Legal Protections and Advocacy for Contingent or “Casual” Workers in the United States: A Case Study in Day Labor

Contingent, non-standard or “casual” work is present in large numbers in virtually every sector of the United States economy. Staffing strategies that use subcontracted or contingent work – strategies that once characterized only some low-wage workers such as garment and agriculture – have now spread to virtually every area of industry, including high tech and finance. United States law is a patchwork of provisions in separate federal statutes – and sometimes in each of the 50 states – governing whether a particular individual is an “employee.” Day laborers in the United States have particular challenging enforcing their limited rights. To address the issues of vulnerable low-wage workers being locked out of labor protections, activists have developed a number of strategies, including litigation and legislative campaigns. These strategies have more recently been broadened to facilitate developing leadership in a new social movement. In this article I draw a portrait of the day labor workforce from city- and state-based surveys of day laborers themselves. I then discuss strategies employed by day laborers to advance their workplace rights.

Achievement and Behavior Among Children of Welfare Recipients, Welfare Leavers, and Low-Income Single Mothers

This article examines the behavior and achievement of children infemale-headed families that were on welfare, that left welfare, and that were not on welfare in the3 years preceding the study. Data come from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement, a nationally representative sample of children under age 13 collected in 1997. The results suggest that there are both positive and negative outcomes of welfare transitions. Based upon our results, children whose mothers are able to leave and remain off welfare score consistently better on cognitive tests of their development. The transition period, however, is a difficult one. Children's emotional well-being may suffer during the parental transition from cash assistance to self-sufficiency.     

The Relationship of Four Types of ‘Broken Home’ to Some Neglected Parameters of Juvenile Delinquency

Using a sample of 1,130 male juvenile offenders, the relationship of four types of ‘broken home’ to the age at onset of delinquency, recidivism, rate of offences, and types of offence was investigated. The number of recidivists was found to be significantly greater among offenders who were living only with fathers than among offenders living with both parents. A trend in this direction was also found among offenders living only with mothers. Offenders living apart from parents were found to be older at the time of their first offence than were offenders living with both parents. The findings were discussed critically, and it was concluded that they support the hypothesis that the ‘broken home’ is not per se a causal factor in juvenile delinquency.     

An empirically derived typology of mentally ill group home residents.

The classification of clients in terms of psychiatric diagnosis or level of functioning is a logical prerequisite to the conduct of quality of care assessments in mental health care. This article reports on efforts to create a typology of mentally ill group home residents based on a variety of measures of functioning. Subjects for the study come from a probability sample of 253 group home residents in Michigan. A three group typology, derived through cluster analytic procedures, is presented along with-evidence supporting its validity. Implications of the typology for program evaluators and service system planners are briefly addressed.     

Commentary: Relativism and justifying conclusions in naturalistic evaluations

This commentary is structured around two different definitions for the concept of relativism. The contention is that a great deal depends on the particular interpretation one gives to this concept — not only for understanding the particular positions elaborated in these papers, but also for a general understanding of the issue of justifying conclusions in evaluations.     

A SIMULATION OF THE EFFECTS OF ALTERNATIVE RULE SYSTEMS FOR JAI ALAI*

The inequities of the present system of rules in jai alai are documented on the basis of empirical information and theoretical results from a Monte Carlo simulation model. Some suggestions are made for changing the rules in order to make the game more equitable for both players and bettors. The simulation model is used to compare the effectiveness of the suggested rules with that of the present rules.     

Models and algorithms for the design of survivable multicommodity flow networks with general failure scenarios

We consider the design of a multicommodity flow network, in which point-to-point demands are routed across the network subject to link capacity restrictions. Such a design must build enough capacity and diverse routing paths through the network to ensure that feasible multicommodity flows continue to exist, even when components of the network fail. In this paper, we examine several methodologies to optimally design a minimum-cost survivable network that continues to support a multicommodity flow under any of a given set of failure scenarios, where each failure scenario consists of the simultaneous failure of multiple arcs. We begin by providing a single extensive form mixed-integer programming formulation for this problem, along with a Benders decomposition algorithm as an alternative to the extensive form approach. We next investigate strategies to improve the performance of the algorithm by augmenting the master problem with several valid inequalities such as cover constraints, connectivity constraints, and path constraints. For the smallest instances (eight nodes, 10 origin–destination pairs, and 10 failure scenarios), the Benders implementation consumes only 10% of the time required by the mixed-integer programming formulation, and our best augmentation strategy reduces the solution time by another 50%. For medium- and large-sized instances, the extensive form problem fails to terminate within 2 h on any instance, while our decomposition algorithms provide optimal solutions on all but two problem instances.     

Caught in a “Bad Romance”? Reconsidering the Negative Association Between Sociosexuality and Relationship Functioning

Sociosexuality refers to individual differences in interest and willingness to engage in sexual activity without an emotional connection. Unrestricted sociosexuality is associated with a greater likelihood of infidelity and with poorer relationship quality. However, previous research has failed to examine relationship-specific characteristics that may moderate these findings. Two studies of romantically involved adults examined whether relationship commitment and different relationship agreement types moderate the associations between unrestricted sociosexuality and infidelity. Study 1 (N = 300) showed that individuals in consensual monogamous (CM) relationships with extradyadic sex (EDS) experiences were more sociosexually unrestricted than individuals without such experiences. The positive association between unrestricted sociosexuality and EDS emerged only for less, but not more, committed individuals. Study 2 (N = 270) replicated these results. Furthermore, results showed that individuals in consensual nonmonogamous relationships (CNM) relationships were the most sociosexually unrestricted, but no differences emerged in relationship commitment or satisfaction, when compared to individuals in CM relationships without prior EDS. Individuals in CM relationship with prior EDS were the least committed and satisfied. The negative association between unrestricted sociosexuality and both relationship quality indicators emerged for all individuals in CM relationships, but it was nonsignificant for individuals in CNM relationships. Implications are discussed.     

Interrogating Whiteness Within Criminology

This paper merges critical White studies with the sociological field of criminology as a means to progress understanding of criminal behavior, justice, and social control. Up to this point, criminology has largely neglected the significance of whiteness within its boundaries of study. Thankfully, a strong foundation of research and theoretical statements has been completed in the interdisciplinary field of critical White studies. The formation of criminal law can be more clearly understood through the inclusion of frameworks offered by critical White studies. Additionally, nuanced explanations of criminal behavior and hate crime among Whites can be attained through this perspective.