Working to get fired? Unemployment benefits and employment duration

In many countries, jobseekers are entitled to unemployment benefits (UBs) only if they have previously worked a minimum period of time. This institutional feature creates a sharp change in the disutility from unemployment at UB eligibility and may distort the duration of jobs. In this paper, we evaluate this eligibility effect using a regression discontinuity approach. Our evidence is based on longitudinal social security data from Portugal, where jobseekers are required to work a relatively long period to collect UBs. We find that monthly transitions from employment to unemployment increase by 10% as soon as the eligibility condition is met. This result is driven entirely by transitions to subsidised unemployment, which increase by 20%, as non-subsidised unemployment is not affected. The effects are even larger for the unemployed with high UB replacement ratios or those who meet the eligibility condition from multiple short employment spells. These transitions deserve greater attention from UB agencies and public employment services.     

Women’s reports of satisfaction and respect with continuity of care experiences by students: Findings from a routine,online survey

BackgroundPre-registration midwifery students in Australia undertake a minimum of ten continuity of care experiences with childbearing women. However, women are rarely asked to formally evaluate this care by students.AimTo evaluate data from a routine, web-based survey of women about having a midwifery student provide a continuity of care experience.MethodsAll women (n = 886) recruited by a midwifery student for a continuity of care experience during a 12 month period received an email inviting them to complete an online survey. The survey included personal details, experiences of care, and two scales on Respect and Satisfaction.ResultsA response rate of 57% (n = 501) was achieved. On average students attended six antenatal visits (mean = 5.83) and had six postnatal contacts with women. Most students attended labour and birth (92.6% n = 464). Most women rated overall satisfaction with care by their student as ‘better than they had hoped’. Positive correlations were found between number of antenatal visits and postnatal contact with students on both levels of satisfaction and respect felt by women. Women felt more satisfied when their midwifery student attended labour and birth.ConclusionsThe online survey was feasible and provided valid and reliable feedback from women about their student during a continuity of care experience. Women valued having an ongoing relationship with a student during pregnancy, labour and birth, and postpartum. Pre-registration midwifery education programs should continue to privilege relationship-based care and national standards should support the effective integration of continuity of care experiences.     

Placement Educators’ Experiences and Perspectives of Supervising International Social Work Students in Australia

International social work students in Australia have reported difficulties in finding quality placement opportunities and dealing with issues such as language and cultural barriers. While placement issues have been mostly investigated from a student perspective, this study explores the experiences and perspectives of placement educators towards supervising international social work students. It draws on an online survey of 83 placement educators working for an Australian university. The majority of placement educators reported that they supervised international students differently to domestic students. These differences were negatively framed as challenges involving students’ language competence, their understanding of cultural norms, and knowledge of Australian welfare systems. This framing implies that cultural and linguistic differences between international students and placement educators are viewed in terms of student deficiency rather than as a positive opportunity for mutual learning and professional development.     

Leader-employee congruence of expected contributions in the employee-organization relationship

Employees' expected contributions can be incongruent with those of their leader. We examine the congruence effect of leaders' and employees' expected contributions on job satisfaction. Results of cross-level polynomial regressions on 947 employees and 224 leaders support the congruence effect. When expected contributions are congruent, employees are more satisfied with their job. Our findings suggest that employees enjoy high challenges, as long as these challenges are in harmony with the expected contributions of their leaders. Employees are less satisfied with their jobs both when their expected contributions were higher than their leaders' and when their expected contributions were lower than those of their leaders. Beyond the relevance of having high expected contributions, the findings highlight the crucial role played by the congruence of expected contributions of leaders and employees.     

赤峰籍“90后”大学毕业生就业地选择调查研究

本文通过调查问卷及访谈的方式,获取了赤峰籍90年代出生的大学毕业生就业地选择的相关信息,通过对信息数据的整理和分析,分析得出影响其选择的因素。最终提出具有吸引力的地区就业、创业政策方面的建议,引导赤峰籍大学毕业生转变就业观念,合理择业和就业。     

Going to work without educational qualifications: school-to-work transitions of early school leavers in Belgium

ABSTRACT

Risks of exclusion can occur in multiple forms and start early in life. Early school leavers are especially at risk of social exclusion as this is strongly related to turbulent school-to-work-transitions. These young people often find themselves in low-qualified work or unemployment. In this article, we explore the labour market experiences of early school leavers in Flanders, Belgium. In total, 15 in-depth interviews were conducted with nine early school leavers and analysed following a grounded theory approach. Our results demonstrate the difficulties early school leavers encounter in their transitions from school to work and their precarious situation in the labour market. Of particular relevance are the insights gained in revealing the perspectives of young people on the importance of educational qualifications, work experience and participation in the labour market, as well as the strategies they develop to enter the labour market without educational qualifications.     

Understanding labour processes in global production networks: a case study of the football industry in Pakistan

ABSTRACT

Over the last few decades, the changing nature of global production and distribution processes has raised a number of critical questions regarding work and employment relations. Presenting a qualitative case study of the football industry in Pakistan as an example of the general mechanism of the social relations of re/production in a global system of industrial organization, this research highlights how and under what conditions informal workers are embedded in extended global production networks. By drawing on the integrated conceptual framework of the global production network (GPN) and labour process theory (LPT), this research sheds light on the working conditions and living realities of informal workers. A potential contribution of this paper is to extend the horizon of production network theory by analysing the work and employment conditions of informal workers, which are absent in existing discussions of these conceptual frameworks.     

“Me,the street,and a backpack”: employment,income, and physical capital in rural recovery

ABSTRACT

Recovery capital is a framework for understanding individuals’ resources for recovery from substance misuse. In a qualitative analysis of rural individuals in recovery (N = 49), the role of physical capital emerged prominently across ten focus groups. Participants highlighted the effects of employment status, income, and other forms of physical capital directly, as well as indirect effects through changes in human capital. Negative cultural capital components, in the form of stigma and employment discrimination, were described as barriers to physical capital acquisition and successful recovery. Based on these findings, we discuss rural recovery challenges and propose a model of recovery capital interactions.     

Psychometric validation of the PERMA-profiler as a well-being measure for student veterans

Abstract

Objective: The current study aims to validate the PERMA-Profiler, a well-known well-being measure, among a sample of student veterans. Participants: A sample of 205 student veterans were recruited from universities across the United States. Method: Cross-sectional research design was used in this study. Measurement structure of the PERMA-Profiler was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity was tested using Pearson correlation coefficients and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: The EFA results yielded a two-factor solution for student veterans. Factors are named as emotional character strengths and performance character strengths. Conclusions: The PERMA-Profiler is a multidimensional scale with good reliability and acceptable levels of convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity. The PERMA-Profiler can help researchers and practitioners better gauge well-being in student veterans. Implications will be discussed.