Racism‐Related Stress and Ethnic Identity as Determinants of African American College Students' Career Aspirations

Drawing primarily on the construct of psychological buffer, the purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which racism‐related stress and ethnic identity are determinants of career aspirations. A total of 163 African American college students from a predominately White Midwestern university participated in the study. A moderation regression analysis was conducted. Results indicate that ethnic identity interacted with racism‐related stress (p= .04) to predict career aspirations. In other words, as racism‐related stress increases in the context of low identity development, career aspirations decrease. Conversely, as perceived racism increases in the context of high identity development, career aspirations increase. Implications for professionals and future research in the field of career counseling are discussed.     

Duvet woman versus action man: the gendered aetiology of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome according to English newspapers

Media portrayals of conditions such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) demand exploration as the media is a potent source of information and meaning, and as such has the potential to inform public and professional understandings. To date, there is little systematic exploration of print media representations of CFS/ME. In this study, we address that gap by exploring the voices of CFS/ME sufferers in the English print media (1998–2015) from a constructionist feminist perspective. We found that portrayals of CFS/ME differ meaningfully, depending on gender. The psychological and emotional tended to be foregrounded where women were concerned and the scepticism surrounding CFS/ME as a “non disease” was much more evident. On some occasions this was dealt with directly, whilst on others it was “leaked in” or hinted at. This serves to delegitimise the illness in women. In contrast, the physical was usually foregrounded in the case of men suffering from the condition and their experiences were accredited greater legitimacy. We problematise these representations and discuss the potential impact upon public and professional sympathy, treatment options and long-standing, gendered constructions of illness.     

Correction to: Coping with climatic shocks: local perspectives from Haiti’s rural mountain regions

Population and Environment - The article Coping with climatic shocks: local perspectives from Haiti’s rural mountain regions, written by Caroline Staub, Anne Gilot, Molene Pierre, Gerald...     

Gendered futures, constrained choices: undergraduate perceptions of work and family

Debates about the gendered division of labour tend to focus on negotiation and decision-making by couples in the present, and assume that individuals make rational choices based on present circumstances when deciding questions about workforce engagement, domestic labour and childcare responsibilities. As a result, they overlook the fact that choices made in the present are shaped by past choices. We argue that choices made in the present about work and family are better understood as the outcome of a complex mix of choices that are made across the life course. Drawing on interview data with university undergraduates we show how they were already engaging in ??gendered?? choices about careers long before the spectre of work and family became a daily reality. These choices were made in relation to future identities in which young men imagine a nirvana of seamless work-family balance, while young women imagine a future of compromise and negotiation with inevitable career interruption. In seeking to understand these highly gendered positions our paper contributes to debates about choice in work and family.     

Implementing Consumer Choice in Long‐term Care: The Impact of Individual Budgets on Social Care Providers in England

In common with many advanced welfare states, England has increasingly relied on consumerist principles to deliver both greater quality and improved efficiency in the long‐term care system. The Individual Budget (IB) pilots marked the next step in this process, through a new system of funding whereby greater control of resources is given to service users, in lieu of direct in‐kind care provision. IBs have the potential to transform the market for care services as well as the relationships between key stakeholders within it. Purchasing will increasingly be shaped by the demands of IB holders, with providers expected to deliver a wider range of personalized services. What will this mean for providers, and what can they do to prepare for these changes? These questions are relevant not just in England but in many other countries adopting similar mechanisms for devolving control over the design, delivery and funding of care to the end‐user. The article explores the early impact of IBs on providers' services, on their workforces, and on the administrative implications for providers of managing IBs. The study finds that providers were positive about the opportunities for better‐quality services that IBs can bring about. However, participants highlighted a number of obstacles to their effectiveness, and reported a range of potentially adverse administrative and workforce consequences which have the potential to jeopardize the consumerist policy objectives of increased choice and efficiency.     

The impact of light skin on prison time for black female offenders

There is a long history of social science research on the importance of race for determining life outcomes. However, there are relatively few social science studies on the importance of skin tone within racial groups. Some recent research has documented the quantifiable advantages associated with having a lighter skin shade, particularly in terms of occupational attainment and earnings among blacks. A handful of studies focusing on black men have also suggested that when authorities perceive offenders as having a lighter skin shade it translates into more lenient criminal justice outcomes. The present analysis extends this line of inquiry by examining how perceived skin tone (assessed by correctional officers) is related to maximum prison sentence and actual time served for over 12,000 black women imprisoned in North Carolina between 1995 and 2009. Controlling for several factors, the results indicated that black women deemed to have a lighter skin tone received more lenient prison sentences and served less time behind bars.