Defining Expertise in Software Development While Doing Gender

The optimism regarding opportunities for women to enter the professionalization process in software development during the past years has not been fully realized and the gender gap in Germany's information technology (IT) sector still persists. Women are almost completely unrepresented in the technical fields of the German software industry, particularly in small enterprises. In this article, I firstly offer an overview of the German IT sector's development and current status. Secondly, I discuss the construction of expertise and gendered meanings in the practice of software development and related implications for the enrolment of women in this field. Gender stereotypical assumptions about expertise in the practice of software development and structural factors related to the lack of life–work balance programmes, as well as the lack of internal training in most IT companies, contribute to organizational segregation     

Responsibilities and roles of boards in nonprofit organizations: The Israeli case

In this study, nine roles and responsibilities of boards of directors in nonprofit organizations in Israel are examined and perceptions of these roles and responsibilities by chairpersons of the boards and the executive directors are compared. Four groupings of board roles were found: senior human resource management, maintenance of relationships with the task environment, policymaking, and fiscal management and fundraising. The findings show that in most organizations boards fulfill all these roles and play a significant role in decision making. A significant consensus exists between chairpersons and executive directors in respect to most of the boards' roles, whereas significant differences in perceptions were found in respect to financial matters and maintenance of relationships with the task environment.     

Career Guidance in Singapore Schools

Career guidance in Singapore schools went through 3 stages of development. The focus in the 1st stage was on information‐giving. A curriculum approach was adopted in the 2nd stage when career education became part and parcel of the school curriculum. The 3rd stage saw the integration of career guidance with information technology and the shift of the role of the career teachers from “expert” to “facilitator.” To meet the challenges of the new millennium, there is a need to train professional career counselors, develop indigenous resource materials, and promote a new concept of career development among students.     

THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY, PREGNANCY RESOLUTION, AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

We apply criminological theories of social control to explore the relationships among adolescent pregnancy, pregnancy resolution, and juvenile delinquency. While most ever-pregnant girls have especially high rates of delinquent behavior, adolescent mothers exhibit delinquency levels no higher than those of their never-pregnant peers. Unlike adolescent females who end their pregnancies through abortion, those who keep their babies experience a dramatic reduction in both smoking and marijuana use. Our results suggest that among adolescent girls, the birth of a child has a strong trajectory-modifying effect. It serves as a mechanisms of social control and substantially reduces the likelihood of delinquent behavior.     

Effects of government policies on the work of home care personnel and their occupational health and safety

The health sector in Québec (Canada) is dealing with profound macro-economic and macro-organizational changes. This article is interested in the impact of these changes on the work of home health aides (HHAs) and home care nurses and their occupational health and safety (OHS). The study was carried out in the home care services (HCS) of four local community service centres (CLSC) with different organizational characteristics. It is based on an analysis by triangulation of 66 individual and group interviews, 22 observed workdays and 35 observed multidisciplinary or professional meetings, as well as on administrative documents. HHAs are experiencing an erosion of their job because the relational and affective aspects of their work are disappearing. This may be due to an increase in their physical workload, leading to an increase in musculoskeletal problems and, to a lesser extent, in psychological health problems. Nurses are seeing an increase in the volume of invisible work that they have to do, which also has the effect of decreasing the relational aspects of their activity. The increasingly numerous psychological health problems are the consequence of this change in their profession. This study also shows that managers' decisions at the local level can reduce or increase the work constraints of HHAs and nurses. Examples of good practices for HHAs are the stabilization of clienteles and the possibility of organizing their itinerary, while for nurses, it is in how clientele follow-up tools are implemented. This article discusses the effects of government policies and decisions on the work and OHS of home care personnel. To address this subject, we use a specific analysis of the workload of home health aides (HHAs) and nurses. We will show the relationships between managers' organizational choices to respond to governmental constraints and the resulting work changes. We will also look at their consequences on occupational health and safety (OHS) and on the work of different personnel.     

Child Well-Being in Same-Sex Parent Families: Review of Research Prepared for American Sociological Association Amicus Brief

Recent legal cases before the Supreme Court of the United States were challenging federal definitions of marriage created by the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s voter approved Proposition 8 which limited marriage to different-sex couples only. Social science literature regarding child well-being was being used within these cases, and the American Sociological Association sought to provide a concise evaluation of the literature through an amicus curiae brief. The authors were tasked in the assistance of this legal brief by reviewing literature regarding the well-being of children raised within same-sex parent families. This article includes our assessment of the literature, focusing on those studies, reviews and books published within the past decade. We conclude that there is a clear consensus in the social science literature indicating that American children living within same-sex parent households fare just, as well as those children residing within different-sex parent households over a wide array of well-being measures: academic performance, cognitive development, social development, psychological health, early sexual activity, and substance abuse. Our assessment of the literature is based on credible and methodologically sound studies that compare well-being outcomes of children residing within same-sex and different-sex parent families. Differences that exist in child well-being are largely due to socioeconomic circumstances and family stability. We discuss challenges and opportunities for new research on the well-being of children in same-sex parent families.     

Increasing access to higher education and employment,Ethiopian immigrants’ in Israel

In modern societies, where higher education serves as a significant vehicle of integration, the inclusion of immigrants within the realm of higher education is not a foregone conclusion. This is the result of cultural, economic, and social gaps. In some cases, the integration process is blocked prior to the stage of academic studies. This situation has resulted in the creation of a teacher education program for Ethiopian students in Israeli academic colleges of education for the purpose of bridging the gap between higher education and employment, and increasing the chances of the graduates’ admission into the field of teaching. The aim of the present study was to examine the success of the program, emphasizing the graduates’ integration into the teaching profession. It was conducted by means of Mixed Methods research. An examination of the data indicates that a substantial number of graduates were integrated into various educational settings. It also reveals the improving status of the graduates as well as the influence of the program on their personal and professional development.     

Quality of Relationships Between Care Recipients and Their Primary Caregivers and Its Effect on Caregivers' Burden and Satisfaction in Israel

Research on the impact of quality of relationships between primary caregivers and their care recipients on burden and satisfaction with caregiving is still rare. The sample included 335 dyads of primary caregivers and care recipients who were cognitively intact. Face-to-face interviews were conducted at the respondents' homes using structured questionnaires. No significant correlation between caregiving burden and caregiving satisfaction was found. Quality of relationship was the most significant variable in explaining both caregiving burden and caregiving satisfaction, yet different sets of additional variables were found to explain each of the outcomes. Interventions should address quality of relationships in order to reduce burden and increase caregiving satisfaction.     

The Impact of Corporate Reputation on Firm Risk: A Panel Data Analysis of Spanish Quoted Firms

Researchers have traditionally addressed the influence of corporate reputation on firm performance, but have not considered the influence of corporate reputation on firm risk. This research develops hypotheses regarding the opposing influence of corporate reputation on a firm's systematic risk, unsystematic risk and total risk, as well as the moderation effect of firm size and industry concentration. Using a panel data method, these relationships are analysed, controlling for the effects of endogeneity, for a sample of Spanish quoted firms in the period 2001–2007. Specifically, two complementary analyses are performed. The first distinguishes firms included and not included in the MERCO index of the most reputable firms. The second analyses the impact of corporate reputation for the sub‐sample of most reputable firms. Being reputable reduces a firm's unsystematic risk and total risk, but increases systematic risk. In addition, firm size weakens these influences of corporate reputation on firm risk. However, among the most reputable firms, differences in reputation score have a lower effect on risk. Specifically, the corporate reputation level only influences firm unsystematic risk. It seems that what matters is not the degree of corporate reputation, but whether being or not being reputable is the question in terms of risk.