Is There a Motherhood Penalty? Decomposing the Family Wage Gap in Colombia

The aim of this paper is to provide an estimation and decomposition of the motherhood wage penalty in Colombia. Our empirical strategy was based on the matching procedure designed by Ñopo (The Review of Economics and Statistics, 90(2), 290–299, 2008a) for the case of gender wage gaps. This is an alternative procedure to the well-known Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition method. Using the cross-sectional data of the Colombian Living Standard Survey, the wage gap was decomposed into four components, according to the characteristics of mothers and non-mothers. Three of the components are explained by differences in observable characteristics of women, while the other is the unexplained part of the gap. We found that mothers earn, on average, 1.73 % less than their counterparts without children and that this gap slightly decreased when the group included older women. It is observed from the results that, once schooling was included as a matching variable, the unexplained part of the gap considerably decreased and became non-significant. Thus, we did not find evidence of wage discrimination against mothers in the Colombian labor market.     

Does Higher Education Cause Religious Decline?: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Within‐ and Between‐Person Effects of Higher Education on Religiosity

Although there is ample empirical evidence of the associations between higher education and various aspects of religiosity, the causal mechanisms producing these associations remain unclear. I use four waves of longitudinal data, with respondents ranging in age from 13 to 29, to model the within‐ and between‐person effects of higher education on several measures of religiosity. The results show that earning a bachelor's degree is associated with within‐person declines in some but not all measured aspects of religiosity, which partially supports the argument that higher education causes religious decline. The results also suggest that those predisposed to attending religious services self‐select into higher education, that relatively religious youth in general self‐select into nonelite colleges, and that those with low levels of religious belief self‐select into elite universities. These findings further understanding of the associations between social class and religion, particularly the causal effects of higher education.     

Child Well‐Being: What Does It Mean?

The notion of child well‐being appears in a large number of publications nowadays. Our review of the literature underlines both the oddly pathogenic approach to child well‐being and the scarcity of papers discussing a still poorly defined notion. Through this review, we identified the recourse to a binary language; from there, we derived five theoretical axes that heed the multidimensional and multilevel nature of well‐being, although for each one, a pole is here predominantly developed. We argue in favour of an override of a one‐dimensional, single‐level, unipolar approach to child well‐being and an exploration of its otherwise underdeveloped positive, hedonic, subjective, spiritual and collective dimensions.     

Is the Cohabitation–Marriage Gap in Money Pooling Universal?

Numerous studies have shown that cohabitors are less likely to pool their money than married couples. The authors raise the question of whether the marriage–cohabitation gap in money pooling varies according to the level of institutionalization of cohabitation in the society. They compared 2 Canadian regions with very different demographic regimes. The francophone province Québec has the highest proportion of cohabiting couples in the world, whereas the levels of cohabitation are moderate in other Canadian provinces. Moreover, the 2 regions differ in their legal systems (civil code vs. common law) and legal regulation of cohabitation. Using data from the Canadian 2011 General Social Survey (N = 9,852), the authors found that cohabitors in both regions are less likely to pool their money together. Nevertheless, they did not confirm the hypothesis that the marriage–cohabitation gap is smaller in Québec despite the higher levels of institutionalization of cohabitation in this region.     

The Size of the Irregular Migrant Population in the European Union – Counting the Uncountable?

It is difficult to estimate the size of the irregular migrant population in a specific city or country, and even more difficult to arrive at estimates at the European level. A review of past attempts at European-level estimates reveals that they rely on rough and outdated rules-of-thumb. In this paper, we present our own European level estimates for 2002, 2005, and 2008. We aggregate country-specific information, aiming at approximate comparability by consistent use of minimum and maximum estimates and by adjusting for obvious differences in definition and timescale. While the aggregated estimates are not considered highly reliable, they do -- for the first time -- provide transparency. The provision of more systematic medium quality estimates is shown to be the most promising way for improvement. The presented estimate indicates a minimum of 1.9 million and a maximum of 3.8 million irregular foreign residents in the 27 member states of the European Union (2008). Unlike rules-of-thumb, the aggregated EU estimates indicate a decline in the number of irregular foreign residents between 2002 and 2008. This decline has been influenced by the EU enlargement and legalisation programmes.     

Who Do I Look Like? Gaining a Sense of Self‐Authenticity Through the Physical Reflections of Others

The question Who do I look like? rarely arises for individuals raised in a biological family context. In contrast, searching adoptees report an incomplete sense of physical self from not seeing their bodily traits reflected in biological relatives. Meeting birth relatives and matching physical characteristics creates a stronger sense of self‐authenticity. An analysis of these social processes provides a unique opportunity to contribute to the symbolic interactionist understanding of the relationships existing among the physical body, self, and the reflected appraisals of others. An integration of phenomenological theoretical concepts with symbolic interactionist concepts furthers that understanding.     

Peek‐a‐What? Infants’ Response to the Still‐Face Task After Normal and Interrupted Peek‐a‐Boo

Infants’ sensitivity to the vitality or tension envelope within dyadic social exchanges was investigated by examining their responses following normal and interrupted games of peek‐a‐boo embedded in a Still‐Face Task. Infants 5–6 months old engaged in two modified Still‐Face Tasks with their mothers. In one task, the initial interaction ended with a sequence of normal peek‐a‐boos that included tension build‐up, peak, and release. In the other task, the initial interaction was followed by a sequence of peek‐a‐boos that ended with an interrupted peek‐a‐boo in which the build‐up was followed directly by the still face. Infants showed the still‐face effect with their attention and smiling when the still face followed the normal peek‐a‐boo sequence, but only with smiling when the still face followed the sequence with the interrupted peek‐a‐boo. Infants’ social bidding to their mothers in the still‐face phase was greater following the interrupted peek‐a‐boo sequence. When social exchanges are interrupted before the closure of the vitality envelope, infants respond with more attention vigilance and social bidding, demonstrating their awareness of the structure of social exchanges.     

What Determines the Embeddedness of Forced‐Return Migrants? Rethinking the Role of Pre‐ and Post‐Return Assistance1

Return migration is not always a process of simply “going home.” Particularly when return is not fully voluntarily, returnees face severe obstacles. This study argues that such return can only become sustainable when returnees are provided with possibilities to become re‐embedded in terms of economic, social network, and psychosocial dimensions. We analyze the return migration experiences of 178 rejected asylum seekers and migrants who did not obtain residence permit to six different countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sierra Leone, Togo and Vietnam. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis, we identify several key factors that influence prospects for embeddedness, such as individual and family characteristics, position in the migration cycle, and the role of pre‐ and post‐return assistance. We find that the possibilities for successful return are highly dependent on the living circumstances provided in the host country: returnees who were enabled to engage in work, had access to independent housing and freedom to develop social contacts proved to be better able to exercise agency and maintain self‐esteem. Post‐return assistance by non‐governmental organizations will be particularly helpful when financial support is combined with human guidance and practical information to enhance a more sustainable return process.     

Object Permanence in Five‐and‐a‐Half‐Month‐Old Infants?

Event Set × Event Set designs were used to study the rotating screen paradigm introduced by Baillargeon, Spelke, and Wasserman (1985). In Experiment 1, 36 5 1/2‐month‐old infants were habituated to a screen rotating 180° with no block, a screen rotating 120° up to a block, or a screen rotating 180° up to and seemingly through a block. All infants were then tested on the same 3 events and also a screen rotating 120° with no block. The results indicate that infants are using novelty and familiarity preference to determine their looking times. To confirm this, in Experiment 2, 52 5 1/2‐month‐old infants were familiarized on either 3 or 7 trials to a screen rotating 180° with no block or a screen rotating 120° with no block. All infants were then tested on the same test events as in Experiment 1. Infants with fewer familiarization trials were more likely to prefer the familiar rotation event. The results of these 2 experiments indicate that infants did not use the possibility or impossibility of events but instead used familiarity or novelty relations between the habituation events and the test events to determine their looking times, and suggest that the Baillargeon et al. study should not be interpreted as indicating object permanence or solidity knowledge in young infants.     

Acculturation Identity and Higher Education: Is There a Trade‐off Between Ethnic Identity and Education?1

This paper examines the role of identification to home and host cultures on the pursuit of higher educations for individuals with immigrant backgrounds. Identity is defined according to a two‐dimensional acculturation framework based on strength of identification to both ethnic background cultures and the majority culture. Results indicate that integrated men that identify with both the majority and the background culture are associated with higher probabilities of completed tertiary educations than men that identify only with the majority culture as well as men with weak affiliations to both background and majority cultures. These results hold despite controls for early education outcomes and socioeconomic status. No systematic differences in higher educational attainment by identity are found for women once differences in early education are accounted for. These results put into question the premise of oppositional identities, i.e., a trade‐off between ethnic identity and higher educational achievement.     

Theory and the School‐to‐Work Transition: Are the Recommendations Suitable for Cultural Minorities?

The special June 1999 issue of The Career Development Quarterly that dealt with school‐to‐work transitions was an admirable attempt to link theory to practice. However, both the theories used and the practices suggested failed to take into account the special concerns of cultural minorities. Suggestions for improving theory and practice to make them more culturally sensitive are made in this reaction.     

Teaching Note—Closing the Health Gap and Social Work Education: A Grand Challenge

The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare has defined 12 challenges for the social work profession, one of which is Close the Health Gap, addressing health inequities in the United States. The Close the Health Gap challenge is appropriate for the profession from historical, theoretical, ethical, and professional perspectives. Therefore, it is incumbent on social work educators to incorporate content on this challenge into the classroom. This Teaching Note presents a suggested assignment that can be used to incorporate such content into already existing classes, mapping them onto social work competencies.     

Spousal Choice among the Children of Turkish and Moroccan Immigrants in Six European Countries: Transnational Spouse or Co‐ethnic Migrant?

Transnational marriages of migrants in Western Europe tend to be seen as hampering integration. In response, policies have been tightened, despite little knowledge on transnational marriages and the effects of such measures. This paper investigates the role of individual preferences and contextual factors such as family reunification policies, group size and development levels of the regions of origin in partner choice of the children of Turkish and Moroccan immigrants. We draw on a novel dataset collected in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Our findings suggest that transnational marriages are partly associated with contextual factors such as a rural origin and family reunification policies. The analysis indicates higher rates of transnational marriages under open family reunification policies, providing tentative evidence of policy effects. On the individual level, the choice of a partner from the parents' origin country is associated with religiosity.     

Is Land Grabbing Always What It Is Supposed to Be? Large‐scale Land Investments in sub‐Saharan Africa

The term ‘land grabbing’ has recently attracted widespread, and sometimes agitated, attention, and its literature grows at exponential speed. At the same time, the concept remains little understood concerning both its meaning, magnitude and consequences and even who the grabbers are. Different attempts to define land grabbing appear to reflect ideological lenses and pre‐defined positions rather than a genuine ambition to find out what is actually going on. Based on a comprehensive literature review, this article aims at presenting a more nuanced understanding of this disputed topic and therefore a less biased account of what land‐grabbing and/or private investments in land represent.     

Equalities in freefall? Ontological insecurity and the long‐term impact of COVID‐19 in the academy

This intervention focuses on the impact of the global crisis resulting from the COVID‐19 pandemic on existing racialized and gendered inequalities within the academy and in particular our discipline of Politics and International Relations. We argue that responses to recent crises within the academy have exacerbated ontological insecurity among minoritized groups, including women. When coupled with increased caring responsibilities, the current crises call into question who can be creative and innovative, necessary conditions for knowledge production. While university managers seek to reassure university staff of the temporary nature of COVID‐19 interventions, we argue that the possibilities for progressive leaps at a later state of institutional regeneration is unlikely when efforts to address structural inequalities are sidelined and crisis responses are undertaken which run counter to such work.     

Brazil and the Shifting Consensus on Development Co‐operation: Salutary Diversions from the ‘Aid‐effectiveness’ Trail?

Emerging economies emphasise horizontality and mutual opportunity in their relationship with developing countries, promising an alternative to the failings of traditional North‐South co‐operation. This article draws on research on Brazil's technical co‐operation and its health dimension to compare the Brazilian model with established aid‐effectiveness' principles and to discuss the appropriateness of the latter as standards against which to appraise emerging donors' co‐operation. The analysis shows that, despite progress towards greater dialogue between traditional and emerging donors, the ‘aid‐effectiveness’ framework still falls short of capturing the idiosyncrasies of South‐South co‐operation and therefore offers an incomplete international standard on how best to conduct development co‐operation.     

Who cares? A lack of self‐care for women in the non‐profit/non‐governmental sector

In this article I examine the lack of self‐care regimes for women working in the non‐profit/non‐governmental sector. While I draw on ethnographic research conducted in the Malaysian context of women's organizations, the issue of self‐care for activists and feminist activists is a global one that crosses borders and boundaries. I explore the gendered nature of care and care professions to demonstrate how women are predominantly affected in these working environments. To date, there has been little scholarship on self‐care and care in non‐profit/non‐governmental working environments. Using interviews with women working in the sector, I argue that women's emotional, mental and physical health comes at a cost in these hectic workplaces. This article contributes to the literature on gender, work and care in women's organizations by taking seriously women's concerns working in these spaces, where they experience self‐neglect and institutional barriers in care regimes.     

Living with the h‐index? Metric assemblages in the contemporary academy

This paper examines the relationship between metrics, markets and affect in the contemporary UK academy. It argues that the emergence of a particular structure of feeling amongst academics in the last few years has been closely associated with the growth and development of ‘quantified control’. It examines the functioning of a range of metrics: citations; workload models; transparent costing data; research assessments; teaching quality assessments; and commercial university league tables. It argues that these metrics, and others, although still embedded within an audit culture, increasingly function autonomously as a data assemblage able not just to mimic markets but, increasingly, to enact them. It concludes by posing some questions about the possible implications of this for the future of academic practice.