The determinants and effects of right-to-work laws: A review of the recent literature

I review the recent literature on the determinants and effects of right-to-work (RTW) laws. The focus is primarily on the econometric studies published since the early 1980s. Five major areas of impact are assessed: unionization, free riding, union organizing activities and successes in NLRB elections, wage structure, and state industrial development. While individual findings are quite sensitive to model specification, the accumulated evidence indicates that RTW laws have at least a significant short-run impact on all of these areas except perhaps wages.     

Empirical findings on socioeconomic determinants of fertility differentials in Costa Rica

"This paper seeks to (1) identify socioeconomic variables that are expected to generate fertility differentials; (2) hypothesize the direction and magnitude of the effect of each variable by reference to a demand-for-children model; and (3) test empirically the model using evidence from Costa Rica. The estimates are obtained from a ten-percent systematic random sample of all Costa Rican individual-family households. There are 15,924 families in the sample...." The authors specifically seek "to capture the effects of changing relative prices and available income and time constraints on parental preferences for children. Least-squares estimates show statistically significant relationships between household fertility and opportunity cost of time, parental education, occurrence of an extended family, medical care, household sanitation, economic sector of employment, and household stock of nonhuman capital."     

Social media and policing: A review of recent research

Studies of social media's impact on policing have emerged in several disciplines, including criminology, sociology, and communications. Despite their insight, there is no unified body of knowledge regarding this relationship. In an attempt to synthesize extant work, bring coherence to the field, and orient future scholarship, this article summarizes research on social media's implications for practices and perceptions of order maintenance. It does so by identifying how social media's technical affordances empower and constrain police services. By offering new opportunities for surveillance, risk communication, and impression management, emergent technologies augment the police's control of their public visibility and that of the social world. However, they also provide unprecedented capacities to monitor the police and expose, circulate, and mobilize around perceived injustice, whether brutality, racial profiling, or other forms of indiscretion. Considering these issues promises to enhance knowledge on contemporary directions in social control, organizational communication, inequality, and collective action. Suggestions for future research are also explored.     

Demographic and related determinants of recent Cuban emigration

"This article highlights some of the principal demographic determinants of recent Cuban emigration, while also considering how these demographic variables interact with other social and economic determinants, utilizing a broad conceptualization of emigration. It also makes reference to Cuban military activities abroad. The conclusions that follow suggest that labor migration is more responsive to demographic factors than some theorists assume."     

EBRI 2008 recent retirees survey: report of findings

Understanding how to achieve longer work lives: The 2008 Recent Retirees Survey was undertaken to better understand the tools and practices that might encourage workers to postpone their retirement and remain longer with their company. Why do people retire when they do? Respondents typically retired from employers for one of four reasons: retirement becomes affordable, lack of job satisfaction, a desire for more personal or family time, and/or their own health status. Narrow window for asking people to work longer: One of the major findings from the survey is that employers have a narrow window of up to two years in which they may be able to intervene to change retiring workers' decisions by offering them incentives to remain with the company. Employers may just need to ask: Many retirees report they would have been open to an approach from their employer asking them to stay longer with the company. Sixty-one percent say they would have viewed the experience positively. Just 10 percent indicate they would have reacted negatively to an approach asking them to delay their retirement. Work incentives vary in appeal: The survey tested a total of 19 possible incentives that might encourage retiring workers to postpone retirement. Four of these appear especially likely to be successful: Half of retirees (48 percent) indicate that feeling truly needed for an assignment would have been extremely or very effective in encouraging them to delay their retirement. Moreover, of those ranking this as one of the top two most effective incentives, 72 percent say it might have prompted them to stay at least two more years with the company. Half of retirees with a defined benefit pension state receiving a full pension while working part time would have been effective in delaying their retirement (50 percent), and almost as many feel this way about receiving a partial pension while working part time (44 percent). Seven in 10 of those rating each among the top two most effective incentives report they would likely have stayed at least two more years if it had been offered to them (72 percent for full pension, 71 percent for partial pension). However, this would necessitate a change in federal law and several other compensation-related incentives may be almost as compelling. Thirty-eight percent report that being able to work seasonally or on a contract basis would have been effective in encouraging them to delay retirement. Among those rating this as one of the top two incentives, more than three-quarters (77 percent) say it might have prompted them to stay two years or more with the company.     

Caste,socio-economic status and fertility -- a study of proximate determinants of fertility in village Riwasa

The intermediary variables of ritual stratification, i.e., caste, and secular stratification, i.e., socioeconomic status, were examined to explain fertility in a survey of 140 fertile women in Riwasa village, Bhiwani District, Haryana state, India, in 1981. The subjects interviewed were equally divided among 17 castes on the basis of untouchability. The intermediary variables evaluated were caste-consciousness, modernization, conformity to family ethical codes and husband-wife communication. The fertility indices were live births, living children, expected additional births and ideal family size. Results were expressed in percentages. Results of the survey confirmed previous findings that fertility was inversely related to caste and socioeconomic status. These associations were explained here, however, by the behavior of the intermediary variables. Fertility was inversely related to level of modernization and to husband-wife communication. Although caste-consciousness and conformity to family ethical codes were directly related to fertility, even among the higher castes. There were no differences in this study population between high and middle socioeconomic class, probably because the high socioeconomic group in this village resembled middle class in typical urban settings.     

Congress and the National Labor Relations Board: A review of the recent past

Concusion The evidence indicates that Congress has beem very active in monitoring and attempting to influence the NLRB. Although this has always been the case, the political environment of the Board has become even more unsettled since the late 1970s. The confirmation and appropriations processes havebecome at times extremely difficult with earlier regimes, memebers of Congress also seen quite willing to express their views directly to the Board, even on cases under review.     

Legal financial obligations in the United States: A review of recent research

In the United States, legal financial obligations (LFOs) include many types of monetary sanctions. For example, fines are tied to specific offenses and imposed at conviction and fees charge people for the “use” of courts, prisons, and other public services. With the rise of mass incarceration, millions of people across the U.S. owe billions of dollars in LFOs. Yet despite the widespread use of monetary sanctions, it was not until the last decade that research began to uncover the vast system of LFOs embedded throughout U.S. laws and understand their far-reaching socioeconomic consequences. This paper reviews recent research on LFOs across three areas: (1) the political development of LFOs, (2) their implementation and enforcement, and (3) the consequences of LFOs on people, broader social networks, and the functioning of public institutions. We conclude with recommendations for future research that explores the hidden processes connecting these three areas and accounts for the fractured nature of the U.S. government.     

Developing social robots for aging populations: A literature review of recent academic sources

The perception of aging populations is a major factor driving the social robot development movement. A growing body of research reflects the expanding interest in social robots. This paper synthesizes research on the development of social robots with a literature review of academic articles with publication dates ranging from 2006 to 2017. The review is divided into three themes: (a) robots as an aid in treatment; (b) robots as social assistants and home companions; and (c) robots as custodial caregivers that are viewed in terms of ethical implications. This paper outlines the issues surrounding social, commitment, assistive, and companion robots for use in medical treatment, mental health therapy, physiotherapy, care facilities, and private homes. It describes some of the ethical concerns raised by researchers and media, including questions of control, privacy, consent, and the issue of simulated versus human compassion in caregiving. The research also points out that a rhetoric of urgency concerning aging populations drives the development of robots, which frames citizens who will benefit from robots in reductive ways. We argue that the contribution of humanities and social science research, including age studies and critical gerontology, should be better integrated with discourses of social robot development, largely from technical fields.     

Research assessing consumer satisfaction with mental health treatment: A review of findings

This article reviews the findings of studies examining consumer satisfaction with mental health treatment. Typically, published studies find the vast majority of patients satisfied with treatment. Despite the numerous methodological problems in this research, it remains highly probable that the majority of consumers are satisfied with the services received. More specific findings in this literature remain less well demonstrated; there generally are few studies relevant to each specific question and the methodology of these studies often has been weak. However, trends point to weak relationships between patient demographic variables and satisfaction; significant relationships between patient diagnosis, treatment history, and psychological status and satisfaction; strong relationships between length of treatment and manner of termination and satisfaction; a strong relationship between satisfaction and patient global report of outcome; and a weak relationship between satisfaction and therapist rating of outcome. Satisfaction also appears to be multidimensional, although a large general factor is evident in most studies. A number of additional findings are catalogued; and research lying outside the formal domain of satisfaction research, but relevant to this body of research, is reviewed.     

Mental illness and problematic sexual behaviors. A review of the recent literature

Advanced practice nurses and other health care professionals have increasingly been working with individuals with mental illnesses who also have a history of sexual misconduct. Unfortunately, due partly to minimal research on the subject--especially in the nursing field--these professionals are addressing the needs of this population without adequate preparation. This article provides an overview of mental illness and problematic sexual behaviors (MI/PSB) and highlights the importance of additional research for the MI/PSB population as a subgroup of sex offenders.     

Determinants of individual fertility and contraceptive use: a review and synthesis of the literature

This discussion, which reviews the fertility determinants literature from a sociopsychological or individual perspective, summarizes literature addressing the determinants of individual fertility, i.e., an individual's decision to use or not use an effective contraceptive method. Complete or definite answers about fertility determinants do not exist, but enough is known to provide an overview. From the 259 articles, monographs, and books examined and classified, 6 main classes of determinants were formed and analyzed: demographic; sociopsychological; experiential or behavioral; informational, including knowledge about reproduction and birth control; husband and wife interaction; and environmental. Gaps in the existing literature about these determinants are identified and a sociopsychological model integrating existing knowledge is proposed. In general, the following groups of individuals have relatively high fertility and/or relatively low or ineffective contraceptive use: low socioeconomic status, adolescents and people aged 40 and older, Catholics and highly religious, rural, many siblings, unemployed women or working women who do not attach great importance to their careers; and ethnic minorities. Sociopsychological determinants of fertility and contraceptive use have been classified into 2 groups: personality traits and values and attitudes. In general, the evidence linking values and attitudes to fertility-related behavior is stronger than personality traits, but some promising work in the personality area is being conducted. In general an early age at 1st marriage related to higher fertility, and duration of marriage positively associated with fertility as is a younger age at 1st birth. In general, there is a positive correlation between contraceptive knowledge and contraceptive behavior. Certain aspects of the husband/wife relationship, including the allocation of roles and responsibilities between husband and wife and the scope and frequency of their communication--are related to their fertility and contraceptive use. The extent to which family planning programs contribute to fertility decline, over and above the effects due to modernization and development, remains unanswered empirically. The following gaps in the literature were observed: the need for more research on the role of the male partner in determining fertility and contraceptive use, the experiential or behavioral determinants of fertility and contraceptive use, employment history, environmental aspects, and integration of the area into theoretical framework(s) capable of empirical verification.     

“‘社区’研究”与“社区研究”——近年来我国城市社区研究述评

本文区分了本体论意义上的‘社区’研究和方法论意义上的社区研究。前者将社区本身视为一个以社会团结为特征的、具体的客观对象来研究,后者则将社区看作一个多元主体互动博弈的特殊社会场域和理解其他理论问题的透镜。在此基础上,文章从国家—社会与行动者、社区参与、社会资本与社会网络、日常生活与阶层、社区的分化与分化的社区五个主题梳理了国内社区研究的新进展。最后,笔者提出了一个理解中国城市社区和社区研究的基本框架,并针对现有研究的不足提出了建议。     

The occupational orientations of jazz musicians: Some recent findings and a reexamination of the evidence

In contrast to earlier studies which stressed the deviant status of jazz players and their hostility toward conventional society, research appearing in the 1960s reported these musicians accepting middle‐class values and aspirations and expressing concern about the public image of their profession. This paper reports the findings of ethnographic research on jazz practitioners undertaken in St. Louis and New Orleans during the 1970s. Two contrasting occupational orientations, or work ideologies, those of the “artist” and the “craftman” (Becker, 1978), are found to coexist among the contemporary generation of jazz modernists. A historical interpretation that links the artist and craftsman orientations to the origin of jazz among blacks and the pattern of its diffusion into the larger society is offered as an explanation for the divergent findings from past studies.     

The effect of child mortality on fertility behaviors is non-linear: new evidence from Senegal

The present paper examines the relationship between child mortality and fertility at the micro level. We use individual data collected quarterly within the health and demographic surveillance system of the rural community of Niakhar (Fatick, Senegal). Birth histories of 2,884 women born between 1932 and 1961 are analyzed. The determinants of completed fertility are investigated using a standard Poisson Regression Model. The global effect of child mortality on total and net fertility is found to be positive. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to provide evidence for the child survival hypothesis—an effect of child mortality on net fertility—at the micro level. We further identify an inverted-U shaped relationship between child mortality and net fertility. The implication is that health policies aiming at reducing child mortality have indirect effects on desired fertility; yet only a steep decrease in child mortality would be likely to trigger fertility declines.     

Debunking macro myths: findings from recent graduates about jobs,salaries, and skills

Research suggests that interest in macro social work practice is declining, a trend that has been well documented in the United States. Studies find that social work educators and practitioners may foster beliefs among MSW students that discredit macro practice and associated skills while asserting macro graduates are likely to face poorer employment prospects and lower salaries than micro counterparts as they start their careers. This study builds on and extends this literature by examining 27 skills in their current job using a five-point Likert-type scale among the early career trajectory of MSW alumni (N = 182) who graduated between 2008 and 2012 from a public social work institution in the southeastern United States. The skills included in the survey, as well as decisions about how to group them into scales, were made based on theoretical links between the skills by macro faculty members. Findings highlight the use of macro practice skills regardless of concentration focus, no differences in salary, or the time it takes to find employment between micro and macro alumni. Implications for social work education are discussed.