Racial Group Comparisons of Conceptualizations of Rap Music Constructs: A Cross-racial Validity Study of the Rap Music Attitude and Perception Scale

Interpretations and perceptions of the effects and content of rap music lyrics have been given considerable attention in the literature in recent years, yet few assessment tools have been developed that can produce reliable and valid inferences about these views. One exception is the Rap-music Attitude and Perception (RAP) Scale. This study examined the cross-racial effects on attitudes toward and perceptions of rap music using a sample of 1,254 college students. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather these data. Three specific hypotheses were tested and were supported or partially supported. Alpha reliabilities for the full scale and for each of the three sub-scales were good for black and white students separately. Criterion validity for these groups was also good. Finally, tests of factorial equivalence suggested that the factor structure of the RAP was equivalent across racial groups. The RAP is a tool with strong psychometric properties and can be used by practitioners and researchers working with black and white subgroups. Directions for future research on the utility of the RAP are forwarded.     

A Note on Selection and Gender Unemployment Gaps

Previous research has documented the impact of positive selection into employment on the ranking of countries by gender wage gaps. This note focuses on the impact of selection into labor force on cross-country differences in gender unemployment gaps. We construct the Manski bounds for the selection-free gender unemployment gaps in 26 EU countries and show that - without additional assumptions - the observed gender unemployment gaps carry little information about the selection-free gender differences in unemployment. Contrary to the common assumption of positive selection into labor force (similar to positive selection into employment documented in the gender wage gap research), we also point at an example of negative-selection bias. We show that labor force withdrawal of mothers on job-protected family leaves may lead to an overestimation of the selection-free gender unemployment gaps by as much as 1 p.p.     

Comparison as a Universal Learning Action

This article explores ‘comparison’ as a universal metasubject learning action, a key curricular element envisaged by the Russian Federal State Educational Standards. Representing the modern learner’s fundamental pragmatic skill embedding such core capacities as information processing, critical thinking, robust decision-making, and effective problem solving, the universal learning action of ‘comparison’ has become a new professional challenge for educators, in terms of both understanding the underlying theoretical framework and ensuring that appropriate instructional models are deployed. The author seeks to clarify either of these aspects by providing a plain discussion of how the basic mechanisms of comparison as a cognitive device can be incorporated into clear and simple classroom aids and algorithms supporting goal-directed learning.     

Women’s Tertiary Education Masks the Gender Wage Gap in Turkey

This paper investigates the gender wage gap for full-time formal sector employees, disaggregated by education level. The gap between the labor force participation rate of women with tertiary education and those with lower levels of education is substantial. There is no such gap for men. Hence, existing gender wage gap studies for Turkey, where we observe lopsided labor force participation rates by education levels, compare two very different populations. We disaggregate the whole sample by education level to create more homogenous sub-groups. For Turkey, without disaggregation, the gender wage gap was 13% in 2011, and women are significantly over-qualified relative to men on observed characteristics. Once we disaggregate the sample by education level, we show that the gender wage gap is 24% for less educated women and 9% for women with tertiary education in full-time formal employment. Observed characteristics only explain 1 % of this gap in absolute terms. We further disaggregate the data by public and private employment. The gender gap is higher in the private sector. However, women with tertiary education in the public sector are significantly better qualified compared to men, and consequently the adjusted gender wage gap is higher for women with tertiary education in the public sector. Our estimates also indicate a rise in the gender wage gap between 2004 and 2011.     

Beyond Contact? Policy approaches to work with families of looked after children in four European countries

In England, placement within the looked after system is not viewed as a desirable long‐term solution for most children, and policy has prioritised continued contact with parents, and swift return home, wherever possible. This review examines policy approaches to work with families of looked after children in England and in three other European countries: Denmark, France and the Netherlands, aiming to identify areas for shared learning in relation to this challenging area of policy and practice. The research highlights relationships between care populations and policy understandings of the purpose of work with families, including understandings of children's and/or parents’ rights.