GENDER AND RACE PATTERNS IN THE PATHWAYS FROM SPORTS PARTICIPATION TO SELF-ESTEEM

Athletics is the most prominent extracurricular activity in U.S. secondary schools in terms of student participation and school budgets. The latter is often justified on the grounds that healthy bodies produce healthy minds, that school sports boost school spirit, and that participation in school-based sports increases students' self-esteem. In this article we examine the interrelationships among participation in a school-based sport and the benefits assumed to be associated with it. Specifically, we test a model that postulates that school spirit, operationalized as attachment to school, and healthy bodies, operationalized as a sense of physical well-being, mediate the relationship between school sports and self-esteem. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health on Caucasian and African American girls and boys were employed to test the model. School attachment and physical well-being absorbed the statistical effect of participating in a sport for all four gender-by-race groups. Among Caucasian girls a negative residual effect of sports participation was observed, which suggests that sports participation encapsulates multiple effects with contradictory influences. For African American girls school attachment by itself was not a significant mediator of the effect of sports participation on self-esteem. For all groups a sense of physical well-being was the more powerful mediator.     

SEX DIFFERENCES IN SCHOOL PERFORMANCE DURING HIGH SCHOOL: Puzzling Patterns and Possible Explanations

While past explanations for sex differences in school performance are heavily geared toward explaining boys’ small advantage on standardized math tests, we broaden the focus to include educational outcomes for which girls typically do well—standardized reading tests and math and English grades. Among adolescents in the National Education Longitudinal Study, girls enjoy better English and math grades and higher reading test scores than boys in eighth grade and these advantages all increase during high school. In contrast, boys earn slightly higher math test scores in eighth grade and this gap also increases slightly by the end of high school. This set of patterns leaves us with a puzzle—why do girls and boys excel at different components of schooling? We explore models that assess the degree to which these different trajectories can be explained by sex differences in classroom behavior and out‐of‐class activities. We conclude that a major reason for sex differences in grades is boys’ poorer classroom behavior while sex differences in time spent outside of school should supplement previous explanations for test scores gaps.     

EXPOSURE TO MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY IN MEDICAL SCHOOL: A STUDENT PERSPECTIVE

Most marital and family therapists, both medically and nonmedically trained, regularly interact with physicians on a professional basis. Though some physicians receive specific training in marital and family therapy in their postgraduate residency programs, (notably those in psychiatry and family medicine), for many, the only academic exposure they receive to this field comes during a 6- to 10-week clinical clerkship in psychiatry during their third or fourth year of medical school. No study could be located which examined marital and family therapy training in undergraduate medical education. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the level of marital and family therapy training in medical school and to provide information concerning physicians who are not family therapists, and how much knowledge about the field they can be expected to have.     

PLAYING FOR KEEPS: PAY AND PERFORMANCE IN THE NBA

This paper examines contract-related incentive effects using a unique dataset on individual performance and individual contracts. Evidence from professional basketball players in the 1980s and 1990s shows that individual performance improves significantly in the year before signing a multi-year contract but declines after the contract is signed. One interpretation is that workers strategically increase effort to obtain the most lucrative, multi-year contract but then reduce it once the contract is locked in. This highlights the double-edged nature of long-term contracts: good for employers when workers are fighting for them, but less so when workers have them. ( JEL J22, J3)     

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS' EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: THE EFFECTS OF PARTICIPATION ON ACHIEVEMENT AND TEACHERS' EVALUATIONS

ABSTRACT

I use data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to examine both the number and the types of extracurricular activities in which elementary school students participate and find significant differences in participation patterns by gender, race, and class. The number of activities in which students participate during kindergarten and first grade affects their gains in reading achievement test scores between first and third grade and third grade teachers' evaluations of mathematics skills, but does not affect gains in math achievement test scores or teachers' evaluations of language arts skills. Dance lessons, athletic activities, and art lessons, in particular, affect one or more of the dependent variables. With one exception, interactions of extracurricular activities with socioeconomic status show that less-privileged children benefit more from participation in activities than do more-privileged children, providing evidence against Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital and social reproduction.     

NEW RULES TO THE OLD GAME: CUBAN SPORT AND STATE LEGITIMACY IN THE POST-SOVIET ERA

After the collapse of the socialist states of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, the Cuban state faced its greatest crisis. How the state managed to maintain sufficient legitimacy in light of the growing economic hardships and class restructuring Cuban society underwent in these initial post-Soviet years remains somewhat mysterious. A crucial element of the legitimating discourse of the Cuban state, domestically and internationally, has been the relative success of its sports teams in international competition. As symbols of the strength of the state and one of the few remaining “successes” of the Revolution, Cuban sports performances remain vital symbolic capital for current and future administrations. The problem that state officials continue to face is how to transform that symbolic capital into economic capital without sacrificing ideological principles. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Havana during the late 1990s and on interviews with sports officials, athletes, and coaches since then, this article examines Cuban officials' efforts to transform Cuban sport from a modern, centralized bureaucratic institution to a revenue generating industry within the neoliberal, capitalist, competitive, and post-Soviet world. In particular, I concentrate on the strategies pursued by Cuban sports officials in their efforts to maintain world-class sporting excellence and the ramifications of the emergence of Cuban sport as an export industry to provide a small suggestion of how legitimacy of the state was maintained and what the future of Cuban sport may hold.     

SIGNALING IN HIGHER EDUCATION: THE EFFECT OF ACCESS TO ELITE COLLEGES ON CHOICE OF MAJOR

I propose a model of postsecondary education in which major field of study can be used by individuals to signal productivity to employers. Under this signaling model, I show that geographic areas with high access to elite universities result in fewer science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors among lower ability students at nonelite colleges. This is distinct from the prediction of a full information model in which access to elite schools should only affect high ability individuals directly. Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics' Baccalaureate & Beyond survey, I find evidence that is consistent with the signaling model prediction, specifically a 2.3–3.7 percentage point or 16%–25% decrease in the probability of choosing a STEM major among lower ability students in areas with greater access to elite colleges. (JEL I21, J24)     

COHORT AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN EXTRACURRICULAR PARTICIPATION: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACTIVITIES,MATH ACHIEVEMENT,AND COLLEGE EXPECTATIONS

Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 and the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, I analyze the association that students' extracurricular activities have with two academic outcomes: mathematics achievement test scores and college expectations. I consider changes between cohorts and gender differences within each cohort. While prior achievement and expectations have the strongest associations with the dependent variables, relationships do appear between extracurricular participation and the dependent variables. There is only one cohort difference in the association between activities and math achievement test scores; computer use was positively associated with students' scores in the 1990s, but had no association with students' scores in the 2000s. School-sponsored activities were associated with higher scores for all students, while television-watching and hanging out with friends were negatively associated with them. School activities were positively associated with the college expectations of students in both cohorts, while spending time hanging out with friends was negatively associated with expectations, especially for students in the later cohort. There were a few gender differences in the association between activities and math scores, but no gender differences in the association between activities and college expectations. The findings indicate that many of the same activities are relevant for math achievement and college expectations in the two time periods.     

THE STATE STREET MILE: AGE AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN COMPETITION AVERSION IN THE FIELD

Gender differences in “competitiveness,” previously documented in laboratory experiments, are hypothesized to play a role in a wide array of economic outcomes. This paper provides evidence of competition aversion in a natural setting somewhere between the simplicity of a laboratory experiment and the full complexity and ambiguity of a labor market. The “State Street Mile” race offers both male and female participants a choice between two different levels of competition. Large, systematic age and gender differences are observed in the relationship between true ability and the decision to enter the more competitive race. Overall, qualified women and older runners are far less likely than qualified young men to enter a competitive race with prizes. However, the fastest young women unanimously enter the competitive race. Therefore, while we confirm age and gender differences in competitiveness in our field setting, the economic consequences to capable young women are rather small. (JEL J1, J7, M5)     

BEYOND THE BIBLE AND THE CROSS: A SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF CHINESE ELDERS' PARTICIPATION IN CHRISTIAN CONGREGATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

Mainland Chinese elders constitute a unique group in popular Christian participation and conversion. This work aims to explore the social contexts and cultural facets of Mainland Chinese elders' Christian practice in the United States. Based on face-to-face, in-depth interviews with 20 Mainland Chinese elders as well as participant observation at selected congregational settings, this study suggests that the existing theories on aging and religion as well as religious practice among immigrants are inadequate to explain Chinese elderly immigrants' participation in Christian congregations in the U.S. Instead, social isolation and lack of social support system resulting from immigration and aging process serve as the major drive for the elders to pursue social and cultural recognition from Chinese Christian gatherings. Besides religious services, social service functions of churches and opportunities for fellowship are other factors that explain Chinese elders' church involvement. In conclusion, we argue that social and cultural services are needed to particularly assist Chinese seniors to adjust and adapt to their elderly lives in the host country.     

RETURNS TO FIELD OF STUDY VERSUS SCHOOL QUALITY: MBA SELECTION ON OBSERVED AND UNOBSERVED HETEROGENEITY

While a substantial literature has established returns to college major and to school quality, we offer the first such estimates for Master's of Business Administration (MBAs). To control for their nonrandom selection of fields, we estimate the returns to MBA concentrations using both ordinary least squares (OLS) with detailed control variables and including individual fixed effects. We find approximately 7% returns for most MBAs but roughly double that for finance and management information systems (MIS). Thus, MBA area of study can matter as much or more than program quality: only attending a top 10, but not 11‐25, MBA program trumped studying finance and MIS at a nontop 25 program. (JEL I21, J30, J24)     

THE JOURNEY TO WORK AND GENDER INEQUALITY IN EARNINGS:

It has been well documented that women tend to work closer to home than men. One interpretation of this finding has been that women face more spatially constrained labor markets than men, and these constraints are thought to be a factor in the gender gap in earnings. A recent study of Tel Aviv, Israel, by Moshe Semyonov and Noah Lewin-Epstein (1991) also found that working women clearly tend to hold employment more in the vicinity of their homes than do men. The observed deficits in earnings by employed women were thought to be exchanged for compliance with traditional gender-role expectations. Our study cross-validates key portions of the Semyonov and Lewin-Epstein study for the United States by examining the location of labor markets and their relationship to gender inequality in earnings in the 1988 wave of the NLSY panel database. Using annual earnings as the dependent variable and other similarly defined variables, we parallel their multiple regression analysis. The time-to-work reports of NLSY panel members are used to assess their commuting behavior and the results of this analysis are compared across four types of residential locations: rural, small urban, suburban, and large central city. We modestly confirm the gender inequalities in earnings produced by differential commuting behaviors for men and women but cannot fully generalize them to a broad set of residentially defined labor markets. For instance, women in suburban settings do have a higher return in earnings from time spent commuting but this effect is not significantly higher than the same returns for suburban men. A somewhat surprising negative effect of commuting time on the earnings of suburban women and men was also observed. We suggest further research on this problem involving the "perceived constraint' hypothesis to explain the commuting gap between men and women.     

PARENTAL EARNINGS AND CHILDREN'S WELL‐BEING: AN ANALYSIS OF THE SURVEY OF INCOME AND PROGRAM PARTICIPATION MATCHED TO SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION EARNINGS DATA

We estimate the association between parental earnings and child well‐being using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation matched to Social Security Administration earnings records. We use very large samples on a wide variety of measures of child well‐being that are also linked to long histories of parent earnings from administrative records. Consistent with previous studies, we find that the use of longer time averages of parent earnings leads to substantially higher estimated associations compared to using only a single year of parent earnings. Using 7‐year time averages of parent earnings, we show, for example, that a doubling of parent earnings is associated with a reduced probability of a teenager reporting being in poor health by close to 50% and a decrease in the likelihood of a child repeating a grade by 39%. We also examine how the associations vary by the timing of when parental earnings are received during childhood. We find suggestive evidence that parental earnings received during the child's school‐going years (ages 6 to 17) are more strongly associated with college enrollment and children's future earnings as adults than parent earnings received earlier or later in the child's life. (JEL J13, I1, I2)     

RESPONDING TO PLAGIARISM IN SCHOOLS OF SOCIAL WORK: CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Recognizing the challenges of addressing plagiarism within schools of social work and diverse faculty opinion on the issue, our school of social work engaged in several efforts to clarify issues and establish consensus among the faculty. Issues that required clarification included: definitions of plagiarism, steps to take when confronted with suspected plagiarism, the role of the administrative disciplinary committee, and the range of consequences. At a minimum, consensus was needed regarding faculty steps in confronting suspected plagiarism to ensure equitable treatment of students and to fulfill the school's role as a gatekeeper to the profession. This article describes the concerns, steps, and outcomes of the work that was conducted. We offer recommendations and invite further professional discussion about this educational issue.     

THE ROAD TO GERMAN UNINY: MASS SENTIMENT IN EAST AND WEST GERMANY

This article explores mass sentiment about the pursuit of unificationin both East and West Germany from early 1989 to spring 1991,when formal unification was achieved and the first all-Germangovernment had been installed. Public opinion data from varioussources show that the German masses were supportive but alsosomewhat reluctant with regard to quick and comprehensive unification.The strong push for unification by the political leadershipwas not a response to grass roots sentiment but quite the contrary:the masses followed their leaders. Considerations of economicgains seem to be more important than idealistic pan-German sentimentsor national chauvinism. While the East Germans displayed moreenthusiasm early on, their disappointment steadily rose afterthe fact. As of early 1991, there are some warning signs oflooming internal strife. However, as long as the West Germaneconomy continues to prosper, there seems to be no imminentthreat to political continuity and stability in the united Germany.     

COMMUNITY INFORMATICS AND THE LOCAL STATE IN THE UK: Facilitating or assimilating an agenda for change?

The emerging discipline of community informatics (CI) has begun to trace out a distinct agenda for change in the social uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Focusing upon the appropriation of ICTs by local communities who have been disenfranchised by technological development, this agenda foregrounds uses of the Internet in the pursuit of distinctly community-related objectives. However, the role that the local state ought to play within this agenda for change remains marked by a degree of controversy and ambiguity. Assertions of the need for community autonomy coexist uneasily with a recognition that the local state can help develop and sustain CI. Much current work therefore focuses upon exploring notions of 'partnership' between the local state and local groups in developing CI. Against this background, this paper draws on a case study of Birmingham City Council (BCC) in order to explore a series of significant organizational changes to local government, which have seen BCC adopt a fundamentally new 'community leadership' role. This shift to community leadership is being expedited by innovative uses of Internet technology. It is argued that, rather than straightforwardly re-creating BCC as a better partner to community groups in developing CI, such changes are deeply paradoxical. In the first instance shifts to community leadership have enabled BCC to develop valuable web resources that enhance their role as a partner facilitating citizen-led CI. Conversely, however, these changes are bound up in a broader attempt by BCC to reassert managerial control at a time when its legitimacy as a social institution is being questioned. Faced with a series of external challenges, BCC has replicated important CI activities in the pursuit of its own interests. Ultimately it is argued that this assimilation of CI could eventually undermine the broader CI agenda for change.