The frustrated generation youth exclusion in Arab Mediterranean societies

In Arab Mediterranean countries (AMCs), insecurities and a lack of opportunities have continuously kept young people from becoming independent and being full, active, and integrated members of society; a process commonly referred to as social exclusion. This paper explores the driving factors of youth exclusion in Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, and Tunisia. It is argued that not only the extent but also the structure of social exclusion varies across countries. Based on the social exclusion framework developed by the UNDP [2011. Beyond Transition – Towards Inclusive Societies. Bratislava: United Nations Development Programme], we construct a social exclusion index that takes economic, social, and political factors into account. The results obtained indicate that the share of young people suffering from social exclusion is highest in Tunisia (46.7%), followed by Algeria (43.4%), Egypt (42.1%), and Lebanon (33.2%). In contrast to the prevailing assumptions on social exclusion, we find that economic exclusion does in fact play a minor role. The strongest driver of youth exclusion in all Arab Mediterranean countries is the exclusion from social and political life.     

Progress and Pitfalls in Popularising Trade

Book reviewed in this article: A Raw Deal: Trade and the World's Poor. By Peter Madden Trade and the Poor: The Impact of International Trade on Developing Countries. By John Madeley Fixing the Rules: North—South Issues in International Trade and the GATT Uruguay Round. By Kevin Watkins Taming Commodity Markets: The Integrated Programme and the Common Fund in UNCTAD. By Gamani Corea Commodities in Crisis: The Commodity Crisis of the 1980s and the Political Economy of International Commodity Policies. By Alfred Maizels     

When does part-time work relate to less work-life conflict for parents? Moderating influences of workplace support and gender in the Netherlands,Sweden and the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

Working part-time can potentially be a great means of reducing work-life conflict for parents of young children. However, research has not univocally found this attenuating relation, suggesting it may not be universal, but rather contingent on other factors. This study investigates whether the relation between part-time work and work-life conflict is contingent on workplace support and gender. Results show that short part-time work (<25?h) relates to lower levels of work-life conflict for both women and men. We find some evidence that workplace support affects this relation: short part-time working women in an organization with a family supportive organizational culture had lower levels of work-life conflict than short part-time working women in organizations with an unsupportive organizational culture. For men working short part-time we find tendencies in the same direction, although this falls short of conventional statistical significance. In addition, long part-time work (25–35?h) is not significantly related to (lower) work-life conflict for either women or men. In line with previous research, managerial support is found to be linked to lower levels of work-life conflict, irrespective of whether one works full-time or part-time. Notably, the relation between working part-time and work-life conflict does not differ for mothers and fathers, suggesting that this work-family policy could help both men and women reduce work-life conflict.     

Developing intercultural understanding and skills: models and approaches

Researchers from a range of disciplines have been theorising and empirically examining intercultural competence and intercultural education for decades. This review article synthesises the research literature about these concepts around three questions: What is intercultural competence? How can it be developed? And how can it be measured? Our aim is to provide an overview of current theories and empirical findings, as well as to show gaps in the literature.     

Diversity,Disruption, Continuity: Parenting and Social and Emotional Wellbeing Amongst Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islanders

This paper reviews the diversity in parenting values and practices amongst Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. First, issues arising from the historical traumatic disruption of families' attachments are discussed. Then the contribution Indigenous parenting makes to the development of healthy and vulnerable individuals becomes the central focus. Family therapists can draw from a broad understanding of the diversity of parenting values and practices in the context of a strength‐based approach.     

The science of attracting foster carers

Across the world the number of children needing a foster home is increasing; however, the number of individuals willing to foster a child is decreasing. It is therefore critical to gain insight into the barriers preventing people from fostering a child. Using data from a 2009 survey of 756 Australians, combinations of barriers are investigated by conducting a posteriori segmentation analysis within the market of potential foster carers. Four segments are identified and profiled to determined significant differences in terms of psychological and socio‐demographic characteristics. Findings, including the fact that almost one‐third of respondents indicated that they had not considered foster caring before because no one had ever asked them to, have practical implications. Improved marketing strategies tailored to the characteristics of each segment are required to harvest the full potential of individuals willing to foster a child and thus contribute to solving one of the most difficult social challenges facing developed nations.     

The Role of International Municipal Cooperation in Housing the Developing World's Urban Poor: The Toronto-São Paulo Example

Increasingly, local governments in developing countries are entering into partnership arrangements with their counterparts in the developed world as part of an attempt to come to grips with problems associated with rapid urban expansion. As part of a preliminary investigation of the development-related impact of this little studied form of international municipal cooperation (IMC), this paper assesses the effectiveness of one particularly ambitious information and technology sharing arrangement struck by the cities of São Paulo, Brazil and Toronto, Canada. Specifically, the study focuses on an initiative -- referred to as the Integrated Operations (OI-Operações Interligadas) -- developed by the two cities to assist São Paulo in its efforts to facilitate public housing. Based upon the evidence -- collected over a four-year period (1993-1997) in both settings -- the paper suggests that IMC ventures of the type described can help deal with problems such as housing, and thus may well provide a new and cost effective mechanism for improving conditions generally in the world's less affluent urban agglomerations.     

A multi-population evaluation of the Poisson common factor model for projecting mortality jointly for both sexes

Mortality forecasts are critically important inputs to the consideration of a range of demographically-related policy challenges facing governments in more developed countries. While methods for jointly forecasting mortality for sub-populations offer the advantage of avoiding undesirable divergence in the forecasts of related populations, little is known about whether they improve forecast accuracy. Using mortality data from ten populations, we evaluate the data fitting and forecast performance of the Poisson common factor model (PCFM) for projecting both sexes’ mortality jointly against the Poisson Lee–Carter model applied separately to each sex. We find that overall the PCFM generates the more desirable results. Firstly, the PCFM ensures that the projected male-to-female ratio of death rates at each age converges to a constant in the long run. Secondly, using out-of-sample analysis, we find that the PCFM provides more accurate projection of the sex ratios of death rates, with the advantage being greater for longer-term forecasts. Thus the PCFM offers a viable and sensible means for coherently forecasting the mortality of both sexes. There are also significant financial implications in allowing for the co-movement of mortality of females and males properly.