Understanding parental leave experiences: connecting the dots with a multiple-methods approach

ABSTRACT

This research note draws selected findings from a multiple-methods study conducted in partnership with a large public-sector employer in Portland, OR to describe the added value of this approach for research translation. We focus on how our study of a newly implemented paid parental leave policy can translate to actionable steps for two important end-users: employers and policymakers. Using administrative records (N?=?579), a countywide employee survey (N?=?137 leave-takers) and focus groups (N?=?35), we describe how each data source contributes important and unique information about how the policy’s implementation affected diverse employees. We find gender differences in how employees changed leave-taking in response to the policy, and describe the critical but nuanced role that supervisors play. Working with employers and policymakers to develop and implement thoughtful policies will help to ensure equitable distribution of the benefits of paid leave policies.     

School Choice in London and Paris – A Comparison of Middle‐class Strategies

Education is one major public service in which quasi‐markets and other choice‐based mechanisms are now established methods of delivery. The types of school people choose, and the extent to which their choices are realized, have a fundamental impact on the outcomes of any mechanism of school choice. In this article, we provide a comparative analysis of the school choice strategies of middle‐class families in London and Paris. We draw on approximately 200 in‐depth interviews carried out across the two cities. This enables us to investigate the extent to which middle‐class school choice strategies transcend the institutional context provided by both the local (state and private) schools market and national education policy in England and France. We discuss these findings in the context of current school choice policy and consider their implications for future policy design.     

Post Tsunami Job Satisfaction Among the Fishers of Na Pru Village, on the Andaman Sea Coast of Thailand

The paper examines job satisfaction among fishers in a tsunami-impacted area on the Andaman coast of Thailand. Following the tsunami, many predicted that fishers would be reluctant to resume their fishing activities. Observations in the fishing communities, however, indicated that as soon as fishers obtained replacements for equipment damaged by the tsunami, they began to fish again. Nevertheless, most fishers reported they would change fishing type, and that if they had the opportunity they would leave fishing altogether. Whether or not these attitudes can be attributed solely to the impacts of the tsunami is not clear at this point, but this supposition is provided some support from data collected from small scale fishers in two towns near Bangkok in the Gulf of Thailand which reflected more positive attitudes towards the occupation. While attitudes towards the occupation are more negative than those reported for many other fisheries, the scores for the job satisfaction categories indicated that the sample means for all job satisfaction categories except Self-Actualisation are above the midpoint on the scales. This, in turn, indicates general satisfaction with the occupation??perhaps the challenge and adventure of the job are perceived as being a little too much following on the heels of the Indian Ocean tsunami that devastated the area. Hence, although fishers say that they would leave the occupation for another, it is unlikely that they will unless the alternate occupation, at the very least, meets the satisfactions provided by fishing.     

Positive Changes in Perceptions and Selections of Healthful Foods by College Students After a Short-Term Point-of-Selection Intervention at a Dining Hall

Abstract

Objective: Determine the effects of a short-term, multi-faceted, point-of-selection intervention on college students’ perceptions and selection of 10 targeted healthful foods in a university dining hall and changes in their self-reported overall eating behaviors. Participants: 104 college students, (age 18–23) completed pre-I and post-I surveys. Methods: Pre-survey collected at dining hall in April 2007, followed by 3-week intervention then post-survey collected via email. Healthy choice indicators, large signs, table tents, flyers and colorful photographs with “benefit-based messages” promoted targeted foods. Response rate to both surveys was 38%. Results: Significantly more participants reported that healthful choices were clearly identified in the dining hall after the intervention. Over 20% of participants reported becoming more aware of healthful food choices in the dining hall after the intervention. Significant increases in self-reported intake were reported for cottage cheese and low-fat salad dressing, with a trend toward increased consumption of fresh fruit. Seven of the 14 assessed eating behaviors had significant changes in the desired direction. Increased awareness of healthful foods was the top reason for self-reported changes in overall eating behaviors. Conclusion: Short-term, multi-faceted, point-of-selection marketing of healthful foods in university dining halls may be beneficial for improving college students’ perceptions and selections of targeted healthful foods in the dining hall and may improve overall eating behaviors of college students.     

The Impact of Public Housing Policy on Family Social Work Theory and Practice

Social workers are the professionals most engaged with families living in low-income and subsidized housing and most familiar with the problems associated with inadequate housing. Yet the discussion of public housing policy has been left largely to economists and housing activists and the clear implications for family social work practice have not been made clear. To connect these critical policy and practice issues, this article provides a theoretical foundation and a review of the research supporting the use of housing vouchers to combat race and class segregation, joblessness, family breakdown, inferior public services, child abuse, mental illness and crime victimization.     

An Exploratory Analysis of Executive Functioning for Female Sexual Offenders: A Comparison of Characteristics Across Offense Typologies

This study examined the association between female sexual offending behavioral patterns, as delineated by Sandler and Freeman's (2007 Sandler, J. C. and Freeman, N. J. 2007. Typology of female sex offenders: A test of Vandiver and Kercher. Sex Abuse, 19: 73–89. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) typologies, and executive functioning. The sample included all referrals for sexual offender assessments within a women's maximum/medium security prison between January 2009 and October 2009. Each subject was administered the Stroop (Golden & Freshwater, 2002 Golden, C. J. and Freshwater, S. M. 2002. The Stroop color and word test: A manual for clinical and experimental uses, Wood Dale, IL: Stoelting Company.  [Google Scholar]) and Trail Making Test (Reitan, 2004 Reitan, R. M. 2004. “Validity of the trail making test as an indicator of organic brain damage”. In Neuropsychological assessment, 4th, Edited by: Lezak, M. D., Howison, D. B. and Loring, D. W. 371–374. New York: Oxford University Press.  [Google Scholar]) and were assigned to a typological category. Nonparametric analyses were conducted to determine if there was an association between typology and performance on neuropsychological tests. Results yielded no significant associations between test scores and typological category. Subjects displayed average capacities for a subset of executive functions, suggesting that the mechanisms for sexually offending behavior in females may differ from males.     

SOUTHERN (DIS)COMFORT: SEXUAL PREJUDICE AND CONTACT WITH GAY MEN AND LESBIANS IN THE SOUTH

Recent surveys have found antigay attitudes and behavior to be commonplace. In this article, we use contact theory to explain these prejudicial attitudes. We contribute to the literature on contact and prejudice by expanding contact to include not only whether the heterosexual knows any gay men or lesbians, but also how many, for how long, and in what ways. To these, we add a new and unique measure of contact: a person's contact with the gay community. The data are from a survey of 956 undergraduate students at a large urban university in the southeastern United States. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses find that contact with gay men and lesbians significantly reduces prejudice toward them; although, only as contact with gay friends or the gay community. Contact has stronger effects on women's prejudice than men's prejudice; however, the attitudes of African Americans toward lesbians and gay men are unaffected by gay contact. The results suggest that contact intervenes between prejudice and sex, race, religiosity, and gender attitudes.     

Decomposing trends in attitudes toward gay marriage, 1988–2006

Objective. The objective of this article is to examine the trend in attitudes toward gay marriage through the analysis of data from the General Social Survey. Methods. Using linear decomposition techniques, I explain the change in attitudes toward gay marriage from 1988 to 2006. Results. Attitudes significantly liberalized over time; 71 percent opposed gay marriage in 1988, but by 2006, this figure dropped to 52 percent. Approximately two-thirds of this change was due to an intracohort change effect, or individuals' modifying their views over time, and one-third was due to a cohort succession effect, or later cohorts replacing earlier ones. This pattern was replicated across many subgroups of the U.S. public, including age, sex, residential, educational, and religious groups. Conclusion. The results suggest that the use of the “equality/tolerance” framing of gay marriage by its supporters and other societal events or “moments” may have convinced some people who used to disapprove of gay marriage in 1988 to approve of it by 2006.