The impact of parental death on school outcomes: Longitudinal evidence from South Africa

We analyze longitudinal data from a demographic surveillance area (DSA) in KwaZulu-Natal to examine the impact of parental death on children's outcomes. The results show significant differences in the impact of mothers' and fathers' deaths. The loss of a child's mother is a strong predictor of poor schooling outcomes. Maternal orphans are significantly less likely to be enrolled in school and have completed significantly fewer years of schooling, conditional on age, than children whose mothers are alive. Less money is spent on maternal orphans' educations, on average, conditional on enrollment. Moreover, children whose mothers have died appear to be at an educational disadvantage when compared with non-orphaned children with whom they live. We use the timing of mothers' deaths relative to children's educational shortfalls to argue that mothers' deaths have a causal effect on children's educations. The loss of a child's father is a significant correlate of poor household socioeconomic status. However, the death of a father between waves of the survey has no significant effect on subsequent asset ownership. Evidence from the South African 2001 Census suggests that the estimated effects of maternal deaths on children's outcomes in the Africa Centre DSA reflect the reality for orphans throughout South Africa.     

A Survey of the First Five Years' Work of a Child Sexual Abuse Team

This paper describes a survey of the first 5 years' work of a specialist NHS child sexual abuse team (CSAT), which provides a post-disclosure treatment service to young people aged between 13 and 19. Information was obtained on the demographic characteristics of young people referred, the nature of their abuse and its perpetrators, and the type, length and outcome of the treatment provided. The survey was also used to ask four questions. Was the team providing a service to its target population, young people whose sexual abuse had been severe? Did the severity of abuse predict the intensity or length of therapy provided? Were there differences in the service provided to boys as opposed to girls? Finally, did experienced therapists achieve different results when compared with non-experienced therapists? It was found that the service was being used by its target group and that severity of abuse was associated with longer or more intensive therapy. The service did not appear to be adequately meeting the needs of boys. There was some indication that experienced therapists achieved the same treatment outcome as inexperienced therapists in a shorter period of time.     

Job insecurity and trust: Uncovering a mechanism linking job insecurity to well-being

Job insecurity has well-documented negative effects for individuals as well as organisations. However, the mechanisms by which job insecurity relates to its outcomes have received less research attention. The purpose of this study is to investigate trust in the organisation as a potential mechanism that may explain why job insecurity relates to two well-documented outcomes: decreased job satisfaction and lowered mental health. These hypotheses were tested in a Swedish longitudinal sample that consists of employees (longitudinal n?=?906) from three organisations, using structural equation modelling. Overall, the results showed support for our hypotheses. Our findings reveal an indirect effect of trust on job satisfaction, regardless of whether the previous levels of job satisfaction were controlled for. With regard to mental health, the indirect effect was only evident when previous levels of mental health were not controlled for. The results of this study contribute to our understanding about the intervening factors in the relationship between job insecurity and outcomes. Moreover, the results might be important for human resources departments and managers when there are indications that employees are worrying about the future of their jobs.     

The relationship between bankers and farmers: An analysis of Britain and Ireland

The financial sector is playing a more central role in agriculture. This article analyzes the external provision of finance for farmers in Britain and the Irish Republic, drawing principally on interviews with bankers and specialist providers of agricultural finance. The development of farm credit institutions in the two countries and their subsequent commercialization is discussed. Agriculture is commercially attractive to lenders as part of a balanced portfolio because of its stable, low risk character. Credit selectivity is confirmed as a feature of lender behaviour, although its consequences are likely to be more far reaching in Ireland. Lenders' perceptions of the financial sophistication of farmers is assessed, the more financially sophisticated farmer being more receptive to the logic of the financial sector and hence a more attractive customer. An emphasis on tax avoidance can lead farmers into irrational borrowing decisions. Larger farmers are better placed to take advantage of lending opportunities and new financial instruments.     

The Multilevel Nature of Customer Experience Research: An Integrative Review and Research Agenda

Over the last three decades, customer experience (CE) has developed from a burgeoning concept to a widely recognized phenomenon in terms of both research and practice. To account for the complexity of consumption decisions, the CE literature encompasses both the rational information processing approach to consumer decision‐making and the experiential approach, which includes emotions, feelings and sub‐consciousness. The authors classify and examine CE research on two levels. Studies on static CE analyze experiences during touchpoints at one point in time, while studies on dynamic CE assess how experiences evolve over time. Furthermore, both static and dynamic CE research take place from two distinct theoretical perspectives: the organization and the consumer. As both theoretical perspectives essentially deal with the same phenomenon – the organizational perspective with the creation of CEs and the consumer perspective with the perception of customer experiences – there is potential for a productive symbiosis between them. The authors propose that connecting insights from both perspectives can contribute to a better understanding of what constitutes a CE for consumers and how firms can effectively manage it. First, the authors discuss the development of CE and argue that it has evolved into a broad and fragmented ‘umbrella construct’. Second, after distinguishing and defining static and dynamic CE, they systematically evaluate the state of knowledge in both the organizational and consumer perspectives. Finally, they develop an agenda for future research that integrates the consumer perspective into organizational CE research.     

Stereotypical Disease Inferences From Gay/Lesbian Versus Heterosexual Voices

Voice is a cue used to categorize speakers as members of social groups, including sexual orientation. We investigate the consequences of such voice-based categorization, showing that people infer stereotype-congruent disease likelihood on the basis of vocal information and without explicit information about the speaker’s sexual orientation. Study 1 and Study 2 reveal that participants attribute diseases to gay/lesbian and heterosexual men and women in line with stereotypes. Gay speakers were more likely to be associated with gay and female diseases, and lesbian speakers with male diseases. These findings demonstrate that likelihood to suffer from diseases is erroneously, but stereotypically, inferred from targets’ vocal information.     

Pregnant women’s choice of birthing hospital: A qualitative study on individuals’ preferences

Objective

To investigate pregnant women’s decision making in relation to their choice of birthing hospital and, in particular, their priorities regarding hospital characteristics.

Effects of an Integrative Field Seminar for MSW Students

Integrative field seminars can help students with the difficult task of integrating learning between field and class. Are the seminars effective? We compared one cohort of MSW students who were required to attend an integrative field seminar (n = 101) with another cohort that was not offered a seminar (n = 147). We questioned each cohort at the end of the generalist practicum about skills and attitudes we thought the seminar would enhance. Students who attended a seminar reported better critical thinking, more identification with the profession, and more satisfaction with their field education. However, they were similar to students without a seminar on 10 other skills, including evaluations by their field instructors.     

Sensitive topics in social research involving children

While there is broad consensus that involving children in research is critically important for understanding their lives, there is considerable caution around their participation in social research on ‘sensitive’ issues. Such caution is further amplified by a lack of agreement about what constitutes a ‘sensitive topic’. This article draws on data from interviews with a range of Australian stakeholders, including children, parents, researchers, ethics committee members, government and non-government organisation representatives, and other decision-makers, specifically related to the question of ‘what is a sensitive topic?’. While participants identified a range of sensitive topics, findings point to sensitivities being closely linked with the contexts of children’s lives and experiences. This requires researchers to approach research in ways that reflect more nuanced understandings of these sensitivities, help address potential concerns and facilitate the development of research relationships that promote ethical conduct of research with children.     

Building community online and on the trail: communication,coordination, and trust among mountain bikers

The affordances of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) have altered the ways that communities emerge, interact, and organize, creating possibilities for new forms of interaction. Using a case study of the mountain biking community, this paper examines the impact of ICTs on community bonds and boundaries. Based on 60 intensive interviews in North America, survey results from 2363 mountain bikers around the world, and email exchanges with an addition 98 of the survey respondents, the findings suggest several ways that online and in-person communication intersect to blur the distinction between strong and weak ties, make the boundaries of the community more porous, and accelerate the development of trust between members.