The role and relevance of domain knowledge, perceptions of planning importance, and risk tolerance in predicting savings intentions

The need for individuals to increase retirement savings has been widely promoted, yet our understanding of the motivations of individuals to save at a higher rate remains sparse. This paper reports the findings of a survey of 2300 retirement savings fund members and their motivations to contribute more to savings and to actively manage their investment strategy. Utilising the theory of planned behavior, the study reveals respondent’s self-reported attitudes, subjective norms and perceptions of behavioral control account for a high proportion of the variance in behavioral intention. Contrary to expectations, the study finds that respondent’s risk tolerance adds little to the prediction of behavioral intention. By contrast, perceptions of planning importance and self-assessed planning preparedness (domain knowledge) are found to exert powerful indirect influences on behavioral intentions via the perceived behavioral control construct. This novel finding confirms the relevance of planning constructs and financial literacy to an understanding of retirement savings behavior, and establishes a need to improve levels of financial literacy in society.     

Population size,military power,and Antinatal policy

A causal model. relating population size, economic development, military power and antinatal population policy is tested using data from 83 developing nations. The statistical findings are interpreted as supporting two hypotheses: (1) population size is a major determinant of military power; and (2) military power is a minor determinant of anti-natal population policy.     

Community Care: Relationships and Control

Analysis of the relationships available to people with learning difficulties has received much attention in recent literature and has also become the focus of work undertaken by service personnel. This paper presents an analysis of networks of people with a learning difficulty in Wales and illustrates the paucity of close relationships in people's lives. It is argued that community care involves the removal of custodial forms of social control and their replacement by mechanisms which place greater emphasis on relationships as a form of imposing sanctions on individuals. In an attempt to assist the move to improve networks the authors argue the need to develop a theoretical understanding of the social processes by which individuals are excluded and as a result inform the means by which individuals may be included.     

Understanding localism

These two special issues of Policy Studies investigate various aspects of localism and draw insights from a broad range of different academic disciplines; which illustrates how ubiquitous the issue has become, both in the academy and in political discourse, particularly in the UK and increasingly in Australia. In this introduction, we begin by outlining three different types of localism – managerial, representative and community – which have underpinned both debates in the area and policy developments, before outlining our definition of the term. Subsequently, we introduce the theoretical and empirical contributions that this issue makes to understanding localism in Westminster-style democracies.     

Decentralization & Local Government

Criticism of the achievements of the Welfare State have led to more emphasis on the role of local government in providing new styles of welfare services. This has presented a challenge to Labour party authorities in Britain and can be seen as an aspect of conflict with Conservative party central government. The article analyses the effect of placing more emphasis on local service delivery to which much publicity has been given. Voluntary agencies have also been given an increased role, for a variety of motives. This raises questions about local democracy, answerability, and user-control, which go beyond mere party polemics and involves fresh discussion of the future role of local government.     

FROM STRATEGIZING TO NONINTERVENTION: TOWARD IRREVERENCE IN SYSTEMIC PRACTICE*

Within the field of marriage and family therapy, a debate has emerged regarding issues of control and noninstrumentality Concerned with the limitations inherent in the idea of power, many therpists/theoreticians have suggested the adoption of a less instrumental position. Oscillating processes, such as the swing from power to nonistrumentaliyth, are inevitable in the emergence of any discipline and are useful to the extent that these processes do not become so symmetrical that they induced rigidity in thinking. Therapists must be able to act unconstrictingly; However, they must also take responsibility for their actions. Believing too strongly in either strategizing or nonintervening in the therapeutic process can be constraining to say the least. This article will offer a new position called “irreverence” in the therapeutic process of systemic therapy.     

Careers Open to Talent: Educational Credentials,Cultural Talent,and Skilled Employment1

In the status attainment and social mobility literatures, “talent” is often conceptualized as educational attainment or mental ability. We adapt Bourdieu’s notion of embodied cultural capital and Goffman’s notion of “staging a character” into another dimension of talent, what we call “cultural talent,” and hypothesize that an ability to wield cultural talent in hiring or promotion scenarios facilitates attainment of skilled, complex jobs. Bivariate analyses and multiple regression modeling performed on data from an original survey show that educational credentials and cultural talent both predict occupational skill and complexity.     

Developing a Public Interest School of Management

This 'think piece' paper contributes to the recent 'business school business' debate by examining whether an alternative form of the business school – specifically, the public interest model – can be created. Current criticisms of conventional business schools are reviewed and alternative models explored. We take some examples from our own field of health management research. We define the public interest school model in more detail than in previous accounts and compare and contrast it with other models of the reformed business school. We identify certain conditions in which this form is more likely to succeed and suggest a future empirical research agenda.     

More or Less Unequal? Evidence on the Pay of Men and Women from the British Birth Cohort Studies

Gender pay differences are not merely a problem for women returning to work and part‐time employees, but also for those in full‐time, continuous careers. In data from cohort studies, the gender wage gap for full‐time workers in their early thirties fell between 1978 and 2000. This equalization reflects improvements in women’s education and experience rather more than a move towards equal treatment. Indeed, had the typical woman full‐timer in 2000 been paid at men’s rates she would have actually received higher pay than the typical man. Within one cohort, passing from age 33 to 42, gender inequality increased. This was partly due to differences in the qualifications and experience of the women in employment at those points, but unequal treatment also rose among women employed full time at both ages.