Is Any Job Better than No Job? Life Satisfaction and Re-employment

Using data for West Germany from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we analyse the impact of transitions from unemployment to full-time employment on life satisfaction, with special focus on the influence of job quality. We apply various indicators of job quality (self-reported job satisfaction, wages, type of contract, and indicators of the fit between the worker and job requirements). We control for the influence of income changes and other factors affecting life satisfaction, using a conditional logit estimator. Results suggest that job quality only matters to some extent, and often people in bad jobs are still better off than those who remain unemployed. This effect is statistically significant for most indicators of job quality, except for workers with low job satisfaction and for those whose new job is much worse than their pre-unemployment job.     

Contesting gender stereotypes stimulates generalized fairness in the selection of leaders

Exposure to counter-stereotypic gender role models (e.g., a woman engineer) has been shown to successfully reduce the application of biased gender stereotypes. We tested the hypothesis that such efforts may more generally lessen the application of stereotypic knowledge in other (non-gendered) domains. Specifically, based on the notion that counter-stereotypes can stimulate a lesser reliance on heuristic thinking, we predicted that contesting gender stereotypes would eliminate a more general group prototypicality bias in the selection of leaders. Three studies supported this hypothesis. After exposing participants to a counter-stereotypic gender role model, group prototypicality no longer predicted leadership evaluation and selection. We discuss the implications of these findings for groups and organizations seeking to capitalize on the benefits of an increasingly diverse workforce.     

The limits of inequality: Public support for social policy across rich democracies

Does public opinion react to inequality, and if so, how? The social harms caused by increasing inequality should cause public opinion to ramp up demand for social welfare protections. However, the public may react to inequality differently depending on institutional context. Using ISSP and WID data (1980?2006), we tested these claims. In liberal institutional contexts (mostly English‐speaking), increasing income inequality predicted higher support for state provision of social welfare. In coordinated and universalist contexts (mostly of Europe), increasing inequality predicted less support. Historically higher income concentration predicted less public support, providing an account of the large variation in inequality within the respective liberal and coordinated contexts. The results suggest opinions in liberal societies – especially with higher historical inequality – reached the limits of inequality, reacting negatively; whereas in coordinated/universalist societies – especially with lower historical inequality – opinions moved positively, as if desiring more inequality.     

The social worlds of immigrant youth

This introductory chapter uses a detailed case study to illustrate the interconnection of multiple social influences on one particular youth's path of migration. It further identifies some of the major influences on immigrant youth development, including the stresses of migration, separations and reunifications, changing networks of relations, poverty and segregation, and identity formation.     

Qualität in der Arbeit mit Freiwilligen Ein Management-Erfahrungsbericht

Developing quality in the co-operation with volunteers. A report on a management experience The contribution of volunteers has changed on a structural level in Germany during the last two decades. Treffpunkt Hilfsbereitschaft, the volunteer agency of Berlin, has developed and supported this phase through a new kind of quality policy and by taking over the role of a cultural change agent. As a kick off served the working out of criteria of quality following the perspective of clients to construct the co-operation with volunteers in a new way. Two components followed: focussed counselling for organisations co-operating with volunteers and the leading role in developing qualified networks on the county as well as the national level where volunteer agencies could qualify and gain competent profiles as partners in this process of change. Treffpunkt Hilfsbereitschaft finally offered a further education for volunteer management? and thereby aspires to establish new professional fields within the volunteer sector.     

Helping Dutch Neighborhood Watch Schemes to Survive the Rainy Season: Studying Mutual Perceptions on Citizens’ and Professionals’ Engagement in the Co-Production of Community Safety

Despite the growing research interest in co-production, some important gaps in our knowledge remain. Current literature is mainly concerned with either the citizens or professionals being involved in co-production, leaving unanswered the question how co-producers and professionals perceive each other’s engagement, and how this is reflected in their collaboration. This study aims to answer that question, conducting an exploratory case study on neighborhood watch schemes in a Dutch municipality. Empirical data are collected through group/individual interviews, participant observations, and document analysis. The results show that the perceptions citizens and professionals hold on their co-production partner’s engagement indeed impact on the collaboration. Moreover, for actual collaboration to occur, citizens and professionals not only need to be engaged but also to make this engagement visible to their co-production partner. The article concludes with a discussion of the practical implications of these findings.     

Once an outsider,always an outsider? The accessibility of the Dutch rural housing market among locals and non-locals

One of the most pressing questions in the rural gentrification literature is whether rural residents face difficulties in finding a home within their locality due to the influx of more wealthy newcomers. In this paper, we investigate the extent to which intended local movers and intended non-local movers have realised their rural residential preferences in their preferred municipality. We perform multilevel multinomial logistic regression analysis on data from two housing surveys for the Netherlands that are enriched with register data from the longitudinal Social Statistical Database (SSD). Our results show that, despite of their lower income, intended local movers are more likely to find homes within their preferred rural location than are intended non-local movers. Intended non-local movers move more often to a location other than that initially preferred, with urbanites facing a higher likelihood to move to an urban area. The findings suggest that ties to the residential environment are more important in successfully finding housing in one's preferred rural location than are financial resources.     

A model-based approach to Spotify data analysis: a Beta GLMM

Digital music distribution is increasingly powered by automated mechanisms that continuously capture, sort and analyze large amounts of Web-based data. This paper deals with the management of songs audio features from a statistical point of view. In particular, it explores the data catching mechanisms enabled by Spotify Web API and suggests statistical tools for the analysis of these data. Special attention is devoted to songs popularity and a Beta model, including random effects, is proposed in order to give the first answer to questions like: which are the determinants of popularity? The identification of a model able to describe this relationship, the determination within the set of characteristics of those considered most important in making a song popular is a very interesting topic for those who aim to predict the success of new products.     

INTEREST RATE PROMINENCE IN CONSUMER DECISION‐MAKING

Variations in consumers' responsiveness to interest rates across households and over time have important implications for monetary transmission. Responses from the Michigan Survey of Consumers provide an indication of the degree to which interest rates are a prominent consideration in spending decisions, news recollection, and financial situations. Prominence is strongest in housing attitudes, increases with income, education, and homeownership, and declined in the Great Recession. Rate prominence is associated with stronger responsiveness of consumption attitudes to monetary policy. (JEL D84, D91, E21, E40, E50)