How did divorced women fare in the 1990s?: Analysis of work and hourly earnings

This paper presents evidence of changes in employment and real wages in the population of divorced single women during the 1990s. Using data from the U.S. Current Population Survey (CPS) for 1989 and 1999, the paper estimates multivariate models of labor force participation and hourly wages for each year. Differences between years in employment and wages are decomposed into portions attributable to changes in measured characteristics and changes in coefficients of the models. Estimates indicate that full time employment remained virtually unchanged during the decade, and real wages increased by less than 2%. Decomposition of the regression models shows that measured characteristics in this population changed in a direction that would have lead to higher wage growth, but those changes were offset by changes in the model’s coefficients. The result is that earnings experienced only modest growth. In the labor force participation model, changes in measured characteristics worked in the direction of a modest decrease in full time employment, but again coefficient changes provided an offsetting effect.     

Why Do Men and Women Challenge Gender Discrimination in the Workplace? The Role of Group Status and In-group Identification in Predicting Pathways to Collective Action

Group status and group identification were hypothesized to moderate the predictors of collective action to challenge gender discrimination against women. Higher identifiers were expected to respond to the inequality through the lens of their in-group's interests. Among highly identified women, collective action was predicted by appraisals of illegitimacy and feelings of anger, suggesting that they felt a sense of solidarity with the victims and experienced the justice violation as personally relevant. In contrast, higher identification with the high-status group should reflect more investment in the advantaged in-group, relative to the interests of the victimized out-group members. Thus, among highly identified men, collective action intentions were predicted by perceiving the inequality as pervasive (i.e., not limited to a few cases) and feelings of sympathy for victims. This suggests that highly identified men did not experience the inequality as self-relevant until they saw it as too widespread to be ignored. In contrast, men and women with lower gender group identification demonstrated more similar pathways to collective action, where sympathy was the main predictor. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Voluntary Pension Saving for Old Age: Are the Objectives of Self‐responsibility and Security Compatible?

Fiscal pressure and demographic change lead governments to seek ways of reducing state expenditure on pensions. Individuals are asked to take more responsibility, and funded, supplementary pension schemes have been established in many countries. This article looks at schemes that are voluntary – the NEST or Personal Accounts scheme in Britain and the Riester Pension scheme in Germany. It examines the debate about whether it is worthwhile for some people to participate in pension schemes that are not mandatory – particularly those with low incomes and/or potentially broken careers. The small pensions they accumulate in such schemes merely offset entitlements to means‐tested pension benefits, leaving them no better off in old age. Concerns about the behavioural consequences of pension means‐testing are not new. Nonetheless, few policymakers have been willing to look at when and how such concerns were expressed in the context of voluntary pension savings. Equally, they have seldom been prepared to explain the costs involved in guaranteeing savings‐based pensions or the implications that the lack of offering such a guarantee might have for individual behaviour. The state has sought for people to take greater ‘self‐responsibility’ for their retirement income, but many people wish for some certainty with respect to the pensions they can expect. These goals might well be in conflict. Whether the ‘state pension for the 21st century’, as proposed by the UK government, will succeed in satisfying the objectives both of the state and of pension savers remains an open question.     

Why and how do parents decide to adopt? A study on motivations and the decision-making process in becoming an adoptive family

There are several motives underlying the process of deciding to become an adoptive family. However, research exploring this issue is scarce and essentially focused on infertility as the main motivation. The present mixed-method study aims to fill in this gap by exploring, retrospectively, the motives to adopt of 126 Portuguese adoptive parents. The Parents' Interview on the Adoption Process was used to identify the motives to adopt and describe the adoption decision-making process. Seven main motives (biological issues, filling in a void/loneliness, adoption as a life project, expanding the family, philanthropy, contact with the child protection system and parenthood) were identified. These motives can be centred on the self, the child or both simultaneously and are characterized by dynamism, permeability and interconnection. Findings allowed for establishing conceptual considerations on motivations to adopt and recommendations for adoption practice.     

All for one or one for all? Authorship and the cross-sectoral valuation of credit in nutrition science

The passionate pursuit of authorships is fuelled by the value they represent to scholars and scientists. This article asks how this value differs across scientists and how these different processes of valuation inform authorship articulation, strategies, and publication behavior in general. Drawing from a qualitative analysis of authorship practices among nutrition scientists employed at universities, contract research organizations, and in food industry, I argue that two different modi operandi emerge when it comes to authorship. These different ways of working produce different collaborative approaches, different credit distribution strategies amongst collaborators, and different value placed upon (the pursuit of) authorship. These different valuation processes are neither explicit nor recognizable to those reading (and judging) author lists. As a consequence, in the politics of authorship, the names standing atop a scientific publication in nutrition science represent different types of value to both the individuals and employing organizations.     

Absorption of foreign capital in ways other than FDI and multiple channels for the introduction of advanced technologies from abroad

Amidst the decline in the proportion of FDI, a number of new features can be detected in China’s absorption of foreign capital:1. New ways of absorbing foreign capitalhave emerged. While FDI growth is declining,     

Refugee community organizations in Canada: From the margins to the mainstream? A challenge and opportunity for social workers

Various waves of asylum seekers and resettled refugees arriving in Canada since the 1980s reflect the eruption of war and ethnic conflicts in parts of Africa, Central America, and South East Asia. Contrary to long‐established immigrant communities such as the Greeks, Italians, and Portuguese, these newcomers have had to fend for themselves and develop their own support networks, leading to new forms of organizing and to the formation of refugee community organizations (RCOs). This article discusses the findings of a 2008–2011 study on RCOs in Canada, specifically in Montréal and Winnipeg. The objective of the study was to understand the context in which RCOs have developed, the populations they serve, and the role they play in their ethnic communities. Working within the RCO paradigm, we analyze the creation of these organizations, contrast findings with research done in the UK, and raise issues for social work practice. Key Practitioner Message: ● Innovative research in Canada documenting refugee community organizations gives fresh insight regarding community organizing practice; ● Documents the situation of asylum seekers and refugees on an individual and a collective basis in terms of needs; ● Focuses on the necessity of building bridges with refugee organizations to bring them into the mainstream.     

Law-related Letters and Visits of Complaint from the Public, Administrative Legal Proceedings and Twofold Rationality in Actions for Civil Redress

In this "era of advancing toward rights," scholars usually see the decrease in letters and visits by the public and the in-crease in legal cases as an enhanced con     

How to get evidence? The role of government–business interaction in evidence-based policy-making for the development of Internet of Things industry in China

This paper provides theoretical bases and a framework to describe the incremental process of macro-level innovation policy-making for emerging industry in China and the role of government–business (G–B) interactions in generating policy-making evidence. By analyzing the decision-making processes of three macro-level innovation policies for the Internet of Things as a mode of industry development, the paper finds that the macro-level innovation policy-making resulted from a gradual sub-issue solving in each of several sub-processes. The specific micro-level policy tools are formed and implemented through G–B interactions to generate evidence, and these processes are gradual and incremental, helping policy-makers to overcome the high levels of uncertainties in emerging industry development. Five interactive approaches in this research are identified: inspections, investigations, soft lobbying, conferences, and cooperation. The patterns of interactions vary with the nature of the innovation policies. Our findings contribute to the evidence-based policy-making perspective, by clarifying the innovation policy-making sub-process and the evidence-generating mechanism of G–B interactions in dealing with emerging industry development uncertainties.     

From Provider to Enabler of Care? Reconfiguring Local Authority Support for Older People and Carers in Leeds, 2008 to 2013

Abstract

This article explores developments in the support available to older people and carers (i.e., caregivers) in the city of Leeds, United Kingdom, and examines provision changes during a period characterized by unprecedented resource constraint and new developments in national-local governance. Using documentary evidence, official statistics, and findings from recent studies led by the author, the effects of these changes on service planning and delivery and the approach taken by local actors to mitigate their impact are highlighted. The statistical data show a marked decline in some types of services for older people during a 5-year period during which the city council took steps to mobilize citizens and develop new services and system improvements. The analysis focuses on theories of social quality as a framework for analysis of the complex picture of change related to service provision. It concludes that although citizen involvement and consultations exerted a positive influence in delivering support to some older people and carers, research over a longer timescale is needed to show if these changes are adequate to protect older people and carers from the effects of ongoing budgetary constraints.     

Welfare reforms and the Refugee Resettlement Strategy: an opportunity to achieve meaningful employment outcomes for New Zealanders from refugee backgrounds?

Despite employment being consistently identified as a key factor in successful refugee resettlement, people from refugee backgrounds in Aotearoa New Zealand are overrepresented in unemployment statistics. Of those who do gain employment, few secure work that is adequately remunerated and commensurate with the person's skills and qualifications. This paper explores whether the two recent government-driven initiatives, the welfare reforms and the New Zealand Refugee Resettlement Strategy, provide an opportunity to address these issues. Based on previous research, the authors identify the main employment barriers facing people from refugee backgrounds. They argue that while the welfare reforms and the Refugee Resettlement Strategy are underpinned by a desire to see more people in employment, for real change to occur, an integrated holistic approach is needed. This approach needs to include additional resourcing for government-funded specialist one-on-one employment programmes that are available in all regions where refugees are resettled. These programmes combined with access to fully funded English language tuition and work experience and internship opportunities would help reduce the barriers people from refugee backgrounds face when seeking employment.     

How divided is the attitudinal context for policymaking? Changes in public attitudes to the welfare state,inequality and immigration over two decades in Britain

If public attitudes towards the welfare state, inequality and immigration are becoming increasingly polarized, as recent political events might suggest, the space for progressive social policies is more constrained. Using data from the British Social Attitudes Survey (BSA) spanning 23years, we analyse trends in these attitudes, examining whether there has been divergence between those who have been more and less exposed to disadvantage through changes in the economy and the welfare state across more than two decades. Taken in this longer term context, and examining characteristics not previously considered in relation to public attitudes such as lone parenthood and disability, we find little evidence of polarization in attitudes to welfare, inequality and immigration and even some evidence of attitudinal gaps narrowing. We conclude that given this lack of division, there may be greater room for more pro-welfare and progressive policies than the prevalent narrative of polarization suggests.     

Who Participates,How and Why in Urban Regeneration Projects? The Case of the New ‘City’ of East Manchester

Participation is advocated by political leaders as crucial for enhancing social responsibility, building social capital, improving public services, qualifying for full citizenship and for enabling local democratic participation. Despite this increased commitment to encouraging public participation, however, there remains a lack of understanding of what motivates individuals to become community activists. This analysis of urban regeneration confirms that participation is a minority sport reflecting the reluctance and/or inability of the majority of community members to engage. The motives for that minority of local people who do engage are, therefore, important for policy-makers and academics to understand. This research project in east Manchester reveals that the motives of activists are varied and more nuanced than is proposed by existing social science theories such as rational choice, social network theory or the application of such concepts as citizen-consumers. A hybridized model which privileges social network theory without, however, entirely excluding ideas of the consumer-citizen and rational choice is advocated as a more effective way of explaining both community activism and also the varying levels and durability of individual participation. If participation is to increase, however, it is vital that the nuanced motives of participants are better appreciated.     

Class politics in the sandbox? An analysis of the socio‐economic determinants of preferences towards public spending and parental fees for childcare

This article analyses the socio‐economic determinants of public preferences towards public spending and parental fees for childcare and how they are conditioned by institutional contexts. Previous studies of childcare policy preferences have focused on attitudes regarding the provision of care. However, when it comes to questions of financing, we know astonishingly little about how supportive individuals actually are of expanding pre‐school early childhood education and care, and how support varies across different socio‐economic groups in society. This is an important research gap because childcare provision and how it is financed have redistributive implications, which vary depending on the institutional design of childcare policy. Using novel and unique survey data on childcare preferences from eight European countries, we argue and show that preferences towards expanding childcare are more contested than it is often assumed. The institutional structure of childcare shapes how income matters for preferences towards how much should be spent and how provision should be financed. Where access to childcare is socially stratified, the poor and the rich develop different preferences towards either increasing public spending or reducing parental fees in order to improve their access to childcare. The findings in this article suggest that expanding childcare in systems characterised by unequal access can be politically contested due to diverging policy priorities of individuals from different social backgrounds.     

Is Immigration Responsible for the Crime Drop? An Assessment of the Influence of Immigration on Changes in Violent Crime Between 1990 and 2000*

Objectives. The idea that immigration increases crime rates has historically occupied an important role in criminological theory and has been central to the public and political discourses and debates on immigration policy. In contrast to the common sentiment, some scholars have recently questioned whether the increase in immigration between 1990 and 2000 may have actually been responsible for part of the national decrease in crime during the 1990s. The current work evaluates the influence of immigration on crime in urban areas across the United States between 1990 and 2000. Methods. Drawing on U.S. Census and Uniform Crime Report data, I first use ordinary least squares regression models to assess the cross‐sectional relationship between immigration patterns and rates of homicide and robbery among U.S. cities with populations of at least 50,000. Second, I employ pooled cross‐sectional time‐series models to determine how changes in immigration influenced changes in homicide and robbery rates between 1990 and 2000. Results. In the ordinary least squares models, immigration is associated with higher levels of homicide and robbery. However, the pooled cross‐sectional time‐series models suggest that cities with the largest increases in immigration between 1990 and 2000 experienced the largest decreases in homicide and robbery during the same time period. Conclusion. The findings offer insights into the complex relationship between immigration and crime and suggest that growth in immigration may have been responsible for part of the precipitous crime drop of the 1990s.     

Changes in Diplomatic Philosophy in the Course of China’s Growth since 1949—The Shift from a Revolutionary and National Perspective to a Developmental and Global Outlook

观察国际和外交问题的视角与观念变化,是中华人民共和国外交史研究中尚需探讨和梳理的课题。在新中国成立后的前30年,中国外交深受在革命过程中形成的外交观念的影响。其基本诉求是建立新型外交关系,核心观念是独立自主与和平,外交政策的基石是和平共处五项原则;此外,国际统一战线策略,对现实世界的战略划分,以及对战争、和平与革命的思考亦对这一时期的外交政策具有重大影响。自20世纪70年代末实行改革开放以来,中国外交转以发展为视角,配合国家经济建设这一中心任务,做出一系列战略和政策调整。中国对国际形势作出和平与发展的新判断,对独立自主的和平外交政策作了新诠释,致力于建立均衡的对外关系,主张以渐进方式推动国际秩序的改进,决心走和平发展道路。中国由此成为现存国际秩序的参与者和建设者。进入21世纪,中国成为令世界瞩目的新兴大国,外交观念也在继承以往的基础上与时俱进。中国强调当代世界是命运共同体,谋求与各国的合作、共赢     

Who Wants to Chair the Meeting? Group Development and Leadership Patterns in a Community Action Group of Homeless People

This paper examines group development and leadership issues in a community action group of homeless persons. The unpredictable and precarious nature of day to day existence for homeless people presents considerable challenges to group development, continuity and cohesion. The group's experiences in confronting these challenges and the role of the worker are discussed.     

Where's the beef? A response to Gray and Webb's ‘The return of the political in social work’

Gray and Webb's article 'The return of the political in social work' is a welcome contribution to current debates. In its critique of the dominance of calculative reason, its rejection of postmodernism and identity politics, and its insistence on the need for social work to openly address issues of power and conflict, it is a useful addition to the growing critical literature concerned with challenging dominant forms of practice. That usefulness is limited, however, first by an excessively opaque style and, second, by problems associated with the writers' argument and approach. These include: an over-reliance on Heidegger's ontology; an over-estimation of the potential of art to act as alternative paradigm; and a particularly content-less version of politics, derived from the work of Alain Badiou, which is likely to prove to be of limited value in the project of developing alternative forms of social work.     

Is Contracting out of Public Services still the Great Panacea? A Systematic Review of Studies on Economic and Quality Effects from 2000 to 2014

This article presents the results of a systematic review of international studies on economic and quality effects of contracting out published in the period from 2000 to 2014. We conducted a comprehensive search of the literature and identified 49 relevant studies. There are three main findings of the systematic review: (1) cost savings documented in international contracting out literature have been decreasing over time; (2) cost savings have been much greater in technical services than in social services; and (3) economic effects have been twice as large in Anglo‐Saxon countries compared with other countries. With regard to measuring the effect of contracting out on service quality, which is a vital component of any service delivery arrangement, very few studies assess this issue in a comprehensive manner. There is also a significant lack of studies that include measures of transaction costs, thereby making it difficult to evaluate the impact of contracting out on overall cost‐effectiveness of public service delivery. We conclude that generalization of effects from contracting out should be made with caution and are likely to depend, among other things, on the transaction costs characteristics of the service, the market situation and the institutional/regulatory setting.