Parental child care during and outside of typical work hours

It has been argued that child care should be treated separately from leisure or housework when analyzing time use data. This is because child care has a positive income gradient, whereas leisure and housework do not. Using U.S. data from PSID-CDS, this paper computes parental child care during and outside of typical work hours (TWH) by income quintile for two-parent families. The TWH distinction is important because the opportunity cost of spending time with children is first and foremost in terms of forgone earnings during TWH; outside of TWH, leisure or housework mainly constitute this opportunity cost. Indeed, I find that child care decreases with income during TWH and, hence, behaves similarly to leisure and other household chores. While maternal child care also slightly decreases with income outside of TWH, paternal care increases with income outside of TWH. Also, the discrepancy between paternal and maternal child care is smaller outside of TWH than it is during TWH. This is particularly pronounced in high income families. Theoretical implications are derived in a static framework of time allocation and child quality production encompassing the recent literature on the topic. Variation in child care during TWH can be rationalized by assuming a high elasticity of substitution between leisure, consumption and child quality. This is the standard explanation for the patterns observed in leisure and housework. Within this widely used framework, however, the facts outside of TWH point to systematic differences by income in preferences or productivity. Further exploration of child care patterns during and outside of TWH is needed to inform us about the dimensions in which this widely used framework should be extended.     

Global human mobility and knowledge transfer: Highly skilled return migrants as agents of transnational learning

Global human mobility constitutes a key mechanism for knowledge transfer. This study examines the micro-dynamics of knowledge transfer in the developed-developing country migratory context. It highlights the agentic role of return migrants in transforming overseas learning into relevant knowledge in their home contexts. Drawing on situated and relational theories of knowledge and learning, the study views knowledge transfer as a relevance discovery process. It looks at a group of highly skilled migrants who had returned from developed countries to Ethiopia. Despite their high skill, the focus of knowledge transfer was mostly in non-technical fields that include a broad range of organizational knowledge and work practices. These were made relevant to the local context through the returnees’ ‘work of reconciliation’, involving ‘engagement’, ‘alignment’ and ‘imagination’. The study challenges the standard assumption of a one-way linear flow of knowledge from developed to developing countries. It sheds new light on the migration-development link by highlighting the ‘aspirational’ aspect of migrant transnational learning.     

Continuity and changes in attitudes toward marriage in contemporary Taiwan

Journal of Population Research - Research on marriage values bears crucial policy implications in a low-fertility context where obstacles to marriage are indicative of fertility barriers,...     

The Nucleolus Strikes Back*

In a recent paper in Decision Sciences, Barton proposes the MTPD method for finding a unique solution for the nucleolus. We argue that the basis for the MTPD method is flawed because the nucleolus is always unique. Furthermore, the MTPD method is inconsistent and does not exhibit the properties desirable in a cost allocation method.     

Thailand’s urban population reconsidered

In lieu of any official definition of “urban population” in Thailand, researchers and policy makers have generally used a simple urban-rural dichotomy, relying upon the administratively designated municipal areas as urban and the remainder of the kingdom as rural. For administrative purposes, however, a more refined set of residence categories is available: the “urban” segment is subdivided into three categories of municipal areas; within the “rural” group, units of population concentration classified as sanitary districts are distinguished from the remainder of the rural population. Data from a 1970 census sample tape have been used to analyze a number of socioeconomic characteristics, as well as migration and fertility, for each of these five residence categories separately in an attempt to determine if the formerly used rural-urban dichotomy is valid. For each of the characteristics and for migration and fertility, a clear urban-rural continuum emerges, with the sanitary districts generally resembling the smaller urban places more than they do the rural areas under which they are usually subsumed. The evaluation thus suggests the importance to research and policy either of using an urban-rural continuum or of grouping sanitary districts with municipal areas when a dichotomy must be used. Doing so should facilitate evaluation of the interrelations between urbanization and demographic and development factors.     

Violence towards caregivers of persons with developmental disabilities

OBJECTIVE: Violent and disruptive acts committed by persons with developmental disabilities are a potential work environment problem for caregivers. This study developed and tested an instrument for describing and analyzing violence among persons with developmental disabilities. METHODS: Personnel from four units of one facility recorded daily on a simple form all violent and disruptive acts occurring in a limited range of situations. RESULTS: Acts of violence were associated with a small minority of individuals, but grossly underreported and unrecognized in formal reporting systems. None of the nearly 3000 incidents recorded during the six-week study required sick leave. Violent and disruptive acts occurred most often when an individual was requested to do something he or she did not want to do, when the individual was denied the opportunity to do something they did want to do and when waiting or under-stimulated. Personnel used the data in discussing countermeasures that could be integrated with the care and treatment of the individual. CONCLUSION: Hitting, kicking, pinching etc. of personnel are a work environment problem due to their high frequency and effects upon employee morale. The instrument and procedures can be used to reduce incidents of violence, which would improve the working environment of employees and assist persons with developmental disabilities as they move from institutional environments.     

变化和挑战:多元文化与澳大利亚政体

澳大利亚是一个多元文化的国家吗?作者认为,在某种程度上澳大利亚是一个"既多元文化又欠多元文化"的国家。文章从人口统计、移民模式、语言、定居点模式和政策领域五个方面切入,分析了为什么我们不应该认为澳大利亚是一个多元文化的国家;然后用五个理由阐释了为什么我们仍然应该视澳大利亚为一个多元文化的国家。在谈及多元文化的五个关键要素中,着重探讨了澳大利亚政体对多元文化的影响。最后,作者希冀能保持和捍卫澳大利亚现今的日常多元文化。     

The F Word: College Students' Definitions of a Feminist

Research indicates that most people espouse feminist ideologies, yet very few self-identify as feminists. This article examines the discrepancy between agreement with feminist principles and lack of identification with feminism by analyzing 270 female and male college students' definitions of feminists. We explored similarities and differences in definitions provided by self-identified feminists and nonfeminists. The results indicate that feminists and nonfeminists are equally likely to define a feminist as one who actively promotes gender equality in society and, less commonly, rejects traditional gender roles and burns bras. Feminists were more likely to define a feminist as one who supports gender equality, is female, and has positive personal characteristics. Nonfeminists were more likely to define a feminist as one who supports female superiority, dislikes men, discriminates based on gender, has negative personal characteristics, and is lesbian or butch. These results are discussed in the broader contexts of feminist identity and movement mobilization.