Women's Scientific Employment and Family Formation: A Longitudinal Perspective

We focus here on the retention of highly qualified women scientists in science‐based employment in England and Wales. Using linked Census records from the Longitudinal Study 1971–1991 we show that women's education and employment rates in science, engineering and technology increased somewhat, although some fields show persistently low representation. We then compare retention in employing women with health‐related degrees with that of women with degrees in science, engineering and technology, showing that the latter group has markedly lower retention rates. Those who stay on in science‐based employment have children later than other types of graduate and their rates of non‐motherhood are higher. Four‐fifths of women in health‐related occupations were mothers, compared to only two‐fifths in science, engineering and technology. Our findings have implications for policymakers who wish to make best use of the knowledge base: attention should be paid to retention, as well as the more usual focus on qualifications and recruitment. The findings also suggest the potential for institutionally based theories to explain why highly qualified women have such low retention rates in science‐based employment.     

Pachedu‐Zenzele in the Diaspora: Promoting Sexual Health Amongst Zimbabweans in England

Migrants have been found to be at enhanced risk for the Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV) in comparison with settled populations. As they migrate, they often bring with them their traditions and cultural values, which may influence the ways they access or make sense of health promotion interventions in the host country. In the diaspora, should they experience compromised citizenship, marked by an unresolved immigration status, some may need to remain invisible and this may include not accessing or presenting late for vital health care interventions. Addressing the needs of such invisible populations is key to health promotion work and paramount to public health interests. This paper describes how ever‐changing “traditions”, in particular the notions of Pachedu and Zenzele, were harnessed to develop ethically grounded sexual health care interventions amongst Zimbabweans in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. These interventions were delivered in mundane settings that formed some of the key everyday networks of this population. The reinvention of “tradition” for the purposes of delivering health and social care interventions has been one of the cornerstones of health promotion interventions in Africa, where the rates of HIV are some of the highest in the world. The concept of Pachedu harnessed confidentiality in the delivery of sexual health interventions with Zenzele calling for communal involvement in such initiatives. A key point that resulted in the success of this intervention was partnership work between statutory providers and the local Zimbabwean population throughout the project’s life span. Rather than being construed as passive recipients of health and social care interventions, local Zimbabweans and their statutory partners were engaged in mutual capacity building initiatives. Local Zimbabweans were also engaged and consulted throughout, from the conceptualization of the project, delivery, monitoring, and dissemination of the findings.     

Myths and Misconceptions About University Student Volunteering: Development and Perpetuation

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - This paper examines myths and misconceptions about university student volunteering. Our study explored the experiences of...     

‘We Can All Just Get on a Bus and Go’: Rethinking Independent Mobility in the Context of the Universal Provision of Free Bus Travel to Young Londoners

This paper uses qualitative data from interviews with 118 young Londoners (age 12–18) to examine how the universal provision of free bus travel has affected young people’s independent mobility. Drawing on Sen’s capabilities approach, we argue that free bus travel enhanced young Londoners’ capabilities to shape their daily mobility, both directly by increasing financial access and indirectly by facilitating the acquisition of the necessary skills, travelling companions and confidence. These capabilities in turn extended both opportunity freedoms (e.g. facilitating non-‘necessary’ recreational and social trips) and process freedoms (e.g. feeling more independent by decreasing reliance on parents). Moreover, the universal nature of the entitlement rendered buses a socially inclusive way for groups to travel and spend time together, thereby enhancing group-level capabilities. We believe this attention to individual and group capabilities for self-determination provides the basis for a broader and more child-centred view of independent mobility than the typical research focus upon travelling without an adult and acquiring parental permissions.     

CONSOLIDATING AN INDUSTRY AND PROLONGING DEPENDENCY: PROFESSIONALS,POLICIES AND YOUNG PEOPLE

This article examines the nexus between professionalism and the representation of social problems among some young people. It considers how policy and professional interventions involve problem-setting as well as problem-solving activities. A central argument is that a primary effect of both professional activities and of major changes to the youth labour market has been an extension of dependency for many young people. No matter how young people experience the disappearance of the youth labour market, the fact remains: most young people have been permanently excluded from full-time work. As we reach the close of the twentieth century and without essentialising ‘youth’ it seems that more and more young people are unable to live autonomous lives that resemble adulthood until their mid-twenties. For some young people staying on in education, remaining out of the full-time labour market until their mid-twenties may not mark a dramatic shift in their experiences, but for other young people such trends have a dramatic impact on their life-worlds.     

Psychosocial Interventions for Maltreated and Violence-Exposed Children

Child sexual, physical, and emotional abuse as well as child neglect and domestic violence, community violence, and Childhood Traumatic Grief may result in significant and long-lasting emotional and behavioral difficulties. This article reviews randomized controlled studies that have assessed child mental health outcomes for maltreated and violence-exposed children. Key points of this review include the following: (1) maltreated and violence-exposed children typically experience more than one of these types of traumas; (2) effective psychosocial treatments are available to address Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and behavioral problems in these children; (3) it is likely that treatments which effectively reduce mental health symptoms in children exposed to one type of child maltreatment or violence exposure will also be effective for other or multiple types; and (4) mental health outcomes are not the only important outcomes to address in future treatment or intervention efforts. These future directions for treatment intervention research are addressed.     

An instance of reverse heaping of ages

This note reports on an interesting example of reverse heaping of ages for data from the Saudi Arabian social insurance system. Peaks occur for the number of workers at ages corresponding to years of birth ending in zeroes and fives, while there are troughs at such ages for the average monthly wages. Such troughs almost certainly are the result of workers with less education using a rounded year of birth, and, correspondingly, such workers would tend to have lower earnings.     

Domestic Violence, Criminal Justice Responses and Homelessness: Finding the Connection and Addressing the Problem

As more social scientists examine the female side of social issues a host of questions are answered and further inquiries form in the wings. Two fields where much detailed and valuable information on women have been provided, and many questions still remain, are social work and criminal justice. A meeting point for these disciplines lies in the area of homelessness and females. By most accounts, a sizable proportion of homeless women, many of whom are mothers, become homeless due to domestic abuse. Knowledge of ineffective criminal justice responses to domestic violence leaves one to ponder whether there exists a connection between lack of social control in domestic abuse calls and the onset of female homelessness. The present work addresses this knowledge gap and suggests future research necessary to delineate a proposed link between weak criminal justice responses and female homelessness. Policy initiatives to correct these flaws are provided as well.