What do we know about the timing of fertility transitions in europe?

The Princeton project on the decline of fertility in Europe (the European Fertility Project) suggested that this historical fertility transition occurred virtually simultaneously in a wide variety of economic and social environments. This finding has been cited widely as evidence for an innovation/diffusion view of fertility transitions. We demonstrate that the demographic methods used to date the fertility transition in Europe—primarily I_g, and (to a lesser extent) the Coale-Trussell M&m indices—may fail to detect the initial stages of a fertility transition and therefore cannot be used as the basis for strong statements about the timing of transitions. We review these measurement problems and their implications for the current understanding of the European fertility transition.     

Social Support for Exercise by Experts in Older Women Post–Hip Fracture

ABSTRACT

Using the data of the Baltimore Hip Study 5 (a home-based exercise intervention), this study examined how social support for exercise by experts (SSE-E) affected the self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and exercise behavior among older women following a hip fracture. The total sample included 164 females aged 65 years (M = 81.0; SD = 6.9) who had surgical repair of a nonpathologic hip fracture. Model testing showed a direct relationship between SSE-E and outcome expectations for exercise. There was, however, no direct or indirect relationship between SSE-E and self-efficacy or exercise behavior. The positive effect of SSE-E on the outcome expectations for exercise in older women recovering from a hip fracture provides an opportunity for health care providers in improving physical activity in this population.     

The Formation of Group Affect and Team Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Identification

In the current research we use the social identity perspective to enhance our understanding of group affect (i.e. a collectively shared pattern of affective states among group members). Because higher identification (i.e. the extent to which group members define themselves in terms of their group membership) is related to higher attentiveness to fellow group members, we expected that group identification would foster affective convergence, and that the effects of group affective tone on team effectiveness would be stronger for higher identifying groups. A survey of teams (n=71 teams) confirmed our expectations. A scenario experiment (n=121 participants) added to our findings by showing that identification does indeed lead group members to affectively converge to their fellow group members and that this affective convergence, in turn, explains subsequent team‐oriented attitudes. Our study testifies to the notion that team managers may want to take notice of and manage affect in work groups, because, especially in higher identifying teams, affect may spread among team members and influence the team's effectiveness.     

Childhood events and circumstances influencing high school completion

This paper is an empirical exploration of the effects of a variety of family and economic circumstances experienced during childhood on one indicator of success in young adulthood--high school completion. The estimates suggest that parental education and mother's work are positive and significant determinants of high school completion, whereas growing up in a family with more children (who compete for resources), being persistently poor and on welfare, and moving one's residence as a child have significant negative impacts on high school completion. The effects of some family stress and economic events differ depending on the age of the child when they occur. The results support the economic model of investment in children, as well as the welfare culture and socialization models.     

Mothers and children alone: The stamp of poverty

The contributions from a variety of potential sources of emotional and economic support are evaluated as well as their impact on female-headed households in a university community. A qualitative, in-depth interview investigation of 36 single mothers is summarized; illustrative quotations and marginal tabulations are provided.The single mothers considered in this study report great difficulty in balancing their own needs for a social life with the needs of their children. These low-income mothers are well educated; their life situations can only be described by the word struggle. Same-sex friends offer considerable support, but economic and child care needs stand out strongly as needs that are often unmet. Their dependency on the welfare system is determined to be an interim need. Mothers in this sample were trying to find work, go to school, and parent while maintaining some social life for themselves and for their children. Coping strategies are discussed, as are the strengths of mother-headed families.Barbara Goldfarb is a social worker at Victim Services Agency, New York, New York, and Roger W. Libby is a professor at the Center for the Family, Division of Home Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA. A University of Massachusetts Faculty Research Grant to Roger W. Libby supported this study.     

Analyzing organizational ideology: A workplace assessment exercise

This paper provides an experiential exercise to increase understanding of employees attraction to ideological organizations and its relation to employees perception of loyalty, value congruence, and affective organizational commitment. Three separate conditions influencing employee attraction to organizational ideology are loyalty, value congruence, and affective commitment. These three component dimensions of employee attraction are outlined and used to define an eight-phase model through which individuals tend to pass in their decision to form and join ideological organizations.The analysis supports the notion of a stepwise movement from loyalty to value congruence to perceived commitment in strengthening ideological attraction and demonstrates how progressive phases are associated with perceived quality and connection to ideological organizations. Although the levels and phases are progressively prepotent and attractive in predicting employee propensity to form and join ideological organizations, different patterns and paths through the phases for individuals are indicated.The workplace assessment exercise is a tool that will permit managers and professionals to make first order assessments of quality of work life. This survey will discover which personnel and/or jobs are most strongly bonded to the organization and which are the most likely candidates for intervention and revitalization.