Writing resistance together

This piece of writing is a joint initiative by the participants in the Gender, Work and Organization writing workshop organized in Helsinki, Finland, in June 2019. This is a particular form of writing differently. We engage in collective writing and embody what it means to write resistance to established academic practices and conventions together. This is a form of emancipatory initiative where we care for each other as writers and as human beings. There are many author voices and we aim to keep the text open and dialogical. As such, this piece of writing is about suppressed thoughts and feelings that our collective picket line allows us to express. In order to maintain the open‐ended nature of the text, and perhaps also to retain some ‘dirtiness’ that is essential to writing, the article has not been language checked throughout by a native speaker of English.     

100 key research questions for the post‐2015 development agenda

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) herald a new phase for international development. This article presents the results of a consultative exercise to collaboratively identify 100 research questions of critical importance for the post‐2015 international development agenda. The final shortlist is grouped into nine thematic areas and was selected by 21 representatives of international and non‐governmental organisations and consultancies, and 14 academics with diverse disciplinary expertise from an initial pool of 704 questions submitted by 110 organisations based in 34 countries. The shortlist includes questions addressing long‐standing problems, new challenges and broader issues related to development policies, practices and institutions. Collectively, these questions are relevant for future development‐related research priorities of governmental and non‐governmental organisations worldwide and could act as focal points for transdisciplinary research collaborations.     

Work–Family Conflict and Well-Being Across Europe: The Role of Gender Context

This study analysed whether gender context is important to differences in the relationship between work–family conflict (WFC) and well-being across Europe. We hypothesised that in countries that support equality in work life and where norms support women’s employment, the relationship between WFC and low well-being is weaker than in countries with less support for gender equality. Cohabiting men and women aged 18–65 years from 25 European countries were selected from the European Social Survey. A multilevel analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between well-being and WFC, and two measurements were used to represent gender context: gender equality in work life and norms regarding women’s employment. Contrary to the hypothesis, the results showed that the negative relationship was stronger in countries with high levels of gender equality in work life and support for women’s employment than in countries with a relatively low level of gender equality in work life and support for traditional gender relations. The context in which gender is constructed may be important when studying the relationship between WFC and well-being. In addition, emphasis should be placed on policies that equalise both the labour market and the work performed at home.     

How volunteerism inhibits mobilization: a case study of shelter animal advocates

This paper presents an analysis of how volunteerism can neutralize impulses for mobilization. An ethnographic case study of shelter animal advocates, or individuals promoting shelter reform to ensure that companion animals impounded at animal shelters receive proper medical and behavioral care and are given opportunity for adoption, illuminates a specific set of mechanisms that explain why they have not engaged in collective action such as protest. The findings speak to the complex debate about the relationship between volunteerism, political engagement, and social change by identifying five processes that undercut shelter animal advocates’ capacity to act collectively in protest of how the shelter is run: (1) periods of grievance interruption; (2) exposure to the target’s institutional narratives; (3) relational ties to the target; (4) conflict avoidance; and (5) maintenance of identity as volunteers.     

Interpreting the Dynamics of Social Indicators: Methodological Issues Related to Absolute,Relative, and Time Differences

In contemporary society, a growing demand for the accessibility of social indicators can be observed. This requires increased attention to their construction to avoid misleading interpretations, which can be the result of inadequate knowledge, or can even be an intentional choice to imply a specific desired outcome. This paper addresses this issue by first summarizing research regarding the perception of numbers, statistical thinking, and numerical literacy. The focus is then narrowed to the comparison of social indicators observed for two units in a time perspective. Three simple and popular measures of dynamics—most frequently used when social change is analyzed and interpreted—are addressed: absolute difference, relative difference, and time distance. In a corresponding experiment, respondents evaluated the direction of change of a certain social indicator in time (i.e., whether the differences increase, decrease, or stagnate) for a hypothetical case where the three measures implied contradictory interpretations. Each experimental group was exposed to one of these measures. The results indicate that interpretations basically followed the specific measures that respondents were exposed to. This effect was particularly strong regarding absolute difference, followed by relative difference, while the effect of exposure to time distance was somewhat weaker. When only data or graphical presentation was given, respondents tended to interpret dynamics according to absolute differences. The results indicate that extreme methodological rigor is needed when presenting social indicators in time, and some guidelines are provided for this purpose.     

Nationalism and patriotism as determinants of European identity and attitudes towards the euro

The present study investigates national identity and European identity as determinants of attitudes towards the single European currency, the euro. It is assumed that support of the euro depends on a positive European identity which may be affected by patriotism and nationalism as different types of national identity. Sentimental and instrumental attachment to one’s own nation, and optimistic expectations about Austrian future are included as determinants of patriotism and nationalism. A sample of 318 participants completed a questionnaire. Results give evidence for impacts of national and European identity on the attitudes towards the euro.     

Trajectories Based on Postcomprehensive and Higher Education: Their Correlates and Antecedents

The aim of this study was to investigate different trajectories of education, based on annual attendance in postcomprehensive and higher education between ages 15 and 42, and their correlates and antecedents. A special focus was on education that occurred after spending several years in the labor market (i.e., off-time education). Analyses were based on the Finnish Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development in which the same participants have been followed from age 8 to 42. Four trajectories were obtained: no or early, off-time, on-time, and continuing education. Through adulthood, career stability, and occupational status were lower among off-time and no or early education participants than among the others. Women on the off-time education trajectory showed an increased level of optimism and achieved identity from age 27 to 42. Both off-time and no or early education participants came from a low socioeconomic (SES) family and had problems in their social behavior at age 8 and school adjustment at age 14. Different types of, and reasons for attending, adult education should be better understood, and adult education should be individually targeted .     

Mean-variance portfolios using Bayesian vector-autoregressive forcasts

Protfolio optimization is very sensitive to the forecats of returns and (co-)variances of the underlying assets. This paper applies a Bayesian vector-autoregression of the asset universe to predict the returns. Further, the co-variance matrix is forecasted by an Augmented GARCH estimation of the most volatile principle components of the return series. As an empirical illustration, the daily stock returns of the German stocks index DAX have been used to calculate some well-known mean-variance portfolios. Back-testing is used to evaluate the performance. The approach seems to be promising.