Why Immigrant Background Matters for University Participation: A Comparison of Switzerland and Canada

This article extends our understanding of the difference in university participation between students with and without immigrant backgrounds by contrasting outcomes in Switzerland and Canada and by the use of new longitudinal data that are comparable between the countries. The research includes family socio‐demographic characteristics, family aspirations regarding university education, and the student's secondary school performance as explanatory variables of university attendance patterns. In Switzerland, compared with students with Swiss‐born parents, those with immigrant backgrounds are disadvantaged regarding university participation, primarily due to poor academic performance in secondary school. In comparison, students with immigrant backgrounds in Canada display a significant advantage regarding university attendance, even among some who performed poorly in secondary school. The included explanatory variables can only partly account for this advantage, but family aspirations regarding university attendance play a significant role, while traditional variables such as parental educational attainment are less important. In both countries, source region background is important. Possible reasons for the cross‐country differences are discussed.     

Erben in Europa

Inheritance research is intergenerational research. Most inheritances stem from parents. However, the importance of inheritance goes far beyond the narrow family circle. Apart from opportunities, needs and family structures, societal contexts are of particular importance for inheritance chances. Nonetheless, especially international comparisons are scarce. This study includes 14 European countries, from Sweden to Italy, from Ireland to Poland. It investigates both previous and future inheritances. The analyses prove striking differences between countries: whereas the frequency of inheritances in Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and Switzerland is quite high, it is significantly lower in former socialist states. There are also large discrepancies between West and East Germany. Furthermore, the empirical results confirm Matthew??s principle: To him that hath shall be given.     

Employment,flexible working and the family

This paper assesses some of the implications of one of the major social changes to have taken place in the West during the second half of the twentieth century--that is, the increased employment of women, together with normative changes in gender relations and in women's expectations. These changes have been linked to an increase in individualism, which itself is associated with the transcendence of 'first modernity'. Thus it is suggested that new approaches to social analysis are required (Beck). Here it is argued that, rather than develop completely new approaches in order to grasp the changes that are under way, the 'economic' and the 'social' (that is, employment and the family) should be seen as intertwined, rather than approached as separate phenomena. Past debates in feminism, changes in the family, and flexible employment are critically examined. The growing tensions between employment and family life are discussed. It is argued that these changes are associated with the intensification of capitalist development, rather than reflecting a fundamental transformation of society. Existing approaches to the analysis of social change, including Polanyi's analysis of the development of 'counter-movements' against the 'self-regulating' market, will, therefore, still be relevant to our enquiries. In the concluding section, a programme of research that would examine these changes is outlined.     

Beyond the Nuclear Family: The Increasing Importance of Multigenerational Bonds

Family relationships across several generations are becoming increasingly important in American society. They are also increasingly diverse in structure and in functions. In reply to the widely debated “family decline” hypothesis, which assumes a nuclear family model of 2 biological parents and children, I suggest that family multigenerational relations will be more important in the 21st century for 3 reasons: (a) the demographic changes of population aging, resulting in “longer years of shared lives” between generations; (b) the increasing importance of grandparents and other kin in fulfilling family functions; (c) the strength and resilience of intergenerational solidarity over time. I also indicate that family multigenerational relations are increasingly diverse because of (a) changes in family structure, involving divorce and stepfamily relationships; (b) the increased longevity of kin; (c) the diversity of intergenerational relationship “types.” Drawing on the family research legacy of Ernest W. Burgess, I frame my arguments in terms of historical family transitions and hypotheses. Research from the Longitudinal Study of Generations is presented to demonstrate the strengths of multigenerational ties over time and why it is necessary to look beyond the nuclear family when asking whether families are still functional.     

Social Transformation in the Age of Globalization. A Challenge to Reduce Anomie and to Increase Social Capital

Anomie is one of few social scientific terms with a wide claim to explain aspects of social change, in different cultures at different stages of modernization not to say globalization. In the early 1990s the Scientific Board of the Swiss Academy of Development commenced a research project which is still continuing with most of the same researchers but under the name of The International Network for the Assessment of Social Transformation (INAST), based in the Institute of Sociology, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The work was importantly influenced by Robert K. Merton, an honorary member of the group.     

去还是留？——回乡民工继续外出就业的影响因素分析

回乡农民工是继续外出还是留在家乡务工？人力资本、家庭因素、经济因素以及外出经历都对农民工个体的外出决策形成影响。促成农民工离开城市回到家乡的原因中。家庭因素和经济因素是最主要原因。分析表明,在影响农民工继续外出决策因素中,这些因素仍然是主要影响因素;同时,外出收入、婚姻状况、外出给家庭带来变化对农民工的外出决策有着显著影响。此外,年龄、外出打工时间长短和对外出生活的满意度也对其外出决策有明显影响。     

Eugenic Family Politics and Social Democrats: "Positive" Eugenics and Marriage Advice Bureaus

Abstract  During the first half of the twentieth century eugenics became a mainstream body of thinking and an approach to the solution of social problems across Europe and North America. Fears of degeneration and certain notions of heredity and fertility had produced widespread discourses regarding threats to the nation's health and its reproductive capacities. Governing nations' procreative activities shaped social policies and practices thus placing gender and sexuality at the centre of analysis. The article examines how eugenics became an axis of intervention in family and reproductive politics through discourses and practices of "positive" eugenics. The substantive focus here is on the eugenic content of premarital advice and family politics in Switzerland assessing the impact of the eugenics movement as well as the women's movement. The article contributes to a growing body of scholarship on comparative historical analyses of eugenics by contextualising Switzerland in a eugenic international.     

Elder Abuse:

Elder abuse in Québec has been defined as a social problem since the late 70s. Many changes in policies, social practices, and laws are proposed as scientific knowledge is still growing. Using research methodology in criminology, elder abuse is defined and the impact of violence and neglect towards elders in the community, family and nursing home settings investigated. This paper critically examines the current knowledge gained through research on elder abuse in Québec and offers suggestions for future progress on this issue.     

One step forward? Advances and setbacks on the path toward gender equality in families and work

Men and women increasingly express egalitarian preferences for organizing family life, but workplace norms and practices are still based on relatively traditional assumptions about the gender division of labor in families. In this article, we unpack this discordant feature of the cultural landscape with recent sociological research on gender, work, and family. We begin by discussing the growing body of evidence on preferences for gender–egalitarian relationships and specify how these egalitarian desires are incongruous with workplace norms and practices. Such a mismatch between desires and reality tends to produce negative personal and career outcomes, including work–family conflict, stress, and job and marital dissatisfaction. Then, we offer a critical review of the recent actions taken by some employers and policymakers to address this issue. We observe some progressive changes in both the public and private sector in regard to family leave policies, flexible work arrangements, childcare support, and fertility benefits, but these policy initiatives still fall short of supporting gender–egalitarian arrangements for working families. We conclude with a discussion of how researchers could better evaluate and increase the effectiveness of workplace initiatives.     

Qualitative research in family therapy: publication trends from 1980 to 1999

In the early 1990s, scholars from a variety of disciplines encouraged greater inclusion of qualitative research methodology in the mental health field. Moon, Dillon, and Sprenkle (1990) hoped their paper “Family therapy and qualitative research” would serve as a stimulus for further development of qualitative research in the field of family therapy. Ten years later, entering the new millennium, has the field been influenced by recommendations for an increase in use of qualitative methodology in family therapy? A content analysis was conducted on articles published in the marriage and family therapy literature from 1980 to 1999. Of the numerous articles examined in four journals, 131 articles were published using qualitative research methodology. Findings support the contention that qualitative research is increasing, but still accounts for a small number of research articles published in marriage and family therapy journals.     

Family transitions and juvenile delinquency

There is a large body of research that shows children from non-intact homes show higher rates of juvenile delinquency than children from intact homes, partially due to weaker parental control and supervision in non-intact homes. What has not been adequately addressed in the research is the influence of changes in family structure among individual adolescents over time on delinquent offending. Using the first and third waves of the National Youth Study, we assess the effect of family structure changes on changes in delinquent offending between waves through the intermediate process of changes in family time and parental attachment. Although prior research has documented adolescents in broken homes are more delinquent than youth in intact homes, the process of family dissolution is not associated with concurrent increases in offending. In contrast, family formation through marriage or cohabitation is associated with simultaneous increases in offending. Changes in family time and parental attachment account for a portion of the family formation effect on delinquency, and prior parental attachment and juvenile offending significantly condition the effect of family formation on offending.     

Family Policy: Becoming a Field of Inquiry and Subfield of Social Policy

This decade review centers on 2 disconnects between rhetoric and reality. First, public investments in families continue to grow, yet family policy is still not a term widely used by policymakers or the public. Second, social science studies increased in number and sophistication, with some family sensitive and others policy relevant. Few focus on both, which is what is most needed if research is to inform family policy. In exploring these disconnects, we summarize recent trends in family policies and the influence of research on family policymaking. We suggest a rationale for family policy and illustrate its value using the examples of early childhood, welfare reform, and parent education policies. We conclude with suggested next steps.     

Family Theory and Research in Great Britain

This paper argues that the development of family research and theory in Great Britain has been strengthened by the fluidity of boundaries between various disciplines and methodolo- gies employed in the explanation of family life. Indeed, changes in the definition of family have been at the heart of the diversity and fluidity characteristic of the study of family. Studies of economic issues, gender and class distinctions, and family processes have involved vari- ous perspectives in research and theory building. Future directions for research suggest the need to explore linkages between British scholars and the wider community of family scholars, topics related to family morality or obligation, further development of qualitative and quantitative methods in family research, and continued exchanges between scholars and policy makers.     

The State of Family Theory and Research in Finland

The history of family research in Finland dates back to 1889, when the famous sociologist Edward Westermarck published his doctoral thesis "The Origin of Human Marriage." After World War II the old anthropological and socio-historical research tradition was effectively superseded by the emerging school of American sociology. By 1952 the focus of attention in sociology was already shifting to the problems of modern society. There appeared hardly any texts during the 1950s that seriously challenged the traditional family institution. Family research invested virtually all its energies in studying the housewife and assuring people that family was alive and well. The entire field of sociological research saw some significant changes in the late 1970s. A new category-way-of-life-took the social sciences and sociology by storm. The arrival of this concept provides one example of the growing influence of Marxist research during the 1970s. Since the 1980s the attention of family researches has been shifting more and more towards individualism and the search for new types of permanent relationships. Feminist research has been drawing critical attention to the understanding of the family as a unit, observing that this understanding contains various simplifying implicit assumptions. A recurring argument in feminist research is that the family does not have one voice, and that the family does not mean the same thing to all its members. Lately the perspective of social constructionism has been rapidly gaining ground in Finnish studies. At the same time, some critics are now saying that instead of trying to uncover cultural meaning from different types of discourse, family research should instead be investing its energies in serious theorizing that is devoted to uncovering the truth.     

A new work–life balance: gender and employment in young people’s perceptions in Chile

The paper explores perceptions regarding family and paid employment expressed by university students in Chile, based on the analysis of quantitative data from the Maule region (southern Chile). We argue that the increasing unpredictability of labor markets has eroded the role paid employment historically has had as the lynchpin of individual’s – particularly men’s – life project, altering the expectations about both work and family life. Likewise, changes in gender roles have shaped youngsters’ ideals about family life. This seems to be the case especially for women, who strongly affirm their economic independence and personal projects, departing from traditional family views. We conclude that young people are demanding a new balance between life (understood mainly as personal and family time) and work. There is also a strong affirmation of the individual project, including a demand for greater gender equality. Although still at the level of projected visions of the future, these findings signal changes in the way the relation work–family is traditionally organized, bringing new challenges for public policy.     

Family Theory and Research in Greece:

Major influences on the Greek family of recent decades have been decrease in the birthrate, the abolition of the institution of the dowry, and changes in migratory patterns. This review highlights specific studies of family change related to demographic and eco- nomic changes in Greece. The authors conclude that family research has been closely linked with family policy. Little attention is given to the need for theoretical development, methodological refinement, or collaboration.     

Urban aquatic ecosystems: Habitat loss and depletion of native macrophyte diversity during the 20th century in four Swiss cities

Urban areas are among the most affected by human activities. In Europe, urbanization has essentially occurred since the end of the 19th century. However, the influence of this dramatic process on aquatic ecosystems has rarely been quantified and analyzed using historical data. In this study, we investigate the evolution of the hydrological system and native aquatic macrophytes in urban areas between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Four urban areas in Switzerland were chosen for the analyses, Zürich, Basel, Lausanne and Fribourg, and we analyzed the changes in aquatic plant diversity based on the historical and recent floristic data available for the same areas and the same time periods. Our results show that a significant proportion (～30 %) of aquatic habitats has disappeared from the investigated locales during the last 130 years and that the extinction rate of the aquatic plant species is notably higher in the studied cities (28 %) than in Switzerland as a whole (2 %). Thus, between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 21st centuries, urban development in Swiss cities has prompted a degradation of aquatic habitats that resulted in a significant reduction of the aquatic biodiversity. However, our study shows that urban areas still have the capacity to shelter a large diversity of aquatic organisms, including some of the most threatened species. Thus, it is important to integrate urban areas in the conservation strategies for these species.