Cultural Representation of Disabled People: Dustbins for Disavowal?

Impairment and imagery are neglected within the social model approaches to disability. This is connected to a neglect of representation. Comparing the experience of disabled people to that of women, I explore the prejudice underlying cultural representation, using a variety of theoretical models. I conclude by suggesting an explanation for popular prejudice against disabled people.     

Evolutionary theory in sociology: An examination of current thinking

After long neglect, evolutionary thinking is receiving new emphasis in the social sciences. Although evolutionary theories in biology are complex, changing, and often controversial, the basic concepts of variation, selection, and transmission potentially have powerful applications in sociology. In such uses, a crucial distinction must be made between developmental processes and evolutionary processes. Two main approaches characterize current evolutionary thinking in sociology: sociobiological explanations, and coevolutionary accounts of the interaction of genes and culture. Evolution through natural selection can occur with genes, cultural elements, and any other self-replicating codes. Although social learning is the cultural analogue of genetic transmission, cultural evolution does not necessarily maximize genetic fitness. Newly emerging sociological theories of evolution hold promise of integrating micro- and macroprocesses, providing explanations of complexity and diversity in social change, reconciling ideas of agency and structure, and linking sociology to biology without misleading reductionism.     

Krisen in Familienunternehmen und Unternehmensfamilien Über parallele, interdependente Dynamiken in Familie und Unternehmen

How can the situation of a crisis in the two systems of family and business of a family business be understood and conceptualized? What does a business crisis mean for the members of the business family, especially for those who work there? What kind of mutual influences and irritations do these different, but closely linked social systems of a family business exert on each other? The article explores the field of crises in family business and business families and tries to answer these questions.After a first overview of some accepted concepts a general understanding of the term crisis for family and business in family businesses is developed. Based on the first results of a current research project conducted by the authors, the mutual influences of a business crisis and a family crisis on either family or business are looked at; especially the performance and role(s) of the business family in the crisis of their enterprise are analysed. Finally a model is developed, which serves to describe the parallel and interdependent dynamics of the crises in family and business of a family business.     

The Social Policy Response to COVID-19 – The Failure to Help Vulnerable Children and Elderly People

Public Organization Review - Norway’s handling of COVID-19 has been seen as a success. Vulnerable groups among young and elderly people, have however, not been part of this success. Their...     

Women’s Wages and Fertility Revisited Evidence from Norway

The prediction of New Home Economics of a negative effect of female wages on fertility has been tested in a number of studies, but the results are far from unanimous. This article contributes with new evidence based on registry data covering all Norwegian women born in 1955–1974 and a simultaneous hazard model of transitions to first, second and third birth. We find a U-shaped relationship between wages and the log hazard for all cohorts, however, varying in strength and across parity. In transitions to first birth, most women are likely to be on the downward slope of the curve, implying that the wage effect is mainly negative. In transitions to second and third birth, most women are likely to be on the upward slope of the curve, where the wage effect is positive. The results are not very sensitive to the omission of education and income of the spouse.     

Reliability and validity of responses to submaximal all-extremity semirecumbent exercise in older adults

Although popular in clinical settings, little is known about the utility of all-extremity semirecumbent exercise machines for research. Twenty-one community-dwelling older adults performed two exercise trials (three 4-min stages at increasing workloads) to evaluate the reliability and validity of exercise responses to submaximal all-extremity semirecumbent exercise (BioStep). Exercise responses were measured directly (Cosmed K4b2) and indirectly through software on the BioStep. Test-retest reliability (ICC2,1) was moderate to high across all three stages for directly measured METs (.92, .87, and .88) and HR (.91, .83, and .86). Concurrent criterion validity between the K4b2 and BioStep MET values was moderate to very good across the three stages on both Day 1 (r = .86, .71, and .83) and Day 2 (r = .73, .87, and .72). All-extremity semirecumbent submaximal exercise elicited reliable and valid responses in our sample of older adults and thus can be considered a viable exercise mode.     

Reasons for substance use continuation and discontinuation during pregnancy: A qualitative study

Background

Substance use during pregnancy is a major public health concern, stemming from potential physical and psychosocial harms to both the mother and child.

Will the COVID-19 pandemic affect population ageing in Australia?

Journal of Population Research - The COVID-19 pandemic has caused extensive disruption to economies and societies across the world. In terms of demographic processes, mortality has risen in many...