Unemployment and marital dissolution

This paper analyses the effects of unemployment on the probability of marital dissolution. Based on panel data for a sample of Danish married couples, we estimate a dynamic model for the probability of marital dissolution where we take into account the possible effects of unemployment for both spouses. We also control for other factors such as education, age, presence of children, place of residence, health and economic factors. The empirical results show that unemployment seems to be an important factor behind marital instability. However, only unemployment of the husband has an effect, and this effect is immediate.We thank two anonymous referees for their helpful comments on an earlier draft.     

Impact of funding and value added on Spanish venture capital-backed firms

This paper contributes to the literature on the effect of venture capital (VC) on the economic development of areas in which those specialized investors are active. The work focuses on the separate consideration of two effects that are supposed to explain the superior performance of a large sample of Spanish VC-backed firms, namely funding and value-added services provided by VC managers to their investee firms. The results show that funding is significant regardless of the stage of development of the investee firm. The value added, however, is only significant for the subsample of firms at the expansion stage.     

Becoming mother and father in late adoption: a case study

Adoption in Brazil has long been related to practices of not disclosing the child's history and origins, which become a family secret. As a consequence, most couples who apply for adoption prefer newborns. Late adoption is still an uncommon practice and requires a 'family project' which accepts a different family model, new meanings of motherhood and fatherhood, and different ways of building affectionate bonds. It is important to investigate how a man and a woman become parents under those circumstances. This study aimed to follow up the emergence of adoption, motherhood and fatherhood meanings, in the discursive practices involved in the construction of adoptive parenthood in the Brazilian setting. This paper presents important meanings regarding parenthood produced by a couple who adopted two sisters, aged 4 and 5 years. Analysis revealed that to better understand the late adoption process, the meanings that emerge in the discursive practices should be considered. Those meanings pervade and circumscribe the family relationships, influencing how the individuals constitute their roles in the family. It is through the analysis of this dialogical process of construction that it is possible to identify the challenges in late adoption and to unravel the process of constructing affectionate relationships.     

Intersection of Ethnicity,Gender and Class: Oriental Faculty Women in Israel

Ethnicity, gender and class are the major factors of social inequality and have been studied extensively leading to a large literature pertaining to each one of them. The issue of the intersection of ethnicity, gender and class has been introduced into the social sciences by feminist critical theory. Intersection theory postulates that minority groups are discriminated against on the basis of more than one characteristic which are “inextricably tied” leading to complex forms of inequality in various social domains. This study examines the intertwined effects of these factors as they are experienced and narrated by Mizrachi women (19) who are employed in universities and colleges. Although the intersection approach is generally supported by the data it was found that under certain conditions ethnicity, gender and class may be separated. One type of decomposition is when one identity encroaches upon another or others; the second is the separation of diverse identities assigning them to different life areas. These change processes do not support stereotypical dichotomies between Ashkenazi and Mizrachi, women and men and so on, and enable the creation of new hybrid identities.

Women and crime the world over

This article examines female crime rates in twenty-seven countries over the past thirtyfive years. The results show that there has been an overall increase in total crime rates for all of the countries, and that the more economically advanced and industrialized countries have higher crime rates than the less developed nations. All countries also experienced an increase in the percent of all crimes committed by women. The percentages of violent crimes committed by women—specifically homicide and robbery—were consistently low across countries and increased only slightly over time. The percentages of property and financial crimes committed by women—specifically theft and fraud—were consistently higher than the percentages for violent crimes, and have increased more substantially over time. In addition, an analysis of the most recent data revealed a positive and significant relationship between women's overall crime rates and the countries' economic development. In those countries in which women occupy a higher status, as measured by formal years of schooling and representation in the labor force, we found some positive and significant correlations with the arrest rates for theft and fraud. There were also some strong negative relationships between female arrest rates for homicide and their status in society.     

Room for climate advocates in a coal‐focused economy? NGO influence on Australian climate policy

Many Australian environmental non‐government organisations (NGOs) have campaigned for greater political action and community awareness on human‐induced climate change for almost two decades. Australian emissions are the highest per person in the world, yet the Government's response is heavily influenced by the economically‐significant fossil fuel industry. NGO campaigners are sceptical of their campaigns' effectiveness. This paper presents three methods for evaluating the effectiveness of NGO climate change campaigns: Moyer's Movement Action Plan, Schumaker's Assessment of Political Effectiveness, and a document analysis of the influence of NGO submissions to climate policy processes. Evaluation is critical for NGO campaigns to improve their effectiveness, and evaluation criteria and methods should ideally be designed in parallel with the campaign strategy. Using these evaluation methods, it is evident that Australian NGO campaigns on climate change have been effective.     

Family Planning and Child Health Care: Effect of the Peruvian Programa de Salud Reproductiva y Planificación Familiar, 1996–2000

Our study estimates the effects of exposure to a family planning program which promoted surgical contraception for the first time in Peru on women's use of birth control methods and their children's health. While a broad program, the Programa de Salud Reproductiva y Planificación Familiar forced many indigenous women to undergo sterilization. We compare provinces affected by the program earlier with provinces affected later, before and after the policy. Overall, the results indicate that women in treated areas were more likely to use both temporary and permanent contraceptive methods and their children were less likely to die within their first year of life, partly due to longer breastfeeding. However, we observe heterogeneity by ethnicity. In treated provinces, nonindigenous children benefited from the policy regardless of their mothers’ choice of contraceptive method, while there were few positive impacts for indigenous children whose mothers underwent sterilization. This suggests that coercive or aggressively implemented family planning programs may not confer health benefits on children.     

Community development in a Mexican squatter settlement: A program evaluation

This paper critically examines various approaches to community development in Mexican squatter settlements. Using a quasi-experimental design, the authors show systematic differences between government-sponsored and spontaneous squatter communities. Results suggest that residents in the non-government squatter settlement are not disadvantaged in their ability to construct adequate housing or to obtain resources similar to those living in government-sponsored communities. Government-sponsored settlements, however, showed significantly higher levels of collective action and community building than those that were spontaneously formed. The authors conclude with suggestions for improving the social and physical conditions of squatters.