Is poverty multidimensional? A comparison of income and asset based measures in five Southern African countries.

This paper contests the major emphasis placed on the multidimensional nature of poverty measurement. Instead, it argues that poverty pictures created by different measures and at different units of analysis tend to converge. This argument is derived from a comparison of poverty pictures created using income and asset-based measures at the national and household level in five South African Development Community countries. Although multidimensional measures have value in illuminating subtle differences, the findings indicate a single dimension of poverty that runs throughout all the measures and levels of analysis. However, despite the single poverty picture provided by different measures, the abandonment of these different measures is not supported. Multidimensional measures provide insight into particular elements of poverty that is useful and relevant to poverty interventions.     

Pathways from Casual Employment to Economic Security: the Australian Experience

Casual employment is extensive and has been increasing for more than two decades in Australia. The concept of casual employment used in the Australian context is unusual, but it is directly linked to benefit and rights exclusion within the regulatory framework governing employment. The expansion in casual employment has spread across all sectors, industries and occupations. Casual employment is associated with various forms of insecurity including income and employment insecurity. There are a number of ways in which the insecurity associated with casual employment could be reduced.

The Migration of Professionals: Theories and Typologies

In an historical context, highly skilled migration typically involved the forced movement of professionals as a result of political conflicts, followed by the emergence of the "brain drain" in the 1960s.
In the current situation, highly skilled migration represents an increasingly large component of global migration streams. The current state of theory in relation to highly skilled migration is far from adequate in terms of explaining what is occurring at the high skill end of the migration spectrum.
Continuing growth of temporary skilled migration is heralding changes in the operation of professions. Formal procedures for recognizing the skills of permanent immigrant professionals are breaking down as "fast-track" processes for assessing the skills of temporary professional migrants are put in place. The increasing globalization of firms and the internationalization of higher education are encouraging professions to internationalize.
In this article, four professions are cited as case studies to show that professional inclusion/exclusion is no longer defined by national professional bodies alone. The operation of professions has become a transnational matter although the extent of internationalization varies with professions.
Typologies for analysing professional migration flows are discussed and a sixth means of categorization, by profession or industry, is introduced to allow for the nature of interactions between the market, the state and the profession/industry. The question whether states should continue to be concerned about self-sufficiency in national professional labour markets in an increasingly globalized environment is also addressed.     

Learning from a Murri Way'

Summary Under the modernist project indigenous social welfare work approacheshave been silenced and relegated to the periphery as deficittheory and practice in the landscape of social work. This positioninghas promoted the belief that indigenous expertise and cultureis only of relevance for culturally-sensitive practice. Rejectingthis view, I utilize the findings of a study of intra-grouphelping amongst Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders—a‘Murri way’—to argue that social work theoryand practice has much to learn from indigenous peoples aboutthe interpersonal helping process. I call for recognition ofa space of possibility between indigenous and non-indigenouspractitioners that the indigenous telling creates. This is aspace in between these players who do not share a common understanding,a space where players may participate in a dance of difference(dialogue) to help map a common space of understanding.     

Motivational postures and compliance with environmental law in Australian agriculture

Motivational posture theory is applied and extended to the context of Australian agriculture and environmental regulation. Regulatory failure in this area has been observed but little was known of the compliance attitudes and behaviours of farmers prior to this study. Agriculture covers over 60% of Australia’s land surface so this information is vital if environmental sustainability is to be achieved. A mail survey of 5235 farmers across Australia was conducted to examine motivational postures and attitudes to government, environmental problems, environmental laws and regulations and farm management behaviours. Four postures are empirically derived: one associated with compliance, here labelled “Aligned”, and three associated with non- or creative compliance: one Disengaged, one Game playing and one Resistant. Analysis of the characteristics of each group demonstrates that motivational postures are related to place, jurisdiction and degree of regulatory alignment: the degree of agreement between regulatees and regulators on the latter’s role and on the content, process and aims of regulatory interventions. Game players eschew a role for government. The Aligned support both government and regulations. Postures were predictive of beyond compliance behaviour. The Aligned were more likely to undertake beyond compliance behaviours and Game players least likely. Fiscal limitations were identified as restricting beyond compliance behaviours by many farmers. Environmental regulations are often contentious and therefore these findings may be helpful to authorities to more effectively engender compliance so that on-ground outcomes may be secured.     

Support Systems of Widowed Women in Australia

The support systems that are used across the life cycle by women who become widowed were investigated in terms of (a) their frequency of use, and (b) problems for which support services were not seen as being available. In-depth interviews with 298 widowed women indicate relatively little use of organized social services for personal problems. In contrast, family and local doctors were called upon to help with a wide range of personal and economic problems. Many women had problems for which they perceived little or no help as being available in the community. Expectations of ‘front line’ professionals such as doctors, teachers and bankers for help and consultation were frequently not met. Implications of these findings for support systems are discussed.     

The Impact of Hukou Status on Migrants' Employment: Findings from the 1997 Beijing Migrant Census1

This article uses new data to analyze whether the 1990s brought a change in terms of migrants' access to urban jobs. The November 1997 “Beijing Migrant Census” provides a unique data set that enables a quantitative assessment of non‐locally registered migrants' access to the formal sector, and more specifically to “white‐collar” occupations. The results show that a university degree and a nonagricultural registration status are both means of increasing access to employment in the formal sector. The “formal” sector is defined as employment with five types of large, relatively stable employers — government organizations, state‐owned enterprises, joint ventures, shareholding enterprises, and enterprises owned/invested in by foreign, Hong Kong, or Taiwanese capital (San Zi). White collar jobs, in particular, are only available to migrants with a university degree, with hukou status having a limited relative effect. This article shows that qualified migrants are penetrating the formal job market while the majority of migrants are still taking low level jobs in the informal sector. This dichotomy represents a recent change that could reflect a new stream of migrants and/or more open urban employment. At the same time, the continuing segregation or marginalization of most migrants is clearly evident from the data.     

Family challenges created by unemployment

The detrimental effects of job loss and unemployment are not limited to the unemployed worker but ripple out to affect those closest to him or her. These ripple effects most notably impact the unemployed worker’s family, including a spouse or partner and/or children. Previous research related to the impacts on marital or partner relationships and families and the particular effects of unemployment on children is explored. Financial or economic stressors and strain brought about by job loss; the effects of stress and reduced mental health among unemployed workers and their spouses; and protective resources for coping with job loss are also discussed. The impact on children, in particular their mental health, development, and educational/human capital attainment are outlined. Implications for future interventions and unemployment policy are highlighted.     

The Association Between Sexual Behavior and Affect: Moderating Factors in Young Women

Sexual behavior is associated with increased positive affect and decreased negative affect. However, contextual variables such as partner type, behavior type, and condom use may moderate these associations. The goal of the present research was to examine these contextual moderators using monthly longitudinal data from a sample of young women. Female first-year college students (N = 477) completed monthly assessments of their sexual behaviors and positive and negative affect. Participants reported more negative affect in months in which they engaged in sexual behavior compared to months in which they did not. This association was moderated by partner type, such that only sexual behavior with casual partners was associated with increased negative affect. Participants reported more positive affect during months with kissing/touching only compared to months without sexual behavior; however, this association did not differ significantly from the association between oral/vaginal sex and positive affect. Condom use did not moderate the association between vaginal sex and positive or negative affect. In this sample of young women transitioning to college, engaging in sexual behavior was generally associated with negative affect; however, changes in affect depended on partner type and sexual behaviors. Findings have implications for sexual health education.