and Women’s Employment: A Meta-analysis

Our research objective was to systematise the existing literature on the relation between fertility and women’s employment at the micro-level. Instead of carrying out a traditional literature review, we conducted a meta-analysis. This allowed us to compare estimates from different studies standardised for the country analysed, the method applied, control variables used and sample selected. We focused on two effects: the impact of work on fertility and the impact of young children on employment entry. First, we found a high variation in the studied effects among the institutional settings, reflecting the existence of a north–south gradient. Second, we observed a significant change in the effects over time. Finally, we demonstrated that a failure to account for the respondent’s social background, partner and job characteristics tends to produce a bias in the estimated effects.     

Changes in Family Size Intentions Across Young Adulthood: A Life-Course Perspective

Recent years have witnessed a resurgence in the interest in family size intentions and ideals in developed societies, partially stemming from the idea that realized fertility in these societies is lower than intended fertility. This paper addresses the question of the stability of family size intentions. Based on Heckhausen’s life-span theory of control, it is hypothesized that young adults’ family size intentions are likely to change as a result of their experiences in the family and occupational life domains. To study this issue, data are used from a Dutch panel survey in which respondents are questioned on their family size intentions six times over the course of 18 years. The results show that family size intentions are not stable, but are adjusted as people age. On average, the adjustment is downward, but some people do not adjust their intentions or even adjust them upwards. Much of this difference in age patterns can be explained by changes in the partner, educational, and occupational careers of young adults. Not finding a suitable partner and pursuing a career—for women—are important factors. But also the timing of the fertility career itself is of major importance. If respondents postpone having children until their thirties, they are much more likely to adjust their intentions downwards than if they start their childbearing career earlier.