The Experience of Social Mobility: Social Isolation,Utilitarian Individualism,and Social Disorientation

The dissociative thesis states that social mobility is a disruptive and detrimental experience for the individual. Despite the absence of convincing evidence either for or against it, this thesis is generally accepted in sociology. I investigate this thesis by considering three dimensions of dissociation—i.e., social isolation, utilitarian individualism, and social disorientation. I use data from a large-scale survey in Flanders (Belgium) and apply Diagonal Reference Models to study consequences of intergenerational social mobility. I find support for asymmetric acculturation for each dimension, i.e., upwardly mobile individuals adapt more to the new social status position, compared to downwardly mobile individuals. Moreover, both for social disorientation and utilitarian individualism, I find detrimental effects of the experience of downward social mobility. As I find no detrimental consequences of both upward and downward mobility, the results do not provide evidence for the dissociative thesis.     

Exploring attitudes toward older workers among Australian employers: an empirical study

Research suggests that negative stereotyping is at the heart of age discrimination in not hiring older workers. As the aging of the population creates pressures to maintain older adults in the work force, it is important to gain knowledge of such stereotyping. A random sample of 128 hiring decision-makers across Australian industries responded to a questionnaire that was specifically developed to assess attitudes toward older workers. Results showed systematic negative stereotyping: Respondents indicated that they were unlikely to hire older workers. The likelihood of hiring significantly correlated with employers' attitudes. Specific attributes for which older workers were seen as inferior compared to younger workers included trainability, adaptability, creativity, and interest in new technology. The findings could inform policymakers and be utilized to develop interventions aimed to reduce hiring discrimination.     

Quality of Life Measurement in the Field of Intellectual Disabilities: Eight Principles for Assessing Quality of Life-Related Personal Outcomes

As the concept of quality of life (QOL) has evolved from a theoretical concept to both a measurable construct and an action-oriented change agent in the field of intellectual disabilities, there has emerged a corresponding need to develop, implement, and use a systematic approach to the assessment of domain-referenced quality of life outcomes. The purpose of this article is to suggest eight principles based on published literature and the authors’ experiences that should underlie the assessment of QOL-related personal outcomes in the field of intellectual disabilities. Data from the development of the personal outcomes scale are used to exemplify each principle. The article’s premise is that model development and test construction should work in tandem, and that a ‘quality of life assessment instrument’ should be based on an empirically derived QOL conceptual and measurement framework/model.     

Monetary Discounting of Delayed Consequences Predict Employment Nudity: Exotic Dancers Versus Waitresses

The present study examined temporal monetary discounting rates among exotic dancers, waitresses who are required to wear revealing uniforms, and waitresses at a local restaurant where revealing clothes are not part of work attire. Current findings indicate that exotic dancers and waitresses who are required to wear revealing clothing discounted significantly more than waitresses at restaurants where provocative dress is not required. These results suggest that the type of job held may predict impulsivity, with nude or risqué occupations indicating steeper patterns of overall discounting.     

Return Chasing as a Driver in Individual Retirement Savings Investment Choices: Evidence from Australia

Australia’s retirement savings regime requires employers to make contributions to a superannuation fund for their employees. Workers who may have no experience of investment are asked to make relatively complex decisions, which have significant implications for their retirement lifestyle. Evidence suggests individuals may be unduly influenced by recent historical returns when making investment choices. Such a bias may produce sub-optimal results over the longer-term. This paper uses a large database from four not-for-profit retirement savings funds to investigate members’ investment choices using logistic regression and multi-variate tests. We find evidence that choices are driven by recent historical returns. We also investigate demographics and find a link between age and return chasing behaviour.     

Hiring a Gay Man,Taking a Risk?: A Lab Experiment on Employment Discrimination and Risk Aversion

We investigate risk aversion as a driver of labor market discrimination against homosexual men. We show that more hiring discrimination by more risk-averse employers is consistent with taste-based and statistical discrimination. To test this hypothesis we conduct a scenario experiment in which experimental employers take a fictitious hiring decision concerning a heterosexual or homosexual male job candidate. In addition, participants are surveyed on their risk aversion and other characteristics that might correlate with this risk aversion. Analysis of the (post-)experimental data confirms our hypothesis. The likelihood of a beneficial hiring decision for homosexual male candidates decreases by 31.7% when employers are a standard deviation more risk-averse.     

Parental reaction towards radicalization in young people

This paper focuses on radicalization from a parenting perspective; we propose an approach that sees radicalization as a possibility in adolescent development, and as part of the interaction with the adolescent's social environment and socialization. The aim of the study is to discover how parents react when their adolescent develops extreme ideals. Using 55 in‐depth interviews with young people who have extreme ideals and their parents, the parental reactions towards these ideals are explored. Subsequently, the reactions are categorized according to two dimensions (control and support). This study shows how parents struggle when confronted with radicalization and shift to less demanding responses due to powerlessness, dissociation and parental uncertainty.     

Poverty in the Enlarged European Union. A Discussion about Definitions and Reference Groups

The enlargement of the European Union (EU) has stirred discussion about the relevance of the traditional EU poverty indicator which measures poverty in relative and national terms. As a result of diverging living conditions of the poor in the old and new member states, some authors have argued in favour of alternative poverty measures. One line of thought is that the reference groups people use for evaluating their living standard have Europeanised and that a poverty measure should incorporate this evolution. Bowing on the rich literature on the conceptualisation of poverty and reference group theory, we argue that a distinction must be made between privately oriented reference groups and publicly oriented reference groups. Although research has mainly focused on the former type of reference groups, only the latter offers a norm to define the poverty threshold. We conclude with a research proposal to construct poverty lines driven by publicly oriented reference groups.     

Regranting identity to the outgraced – narratives of persons with learning disabilities: methodological considerations

Good research should be relevant and useful, it may even be enlightening or symbolic, but it can also be emancipatory. Qualitative research can be useful in challenging structures, policies and practices that disempower and marginalize segments of the population. However, could it be that the empowerment of the participant ends where the weakness of the researcher begins? In qualitative studies the researcher seems to have a number of favourite interviews. In a study on the relational and sexual experiences of 46 people with learning disabilities, 12 interviews were withdrawn from the general data on the basis of lack of relevance. It is important to re‐examine why the voice of some people fell out of the in‐depth analysis and whether this was justified. In this article some methodological opportunities and pitfalls to re‐grant identity to these silenced narratives are considered and discussed.     

A Country‐wide Study of Consumer Choice for an Emerging Supermarket Sector: A Case Study of Nicaragua

Studies portraying and quantifying supermarket clientele based on country‐wide survey data are scarce in development economics literature. This article studies the choice of outlet of Nicaraguan consumers in 1998 and 2001 when supermarkets started to emerge and gain in importance. It applies comparative statistics and a multinomial logit model to countrywide data on 4,000 households. The results show an emerging supermarket sector with a slowly growing clientele, especially among the better endowed and more highly educated families. Small grocery shops or pulperias and the daily and weekly markets continue to serve most clients.