Does it matter how you ask? Question wording and males’ reporting of contraceptive use at last sex

This paper reports results from a unique experiment conducted in the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) to gauge the effect of question format on men’s reports of contraceptive use at last sexual intercourse. Respondents received separate questions about their own and their partners’ contraceptive use or one combined question about either partner’s contraceptive use. We examine whether receiving separate questions, as opposed to one combined question, is related to higher reports of using any contraceptive method, specific methods, female methods in addition to male methods, and the number of methods reported. We find that reports of any contraceptive use at last sex and use of the most common methods, condoms and the pill, were stable across question formats. However, we find significantly higher reports of withdrawal, combining male and female methods, and multiple method use among men who received the separate-question format. We also find that characteristics of the sexual experience in question condition the effect of question format on men’s reports.     

Power and the gendered division of contraceptive use in Western European couples

Recent research has approached contraceptive use, or “fertility work”, as another household task that is primarily managed by women. Building on the theoretical frameworks of relative resource theory and gender perspectives, this study investigates the association between partners' power (measured as their relative education, division of housework and decision-making) and the choice of male versus female, or no contraception. Data from the Generations and Gender Survey for four Western European countries (Austria, Belgium, France and Germany; 2005–2010) are used to examine the hypotheses with multinomial logistic diagonal reference models. The results show that man's and woman's educational level are equally important predictors for a couple's contraceptive method choice. Furthermore, the findings suggest that households in which the man performs more housework or the woman has more say in decisions are more likely to rely on male methods or female sterilization, rather than on the more commonly used female reversible methods.     

论西夏《天盛律令》的特点

西夏国独特的地理位置与生存环境 ,决定了《天盛律令》在承袭唐宋律的同时 ,又有自己鲜明的特点 ,诸如刑罚严酷、军法完备、重视农田水利等经济立法以及专门规定政府机构的品级与编制等等。     

我国农村妇女土地权利的制度考察

从制度安排上分析当前我国农村妇女土地权利状况。研究方法：定性分析法、产权分析法。研究结果：在对影响农村妇女土地权利的土地制度、民间法规等相关制度安排考察和解构的基础上,探讨了我国农村妇女土地权利的现状和特征。研究结论：需要增强法律的性别敏感性;清晰界定集体经济组织成员资格;开展夫妻共有产权登记;协调法律和民间法之间的不一致;建立和健全农村妇女土地权利司法救济制度;加强对村民自治的权力监督。从而消除制度上的漏洞和潜在的制度供给不平等,为维护农村妇女土地权利提供一个公平、有效的制度环境。     

Family structure and the intergenerational transmission of educational advantage

I examine whether the effect of parents’ education on children’s educational achievement and attainment varies by family structure and, if so, whether this can be explained by differential parenting practices. Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, I find that as parents’ education increases, children in single mother families experience a lower boost in their achievement test scores, likelihood of attending any post-secondary schooling, likelihood of completing a 4-year college degree, and years of completed schooling relative to children living with both biological parents. Differences in parents’ educational expectations, intergenerational closure, and children’s involvement in structured leisure activities partially explain these status transmission differences by family structure. The findings imply that, among children with highly educated parents, children of single mothers are less likely to be highly educated themselves relative to children who grow up with both biological parents.     

Housing crowding effects on children’s wellbeing

The degree to which children grow up in crowded housing is a neglected but potentially important aspect of social inequality. Poor living conditions can serve as a mechanism of social stratification, affecting children’s wellbeing and resulting in the intergenerational transmission of social inequality. This paper reports an investigation of housing crowding on children’s academic achievement, behavior, and health in the US and Los Angeles, a city with atypically high levels of crowding. We use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics’ Child Development Supplement and the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey to explore the effect of living in a crowded home on an array of child wellbeing indicators. We find that several dimensions of children’s wellbeing suffer when exposed to crowded living conditions, particularly in Los Angeles, even after controlling for socioeconomic status. The negative effects on children raised in crowded homes can persist throughout life, affecting their future socioeconomic status and adult wellbeing.     

"德法合治"是有中国特色的治国方略

“以德治国”的提出 ,并不是对“依法治国”的否定 ,而是与“依法治国”相辅相成 ,相得益彰 ,共同构成了“德法合治”这一有中国特色的治国方略。它符合中国国情和现实要求 ,是对马克思主义治国思想的又一发展     

堕胎问题的立法进程及其相关的法律思考

堕胎问题一直是一个备受争议的问题。世界各国对这一问题的态度不一，有的国家制定了《反堕胎法》，禁止妇女堕胎；同时，又有一些国家认定堕胎合法化。了解世界主要国家对待堕胎问题的态度和立法状况，最大限度地了解其争议之所在，可以推进我国在这方面的立法进程。     

The contraceptive revolution in Israel: changing family planning practices among ethnoimmigrant groups

This paper uses data from the 1974-1975 Israel Fertility Survey and the 1987-1988 Study of Fertility and Family Formation to examine trends in fertility control among ethnoimmigrant groups in Israel. From 1974 to 1988, Israel underwent extremely rapid economic growth and there occurred what might be considered a contraceptive revolution in the realm of family planning. Specifically, the nonuse of family planning and reliance on less effective techniques of fertility control (withdrawal and abortion) were largely replaced by more efficient modes (e.g., pill, IUD) of family size limitation. In addition, ethnic differences in patterns of fertility control diminished. Meanwhile, socioeconomic and cultural variables such as religiosity and income maintained their importance as determinants of variation of family planning practices among Israeli women.     

Buffering income loss due to unemployment: Family and welfare state influences on income after job loss in the United States and western Germany

This article analyzes how the family and the welfare state influence household income trajectories after job loss in the United States and in western Germany. Drawing on panel data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), I study the income buffering effects of the family and the welfare state in the short an in the long run after job loss. I demonstrate that household income trajectories after job loss in the two countries are similar for couple households. However, men in the United States rely relatively more on family resources to overcome income loss, whereas German men’s incomes are secured mostly by the welfare state. Women’s unemployment in both countries is mainly buffered by their partners’ higher earnings. Because single households have no access to family support, they face much higher losses in the United States than in Germany. I also show that the more generous German welfare state triggers less private self-help in the form of increased labor force participation on the part of women when their partners lose their jobs. Over time, the family has become more important in buffering incomes after job loss in the United States which smoothed men’s and roughened women’s income trajectories in couple households. In Germany, worsening re-employment chances increased income losses in the long run after job loss.     

Parental Family Experiences, the Timing of First Sex, and Contraception

By investigating the intergenerational consequences of multiple aspects of family experiences across the life course this paper advances what we know about the forces shaping children's initiation of sexual and contraceptive behaviors. Our aim is to advance the scientific understanding of early sexual experiences by explicitly considering contraceptive use and by differentiating between the consequences of parental family experiences during childhood and those during adolescence and young adulthood. Thanks to unique, highly detailed data measuring parental family experiences throughout the life course and sexual dynamics early in life it is possible to provide detailed empirical estimates of the relationship between parental family experiences and contraceptive use at first sex-a relationship about which we know relatively little. Findings reveal (1) significant simultaneous consequences of many different dimensions of parental family experiences for the timing of first sex and the likelihood of using contraception at first sex, but the specific dimensions of family important for the specific behavior vary across racial groups; and (2) that parental family experiences influence the timing of sex and contraceptive use differently.     

School co-ethnicity and Hispanic parental involvement

Scholars of immigration disagree about the role ethnic communities play in immigrant families’ engagement in educational institutions. While some researchers argue that the concentration of disadvantaged ethnic groups may prevent meaningful engagement with schools, others argue that ethnic communities can possess resources that help immigrant families be involved in their children’s schooling. In this study we use a nationally representative dataset of Hispanic children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) to determine if the relative size of the Hispanic population in the school affects levels of their parents’ involvement in their education, as well as parents’ perceptions of barriers to their involvement. Our results suggest that a large Hispanic presence in a child’s school can help increase immigrant Hispanic parents’ involvement in their children’s schooling, but there are no benefits for US-born Hispanic parents, indicating that ethnic communities help immigrant families acculturate to American institutions.     

西夏《天盛律令》厩牧律考

厩牧律其立法渊源可直追秦汉。西夏《天盛律令》中有关厩牧的律条 ,已相当完备 ,且已形成了较完备的体系 ,无论是对厩牧的管理、治罪、奖励、检验等都有相当明确的规定。对这部份的内容加以认真地考证 ,我们会发现西夏的厩牧制度不同于其他民族 ,这对研究西夏的畜牧法律制度 ,乃至研究中国的畜牧管理变革来说 ,都无疑具有一定的价值     

论离岸货币交易争端的法律适用问题

离岸货币交易分为离岸贷款交易和离岸存款交易,其实质上属于合同关系且有关争端主要通过冲突法来确定法律适用问题。确定离岸存款关系的准据法,应以当事人明示选择的法律优先,没有明示选择即应依据最密切联系原则确定准据法而不应由法官擅自推定当事人的选择。确定离岸贷款关系的准据法,应以当事人通常所明示选择的法律优先,没有明示选择的则依据最密切联系原则确定准据法。     

Why Do(n't) they leave?: Motherhood and women's job mobility

Although the relationship between motherhood and women's labor market exits has received a great deal of popular and empirical attention in recent years, far less is known about the relationship between motherhood and women's job changes. In this paper, I use panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979) (NLSY79) and Cox regression models to examine how motherhood influences the types of job changes and employment exits women make and how this varies by racial-ethnic group. I find preschool-age children are largely immobilizing for white women, as they discourage these women from making the types of voluntary job changes that are often associated with wage growth. No such effects were found for Black or Hispanic women.     

How do sexual harassment policies shape gender beliefs? An exploration of the moderating effects of norm adherence and gender

Sexual harassment laws have led to important organizational changes in the workplace yet research continues to document resistance to their implementation and backlash against the people who mobilize such laws. Employing experimental research methods, this study proposes and tests a theory specifying the mechanisms through which sexual harassment policies affect gender beliefs. The findings show evidence that sexual harassment policies strengthen unequal gender beliefs among men and women most committed to traditional gender interaction norms. I also find that men and women’s different structural locations in the status hierarchy lead to different, but related sets of concerns about the status threats posed by sexual harassment policies. By specifying the social psychological processes through which sexual harassment law affects beliefs about men and women, this study sets the stage for investigating ways to make laws designed to reduce inequality between social groups more effective.     

High political participation, high social capital? A relational analysis of youth social capital and political participation

Social capital has been alleged to increase the capacity for political mobilization. Yet, until now, the empirical debate has not succeeded in rendering a detailed account of the relationships between social capital and political participation partly because of the use of a reductive conception and operationalization of both concepts. Using a multidimensional and relational technique (multiple correspondence analysis) and a detailed youth survey data from Belgium, the article demonstrates that youth draw on diverse forms of social capital and that these forms vary along socio-economic status and ethnic origin. Six classes based on the forms of social capital were identified. Two of them - the ‘Committed’ and ‘Religious’ are highly political active. The ‘Committed’ Class, based on a diversified social capital, consists mainly of non-immigrant youth with a high socio-economic background undertaking a large diversity of political activities. The ‘Religious’ Class, based on a narrow social capital built around religious activities, is mostly composed of ethnic minority youth with a low SES involved in more specific political activities.     

Economic and other determinants of annual change in U.S. fertility: 1917-1976

Decomposition of fertility into its age, period, and cohort components demonstrates the empirical importance of age and period. Of the two, less is known about the period dimension. A new measure of fertility, specific to race and birth order, is used to estimate the effects of annual change in unemployment, the marriage and unemployment rate, as well as annual change in contraceptive sterilization and change in the proportion of couples adopting the more effective (pill and IUD) methods introduced in the early 1960s, are all important determinants of fertility change, but their impact varies greatly by birth order.     

Neighborhood characteristics, parental practices and children’s math achievement in elementary school

This paper investigates the relationships among neighborhood characteristics, education-related parental practices, and children’s academic achievement during a critical but under-studied stage of children’s educational trajectories - the elementary school years. Using a large, nationally representative database of American elementary school students - the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) - and contextual data from the 2000 US Census, we examine parental practices and neighborhood characteristics at the beginning of children’s school careers (grades K-1) and their associations with math achievement through the end of the 5th grade. Findings: Net of family-level characteristics, higher levels of early education-oriented parental practices were associated with higher mathematics achievement at the end of 5th grade, while neighborhood disadvantage was associated with lower 5th grade math achievement. Families residing in high poverty, high unemployment, low-education neighborhoods employed fewer education-oriented practices with their kindergarten-first grade children, but the positive effect of such parental practices on children’s mathematics achievement was stronger for children who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods.     

Effects of welfare reform policies on Mexican immigrants’ infant mortality rates

The welfare reform bill adopted in 1996 limited the eligibility of immigrants on federal funding for welfare use, while vesting states with the authority to create new state-funded substitute benefits for immigrants. This paper capitalizes on this inter-state variation in state welfare rules regarding new immigrants and estimates a triple difference-in-difference estimator that provides evidence on the impact of removing public assistance on Mexican immigrants’ infant mortality rates. Using the US linked birth and infant death cohort files from 1995 to 1996 and from 1999 to 2002, I find that infant mortality rates have decreased at a slower rate among children of low-educated Mexican immigrant women compared to their native Mexican-origin counterparts, especially for those mothers residing in less affluent metropolitan counties within their own state. These findings suggest that there may be unintended social costs associated with the Personal Responsibility Work Opportunity and Reconciliation Act, resulting in disparate impact on immigrant mothers and infants.