The effect of family structure on parents’ child care time in the United States and the United Kingdom

We use time-diary data from the 2003 and 2004 American Time Use Surveys and the 2000 United Kingdom Time Use Study to estimate the effect of family structure on the time mothers and fathers spend on primary and passive child care and on market work, using a system of correlated Tobit equations. Our results indicate that estimates are sensitive to the inclusion of a common household factor that controls for selection into family type. Estimates from the selection-controlled models indicate that single parents in both countries spend more time in child care than married or cohabiting parents, perhaps in part to compensate for the missing parent, but that there is no difference in the time allocation of married and cohabiting parents. There are substantial cross-country differences, however, as single parents in the U.S. work more than other parents and single parents in the U.K. work less.

Privatization of Social Security in the United Kingdom warning or exemplar?

This study draws lessons for the debate about the proposed partial privatization of Social Security in the United States based on evidence from the United Kingdom. The British case suggests that privatization may lead to a reduction in the pension burden on the national budget if combined with substantial cuts in benefits. Such reforms may have positive effects on the economy, but any such benefits would come at a price that would include much higher administrative costs, exposure to stock market fluctuations, increased inequality, and potentially lower pension benefits for many low-wage workers, particularly women.     

Alienation in the United States: Uniform or Group-Specific Change?

“Alienation,” in the sense of disenchantment with core institutions of society, increased after the mid-1960s. Most accounts hold that the rise in alienation was uniform across all groups. This paper evaluates the hypothesis of uniform change using data from the Harris Polls. We find evidence of both short-term and long-term shifts in patterns of alienation. Blacks and low-income people are less alienated under Democratic than under Republican administrations. Over the long term, increases in alienation have been larger among women and people without a college degree.

Social care stakeholders' perceptions of the recruitment of international practitioners in the United Kingdom—a qualitative study

Mobility of labour is common within Europe and globally, particularly in social and health care. This article examines the findings from a qualitative study of 15 expert or stakeholder views that explored supply and demand factors in international social care staff recruitment to the United Kingdom (UK). Findings are that international social care workers have a better reputation and are perceived as being harder workers, more productive, more reliable, more focused and more likely to stay in a post longer than local workers. However, there is also the perception that employment in social care is a stepping-stone into other forms of employment both in the UK and when returning to home countries, through access to training, experience and improved job opportunities. The impact of migration policies on the composition of international workers is further noted because greater numbers of social care staff are coming to the UK from the European Union and fewer from Commonwealth states. Changes in the profile of international workers are discussed, with a need identified to address cultural and language differences to ensure good outcomes for service users.     

‘Reaching in’? The potential for e-petitions in local government in the United Kingdom

This article considers the extent to which petitions and e-petitions might allow citizens to ‘reach in’ to local authorities in the United Kingdom. It examines how e-petitions sit against wider debates about the use of technology and digital democracy and the extent to which petitions systems might align with traditional approaches to representative democracy. It highlights that, as with many other participative initiatives, digital or otherwise, there are a variety of issues and risks associated with e-petitions, including those associated with broad socio-economic factors, and others that are more specifically related to the use of e-petitions. However, drawing on existing examples of e-petitions systems in the United Kingdom, it suggests that, designed well, they may have potential value, not simply in terms of enabling ‘voice’ and participation, but also in helping educate and inform petitioners about local democracy and decision-making.     

Employee reactions to positive action policies in the United Kingdom: Does the organization’s justification matter?

Affirmative action remains a contentious topic in both research and practice. While advocates suggest that such action is necessary to overcome demographic imbalances in the labor market, some research shows that these policies can prompt undesirable employee reactions that negate their value. While positive discrimination (i.e., recruiting or promoting solely based on a protected characteristic) remains illegal in the United Kingdom, organizations have increasingly begun adopting positive action measures (i.e., measures aimed at alleviating disadvantage or under-representation based on protected characteristics). However, there is little research looking at how these policies specifically affect employee attitudes or how different organizational rationales for positive action might moderate these effects. This lack of research is even more notable in the UK context. In two experimental studies of UK professionals (N = 353) we find that perceived organizational justice explained the relationship between positive action and affective commitment / turnover intention. However, evidence supporting the effect of organizational rationale was limited.     

Social justice for safeguarded adults deprived of their liberty in the United Kingdom?

In March 2014 the UK Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal in two seminal co-joined cases (P v Cheshire West and Chester Council, P & Q v Surrey County Council [2014] UKSC 19). The implications of this co-joined judgement signify a wake-up call to all those involved in safeguarding adults at risk. It will dictate the proper test for determining what constitutes a deprivation of liberty, when an individual assessed as lacking mental capacity is required to reside at a particular place for the purpose of receiving care and treatment. This judgement provides essential and necessary protections for many thousands of adults, subject to high levels of restrictive practice, supervision and control.     

Poles Apart? EU Enlargement and the Labour Market Outcomes of Immigrants in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom was one of only three countries to allow migrants from accession countries to enter their labour markets more or less without restriction following European Union enlargement in May 2004. Therefore, it is important to establish the characteristics and labour market performance of migrants from these countries who have subsequently entered the United Kingdom. We principally analyse Labour Force Survey data to compare the labour market outcomes of recent migrants from Poland and other accession countries to those of earlier migrant cohorts from these countries as well as to those of other recent migrants to the United Kingdom. We find that the majority of post‐enlargement migrants from the new member states have found employment in low paying jobs, despite some (especially Poles) possessing relatively high levels of education. It follows that recent Polish migrants typically have lower returns to their education than other recent arrivals. Migrants from the new member states who arrived immediately prior to enlargement have similar characteristics and labour market outcomes, apart from displaying a higher propensity to be self‐employed. These results are discussed in the context of policy changes, migration strategies, assimilation effects and possible impacts on the sending countries.     

Muslim Political Activism or Political Activism by Muslims? Secular and Religious Identities Amongst Muslim Arab Activists in the United States and United Kingdom

Scholarship on Muslim political mobilisation in the West has developed as an important counterpoint to public discourse, which has tended to cast Muslims as a threat to social cohesion, liberal democracy, and national security. But even as scholarly literature has shed light on civic participation among Muslims, it has sidelined the diversity of political identities and values that motivate them. Most, if not all, Muslims in the West find their identities politicised in some way, but the question of whether this leads to a consensus amongst Muslims about the role of religion in public life often remains unexamined. In this article we draw on interviews with seventy-eight activists in Britain and the United States who are both Muslim and Arab to complicate ideas about the political mobilisation of Muslims in the West. Respondents, we show, are far from unified in their views on religion as a basis for political action and mobilisation. Some are keen to place Islam squarely in mainstream political spaces; most, however, are insistent that Islam should remain a private faith and identity and that political mobilisation should take place under the aegis of Arabness or other ‘secular’ identities. Using theoretical perspectives on the public sphere, we explain the complexity of our respondents' political identities and activism. Our overall aim is to broaden perspectives on the ways in which people from Muslim backgrounds participate in public, political life in Western contexts.     

The ‘myth’ of the family farm: Defining the family farm and assessing its importance in the European community

Family farming is a central but inadequately defined concept in the European Community's agricultural policy. An investigation into the importance of family farming is reported, using data from the European Community's Farm Accountancy Data Network that covers some 59,000 farms in the 12 Member States. A definition is adopted, based on the share of the labour provided by the family, to group farms into family, intermediate or non-family types. Almost three-quarters of Community farms were classed as family farms in 1989, but they produced only just over half of the total agricultural output and 62% of the total income. The incidence of family farming varied between countries and was lowest in the United Kingdom, where less than half fell into the family group. In all countries family farms tended to be smaller and to have lower incomes per person than non-family farms. However, the non-family group did not consist solely of larger farms operated by family labour supplemented by hired labour; at least in some countries the group contained smaller farms operated on a part-time basis and where there is substitution by hired labour for family labour. These subgroups point to alternative ways of structural adjustment to achieve higher incomes from farming.     

Commentary: what role for the family and Medical Leave Act in long-term care policy?

The Family and Medical Leave Act provides unpaid leave but a key component is its intergenerational structure, permitting employees to take time off from work to care for an infant as well as an ill elderly parent. However, in an effort to provide paid leave, 23 of 28 states dropped the elder care provision in new initiatives introduced between 2000 and 2003. This article argues that in reforming leave policy in the future, the leave should be paid, remain intergenerational, cover more workers, and be adaptable to changing family patterns in an aging society. Also discussed is California's paid leave law, which meets these criteria.     

‘There's a huge gulf between me as a male carer and women': Gender,domestic responsibility,and the community as an institutional arena

This paper explores the persistent link between women and domestic responsibility, a link that has been heavily documented and yet much less frequently theorised. Drawing on a qualitative research project with a 'critical case' study sample of couples trying to share housework and childcare in Britain in the early 1990s the paper argues that part of this puzzle linking women and domestic responsibility can be addressed by adopting wider definitions of domestic responsibility and of community. While domestic responsibility is often conceived as family labour that occurs within families/households, it also has inter-household, inter-institutional and community dimensions. With regard to a wider conceptualisation of the community, the paper argues that the community is more than a social institution; it is an institutional arena within which families/households, inter-household relations, community-based social networks and a wide array of community activities occur. The overall findings and implications of the research presented in this paper are three-fold. First, gendered socially constructed norms and gendered community-based social networks are highlighted as important factors that help to account for the persistent link between women and domestic responsibility. Second, taking cues from research carried out in Third World and low-income Western communities, it is important to shift research agendas on domestic divisions of labour to focus not only on intra-household divisions but also inter-household and intra-community relations. Third, the need is highlighted for greater attention to the links between socially constructed norms on masculinities, men's friendships and domestic responsibility. Este articulo explora la conexión persistente entre las mujeres y la responsabilidad doméstica. Se ha documentado mucho veces esta conexión pero se ha teorizado muy pocas veces. Se hace uso de una investigación cualitativa con un estudio tipo 'caso crítico' del cual proviene una muestra de parejas que intentan compartir las tareas domésticas y el cuidado de los niños, y se sostiene que se puede tratar parte de este enigma que une a las mujeres con la responsabilidad doméstica si se adoptan unas definiciones mas amplias de la responsabilidad doméstica y de la comunidad. Mientras que a menudo se suele concebir la responsabilidad doméstica como trabajo familiar que tiene lugar dentro de las familias/los hogares, también tiene dimensiones inter-hogares, inter-institucionales y comunitarias. Con respecto a una conceptualización mas amplia de la comunidad, este artículo sostiene que la comunidad es más que una institución social; es un ruedo institucional (Goetz, 1997) dentro del cual se encuentran las familias/los hogares, las relaciones inter-hogares, las redes sociales basadas en la comunidad y una amplia gama de actividades comunitarias. Tienen tres aspectos las conclusiones e implicaciones globales que se presentan en este artículo. Primero, se ponen de relieve las connotaciones de género, que se evidencian en las normas sociales y en las redes sociales basadas en la comunidad, como factores importantes que ayudan a explicar la conexión persistente entre las mujeres y la responsabilidad doméstica. Segundo, es importante seguir el ejemplo de investigaciones realizadas en el tercer mundo y en las comunidades occidentales de bajos ingresos, y cambiar el enfoque de las investigaciones de las divisiones domésticas del labor para centrarse no sólo en las divisiones entre el hogar sino también en las relaciones entre los hogares y entre la comunidad. Tercero, realzo la necesidad de prestar mas atencion a los vínculos entre las normas sociales sobre las masculinidades, las amistades entre los hombres y la responsabilidad doméstica.     

Does community and family engagement enhance permanency for children in foster care? Findings from an evaluation of the family-to-family initiative

There is limited research assessing the effectiveness of family engagement for improving permanency for children. An important challenge is that randomized designs are not feasible for evaluating these practices because effective implementation of family engagement requires systemic change. Findings from a national evaluation are presented to illustrate how preliminary evidence can be developed from comprehensive child welfare reform initiatives. The results show when and how family and community participation may facilitate permanency for children.     

Minimizing stress in the workplace: Whose responsibility is it?

Work-related stress is pervasive in today's society. Its far-reaching effects on worker health, productivity, and organizational commitment have caused legislators and researchers alike to rethink stress prevention strategies that will best serve all systems involved. This article identifies the issues limiting the development of primary stress reduction programs in the workplace and provides insight as to the emerging global legislative initiatives that support this issue.     

Precious blood: Work,family and community in South Holyoke, 1920–80

This study of a particular district of a Massachusetts town indicates how, over the space of some 70 years, patterns of work have changed dramatically. Making particular use of oral history methodology, the study identifies the changing significance of economic shifts over three generations and focuses on the ethnic composition of the workforce. It notes the differential experiences for the various groups and the processes whereby cultural values and family ties were gradually eroded as a more homogeneous ‘American’ economic and social pattern was imposed on the locality.     

Is the good corporation dead? the community social responsibility of small business operators

This study examined whether social responsibility is a meaningful characteristic with which to differentiate businesses given its supposed demise in the new global economy. The analysis focuses on small businesses and the social responsibility of businesses toward their community. Community social responsibility and competitive strategies were measured by the self reports of 675 small business operators in 10 Iowa cities. Cluster analysis revealed four categories of business operators designated as civic leaders, alienated business operators, followers in high collective action communities, and followers in low collective action communities. Findings demonstrate that business owners and managers can be differentiated on the basis of community social responsibility. The clusters so created are associated with meaningful business and operator demographic features and with the operator’s belief in the importance of community support as a strategy for business success. This analysis shows that in spite of changes in the economy, a significant segment of small business operators believe in tenets of the enlightened self interest model of business social responsibility, that is, that doing good is good business.     

Validating the Gambling Functional Assessment—Revised in a United Kingdom Sample

The gambling functional assessment-revised (GFA-R) was designed to assess whether the respondent’s gambling was maintained by positive reinforcement or escape. The present study attempted to validate the GFA-R’s psychometric properties using United Kingdom (UK) university students and to compare the results to those from a sample of American university students. Two hundred seventy four UK students completed the GFA-R, and 153 also completed the South Oaks gambling screen (SOGS). Two hundred one United States (US) university students completed both measures. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the original model of the GFA-R provided an excellent fit for the UK data and internal consistency was high. These outcomes were similar, if not superior, to those from the US sample. SOGS scores strongly correlated with GFA-R escape subscale scores in both samples, replicating previous results. These findings indicate that the GFA-R is a valid measure for use in the UK, which is potentially useful to both practitioners and researchers. They also suggest that the strong relationship between endorsing gambling as an escape and measures of disordered gambling may be ubiquitous.