The household composition coefficient: A method for measuring inequality in the distribution of childrearing demands among households

A method for measuring distributional inequality was applied to household composition data to document and analyze the trend in the distribution of children and adult among households. Lorenz Curve methodology was used to depict the departure of child-adult living arrangements from absolute equality. Households and children were ranked by a child-adult ratio to capture the trend toward smaller families, single-parent families, and childless households. A Gini Coefficient was calculated to mathematically represent the relative degree of inequality in the distribution of childrearing demands from 1940 to 1980. The results evidence a trend of growing inequality, particularly since 1960, in the distribution of childrearing demands. The measure has application as a social indicator to document the extent to which responsibilities for daily care of children are distributed through the population.     

Food fights: irritating for social change among Auckland's alternative food initiatives

ABSTRACT

This article explores alternative food initiatives (AFI) and their performances of benign transgression. Through collaborative activist-and-academic-storytelling we tease apart the divergent practices of AFIs to question what mediates these performances in the grey area between conventional and alternative practice. Grounded examples of AFIs performing alternative economy and related acts of ‘irritant’ civil disobedience show how subverting normative practices of power and authority can catalyse social reproduction of difference, and tangibly alter the conventional food system.     

A feminist confronts ageism

As a feminist sociologist and gerontologist, I am aware that life and work intersect, with one arena providing fodder, challenge, or impetus for reflection upon the other. I explore those links consciously in this essay, finding some of the earlier tensions that have marked my intellectual and personal life resolved while others maintain their importance. In particular, I have experienced greater acceptance of feminist work and feel a part of a community of scholars; at the same time, I continue to struggle with the deeper levels of ageism in society, both within the disciplines in which I work and within myself.     

Immigrant Integration Through Mediating Social Institutions: Issues and Strategies

With nearly 40 million foreign-born residents, the United States is the country with the largest immigrant population in the world (Nwosu, Batalova, & Auclair, 2014). This amounts to 13% of the current US population and has fueled debates about the role of immigrants in American society and about what it means to be American (Batalova & Lee, 2012; Hing, 2004). The issue of immigrant integration is at the center of this debate and is also the focus of this study, which examines immigrant integration in two U.S. cities: San Francisco, California and Chicago, Illinois. This study is part of a larger 2007 multi-country study of immigrant integration practices conducted by CeiMigra, a migration research institute based in Valencia, Spain. This study analyzes data collected in the two U.S. study sites, which consists of 19 extensive qualitative interviews with politicians, policy makers, labor leaders, and nongovernment (NGO) and migrant association leaders regarding issues that affect and strategies that facilitate immigrant integration. The interviewees identified two primary points of integration: the economy and local communities. Common barriers affecting both documented and undocumented immigrants were identified, as well as local strategies that promote integration into the economy and the community. Study participants noted the burden on local communities to address immigrant incorporation and called for stronger and more systematic integration programs and policies at the federal level.     

The Effect of Question Framing and Response Options on the Relationship between Racial Attitudes and Beliefs about Genes as Causes of Behavior

Prior research suggests that the attribution of individual and group differences to genetic causes is correlated with prejudiced attitudes toward minority groups. Our study suggests that these findings may be due to the wording of the questions and to the choice of response options. Using a series of vignettes in an online survey, we find a relationship between racial attitudes and genetic attributions when respondents are asked to make causal attributions of differences between racial groups. However, when they are asked to make causal attributions for characteristics shown by individuals, no such relationship is found. The response scale used appears to make less, if any, difference in the results. These findings indicate that the way questions about genetic causation of behavior are framed makes a significant contribution to the answers obtained because it significantly changes the meaning of the questions. We argue that such framing needs to be carefully attended to, not only in posing research questions but also in discourse about genetics more generally.     

Educational and Financial Institutions Partnering to Implement CSAs: Evaluation of Financial Partners’ Perspectives from the 2011 GEAR UP Invitational Priority

Educational and financial institutions are increasingly partnering to open Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs); however, little is known about these partnerships’ effectiveness for planning and implementing CSAs. A 2011 invitational priority from the Department of Education encouraged partnerships between Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) programs and financial institutions to open CSAs for low-income students, which provided an opportunity to evaluate these partnerships. In-depth interviews with 10 personnel from 6 financial institutions who partnered with 4 GEAR UP programs revealed that partnerships with stakeholders, time spent on planning, and strategies for overcoming barriers were important for implementing CSAs. Lessons for practice and policy are discussed.     

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the End‐User Computing Satisfaction Instrument: Replication within an ERP Domain*

Over the past decade, organizations have made significant investments in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The realization of benefits from these investments depends on supporting effective use of information technology (IT) and satisfying IT users. User satisfaction with information systems is one of the most important determinants of the success of those systems. Drawing upon a sample of 407 end users of ERP systems and working within the framework of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), this study examines the structure and dimensionality, and reliability and validity of the end‐user computing satisfaction (EUCS) instrument posited by Doll and Torkzadeh (1988) . In response to Klenke's (1992) motion to cross‐validate management information system (MIS) instruments and to retest the end user computing satisfaction instrument using new data, this study's results, consistent with previous findings, confirm that the EUCS instrument maintains its psychometric stability when applied to users of enterprise resource planning application software. Implications of these results for practice and research are provided.     

Alignment of Family and Work Roles

This study investigated the similarity of family members and co-workers. A total of 75 human service workers each rated up to four positive and four negative family members, and four positive and four negative co-workers on six dimensions drawn from Holland's (1985) six vocational types. The results indicated that positive family members were significantly more similar to positive co-workers than were negative co-workers. Negative family members were significantly more similar to negative co-workers than were positive co-workers. These results were interpreted to support the general proposition that individuals re-enact family dramas in work, suggesting that a major way that a family drama is established in work involves casting co-workers in customary roles.     

AGING AND FAMILY THERAPY: PREVALENCE OF AGING ISSUES AND LATER FAMILY LIFE CONCERNS IN MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY LITERATURE (1986-1993)

To what extent are gerontological issues addressed in the marital and family literature? In answering this question, the authors conducted a content analysis of 873 articles published in the Journal of Marital Family Therapy, Family Process, Family Systems Medicine, and the Journal of Family Psychology during an 8-year period beginning in 1986. Only 3.2% (n = 28) of these articles contained explicit emphasis on aging issues and later life family concerns. Furthermore, there was no significant trend in the number of gerontologically focused articles published during this period. The paper describes the content of the 28 aging-focused articles, including the types of presenting problems mentioned, the relational contexts of these problems, and the types of family therapy theories represented. Included in the content analysis were the proceedings of the annual national conferences of the American Association of Marital and Family Therapy from 1986 to 1993. Only 2.3% (n = 37) of the regular conference sessions had an explicit aging focus, as did 1 of the 29 plenary sessions and 1 of the 40 Master Series® sessions. Used as a gauge of gerontological interest and awareness of late life issues, the implication of these findings is that the family therapy community is still engaged in “comming of age.”