Life at Trastad Gård: on the experiences of the former inmates of a large institution for people with learning difficulties in northern Norway

In Norway, institutionalised care for people with learning disabilities ended in the 1990s. The aim of this article is to discuss the living conditions at Trastad Gård as described by some of its former inmates. The biographical approach was adopted to capture and discuss the experiences of six former inmates at the institution. Four main but interconnected issues evolving from the stories of our informants were discussed. These include their experiences on coming to the institution, feelings of homesickness, loneliness and lessons of everyday life. The findings were primarily discussed with reference to theoretical perspectives of power and power relations.     

Birth and Fortune Revisited: A Cohort Analysis of Underemployment, 1974–2004

The cohort is a key concept in the study of social demography and social change. The enduring influence of cohort membership can arise from history-based and/or size-based effects. The most prominent proponent of size-based cohort effects is Easterlin (Birth and fortune: The impact of numbers on personal welfare, 1980) who argues that individuals hailing from unusually large cohorts will experience adverse labor market conditions relative to the members of the smaller cohorts that bracket them. Drawing on data from the March Current Population Survey for the period spanning 1974–2004, we examine the influence of relative cohort size on underemployment. The results provide modest support for the Easterlin thesis, showing the odds of underemployment to be greatest among members of relatively large cohorts, net of other significant predictors. The results also show that the impact of relative cohort size differs by educational level, suggesting that adverse economic conditions produced by large cohort size can be offset by broader changes in the labor market and other social institutions.

Race,Residence, and Underemployment: Fifty Years in Comparative Perspective, 1968–2017

High underemployment has been a chronic structural feature of the rural United States for decades. In this paper, we assess whether and how inequalities in underemployment between metropolitan (metro) and nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) areas have changed over the course of the last five decades. Drawing on data from the March Current Population Survey from 1968 to 2017, we analyze inequality in the prevalence of underemployment between metro and nonmetro areas of the United States, paying special attention to differences between white, black, and Hispanic workers. Our results show that the underlying risk of underemployment has increased in both metro and nonmetro areas over the last 50 years. Nonmetro workers have consistently faced greater employment hardship compared to their metro counterparts, and these differences cannot be fully explained by differences in population characteristics. Nonmetro ethnoracial minorities have experienced particularly poor labor market outcomes. The disadvantage of ethnoracial minority status and rural residence is especially pronounced for nonmetro black workers, among whom underemployment has remained persistently high with only modest convergence with other workers. Hispanic workers also face an elevated risk of underemployment, but we observe a unique convergence between metro and nonmetro workers within this population.     

Labour market integration of immigrants: estimating local authority effects

We propose a method for computing indicators of the relative success of local authorities at integrating new immigrants in the labour market, taking account of differences in characteristics of immigrants and local labour markets. The indicator for integration success is based on mean duration from date of residence permit to start of an employment spell. We apply this method to a Danish administrative dataset. Correcting for differences in immigrant characteristics and local labour market conditions has an important impact on the estimated ranking of local authorities. We investigate how robust the ranking is with respect to changes in the specification of criteria for integration success and controls.

Psychophysiological stress reactions, trapezius muscle activity, and neck and shoulder pain among female cashiers before and after introduction of job rotation

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the introduction of a job rotation model on supermarket cashiers, with respect to psychophysiological stress reactions, muscle activity of the trapezius muscle (which covers the upper back, the neck and the shoulder), and musculoskeletal symptoms in the neck and shoulders. Thirty-one female cashiers were investigated before and after job rotation was introduced. Before the reorganization the participants were only performing cash register work at the checkout counters. After the reorganization they shifted between cash register work and work in different departments in the supermarket. At follow-up the participants, all right-handed, had a significantly lower diastolic blood pressure, and surface electromyography (EMG) showed a significantly decreased muscle activity in the trapezius muscle on the left side. Musculoskeletal symptoms of the neck and shoulders were only partly changed, and there was no change in prevalence of musculoskeletal pain, which was around 70%. From questionnaires, but not from self-ratings during work, it was found that the introduction of job rotation had been experienced as positive in several regards, although the perceptions of stress and hurry were the same at follow-up.     

Is there support for curvilinear relationships between psychosocial work characteristics and mental well-being? Cross-sectional and long-term data from the Whitehall II study

This study aimed to test whether curvilinearity would add explanatory power to the long-term relationships between job characteristics and mental well-being. The study was based on cross-sectional and longitudinal data from phases 3 and 5 of the Whitehall II sample (N=4154 for job satisfaction and 6000 for context-free mental well-being, mean follow-up 5.8 years). The curvilinear components of the job characteristics were introduced after controlling for the baseline outcome measure, demographic factors, and the linear measures of the job characteristics. The cross-sectional analyses showed only a curvilinear association with the expected U-shape between job demands and context-free mental well-being. The longitudinal analyses showed no curvilinear relationships between the job characteristics and context-free mental well-being. While small non-linear relationships were found between social support and decision latitude and job-related mental well-being, the shape of these relationships was the reverse of that expected. Post hoc analyses revealed that only the positive segment of the relationship between decision latitude and job satisfaction was significant, while both segments of the relationship between social support and job satisfaction were significant. The findings from this study, based on a large sample with high variety in working conditions, provide little support for the assumption of curvilinearity in the long-term relationship between psychosocial working conditions and mental well-being. This has practical implications, as if associations are linear this would indicate that it would be reasonable to take a population (rather than individually targeted) approach to stress management interventions.     

Psychological and physiological stress responses during repetitive work at an assembly line

The association between psychological and physiological stress responses was examined in 20 male workers at an assembly line. Each worker was studied during a 2 h period on two consecutive days in their normal job and, in order to obtain physiological baseline values, during a corresponding paid 2 h period off the job on the third day. Self-reports of work demands, mood, etc., measurements of catecholamine and cortisol excretion and of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were obtained at the end of each of the three 2 h periods. Work induced a significant elevation in almost all psychological and physiological measurements. Levels were consistently lower in workers reporting a 'good' workday compared to those reporting a 'normal' or a 'bad' day. Correlations between self-reports and physiological values showed that catecholamine and cortisol responses, respectively, tended to be associated selectively with different psychological conditions, catecholamine values being associated with feelings of time pressure and pressure by demands, cortisol values with irritation, tenseness and tiredness. The results show that perceived stress at an assembly line is consistently reflected in cardiovascular and neuroendocrine functions of the workers.     

Intergenerational effects on fertility Theory and evidence from Israel

On the assumption that genetic inheritage and experience during adolescence influence the taste for children, the characteristics of a couple's parents may be used to improve on the explanation of fertility which can be obtained from variables that only refer to the couple itself. We find that in Israel fertility depends positively on the mother's siblings and negatively on the grandfathers' wage, but apparently does not depend on the father's siblings. Since fertility also depends positively on the mother's predicted wage, the number of children is positively related to improvements in the economic achievements from one generation to the next.We wish to thank the referees and the managing editor for helpful suggestions.     

Strategies in managing turnaround

This article describes the development of the Scandinavian colour TV industry during the 1970s. It examines strategies of six Scandinavian firms during the rapid expansion phase 1970–1976 and the saturation phase 1976–1978. Most of the Scandinavian firms went into severe crisis in the end of the 1970s and their survival strategies are also presented. The article also discusses the general implications of the case. To understand strategic processes in industrial firms we must know what freedom of action each firm had in its field. Also, the formulation of different strategies must be seen as a result of the internal organizational structure in each firm, in terms of corporate culture, style of leadership, etc. Strategic actions and organizational changes are inseparable parts of the same development process.     

The Impact of Child Behaviour Problems on Maternal Employment: A Longitudinal Cohort Study

This prospective population-based study examined associations between children’s behaviour problems and maternal employment. Information on children’s behaviour problems at 3 years from 22,115 mothers employed before pregnancy and participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study were linked to national register data on employment and relevant social background factors, mothers’ self-reported susceptibility to anxiety/depression and mother-reports of day-care attendance and fathers’ income. Mothers reporting their child to have severe (>2 SD) internalizing or severe combined behaviour problems (5 %) had excess risk of leaving paid employment irrespective of other important characteristics generally associated with maternal employment (RR 1.24–1.31). The attributable risk percent ranged from 30.3 % (internalizing problems) to 32.4 % (combined problems). Externalizing behaviour problems were not uniquely associated with mothers leaving employment.