Corruption and the ‘Paradox of Redistribution’

The existing literature on the determinants of income redistribution has identified a ‘paradox’. Namely, that countries with a high degree of market income inequality redistribute little, which is in disagreement with the median voter theorem. In a first step, this paper outlines several mechanisms that explain why government corruption might be partially responsible for this ‘paradox’. In a second step, different corruption perception indices and an instrumental variable approach are used to provide empirical evidence that indicates a significant negative impact of corruption on redistribution levels for a sample of 148 developing and developed countries. This finding suggests that, next to political and need factors, government corruption explains to some extent the ‘paradox of redistribution’. This is especially true for many developing countries, given that they typically have relatively high degrees of corruption and low levels of redistribution.     

Tribal membership requirements and the demography of ‘old’ and ‘new’ Native Americans

This paper examines the twentieth-century population recovery of Native Americans with reference to urbanization, intermarriage, and differing definitions of the Native American population from census and tribal enrollment data. The recent increase in the Native American population reflected in regular US decennial censuses since 1960 is discussed in terms of changing self-identification of individuals as Native American. Also discussed are criteria for enrollment in Native American tribes, particularly blood quantum requirements. Census enumerations are compared with tribal enrollment data, and it is illustrated that a large proportion of those identifying as Native American in the census are not enrolled in Native American tribes. Special attention is given to how Native American tribal enrollment criteria might impact future population size.     

Neighborhood Characteristics and Older Adults’ Well-Being: The Roles of Sense of Community and Personal Resilience

The ecological model stresses the importance of the neighborhood context to aging successfully. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the associations between neighborhood characteristics (public space, senior population density, and senior service) and the well-being of older adults, with sense of community as a potential mediator and personal resilience as a potential moderator. The sample consisted of 628 individuals (aged 60–97 years) recruited from 32 neighborhoods in Beijing, China. They completed measures of resilience, sense of community, and well-being. Neighborhood characteristics, including per capita public space, senior population density, and senior services, were obtained from neighborhood committees. We used hierarchical linear modeling to analyze the individual data from participants’ self-reported measures and objective data regarding neighborhoods. The results showed that: (a) public space, senior population density, and senior services were positively associated with the well-being of older adults; (b) sense of community mediated the above associations; (c) the associations between neighborhood characteristics—such as per capita public space, senior services, and well-being—were strengthened by personal resilience. This study highlighted the importance of neighborhoods to older adult’s well-being, including objective characteristics and a subjective sense of community. Besides personal strength, enhancing neighborhood resources is recommended to promote the well-being of elderly people.     

The Robustness of China’s Migration and Heihe-Tengchong Line

Migration has been most active among three major population movements and affective to population distribution.However,this paper first finds that the pattern of China’s inter-provincial migration is robust since China’s reforming and opening based on the analysis on the distribution of inter-provincial migration scale,intensity and population flow.Therefore,the continual migration in the past 80 years,especially since China’s reforming and opening,has not changed the basic feature of China’s population distribution and has no effective influence on the robustness of Heihe-Tengchong Line.The basic pattern of China’s population distribution and Heihe-Tengchong Line mainly depend on the constant geographic position as shown in the First Nature Rule.Without any change of the First Nature Rule,China’s population distribution and Heihe-Tengchong Line remain highly stable,and the migration is unlikely to lose the robustness.     

A comparison of college students’ perceptions of older and younger tattooed women

ABSTRACT

A randomly assigned sample of 376 college students responded to a survey involving a between-subjects 2 × 3 experiment designed to assess the impact of age (older versus younger) and tattoo status (i.e., no tattoo, feminine tattoo, or masculine tattoo) on three dependent measures: credibility, attractiveness, and promiscuity. Older and younger women are perceived differently depending on tattoo status. Not wearing a tattoo may lead to a more favorable perception of older women than wearing one, but wearing a feminine tattoo may engender a more favorable impression of older women than having a masculine tattoo. But not having a tattoo may not be as helpful for the perception of younger women as it is for older women. Also, while younger women may be rewarded for gender role transgression with respect to tattoo status, this is not so for older women.     

Midwives’ practices and knowledge about fear of childbirth and postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder

BackgroundWomen suffering from fear of childbirth and postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder are often not recognised by health care professionals.AimTo evaluate practices, knowledge and the attitudes of midwives towards women with fear of childbirth and postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder.MethodsA cross-sectional study was performed amongst midwives who work in community practices and hospitals in the Netherlands with the use of a questionnaire purposefully designed for this research aim.Findings257 midwives participated in the study, of whom 217 completed all items in the questionnaire. Midwives were better equipped to answer knowledge questions concerning fear of childbirth than posttraumatic stress disorder (regarding symptomatology, risk factors, consequences and treatment). When tending to women with fear of childbirth or (suspected) postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder, most midwives referred to another caregiver (e.g. psychologist). Most midwives expressed a positive and compassionate attitude towards women with fear of childbirth and postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder.DiscussionThe majority of midwives are well informed with respect to fear of childbirth, but knowledge of important aspects of postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder is often lacking. Midwives report no crucial issues related to their attitudes towards women with fear of childbirth and posttraumatic stress disorder. Most midwives provide adequate organisation of care and support.ConclusionMidwives should acquire more in depth knowledge of fear of childbirth and postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder. This can be achieved by including the two conditions in the program of midwifery education.     

Women ‘like parched earth in need of rain’ and who relax by working: gossip and the surveillance of Filipino seafarer wives’ morality and mobility

Research on the impact of male emigration on stay-behind wives shows that gossip, which transnational migration intensifies, surveils the women’s morality and constricts their mobility. Based on semi-structured interviews supplemented by field observations, this article examines the impact of gossip on the lives and experiences of stay-behind Filipino seafarer wives. First, it looks into how the women negotiated an environment in which their morality became dominated by the need to keep their reputation as faithful wives intact. As women whose husbands were away for long periods of time, they were seen as being ‘like parched earth in need of rain’ and therefore susceptible to temptation and seduction. Second, it examines how through dibersyon – activities that translated work into recreation – they counteracted the constricting effects of gossip on their mobility without compromising their perceived morality. The article concludes with a reflection on the contradiction the women’s negotiation of gossip creates: they inadvertently help to maintain gendered conceptions of morality and mobility while simultaneously working around the gender ideological and normative boundaries gossip enforces.     

The Influence of Local Price and Availability on Parents’ Choice of Child Care

The striking variation in patterns of child care usage across states reflects differences in family characteristics, but may also reflect exogenous differences in local child care markets. Type of care selected will be influenced by the availability, cost, and accessibility of supply in the child care market as well as by family and child characteristics and cultural preferences. This study contributes to the growing literature on parental demand for child care by using a recent detailed data set from the state of Minnesota. We link household-level data on child care usage and family characteristics with county-level data on average provider rates and availability by type of care in order to estimate multinomial logit models analyzing the family, child, and market characteristics that predict type of care. Our analysis shows that using a relative or friend to care for a child is largely determined by availability, and choice of family care providers is most responsive to price for employed mothers. The types of care chosen by mothers who are not in the paid labor force differ substantially from the choices of employed mothers, and their use of center care is influenced by the prices of both center and family providers. Attitudes towards relative care are also shown to influence type of care chosen.     

Indian elderly women’s experiences of food procurement and preparation

The present study explored the experiences of Indian elderly women in meal preparation and food procurement. Ten elderly women aged 60–72 years residing in a metropolis were interviewed. Thematic analysis identified two overarching themes: “Meal preparation and food procurement are meaningful occupations” and “Meal preparation and food procurement change with age.” The findings suggests that Indian elderly women valued their participation in these activities. They actively adopted alternative strategies and technologies to overcome the challenges experienced while performing these activities. The findings highlight the strong influence of family and financial aspects on the decisions of elderly women with regard to meal preparation and food procurement. The study findings provide salient information on personal and environmental factors that could guide interventions to promote and maintain Indian elderly women’s participation in these meaningful occupations.     

The ‘What’, ‘Why’ and ‘How’ of Employee Well-Being: A New Model

This paper examines the ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ of employee well-being. Beginning with the ‘what’ of well-being, the construct of mental health was explored with the aim of building a model of employee well-being. It was proposed that employee well-being consists of three core components: (1) subjective well-being; (2) workplace well-being and (3) psychological well-being. Following this, the ‘why’ of employee well-being was investigated; that is, why employee well-being should be an important matter for organisations. It was argued that employee well-being is an important precursor to organisational well-being, as indicated by its links to employee turnover and performance. The next section was concerned with the ‘how’ of employee well-being; that is, how well-being can be reliably enhanced. Drawing on two models of strengths and a practice model of psychological assessment, it was asserted that strength-based development can reliably enhance employee well-being. A solid framework for understanding and measuring employee well-being is offered in the hope that it will foster a more integrated approach to assessing and optimising employee well-being.

Women’s and men’s negative experience of child birth—A cross-sectional survey

Background

A negative birth experience may influence both women and men and can limit their process of becoming a parent.

Women’s attitudes towards the medicalization of childbirth and their associations with planned and actual modes of birth

Problem

Rates of medical interventions in childbirth have greatly increased in the Western world.

Measuring Adult Children’s Perceptions of Their Parents’ Acceptance and Rejection of Their Sexual Orientation: Initial Development of the Parental Acceptance and Rejection of Sexual Orientation Scale (PARSOS)

ABSTRACT

The Parental Acceptance and Rejection of Sexual Orientation Scale was administered to 256 self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer adults who had been out of the closet to their parents for at least 1 year. Principal component analysis revealed a clear two-component solution: parental acceptance and parental rejection. Findings showed that perceived maternal sexual orientation-specific acceptance was higher, and perceived maternal sexual orientation-specific rejection was lower, for gay/bisexual sons compared to their lesbian/bisexual daughters. Results of regression analyses suggest that both perceived sexual orientation specific acceptance and rejection predicted adult children’s psychological symptoms after accounting for perceived global parental acceptance and rejection and the child’s gender. The scale’s utility for research and practice are noted.     

The Perceptions of Women’s Roles and Progress: A Study of Malay Women

This study examines the general perceptions of women towards their roles, their interpretation of progress, as well as the facilitating factors and barriers to their progress. Questionnaires were distributed to 1,000 Malay women in Malaysia from rural and urban areas, from various age and income groups. Interviews were also carried out on the selected sample. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods of analyses, the results showed that women were perceived to play a strong, influential, and supportive role in their families. The results also showed how women perceive progress. These findings are discussed in relation to culture, socialization, values and norms of the Malay society.     

The influence of financial, human and social capital on Japanese men’s and women’s health in single- and two-parent family structures

Large-scale demographic changes have been occurring in Japan over the last few decades. During this time, the proportion of two-parent (nuclear) and single-parent families have doubled. Despite this rapid increase, the health of individuals in these family structures have received limited attention, as the focus has been directed towards the health of Japan’s aging society and the health implications related to the decline in multigenerational households. However, researchers and policy planners cannot afford to overlook issues that influence the health of men and women in single- and two-parent family structures, not only because these families have become increasingly common throughout the nation, but also because the western literature has indicated that the health of families are largely influenced by the gender-by-family structure divide. Through logistic regression models, using the 1999 Nationwide Family Survey, this paper examines how financial, human and social capital influences the likelihood of good health among men and women in single- and two-parent families. As was expected, key determinants in predicting good health amongst these four sub-groups of parents were found. While parents in two-parent families were the least influenced by various measures of capital, these same measures were found to be significant in predicting good health amongst fathers, and more so mothers, in single-parent families.

Mothers’ Marital Status and Type of Delivery Medical Care in Guatemala

The use of modern medical care for child delivery in rural Guatemala is low relative to other Latin American countries. In the previous literature, factors such as a woman’s age, education, ethnicity, religious affiliation and income are found to be important determinants of the type of delivery medical care she receives. This study hypothesizes that a woman’s marital status influences her decision as well. Using a binomial logit framework, the study finds that unmarried women are more likely to see a modern medical provider in delivery than married women, even after controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and husbands’ characteristics. Therefore, unmarried women seem to make more informed decisions in terms of their attitudes in childbearing and maternal health relative to their married counterparts. As a result, both economic as well as social developments seem necessary to induce changes in the high incidence of maternal mortality and morbidity in Guatemala.     

Strengths and Weaknesses of Canadian Express Entry System: Experts’ Perceptions

This article offers an analysis of the first four years of functioning of Express Entry, a new on-line application management system to select skilled entrants for Canada's key economic immigration programs leading to permanent residence. Based on interviews with 20 experts on Canadian immigration policies, we identified a number of strengths and weaknesses of the Canadian Express Entry system related to four areas: immigration policy making, processing of applications, selection of immigrants, and retention of immigrants. Since these areas are integral parts of immigration policies in all countries and Canada is a long-term leader in the design of points-based systems for selection of skilled immigrants, we also specify several lessons from the Canadian experience with the Express Entry system for other countries seeking to attract skilled immigrants.