The causal effect of social capital on income: A new analytic strategy

This study identifies three groups of job seekers in terms of the channels used to search for jobs: the formal channel involving only official procedures to obtain a job, the informal channel using only social contacts to obtain a job, and the joint channel leveraging both social contacts and official procedures. The analysis of a national sample survey of China shows that joint channel users, due to their relatively higher level of social capital, not only make more job search attempts but also obtain higher income than formal channel users. Meanwhile, joint channel users, because of their relative advantages in both human capital and social capital, not only make more job attempts but also obtain higher income than informal channel users. The two comparisons offer a new strategy to test the causal role social capital plays in labour market success, regardless of whether social capital is exogenous or endogenous to human capital.     

The Job Club Redux: A Step Forward in Addressing the Career Development Needs of Counselor Education Students

The career development needs of counselor education students beginning a professional job search have not been systematically explored. Although job clubs have been linked to positive outcomes, there is no empirical evidence that they meet the needs of this group. The purpose of this study was to examine how counselor education students viewed a proposed job club intervention using focus group data. The findings suggested that students had strong interest in a group that emphasized empowerment and collaboration, offered predictable social support, and provided training in specific job search skills. Implications for counselor education and career counseling practice are discussed.     

Job search self-efficacy as a mediator between emotional intelligence and the active job search process / Autoeficacia de búsqueda como mediadora de la inteligencia emocional y la búsqueda activa de empleo

This study analyses the role of job search self-efficacy as a possible mediating variable in the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and the active job search process in a sample of 196 unemployed people in Andalusia, 107 men and 89 women aged 18 to 59 (M = 30.90; SD = 8.07). They were all provided an EI scale, a job search self-efficacy measure and an active job search measure, and provided their social and demographic information. As expected, EI was positively associated with higher levels of job search self-efficacy, as well as higher levels of job search intensity. In addition, mediation analyses indicated that EI had a significant indirect effect (through self-efficacy) on the active job search process. The results are discussed for application in future career guidance programmes.     

The Impact of Patronymic Attractiveness on Employability

We link patronymics (first and last names presented together) to success in the job market by investigating the influence of name attractiveness on employability. Using data from a recruitment agency, we tested (binomial regression) for effects associated with age, gender, and name attractiveness on job interview outcomes. We found that candidates with more attractive patronymics were more likely to be retained by employers.     

How the Right Usurped the Queer Agenda: Frame Co‐optation in Political Discourse

This article draws on a case study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) and queer politics in Vermont to explain the conditions under which radical discourse gains and loses a public voice. In contrast to claims that the marginalization of queer discourse is due to silencing by LGBT rights activists or to litigation strategies, we argue that variation in queer discourse over time is the result of the co‐optation of queer discourse and goals by opponents. Extending the social movement literature on frame variation, we argue that opponents co‐opt discourse when they adopt aspects of the content of a movement's discourse, while subverting its intent. We show that conservative LGBT rights opponents co‐opted queer discourse. As a result, queer positions lost their viability as the discursive field in which those arguments were made was fundamentally altered. Because queer positions became less tenable, we see the withdrawal of queer discourse from the mainstream and alternative LGBT media. Our work both supports and builds on research on frame variation by demonstrating how discourse can change over time in response to the interplay between changing aspects of the political and cultural landscape and the discourse of opponents.     

Who’s missing out? The impact of digital networking behavior & social identity on PR job search outcomes

This study investigates how different aspects of social identity correlated with online networking and job search success. Undergraduates and recent graduates seeking public relations roles between 2020 and 2021 were surveyed (N = 355) for their early career job-seeking practices. The pre-existing lack of diversity in PR and the tendency to favor job candidates who are similar to the decision-maker means that the move to virtual relationship building and vetting may be especially impactful for diverse applicants. The results showed that networking was extremely important as over 94% of respondents found their position via networking of some sort. Respondents found roles most commonly via LinkedIn (57.5%), followed by other social media (49.9%). LinkedIn network size was positively correlated with more job offers, whereas Twitter and Facebook network sizes were insignificant. Those who identified as white used LinkedIn more and had more job offers than those who identified as BIPOC. Veterans and those receiving need-based assistance also reported having fewer job offers. This paper extends the strength of weak ties theory by demonstrating the importance of weak ties in digital networking in the PR industry. This research suggests that maintaining weak ties via LinkedIn is valuable for success in digital networking, particularly by growing a robust LinkedIn network and maintaining an active profile. Practical advice for PR educators and students illustrates how to enhance LinkedIn use to promote equity in digital networking. Moreover, the PR field may promote diversity among applicants and hires through mentoring, recruiting, and growing their own diverse digital network.     

An economic analysis of the job search decisions for Canadian nurses

The goal of this study is to provide a detailed analysis of the job search decisions of nurses in Canada. The results of this study show that the most important variables influencing the probability of searching for a new job are annual earnings and satisfaction with pay. Socio-economic variables and individual attitudes have an effect for some groups, but these variables are less important. There are differences between women who are and are not currently employed as nurses and this could potentially be a beneficial group to study in terms of policies to recruit and retain nurses in the profession.     

Queer Farmers: Sexuality and the Transition to Sustainable Agriculture

Intimate relationships are foundational to farm viability. They affect how farmers share tasks, earn income, and access land, yet the role of sexuality and heteronormativity in agriculture remains understudied. Furthermore, queer people are largely ignored as potential farmers by the sustainable agriculture and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movements. I document the lived experiences of queer farmers, an underresearched group, through participant observation and interviews with 30 sustainable farmers of various genders and sexualities in New England. I use a queer perspective to illuminate sexualized and heteronormative patterns in sustainable agriculture. Whereas the perception of rural heterosexism can discourage queer participation in agriculture, queer farmers faced less overt heterosexism than they expected. However, they did experience heterosexism particular to sustainable agriculture, and confronting it might jeopardize relationships important for economic and environmental sustainability and land access. Some farmers were attracted to sustainable agriculture for reasons specific to gender, sexuality, and anticapitalist values. I argue that sexuality and heteronormativity are embedded in farmer recruitment, retention, and land acquisition, which are critical for the transition to sustainable agriculture. I offer the sustainable agriculture movement a lens for envisioning alternatives for farm families, homes, and workplaces.     

Career Navigator: Its Use With College Students Beginning the Job Search Process

This study explored the effects of the Career Navigator program on college student self-rated knowledge and skill in the job search process as compared to a professional development business administration course and a no-treatment control group.     

Economic and Psychological Models of Job Search Behavior of the Unemployed

Economic and psychological theories relating tojob search behavior by the unemployed are considered.There exists a noticeable contrast between the economicapproach which is almost exclusively based on a single model of the rational job seeker, andthe diverse approaches adopted by psychologists.Accordingly, the paper concentrates on areas of researchby psychologists which are relevant to the economic model. The paper starts with an overview of theresearch program in economics. Next, the psychologicalliterature on the general well-being of the unemployedis briefly surveyed; this research might be useful in informing economic studies of theeffects of the duration of unemployment on an individuals search behavior. Two psychological approaches to jobsearch behavior are then discussed, namelyexpectancy-value theory and prospect theory. Findings using theexpectancy-value approach suggest that certainpsychological variables, including normative pressures,might play an important role in job search. In addition, these findings highlight the complexrelationship between job expectations and searchintensity. Finally, it is suggested that the role andimportance of certain psychological variables such asstatus might be expected to vary over the course ofunemployment.     

Cripping sexualities: An analytic review of theoretical and empirical writing on the intersection of disabilities and sexualities

This paper provides a review of some of the literature addressing the juncture of disabilities and sexualities and invites sociologists to build on this work and take part in this important intersectional field. First, I discuss the central relevance of an intersectional lens for making sense of the unique experiences of queer people with disabilities who are located at the crossroads of various stratified systems. Then, I discuss some of the many unique challenges that queer disabled people face when exploring their sexuality, establishing relationships, and remaining sexual. The invisibility, marginalization, and discrimination of queer people with disabilities in both queer and disability communities are the focus on the third section. The fourth section speaks to current theoretical dialogues between disability studies and queer theory that have illuminated new pathways for theorizing the intersection of disabilities and sexualities, “cripping” sociological theories, and reimagining disability within sociology. As I demonstrate, this literature is growing; however, myriad exciting opportunities for empirical and theoretical sociological exploration remain and I will conclude with a discussion of possible directions for future research.     

Gertrude Stein,Opium Queen: Notes on a Mistaken Embrace

Gertrude Stein was not only a fairly open lesbian but also Jewish, expatriate, and androgynous—all attributes that often retarded mass-market success. Why then was she so popular? The article offers original research highlighting how Stein was constructed as a kind of “opium queen” in the popular American press, and the ways that this decadent, bohemian celebrity persona allowed her to operate as “broadly queer” rather than “specifically gay” in the American cultural imaginary—a negotiation that accounts for the mass-market success rather than censure of The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas despite the unparalleled visibility of its lesbian erotics.     

Fetishizing the health sciences: Queer theory as an intervention

Queer theory often falls impotent in its palatability across disciplinary lines. I offer a conceptual article that interrogates the dis-ease and divide when considering queer theory in and for the health sciences. In so doing, I look to foster a process of making queer theory more tenable to applied practice—and to make practice in social work, at least, more queer. The exemplar of HIV is deconstructed as a preeminent discourse and health disparity. In the end, it is argued that queer theory may be an essential intervention in the arsenal of the helping professions.     

Ask and you shall receive: Social network contacts’ provision of help during the job search

Social network contacts—the people who are asked to help with others’ job searches—are key players in the job networking process. Before job seekers can become employed with the help social networks, contacts must first be able and willing to share the social resources job seekers need for their search. Little is known about the factors that affect contacts’ ability and willingness to do this. Analyses of a unique dataset of contacts show that they typically have access to resources and help job seekers by sharing them. Still, contacts are better able to help when they are male, employed, and better educated than job seekers. They are more willing to help when they perceive job seekers to be “good” workers. In identifying the conditions in which contacts provide social resources, this study illustrates how social networks are a productive job search strategy for some, but not all, job seekers.     

Who Adopts Queer and Pansexual Sexual Identities?

Some nonheterosexual individuals are eschewing lesbian/gay and bisexual identities for queer and pansexual identities. The present study aimed to examine the sexual and demographic characteristics of nonheterosexual individuals who adopt these labels. A convenience sample of 2,220 nonheterosexual (1,459 lesbian/gay, 413 bisexual, 168 queer, 146 pansexual, and 34 other “write-in”) individuals were recruited for a cross-sectional online survey. In support of our hypotheses, those adopting pansexual identities were younger than those adopting lesbian, gay, and bisexual identities, and those adopting queer and pansexual identities were more likely to be noncisgender than cisgender, and more likely to be cisgender women than men. The majority of pansexual individuals demonstrated sexual orientation indices within the bisexual range, and showed equivalent patterns of sexual attraction, romantic attraction, sexual behavior, and partner gender as bisexual-identified men and women. In contrast, three-quarters of queer men, and more than half of queer women, reported sexual attraction in the homosexual range. This study found that rather than a general movement toward nontraditional sexual identities, queer and pansexual identities appear most appealing to nonheterosexual women and noncisgender individuals. These findings contribute important information regarding who adopts queer and pansexual identities in contemporary sexual minority populations.     

Discouraging Workers: Estimating the Impacts of Macroeconomic Shocks on the Search Intensity of the Unemployed

Discouraged and marginally attached workers have received increasing attention from policy makers over the past several years. Through slackness in the labor market, periods of high unemployment should reduce the likelihood of receiving a job offer and thus create more discouraged workers. However, the existing literature generally fails to find evidence of such pro-cyclicality in search intensity. Surprisingly, search appears to be acyclical. We hypothesize the observed acyclicality may be the result of coarse measurement of search intensity in previous studies and the failure to account for changes in individuals’ wealth across the business cycle. In this paper we use daily time use dairies from the American Time Use Survey 2003–2011 to examine the cyclicality of search intensity to explain this apparent contradiction between theory and data. Results indicate that workers do reduce their search in response to deteriorating labor market conditions, but these effects appear to be offset by the positive effects on search that are correlated with declines in household wealth.     

Short Term Gain, Long Term Pain

This paper examines the role of informal job search methods on the labour market outcomes of displaced workers. Informal job search methods could alleviate short-term labour market difficulties of displaced workers by providing information on job opportunities, allowing them to signal their productivity and may mitigate wage losses through better post-displacement job matching. However if displacement results from reductions in demand for specific sectors/skills, the use of informal job search methods may increase the risk of job instability. While informal job search methods are associated with lower wage losses, they lead to increased job instability and increased risk of subsequent job displacement.     

DO UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AFFECT ON‐THE‐JOB SEARCH? EVIDENCE FROM LABOR TURNOVER BEFORE ESTABLISHMENT CLOSURES

We develop a job search model that predicts that potential job losers would reduce on‐the‐job search (OTJS) effort and job‐to‐job transitions before layoffs, in response to an increase in the potential duration of unemployment benefits (UB). To test this prediction, we exploit changes in the maximum potential duration of benefits in Germany to analyze how it affected labor turnover before establishment closings. The evidence supports the model prediction that workers with longer potential benefit duration are more likely to remain with their establishments until closure and to enter nonemployment. These findings indicate that the effects of UB on the OTJS decisions of potential job losers should be considered in the optimal design of the parameters of unemployment insurance systems. (JEL J63, J64, J65)     

Claiming Queer Territory in the Study of Subcultures and Popular Music

For both the heterosexual and queer subject, subcultural participation and stylistic modes of cultural production and consumption, including popular music, are critical mechanisms aiding in the construction and expression of identity. Yet, in spite of abundant empirical examples of queer music cultures, subcultural studies scholars have paid minimal attention to queer sexualities and their concomitant stylistic modalities. In this article, I claim the importance of queer subterranean music cultures by synthesising significant literatures from various fields of inquiry including cultural sociology, popular musicology and queer studies. To begin, I will briefly clarify to whom and about what queer (theory) speaks. I then go on to offer an overview of subcultural and popular music research paying particular attention to the subaltern queer subject and surveying queer criticism within each field. Accordingly, I discuss various sites of popular music production and subcultural style such as punk and hip‐hop, to show how non‐heterosexual subjects carve space for resistant queer sexualities and merge queer sensibilities with pre‐existing cultural forms. This article consolidates interdisciplinary approaches that will benefit scholars invested in the study of queer subcultures and popular music.