Maternal Re-Partnering and New-Partner Fertility: Associations with Nonresident Father Investments in Children

Research suggests that paternal re-partnering and new-partner fertility are associated with decreased nonresident father investments in children. Few studies, however, have examined the influence of maternal re-partnering and new-partner births on nonresident father investments. We use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine associations of maternal re-partnering (through cohabitation or marriage with a new partner) and new-partner births with nonresident father visitation and child support payments. Results suggest that maternal re-partnering is associated with a decrease in both yearly father-child contact and child support received by the mother. New-partner fertility for mothers who are co-residing with a partner is associated with an additional decrease in monthly father-child contact, but does not have an additional influence on yearly father-child contact or child support receipt.     

Quota trouble: Talking about gender quotas in finnish local politics

This article analyses the discourse concerning gender quotas and their implementation in Finnish local politics. Among our local actor interviewees, we found four different groups: feminist-oriented, non-feminist, accepting and disapproving. Despite the successful implementation of the quotas, our analysis reveals hidden conflicts and resistance. Respondents often resorted to memory lapses, strategies of distancing or assumptions about the interim character of quotas in an ‘almost gender equal Finland’ when discussing the implementation process. The predominance of these strategies is explained by contextual factors, including the strong cultural support for gender equality and legalism in Finland. We suggest that they can be interpreted as psychologized forms of resistance to a hegemonic discourse which does not really allow for anyone to be ‘against gender equality’ or wilfully negligent of the law.     

The mental health status of Latino children in the public child welfare system: a look at the role of generation and origin

As the number of Latino children in public child welfare continues to grow, it is necessary to understand how their mental health is faring. The paper examines emotional and behavioural needs among Latino children who had contact with the public child welfare system. The purpose of this longitudinal study was twofold: to examine the severity of emotional and behavioural problems, and to assess the predictive role of generation status and Latino origin. Latent growth models were completed using the National Survey on Children and Adolescent Well‐Being. The predictive model for the externalizing CBCL scale revealed that generation status and Latino origin were significant predictors. At baseline, Puerto Rican children exhibited higher rates of externalizing problems compared with Mexican children. Over time children who were first/second generation tended to have lower scores compared with the third‐plus generation children. Implications for practise are discussed.     

Policy Implications for Addressing Roma Precarious Migration Through Employment at Home

Roma migration from Romania is often precarious and takes place in circumstances that increase pre‐existent levels of vulnerability. For many, migration is a last resort solution for navigating an insecure economic environment. For others, it has become a source of profit they draw upon, sometimes at the expense of the most vulnerable members of Roma communities. The major challenge this article addresses is how to create the enabling circumstances at home in order to provide alternatives to precarious migration for Roma. Informed by interviews with Roma migrants and with local authorities, this article examines the policy options at local level, addressing Roma precarious migration. It examines the limitations of the current employment policies in relation to Roma in order to identify what seem to work, what sounds promising and what does not work. It advises that job fairs and counselling campaigns are likely to fail, as they do not tackle the structural constraints keeping Roma outside the labour market. Unless linked with realistic employment opportunities, training courses also remain precarious strategies for labour market integration. The article also argues that individualized interventions (including repatriation schemes) are likely to increase community divides. The article supports structural, community‐level measures for tackling unemployment and argues that future policies need to have Roma communities as the ‘unit of intervention’, because the social preconditions for migration are likely to be generated at this level. This policy proposal is grounded in the research finding that an apparently consistent group of Roma migrants, prone to deceitful recruitment and precarious migration, would endorse reasonable and stable economic solutions at home. Yet accepting that circular migration may be inevitable for a number of Roma is an important ingredient when designing policy interventions.     

Estimation of the Likelihood of Fecal–Oral HEV Transmission Among Pigs

Sources for human hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections of genotype 3 are largely unknown. Pigs are potential animal reservoirs for HEV. Intervention at pig farms may be desired when pigs are confirmed as a source for human infections, requiring knowledge about transmission routes. These routes are currently understudied. The current study aims to quantify the likelihood of pig feces in causing new HEV infections in pigs due to oral ingestion. We estimated the daily infection risk for pigs by modeling the fate of HEV in the fecal–oral (F–O) pathway. Using parameter values deemed most plausible by the authors based on current knowledge the daily risk of infection was 0.85 (95% interval: 0.03–1). The associated expected number of new infections per day was ～4 (2.5% limit 0.1, the 97% limit tending to infinity) compared to 0.7 observed in a transmission experiment with pigs, and the likelihood of feces causing the transmission approached 1. In alternative scenarios, F–O transmission of HEV was also very likely to cause new infections. By reducing the total value of all explanatory variables by 2 orders of magnitude, the expected numbers of newly infected pigs approached the observed number. The likelihood of F–O transmission decreased by decreasing parameter values, allowing for at most 94% of infections being caused by additional transmission routes. Nevertheless, in all scenarios F–O transmission was estimated to contribute to HEV transmission. Thus, despite the difficulty in infecting pigs with HEV via oral inoculation, the F–O route is likely to cause HEV transmission among pigs.     

A dwindling middle class? Italian evidence in the 2000s

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to household impoverishment in Italy. Most of previous analyses dealing with this issue are based on summary statistics, which may not capture the whole income distribution. This paper employs a non-parametric tool, the “relative distribution”, to describe patterns of changes in the entire Italian household income distribution over the period 2000–2004. This approach also allows for a decomposition of the relative density to isolate changes due to differences in location from changes due to differences in shape, thus enabling deeper analysis of income polarization. During the 2000s there was a significant location effect, and also increased income polarization, which has particularly affected incomes below the median. Analyses by social groups, according to the employment status of the household head, show significant re-distribution effects within groups.