Does family support ensure the protection of children? Messages from child protection research

The history of child protection is, in many ways, a catalogue of changes arising from the political/professional interface tensions relating to a highly contentious area of public and professional policy. The latest contribution to this process is the Department of Health's 1995 publication Child Protection: Messages from Research. The overview of the studies recommends that there be a shift in resources and attitudes from an investigative approach to a family support perspective. Many local authorities have subsequently produced policies which will lead to referrals being recorded as ‘children in need’ rather than child protection. The ramifications of this change in approach are examined from the dual perspectives of policy and practice. The article suggests that while much of the change in emphasis is to be welcomed, the needs of the most severely abused children may be compromised by the new orthodoxy, as it is not based on the reality of the many problems encountered by children and professionals in child protection work. It is argued that a focus on practice issues needs to permeate all such documents. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Media and the Israeli disability rights legislation: progress or mixed and contradictory images?

This article reviews and analyzes disability rights conceptualization and policy as reflected in the Israeli media after the enactment of the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law of 1998. Media coverage is examined through review of studies conducted on the subject in Israel. A comprehensive review of the research literature reveals a discrepancy between the purposes of anti‐discrimination legislation and policy and media reflections of disability, in which portrayal is primarily via a deviance lens. The discussion is based on the analysis of universal genesis of negative perceptions of disability, as well as on particularized culture bound meaning of disability within the Israeli symbolic framework.     

From wage rigidity to labour market institution rigidity: A turning-point in explaining unemployment?

In this paper we offer a critical discussion about the concept of labour market rigidity in the light of recent theoretical approaches that have aimed to provide sound micro-foundations to the presence of unemployment in market economies. We point out that the concept of labour market rigidity usually referred to in such theories has changed over time, involving in succession the rigidity of wages, contracts and labour market institutions. We also appraise the factors that lead labour market institutions rigidity, stressed by the search literature, to challenge the more widespread explanation of unemployment grounded on wage rigidity. Moreover, we analyse some theoretical and empirical issues that cast doubt on the ability to deal with unemployment, disentangling the role of institutional rigidities from that of wage stickiness.     

Does childhood family structure help create stratification in adult education and labor market attainment?: An argument for the selectivity perspective

Stratification in opportunities for and attainment of educational credentials, stable and well‐paying jobs, wealth, and socioeconomic status causes problems for both individuals and the societies they live in. It is unclear, however, the extent to which important childhood experiences, such as family structure and transitions, shapes opportunity paths and eventual attainment later in adulthood. The intergenerational transmission literature suggests little if any role of family structure in later attainment, while family scholars and demographers find more compelling evidence that childhood family structures and transitions are influential in adulthood. We argue that both perspectives may be identifying selectivity processes that help explain potential links between families of origin and differences in opportunities to attain education, careers, and status. We then provide suggestions for future work in each of these scholarly traditions to help untangle both the degree to which family structure does or does not affect adult attainment and whether selectivity is the key explanation for any such relationships.     

The Presidio Trust legislation: preservation or privatization?

This analysis of the Presidio Trust legislation places the recent developments on the Presidio in the context of a century and a half of environmental planning. By first exploring the Presidio's history, and then tracing the more recent legislative background to the Presidio Trust, the author establishes a clear frame through which to explore the current challenges that face the Presidio Trust. This paper argues that history, legislative intent, and specific legal precedent will protect the Presidio from being "sold off," despite growing local concerns that the Presidio Trust's mandate to become financially self-sufficient within 15 years may drive the public's interests from the park. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Does the positive relationship between health and marriage reflect protection or selection? Evidence from middle-aged and elderly Japanese

This study investigates the marriage protection and selection effects among middle-aged and elderly Japanese. Using 9 years of a longitudinal data set from a nationally representative survey in Japan from 2005 to 2013, we extract 15,242 respondents aged 50–59 years in the baseline year. We utilize positive self-rated health to present subjective health status and lifestyle diseases to present objective health status. Using dynamic panel data approach to control for endogeneity issue, we find that being married does protect respondents’ subjective health, in terms of a higher probability of self-ratings of “very good” or “good” health statuses. Nonetheless, we find that marriage deteriorated their objective health in terms of a higher probability of having lifestyle diseases. Regarding the selection effect, better subjective health is found to select middle-aged and elderly Japanese into marriage, but such influence is fairly modest. Although objective health status also selects respondents into marriage, it positively affects women but adversely affects men. The findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between marriage and health, which may have substantial implications for health-related public policies for middle-aged and elderly people in Japan.     

Introduction: What does the future promise for work,employment and society?

In introducing this double Special Issue, the authors draw on the articles contained therein to highlight the main areas for consideration in research on the future of work. They present the fast‐paced changes affecting the world of work as offering an opportunity to move towards equality‐inducing growth, while warning of the dangers posed by mismanaged technological change, inequalities (highlighting the persistent and intersectional nature of gender inequality), global supply chains and opportunities for social dialogue. In this light, they also propose policy recommendations focusing on strengthening worker protection and representative institutions, rethinking regulatory frameworks and taxation systems, and ensuring just transitions.     

How does post-study employment policy for international students create “skilled” migrants? The case of Japan

The recent literature on skilled migration has addressed the socially constructed nature of the notion and category of “skilled” migrants, revealing the roles of the host state and its admission policy in shaping these migrants. This article adds to the literature by examining how the host state can also socially (or politically) create “skilled” migrants through policy that facilitates the post-study employment of international students. The extant research on the social construction of skill and skilled migration informs the hypothesizing of three strategic ways in which host states seek to retain international students who may otherwise be excluded from the host labour market after graduation: (1) the creation of new work permits, (2) the discretionary relaxing of criteria for issuing work visas and (3) the provision of skilling support for finding employment. The case of Japan empirically validates all these strategies and indicates the particular significance of the second strategy.     

Ethno-Linguistic Exogamy and Divorce: Does Marital Duration Matter?

This research examines whether the exogamy effect on the divorce risk varies over marital duration. Registry data from 1970 to 2003 allow us to observe couples in exogamous and endogamous ethno-linguistic marriages (Finnish speakers and Swedish speakers in Finland). We find that an elevated divorce risk of exogamous couples, which has been observed in numerous studies, is not typical of recently initiated marriages only, because it does not attenuate over marital duration. Marital problems that lead to divorce seem to be more common among exogamous couples than among endogamous couples. We argue that these patterns are likely due to group-specific differences in attitudes toward marriage. The argument is supported by a persistent difference in the divorce risk across endogamous Finnish- and Swedish-speaking marriages, and by the variation in divorce risk by ethno-linguistic composition of the couples in a regional context where minority group behaviors are more likely absorbed into majority group behaviors.     

Neighborhood Scale and Collective Efficacy: Does Size Matter?

The theory of collective efficacy emphasizes the role of the neighborhood as a unit of social control that can deter crime. The neighborhood unit is most often defined as a census tract or a similar administratively defined measure. These neighborhood definitions are not always sociologically meaningful. That is, administratively defined geographical areas do not necessarily align with residents' perceptions of their neighborhood's boundaries, which incorporate the familiarity with an area and interactions with other residents. Officially defined neighborhoods often present an inaccurate representation of collective efficacy, as these areas are not likely to function as a cohesive social unit. An alternative measure of “bespoke” neighborhoods is presented in geographical research. The bespoke neighborhood identifies a neighborhood area as the distance from a specific point or the number of people situated nearest to a specific location. This concept takes into consideration each resident's unique definition of the neighborhood. In addition, the bespoke neighborhood can be assessed on different scales to identify the most appropriate neighborhood size, where patterns of behavior are most meaningful. Bespoke neighborhoods can be used to identify sociologically meaningful neighborhoods that can inform the theory of collective efficacy.     

Technological change and employment in Brazil,Colombia and Mexico: Which workers are most affected?

This article adopts a task-based approach to analyse employment patterns in terms of skill distribution and occupations in the urban labour markets of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico during 2002–15. The results suggest that employment fell strongly for some medium-skilled occupations, and increased slightly for both low-skilled and high-skilled occupations. Decomposition results suggest that the decreasing share of employment of secretaries and stenographers is fully explained by changes within industries (routinization hypothesis), whereas the decrease in machinery operation and handicraft jobs is mainly explained by changes between industries. By socio-demographic group, technological changes negatively affected women but benefited younger workers and those with higher educational attainment.     

Does child care availability play a role in maternal employment and children’s development? Evidence from Italy

This paper investigates the effects of public child care availability in Italy in mothers’ working status and children’s scholastic achievements. We use a newly available dataset containing individual standardized test scores of pupils attending the second grade of primary school in 2009–2010 in conjunction with data on public child care availability. Our estimates indicate a positive and significant effects of child care availability on both mothers’ working status and children’s Language test scores. We find that a percentage change in public child care coverage increases mothers’ probability to work by 1.3 percentage points and children’s Language test scores by 0.85 percent of one standard deviation; we do not find any effect on Math test scores. Moreover, the impact of a percentage change in public child care on mothers’ employment and children’s Language test scores is greater in provinces where child care availability is more limited.     

Do shocks affect men's and women's assets differently? Evidence from Bangladesh and Uganda

Using panel data, this article tests whether shocks affect men's and women's assets differently in Bangladesh and Uganda. Across countries, covariate and idiosyncratic shocks have different effects on men's, women's and jointly owned assets. Jointly held land and assets were better insured against food price increases in Bangladesh, unlike jointly held assets and wives’ assets in Uganda. Weather shocks affect husbands’ and wives’ assets differently in both countries. Reflecting contextual differences, illness shocks negatively affected wives’ land in Bangladesh, while death reduced husbands’ non‐land assets. In Uganda, fuel price increases eroded husbands’ landholdings, while drought shocks reduced wives’ assets. Ugandan husbands’ assets were better protected against covariate shocks than wives’ assets.     

Does higher education make a difference? The influence of educational attainment on women's and men's nonstandard employment outcomes

Some studies suggest that women and the less educated are more likely to be employed in nonstandard work. However, conflicting evidence has indicated that temporary, part-time, and nonstandard self-employment has diffused across different social groups and levels of education. Using pooled data from the 1997–2018 Canadian Labour Force Surveys, this study explores the changing relationship between higher education, gender, and employment outcomes. Taking a multiple logistic regression approach, this study accomplishes three objectives: (1) to examine the relationship between gender and education among different forms of nonstandard employment; (2) to investigate the changes of different forms of nonstandard employment between 1997 to 2018; (3) to analyze the association between men's and women's education and their likelihood of different forms of nonstandard employment are explored. The findings suggest the feminization of employment norms, in which men and women have had some convergence in certain types of nonstandard employment. This result holds across most levels of education, but is more pronounced for women and men with higher levels of education.     

Regulating Small and Medium Charities: Does It Improve Transparency and Accountability?

Internationally, there has been a steady increase in the number of countries instigating charity regulation. Public interest theory suggests that regulation increases organisational transparency through reducing information asymmetry, protects (or encourages) a competitive market, and leads to a distribution of resources which is in the public interest. While these arguments may explain charity regulation, the cost of compliance can be an issue for small- and medium-sized charities. Therefore, regulators tend to take a light-handed approach to small and medium charities’ information provision. This paper ascertains the impact of a light-handed enforcement regime on small and medium charities’ reporting, analysing the financial reporting practices of a selection of 300 small- and medium-sized charities registered with the former New Zealand Charities Commission against the Charities Act 2005 requirements and hence the rationale for this regulator. It uses this analysis to predict how the regulator’s activities might impact future reporting practices of charities.     

Counselling and Psychotherapy: Is There a Difference? Does It Matter?

The terms ‘counselling’ and ‘psychotherapy’ are often employed in a loosely interchangeable way, especially in Australia. Where distinctions are made, there has been little agreement on what each term should cover. This article examines several axes on which ‘counselling’ might potentially be distinguished from ‘psychotherapy’; the most promising basis for such a distinction seems to be whether or not the mode of work attempts to access the unconscious. On this basis, several modalities currently termed ‘therapy’ would in fact be classed as types of ‘counselling’, including those modalities of family therapy which aim to engage clients at the level of conscious behaviour change and restructuring. Consideration of how new professionals are trained lends support to a continuum, with short‐term, problem‐focused conscious‐oriented approaches at one end, and longer‐term, transference‐focused, unconscious‐oriented approaches at the other, the dividing line coming at the point where trainees learn the skill of ‘immediacy’.