Ordentlich in Unordnung?

One of the most prominent positions within German sociological discussions of recent social changes in the structures and processes reproducing gender differences and gender hierarchies is the concept of de-institutionalization. Heintz and Nadai, the authors of this concept, observe a fundamental shift in the dominating mode of reproducing gender, and claim that as a consequence of this shift gender is no longer a structuring principle of social order but has become a principle of disorder. The following article confronts this thesis with the empirical findings of the research programme “Professionalization, Organizations, and Gender” funded by the DFG from 1998 to 2004 and follows two questions: (1) Which professional and/or organizational contexts provide opportunities to de-gender professional work, which contribute to an ongoing gendering of and within professions and organizations? (2) Which developments, and contradictions come into view if we look at different social levels: the everyday knowledge of professionals, the interactive ways of doing or undoing gender, the gendered or degendered (sub)structure of organizations, and the macro structures of the gender system? In answering both questions the article comes to the conclusion that the everyday gender knowledge of professionals has undergone a process of rhetorical modernization but that social practices and (sub)structures are still dominated by the ‘old’ modes of reproducing gender, and the gender order.     

Permanent homelessness in America?

This paper seeks to determine the approximate number of homeless persons in the U.S., the rate of change in the number, and whether or not the problem is likely to be permanent or transitory. It makes particular use of a new 1985 survey of over 500 homeless people in New York City. It finds that:

1. the much-maligned 1984 study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs was roughly correct in its estimate of 250,000–350,000 homeless persons for 1983;
2. the number of homeless has grown since 1983, despite economic recovery, with the number of homeless families growing especially rapidly;
3. homelessness is a relatively long-term state for many homeless individuals, with an average incomplete duration, corrected for growth of the homeless population, of six years and an estimated completed duration twice as long;
4. much of the homeless problem can be attributed to increases in the number of the poor in the 1980s and declines or rough constancy in the number of low-rent rental units;
5. relatively few homeless individuals receive welfare or general assistance money; a large proportion have spent time in jail.

Overall, the study suggests that economic recovery will not solve the problem of homelessness and that, in the absence of changes in the housing market or in the economic position of the very poor, the U.S. will continue to be plagued with a problem of homelessness for the foreseeable future.     

Whose crazy investment in sex?

By probing the processes of exclusion of transsexuals from the political sphere, this article offers contributions to social and political theory through an examination of the processes of exclusion from the category "human." This article considers how the erasure of investment in their own embodied sex constructs a platform from which to blame others for sex/gender variance, as well as to justify that blaming. Bringing together Giorgio Agamben, Georges Bataille, Judith Butler, and Nikolas Rose with transphobia, medicalization in psychiatry, law, and ethopolitics, this article questions whose investment in sexed embodiment counts and why that investment might be seen as "crazy."     

Lost in Transnational Space? Migrant Farm Workers in Rural Districts

Abstract

In recent decades, theories of transnationalism have emerged as key perspectives for analysis of international migration. Drawing on Glorius and Friedrich’s (2006 Glorius, B. and Friedrich, K. 2006. Transnational social spaces of Polish migrants in Leipzig. Migracijske i enticke teme, 22(1–2): 163–180.  [Google Scholar]) model of transnationalism, the paper analyses the case of migrant farm labour in rural Norway and demonstrates how the social context of migrants’ work influences their building of various kinds of social-capital resources which are crucial for development of transnational space. The paper argues that circularity of migration is not sufficient to instigate full-fledged transculturation and hybrid identity-formation processes. In conclusion, the paper recommends that transnational theory should pay greater attention to the social contexts of migration and observe the limits of the theory’s application.     

Do children stabilize relationships in Denmark?

In this paper, we study the relationship between fertility behavior and the process of relationship duration. The potential endogeneity of fertility on dissolution risk is taken into account by modeling fertility and dissolution jointly. We apply the timing-of-event method (Abbring and van den Berg, Econometrica 71(5):1491–1517, 2003) to identify the causal effect of births on the dissolution hazard. We show that couples who are less prone to split up are more prone to invest in children, and therefore, one might (mistakenly) conclude that children stabilize relationships. However, when correcting for the selectivity bias arising from the fertility decision, we conclude that children themselves have a negative effect on relationship duration.      

Who should invest in specific training?

We study experimentally whether employers or workers should invest in specific training. Workers have an alternative trading opportunity that takes the form of either an outside option or a threat point. Theory predicts that with outside options, employers have (weakly) better investment incentives than workers do and should therefore be the investing party. With threat points, employers and workers are predicted to invest the same. Our results are, by and large, in line with these predictions. Due to offsetting inefficiencies in the bargaining stage, however, realized inefficiencies are remarkably similar across the different situations considered.

Declining Social Cohesion in The Netherlands?

In the Netherlands, topics related to social cohesion, such as various aspects of participation and trust, are prominently on the political agenda. The bottom line is a widespread feeling that social cohesion in Dutch society is eroding, which is also reflected in a perception of a change from a high trust into a low trust society. Based on large-scale surveys (e.g. Labour Force Surveys, Permanent Survey on Living Conditions, Dutch Parliamentary Election Studies, and European Social Survey) and (population) registers, we investigate the development of: (a) Social contacts, informal help and volunteering; (b) Political participation (turnout and participation in political actions); (c) Social, institutional and political trust. Overall, we found no empirical evidence for a decline in participation and trust levels. However, there are large gaps between prevailing groups in Dutch society, in particular between lower and higher educated, natives and ethnic minorities, and various religious groups. Such gaps are rather stable for participation (since 1997) and trust (since 2002).     

Does Horizontal Inequality Matter in Vietnam?

This paper examines the issue of horizontal inequalities in Vietnam over the past 20 years. Using data from three recent Vietnam population censuses (1989, 1999, and 2009) and three Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys (1998, 2008, 2012), we estimated numerous measures on inequalities between five groups against four welfare indicators. Our results show that horizontal inequality matters in Vietnam, in particular for ethnicity, region, and rural/urban groups. While there has been an improvement in horizontal inequality in education, this paper shows little change in other welfare indicators, in particular poverty. We also found that horizontal inequality does matter for poverty reduction in Vietnam and it needs more attention when designing poverty policies in the future.

     

Women--the deciding factor in family planning?

Prominent women from Korea, Nepal, India, Philippines, Thailand, and Afghanistan discuss family planning attitudes in broad terms. Educated women in urban areas make decisions regarding birth control and family size, but the tradition in most developing countries is that of the man in the authority role. Family planning is intrinsically a joint decision. Obligations to family and family lineage prohibit family planning. In the Philippines, Catholicism is the dominant religion and because of population density, encourages family planning. For economic and social reasons, rural families prefer more children. The changing role of women to include jobs and education will have a positive effect on family planning. The representative from Nepal points out that it is necessary to have family planning in order to have changing women's roles. Rather than emphasizing smaller family size, it is recommended by concensus, that family planners communicate health and nutritional benefits for each individual child.     

What's happening to marriage in East Asia?

This article presents an overview of marriage patterns in East Asia. Globally, marriage patterns are changing. In East Asia, cultural patterns are slowing the changes in attitude toward marriage that are occurring in the West. There are implications of changing attitudes for government planners. This issue of Asia-Pacific Population and Policy is based on a series of studies of marriage and family life in Japan, South Korea, and the US. Data were obtained from the 1994 Japan Survey on Work and Family Life; the 1994 South Korea Survey on the Quality of Life; and the 1992-94 US Survey of Families and Households. Findings are reported on marriage age, attitudes toward marriage, attitudes post-marriage, and work patterns during marriage. Both Japan and South Korea have below replacement level fertility and traditional gendered division of labor in the household. In South Korea, women who work 35 or more hours/week spend 31 hours/week on housework, while husbands contribute 14 hours/week. In the US, the equivalent figures were 26 hours for full-time working wives and 9 hours for husbands. In Japan, wives spent 30 hours on housework, while husbands spent 3 hours. Full-time work outside the home involved 57% of married women in Japan, 27% in South Korea, and 66% in the US. Notwithstanding the double burden, women in South Korea and Japan experience pressure from competitive school systems for their children. After-school academic programs are expensive. The trend is for greater reluctance to marry. Replacement level fertility is unlikely unless full equality is achieved in the family.     

New Directions in the Development of Population Estimates in the United States?

The advent of a continuously updated Master Area File (MAF) following the 2000 census represents an information resource that can be tapped for purposes of developing timely, cost-effective, and precise population estimates for even the smallest of geographical units (e.g., census blocks). We argue that the MAF can be enhanced (EMAF) for these purposes. In support of our argument we describe a set of activities needed to develop EMAF, each of which is well within the current capabilities of the U.S. Census Bureau and discuss various costs and benefits of each. We also describe how EMAF would provide population estimates containing a wide range of demographic (e.g., age, race, and sex) and socio-economic characteristics (e.g., educational attainment, income, and employment). As such, it could largely negate and eliminate the need for many of the traditional demographic methods of population estimation and possibly reduce the number of sample surveys. We identify important challenges that must be surmounted in order to realize EMAF and make suggestions for doing so. We conclude by noting that the idea of the EMAF could be of interest to other countries with MAF files and strong administrative records systems that, like the United States, are facing the challenge of producing good population information in the face of increasing census costs.     

Gesundheitsf?rdernde Faktoren f��r Selbst?ndige in der Kreativwirtschaft

For political and economic decision makers, the Creative Industries are a major future market. The social situation many of the mostly self-employed creative workers find themselves in, however, is far from secure. Financial problems, precarious employment conditions, long working hours and high burn-out rates are typical of this ??class of the new?? (Barbrook 2009). This paper addresses the question of which variables that creative workers themselves have the power to influence have an impact on psychological health syndromes. It shows that compensation strategies such as ??brief periods of relaxation even during work intensive phases??, the quality of creative workers?? interpersonal relationships with peers and colleagues, ??being confident about one??s abilities??, enjoying work and ??taking holidays??have a positive impact on psychological health syndromes. Conversely, conflicts with colleagues or customers, turning a blind eye to problems and dependency on a single major customer impact negatively on psychological health syndromes. The paper is based on research carried out for the project ??Balancing creative workers dilemmas: value-based business and networking practices of self-employed working in the Creative Industries??, funded by the Translational Research Programme of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). It was developed as a thesis for the SOQUA postgraduate training programme (http://www.soqua. net), which provides further professional qualification for workers in the social sciences.     

How much does income matter in neighborhood choice?

There is a substantial literature on the residential mobility process itself and a smaller contribution on how households make neighborhood choices, especially with respect to racial composition. We extend that literature by evaluating the role of income and socioeconomic status in the neighborhood choice process for minorities. We use individual household data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Study to investigate the comparative choices of white and Hispanic households in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. We show that income and education are important explanations for the likelihood of choosing neighborhoods. But at the same time, own race preferences clearly play a role. While whites with more income choose more white neighborhoods, Hispanics with more income choose less Hispanic neighborhoods. One interpretation is that both groups are translating resources, such as income and education, into residence in whiter and ostensibly, higher status neighborhoods.

Whither MDG 5 in Bangladesh and its regions?

This paper analyses the trends and regional variations in the target achievement of MDG 5 of improving maternal health in Bangladesh. Based on the analysis of secondary data a comparison is made between the rate of progress required for each indicator of the goal to achieve its target by 2015 from 2000, the current rate of progress (between 2000 and 2011) and the rate of progress required between 2011 and 2015 to achieve the targets. The findings suggest a substantial difference among the regions with respect to the adopted indicators of improving maternal health. For example, consistent with the highest and lowest levels of maternal mortality ratio (MMR), the divisions (administrative regions) of Khulna and Sylhet respectively also have the highest and lowest percentages of births delivered in health facilities and assisted by skilled health personnel. However, the second highest percentage of births delivered in a health facility in Chittagong does not accord with its high MMR. This kind of variation reveals that overall improvement in MMR may not necessarily result in complete achievement of the goal of improved maternal health. Rather, there are some gaps and challenges in each region, which need to be addressed and acted upon accordingly. The findings of this paper contribute to knowledge about the persistence of regional inequalities in MDG 5 in Bangladesh, even if the goals are met at the national level. The findings will also be useful in preparing a road map for ensuring the health and wellbeing of all mothers in Bangladesh under the new Sustainable Development Goals.     

How Wide Is the Income Gap in China?

Thanks to the introduction of the reform and opening up policy, China has achieved rapid economic development and recorded a significant rise in the income level of its urban and rural residents as a whole. However, the level of income varies from industry to industry, from rural to urban areas, and from region to region, and the gap is widening. Estimates show that the Gini coefficient (an economic indicator measuring disparities in personal income) in China was 0.424 in 1996, 0.456 in 1998,…     

Climigration? Population and climate change in Arctic Alaska

Residents of towns and villages in Arctic Alaska live on “the front line of climate change.” Some communities face immediate threats from erosion and flooding associated with thawing permafrost, increasing river flows, and reduced sea ice protection of shorelines. The term climigration, referring to migration caused by climate change, originally was coined for these places. Although initial applications emphasized the need for government relocation policies, it has elsewhere been applied more broadly to encompass unplanned migration as well. Some historical movements have been attributed to climate change, but closer study tends to find multiple causes, making it difficult to quantify the climate contribution. Clearer attribution might come from comparisons of migration rates among places that are similar in most respects, apart from known climatic impacts. We apply this approach using annual 1990–2014 time series on 43 Arctic Alaska towns and villages. Within-community time plots show no indication of enhanced out-migration from the most at-risk communities. More formally, there is no significant difference between net migration rates of at-risk and other places, testing several alternative classifications. Although climigration is not detectable to date, growing risks make either planned or unplanned movements unavoidable in the near future.     

Why do women continue to smoke in pregnancy?

Smoking during pregnancy not only impacts on the woman's health but that of her unborn child. Women most likely to continue smoking throughout pregnancy are generally of lower age, socio-economic status, level of education and occupational status. Women who continue to smoke during pregnancy often feel criticized by society. They feel guilt and personal conflict at not quitting. Lack of long-term positive outcomes from anti-smoking campaigns may result form ignorance surrounding socio-economically disadvantaged women's life circumstances. Current interventions often ignore the emotional and psychological stressors associated with pregnancy; they do not address the altered physiological processes that occur during pregnancy. A review of the literature pertaining to women who smoke throughout pregnancy is presented. Women want an individualised approach to smoking cessation advice, with health care workers having knowledge of the woman's social situation and viewpoints. This paper reveals that the woman's perspective has largely been ignored. Indeed health care professionals have attempted to manipulate women to stop smoking rather than engage in mutually respectful dialogue.