Damaging and daunting: female journalists’ experiences of sexual harassment in the newsroom

Female journalists’ experiences of sexual harassment are barely documented in the literature about Australian news journalism despite evidence of its ongoing prevalence. There have been some stories of harassment detailed in autobiographies by female journalists and the occasional article in the mainstream media about individual incidents, but it wasn’t until 1996 that a union survey provided statistical evidence of an industry-wide problem. That Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance survey found that more than half of the 368 female participants had experienced sexual harassment at work. In 2012, I conducted the largest survey of female journalists in Australia finding that there was an increased number of respondents who had experienced sexual harassment in their workplaces. In a bid to better understand female journalists’ experiences of sexual harassment, this paper analyses written comments made by survey participants in relation to key questions about harassment. It finds that most downplay its seriousness and do not make formal reports because they fear victimisation or retaliation. As a consequence, a culture of secrecy hides a major industry problem where many women believe they should work it out themselves and that harassment is the price they have to pay for working in a male-dominated industry.     

Approaches,assaults, attractions,affairs: Policy implications of the sexualization of the workplace

This article is an analysis of the relationship between, on the one hand, empirical findings and theoretical perspectives on the sexualization of the workplace and, on the other, changes in public policy intended to prevent and eliminate sexual harassment as a problem for employed women. The sexualization on the workplace is conceptualized as all consensual and coerced sexual interactions at work, that is, both sexual harassment and sexual relationships. A summary of the evidence regarding both types of behaviors reveals that sexual harassment is experienced quite often by women workers; occasionally, women engage in sexual relationships with persons met at work. Harassment has significant negative consequences for the economic, emotional and physical condition of women, delimiting further an economic position for women which has already been affected severely by occupational segregation and employment discrimination. In assessing the impact of guidelines of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission defining sexual harassment as sexual discrimination, issues are raised concerning the use and effectiveness of the guidelines by women workers, courts, and employers. It is argued that public policy on harassment is necessary and progressive but limited in its impact; the bulk of the problem, especially with regard to co-worker behavior, and the structural context of inequality are left relatively untouched.This article is a revision of a presentation given at the Labor Studies Colloquium, the Society for the Study of Social Problems (August 1984).     

Domestic helpers as frontline workers in China’s home-based elder care: A systematic review

We conducted a systematic review of the existing empirical studies focusing on Chinese domestic helpers in mainland China and foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong who provide care for community-dwelling older adults. There are very limited studies specifically focusing on this population. The findings synthesized domestic helpers’ characteristics, acknowledged their contributions to elder care in China, and showed multiple challenges facing them, such as issues related to their physical health and emotional well-being, lack of legal rights protection, difficulties of adapting life in the host city, lack of training, and risk of abuse and sexual harassment. Our findings support the need for developing training and educational programs about legal rights protection and cultural competency for domestic helpers and the need to promote domestic helpers’ access to health care and social welfare and opportunities for career advancement, and provide respectful working conditions.     

The dimensions of poverty

The nature of ‘poverty’ is examined in relation to a model of causes affecting the welfare of a community. It is suggested that one can operationally distinguish four major dimensions of poverty, namely economic, social, political and legal poverty; and that one might in addition be able to characterise three further aspects, namely psychological, ideological and conceptual poverty. It is proposed that at least the first four aspects should be distinguished and explicitly named, thereby specifically characterising these different dimensions of ‘poverty’; and that this would serve a useful purpose in clarifying the nature of the problems faced by the community considered.     

Sexual identity distress, social support, and the health of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth

Sex researchers and mental health clinicians have long recognized that the stigma surrounding homosexuality plays an important role in shaping the social psychological adjustment of gay, lesbian, and bisexual (g/l/b) people. In recent years, researchers have suggested that sexual identity- related distress may influence the physical health status of g/l/b people, primarily because of the ways these self-related feelings and beliefs impact patterns of health-related behavior. This study examines the influence of sexual identity distress and social support on g/l/b youth's drug and alcohol use, psychological distress, and risky sexual behavior. The data come from a services research demonstration program conducted at the Indiana Youth Group, Inc., a g/l/b youth development agency based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Results indicate that sexual identity distress is strongly associated with psychological distress, less frequent use of alcohol, and using fewer types of illegal drugs. Being out to more people in one's support network, however, attenuates the severity of youth's sexual identity-related distress. Youth who report more support ties to g/l/b people indicate engaging in more frequent risky sexual behavior. The implications of these findings for theories of g/l/b youth's sexual identity development are discussed.     

On the absolute or relative basis of perception: The case for middle class identification

Previous studies of the relationship between social structural changes and individual-level perceptions have focused on perceptions of ‘well-being’. Those studies conclude that relative position in the social structure (e.g., more or less income compared to others) determines perceived ‘well-being’. In contrast to those studies, this research focuses on social structural changes and perceptions of middle class identification and concludes that absolute position in the social structure (e.g., a certain amount of income in itself) determines perceptions of middle class identification.     

Bestimmungsgröβen der vollzugsgerichtlichen Entscheidung über die bedingte Entlassung nach zwei Dritteln der Freiheitsstrafe

The Austrian practice of conditional release from prison is generally seen as restrictive. The reasons for that retention are investigated by means of analyzing 638 parole decisions by captives convicted for sexual offenses, robbery or mayhem. The cautious parole practice is due to a restrictive recommendation policy of the public prosecutors and the personal considerations of the judges. The judges fill their discretion area at first with criteria from the legal career of the inmate and secondary with selected features of the actual conviction. They mainly use information indicating a stable criminal disposition — from an attribution theory point of view. The recommendations of the prison staff are neglected. They don’t influence parole decisions very much.     

Whatever Happened to Social Indicators in Africa? Whatever Happened Indeed! A Developing World Perspective on the Kenneth C. Land and Alex C. Michalos Report on ‘Fifty Years After the Social Indicators Movement’

Africa is a latecomer to the Social Indicators Movement. The first social indicators for Third World countries were developed by outsiders and covered almost exclusively topics related to basic needs and development. In response to Kenneth Land’s and Alex Michalos’ historical assessment and their agenda for future ‘social indicators/quality of life/well-being’ research, the commentary traces how South Africa and sub-Saharan countries—with a little help from many friends who are pioneers in the movement—have succeeded in developing their own home-grown social indicators movement. Addressing some of the themes outlined in the agenda that Land and Michalos set for future research, the commentary discusses the importance of monitoring social change occurring in African society in a ‘post-industrialized and much more globalized, and digitized-computerized-roboticized’ era: How will new values and norms impact on the quality of life of future generations of African people?     

Coming Out Experiences of Hispanic Sexual Minority Young Adults in South Florida

Sexual minority youth and young adults (SMYYA) have higher prevalence of mental and behavioral health problems potentially linked to experiences of discrimination, stigma, and rejection. Among Hispanics, the intersection of stressors related to being an ethnic and sexual minority may result in compounding adverse outcomes. Coming out may play an important role in experiencing discrimination, stigma, and rejection. However, limited research examines coming out among Hispanic SMYYA (HSMYYA). This qualitative study seeks to understand the coming-out experiences of HSMYYA living in South Florida. Twenty participants between 18 and 28 years old were interviewed. Qualitative content analysis generated codes, which were grouped into categories to generate themes. This study presents data highlighting reasons for disclosing and not disclosing sexual orientation and the perceived consequences of those decisions. Additionally, we discuss unique cultural elements that impact HSMYYA’s decisions to reveal sexual orientation.     

Food Self-Provisioning in Czechia: Beyond Coping Strategy of the Poor: A Response to Alber and Kohler’s ‘Informal Food Production in the Enlarged European Union’ (2008)

Food systems are of increasing interest in both research and policy communities. Surveys of post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) show high rates of food self-provisioning. These practices have been explained in terms of being ‘coping strategies of the poor’. Alber and Kohler’s ‘Informal Food Production in the Enlarged European Union’ (2008) offers a prominent account of this argument, supported by quantitative data. However, evidence from our case study of food self-provisioning in one CEE state–Czechia–contradicts their findings. Newly commissioned survey data, as well as a fresh look at the data they were working from, demonstrate that rather than being motivated by poverty, these widespread practices serve as a hobby and as a way of accessing ‘healthy food’. With food self-provisioning becoming an increasingly prominent subject in advanced industrial countries, in terms of both health and environmental policy, we propose that much greater care is taken in researching and interpreting the reasons for differences in food systems. Our findings are that environmentally sustainable and healthy self-provisioning in Czechia is motivated by a range of reasons, and practised by a significant proportion of the population across all social groups. This conclusion questions linear narratives of progress that figure ‘western’ practices as advanced or complete or automatically desirable, and contributes in a modest way to a decentring of narratives of progress.     

LGBTQ+ Young Adults on the Street and on Campus: Identity as a Product of Social Context

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) young adults face unique identity-related experiences based on their immersion in distinctive social contexts. The predominant framework of performing separate analyses on samples of LGBTQ+ young people by their primary social status obfuscates more holistic understandings of the role of social context. Using 46 in-depth interviews with LGBTQ+ college students and LGBTQ+ homeless young adults, we ask: How are LGBTQ+ young adults’ capacities for “doing” their gender and sexual identities shaped by their distinctive social contexts? In developing their identities, both groups of LGBTQ+ young adults navigated their social environments to seek out resources and support. Most college students described their educational contexts as conducive to helping them develop their identities, or “undo” rigid norms of gender and sexuality. Homeless young adults’ social environments, meanwhile, imposed complex barriers to self-expression that reinforced more normative expectations of “doing” gender and sexual identities.     

Gender und Sozialpolitik: Ein Transformationsansatz

Before the third feminist wave, gender theories demanded either an adoption of ‘male’ lifestyles or enhance the status of ‘female’ lifestyles in society to overcome gender inequality. Present, ‘Gender Rebellion Feminisms’, however, debate the binary thinking of gender and challenge the gendered order on this issue. This shift has hardly influenced the debate in social policy, which is still bound to the ‘sameness’ or ‘difference’ theory. This article proposes a transformative approach that conceives equality as a complex concept beyond sameness and difference and calls for a degendering of social policy. By doing so, it is argued, the binary division of gender can be abandoned and feminist critique on social policy can reconnect with contemporary discourses in gender theories. This paradigmatic re-orientation overcomes the binary view on sameness and difference, re-addresses gendered social policy and entails a degendered distribution of care work and gainful employment.     

How colonisation determines social justice and Indigenous health—a review of the literature

Disparities in health status persist for Indigenous people in Australia. In the bid to reduce the disparity gap, the concept of achieving social justice is central to advancing the services and systems that can challenge inequitable circumstances within a nation. Colonisation is well known as the underlying factor influencing the social injustices that result in inequitable health for Indigenous people. A literature review was conducted identifying how the colonial impact on social justice is described in the relationships with the health of Indigenous Australians. A comprehensive search strategy was developed, including four broad search terms of ‘Indigenous people’ and ‘health status’ and ‘colonisation’ or ‘social justice’, and applied within five databases. Publications were limited to Australia, dated from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2014. The literature acknowledging the effect that colonisation has on Indigenous Australians includes evidence from oral and political histories, and social determinants frameworks. There was a general consensus that the impact of colonisation on the health of Indigenous people is highly complex and that the legacies are experienced intra-generationally and inter-generationally. There is paucity in the evidence that examines the associations of colonisation and its impact on social injustice. Because social justice is considered central to equitable practices across all sectors in society (health, education, legal etc.), questions are raised about the magnitude of the effect that colonisation has on health disparities and importantly how the desideratum to tackle disparities that have stemmed from colonisation are adequately addressed.     

The potential of social indicators: Minimum conditions for impact at the national level as suggested by a study of the use of ‘social indicators’ 73

Empirical evidence is presented which suggests that the use of social indicators among upper level government officials in the United States is minimal at present. Further, the level of use is not likely to be increased by improved measurement procedures, aesthetically improved packaging, or more widespread dissemination of such information among persons who influence policy decisions. The power of such information can be expected to be no greater than that of ‘mere’ statistics unless deliberate effort is made to institutionalize the importance of social indicators into government operations in conjunction with policy planning, goal setting, and commitment to the use of indicators as a system of national evaluation of progress toward the achievement of societal objectives. Several recommendations are made to develop the potential of social indicators and to increase their creative and useful application in matters of public policy at the national level.     

Penetration and Growth Rates of Mobile Phones in Developing Countries: An Analytical Classification

This brief paper uses a simple arithmetic framework to classify and explain the performance of developing countries in closing the absolute digital divide. Four categories are created on the basis of two variables, namely, the penetration and rate of growth of mobile phones. The paper answers questions such as: Which countries do well and badly on both variables? Are the countries in these categories drawn from specific regions or similar income levels or is the distribution more random? How can similar countries from the same region appear in two diametrically opposite categories? What does this imply for policy?     

The Interaction of Same-Sex Marriage Access With Sexual Minority Identity on Mental Health and Subjective Wellbeing

Previous psychological and public health research has highlighted the impact of legal recognition of same-sex relationships on individual identity and mental health. Using a sample of U.S. sexual minority (N = 313) and heterosexual (N = 214) adults, participants completed a battery of mental health inventories prior to the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) examining identity revealed sexual minority participants living in states where same-sex marriage was banned experienced significantly higher levels of internalized homonegativity than sexual minority participants living in states where same-sex marriage was legal, even after controlling for state-level political climate. Mental health ANCOVAs revealed sexual minority participants residing in states without same-sex marriage experienced greater anxiety and lower subjective wellbeing compared to sexual minority participants residing in states with same-sex marriage and heterosexual participants residing in states with or without same-sex marriage. Implications for public policy and future research directions are discussed.     

Age Cohort Differences in the Developmental Milestones of Gay Men

ABSTRACT

As the social context in which gay men live changes due to greater visibility, greater acceptance, and easier access to gay subculture, gay males may self-identify and take part in gay social activities at earlier ages than in the past. This study examined whether developmental milestones associated with sexual orientation for gay men have changed over the past several decades. A large and diverse sample of 2,402 gay men who responded to a 1994 survey published in a national magazine provided retrospective information on the age at which they reached individual psychological, social, and sexual behavior developmental milestones. We found evidence that individual psychological and sexual behavior milestones (e.g., awareness of attraction to males, having an orgasm with other male) are slowly moving toward earlier chronological ages (by 1 year of age every 8–25 years, p?<?0.05), whereas social milestones (e.g., coming out) are moving more rapidly in a similar direction (by 1 year of age every 2–5 years, p?<?0.001). The authors perform an innovative sensitivity test to demonstrate the persistence of the finding after correcting for the bias attributable to underrepresentation of those who have not yet self-identified as gay in such samples.     

Comparing Social Behaviour Across Culture and Nations: The ‘What’ and ‘Why’ Questions

How is the cultural construct of individualism-collectivism relate to self-esteem? This is a complex and challenging proposition. Self-esteem (i.e., a person’s global, evaluative view of his/her self), has resisted unequivocal definition or clear operationalization. There is a substantial literature on self-esteem hypothesis which may be stated thus: self-concept and self-esteem play important roles in a person’s decisions to engage in certain behaviour. Due to inconsistent and indeterminate findings, business researchers and cross-cultural scholars, have failed to take into account possible interaction between culture/gender and social behaviour (self). Through analyses of variance, we provide evidence, that nationality yielded a highly significant levels of self-esteem with a distinctive statistically significant main and interaction effects. This result is robust to different benchmarks (for example, Hofstede’s cultural indicators) used to measure self-esteem. The results are consistent with previous research, the cross-cultural stability of the measure makes it a potentially useful tool for evaluating the nature of self-conception across cultures. Caveats and implications are discussed.     

The intersection of social protection and mobilities: a move towards a ‘Practical Utopia’ research agenda

Currently, a number of contributions in mobility studies are looking for fruitful intersections with other ‘adjacent’ approaches . In this spirit, our theoretical paper argues to study one particular aspect: the intersection of social protection and mobilities. Currently, the provision of social services in the ‘West’ is strongly entrenched within nation-state logics, which assume that clients’ immobility is a precondition of service delivery and that national citizenship is the desirable conditionality of gaining social rights. To overcome such a wide-spread conflation of social security with state security, we introduce the heuristic concept ‘social protection’. It allows social security to be imagined beyond a state-centric perspective and avoids the pitfalls of either a citizenship or a migration approach by taking on a mobility perspective. Thus, for scholars anchored in mobility studies we propose how to develop a social security perspective in a progressive way. For readers from other areas, e.g. citizenship, migration or social policy, we will show how a mobility perspective enriched by a No Border approach can overcome a narrow Western, statist and static perspective on social security. Our goal is to conceptually open up what we call a ‘practical utopia’ research agenda, one that expands our political horizons for future and present socialities.