Measuring Maternal Nonstandard Work in Survey Data

Surveys differ in the measurement of nonstandard work, such that some surveys require respondents to indicate whether they work either a standard or a nonstandard schedule, whereas others allow respondents to indicate that they work both types of schedules. We test whether these measurement decisions influence the estimated prevalence of maternal nonstandard work, using data from two sources: the Current Population Survey (N = 1,430) and the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2,524). Using propensity score techniques, we find that giving respondents the option of reporting work at more than one type of schedule doubles the prevalence of nonstandard work, compared to allowing respondents to indicate only one type of schedule. Our results suggest that many mothers of young children regularly work at both standard and nonstandard times and that mutually exclusive conceptualizations of standard and nonstandard work schedules do not fully capture their experiences.     

Social capital and public goods

Previous literature suggests positive relationships between social capital, pro-social behavior and subsequent economic development. We analyze the relationship between social networks and trust (two measures of social capital) and self-reported charitable contributions of time and/or money (pro-social behavior) using data collected from two ethnically distinct, low-income neighborhoods. We find that large social networks are positively related to charitable contributions, but that the effects of trust are less robust. We also find that social networks that are more geographically dispersed tend to be larger. Our results indicate that the social capital in a neighborhood is more important than ethnicity, ethnic diversity, or other demographic information in understanding public goods contributions.     

Exploring college students’ sexual and reproductive health literacy

Abstract

Objective: To assess college students’ sexual and reproductive health (SRH) literacy experiences, specific to contraception use and STI prevention. Participants: In Spring 2015, participants (n?=?43) from a large institution participated in six focus groups (two male and four females groups). Methods: Focus groups were guided by the health literacy domains (access; understand; appraise; apply); data were analyzed in MaxQDA using the constant comparative method. Results: The Internet was the most commonly accessed source for SRH information. Participants discussed facilitators (eg, use of visuals) and barriers (eg, medical jargon) to understanding information; and personal lifestyle, advice from family/friends, symptoms, and sexual partners as appraisal factors. Participants applied information by communicating with friends/providers and seeking healthcare. However, findings were not linear nor mutually exclusive, representing the interaction of health literacy skills. Conclusion: Findings suggest that a patient-centered intervention capitalizing on technology and trusted individuals (providers/peer educators) may facilitate college students’ SRH literacy.     

Girls being Rey: ethical cultural consumption,families and popular feminism

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that consumers of popular culture engage in practices of ‘ethical cultural consumption’, whereby the consumption of cultural texts is imagined as having the potential to ‘do good’ both individually and socio-politically. The paper explores data from an online questionnaire and drawing activity with girls aged 5–10 and their parents on the experience of costume playing as Rey from the contemporary Star Wars trilogy. Imagined as a ‘girl who can do anything’, Rey represents a new kind of popular feminist hero and role model for girls, enabling a degree of critique of normative gendered role models for children. ‘Being Rey’ also represents a deterministic project through which parents aim to cultivate the ‘right’ kind of girls, seeking to instil the resilience to ‘cope’ with unknown futures. More than a purely individual project, we argue that parents invest in an individualized idea of doing ‘good’ through consumption, drawing on a notion of the consumer as a political actor with the power to affect social change. Investigating the project of participating in and consuming culture ‘ethically’ allows for an exploration of what it means to ‘be political’ and ‘do good’ as a consumer in neoliberalism.     

Frames and Narratives as Tools for Recruiting and Sustaining Group Members: The Soulforce Equality Ride as a Social Movement Organization*

Structuring collective action, given diverse human thoughts, feelings, and behavior, is an arduous task. This article examines one way collective action can be facilitated by analyzing how social movement organizations (SMOs) use narratives as a key resource for recruiting members and sustaining participation. Data for this analysis were collected through participant observation and in‐depth interviews with 34 participants of the Soulforce Equality Ride (ER), a cross‐country bus journey—modeled after the Freedom Ride of the Civil Rights Movement—that toured 18 schools that ban the enrollment of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students. Findings indicate that the ER recruited participants, maintained commitment to the group and its cause, and met organizational goals by (1) crafting a frame that successfully taps into potential members’ existing emotions, ideologies, and experiences; (2) aligning these individual experiences with group messages and meanings via narratives; and (3) creating positive feelings for members. In doing so, SMOs can construct cognitive and emotional links between the individual and the SMO, thereby promoting group goals.     

The Production of Distinctions: Class,Gender, and Taste Work in the Lifestyle Management Industry

Drawing on participant observation and interviews, this paper analyzes the paid labor of lifestyle production. In particular, I look at jobs in the lifestyle management industry that involve making consumption-related aesthetic choices with and for clients. This is taste work, and workers are taste brokers, who mediate between clients and markets, between clients and other people, and between clients and their own desires. Taste brokers shape not only clients’ consumption decisions but also their class performances and dispositions. I argue that taste brokers also reproduce legitimate social differences in three ways: by fostering distinctions between “good” and “bad” taste; by reinforcing the association between particular tastes and particular class positions; and by casting women as both better at and responsible for making aesthetic decisions.     

Muslim Women,Moral Visions: Globalization and Gender Controversies in Indonesia

Since 1998, Indonesia’s democratization has produced contentious public debates, many of which revolve around issues of gender and sexual morality. Yet such controversies not only often focus on women, but also involve women as participants. This article examines how Muslim women activists in two organizations adapt global discourses to participate in important public sphere debates about pornography and polygamy. Indonesia’s moral debates demonstrate an important way in which global discourses are negotiated in national settings. In the debates, some pious women use discourses of feminism and liberal Islam to argue for women’s equality, while others use Islam to call for greater moral regulation of society. My research demonstrates that global discourses of feminism and Islamic revivalism are mediated through national organizations which shape women’s political activism and channel it in different directions. Women’s political subjectivities are thus shaped through their involvement in national organizations that structure the ways they engage with global discourses. The Indonesian case shows not only that the national should not be conflated with the local, but also demonstrates the significance of national contexts and histories for understanding global processes.     

Playdates: A Win‐Win‐Win Strategy for Recruitment of Infant Participants

High‐quality developmental science requires a reliable and representative stream of participants, yet recruiting infants at a satisfactory rate can be challenging. We recently developed a new recruitment technique: we invite parents to sign up for no‐strings‐attached playdates in our laboratory, where we provide toys, free coffee, and students to help entertain the children. We have consistently hosted 2–3 new parents per week via playdates. Approximately 88% of attending parents agreed to be contacted later about research, and 81% of those contacted returned for research appointments. This method has doubled the number of participants we run per week, improved our rapport with the local community, and provided an enhanced educational opportunity for students in our laboratory. We hope others find it similarly transformative.     

Alcohol Use after Combat-Acquired Traumatic Brain Injury: What We Know and Don't Know

Military personnel engage in unhealthy alcohol use at rates higher than their same age, civilian peers, resulting in negative consequences for the individual and jeopardized force readiness for the armed services. Among those returning from combat deployment, unhealthy drinking may be exacerbated by acute stress reactions and injury, including traumatic brain injury (TBI). Combat-acquired TBI is common among personnel in the current conflicts. Although research suggests that impairments due to TBI leads to an increased risk for unhealthy drinking and consequences among civilians, there has been little research to examine whether TBI influences drinking behaviors among military personnel. This article examines TBI and drinking in both civilian and military populations and discusses implications for clinical care and policy.