Baby booming inequality? Demographic change and earnings inequality in Norway, 1967�C2000

In this paper, we demonstrate how age-adjusted inequality measures can be used to evaluate whether changes in inequality over time are due to changes in the age-structure. To this end, we use administrative data on earnings for every male Norwegian over the period 1967–2000. We find that the substantial rise in earnings inequality over the 1980s and into the early 1990s, is to some extent driven by the fact that the large baby boom cohorts are approaching the peak of the age–earnings profile. We further demonstrate that the impact of age-adjustments on the trend in inequality during the period 1993–2000 is highly sensitive to the method used: While the most widely used age-adjusted inequality measure indicates little change in inequality over this period, a new and improved age-adjusted measure suggests a decline in inequality.     

Personality factors predicting changes in shift work tolerance: A longitudinal study among nurses working rotating shifts

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between personality factors (hardiness, morningness, flexibility, and languidity) and longitudinal changes on different measures of shift work tolerance (fatigue, sleepiness, anxiety and depression) over one year among nurses working rotating shifts. A total of 642 female Norwegian nurses working in a rotating three-shift schedule participated in the study. The cohort was established by age-stratified selection among members of the Norwegian Nurses Association in 2008. Questionnaires were administered in 2008/2009 (T1) and in 2009/2010 (T2). The results showed that hardiness was negatively related to fatigue, anxiety and depression at T2 when controlling for the scores on these constructs at T1. Morningness was not related to any indicators of shift work tolerance at T2 when controlling for shift work tolerance at T1. Flexibility was negatively related to anxiety at T2 when controlling for anxiety at T1. Languidity was positively related to sleepiness and fatigue at T2 when controlling for sleepiness and fatigue at T1. The findings indicate that personality factors, especially hardiness, can predict changes related to shift work tolerance over a period of one year.     

Material as actor in the enactment of social norms: Engaging with a sociomaterial perspective in childhood studies to avoid the ‘traps of closure’

This article employs a sociomaterial perspective and explores how material artefacts take part in the enactment of social norms by analysing empirical examples from two different childhood studies projects in Norway. Drawing on interview data with tweens, (children aged 8–12), and observational data from an early education and care institution (ECEC), we argue that material, in this case toys and makeup, make a difference in the enactment of social norms in children's everyday lives. Our aim is to demonstrate the malleability of a sociomaterial perspective and show how this can lead to new insights and open childhood studies as a field.     

Lifetime risk of pregnancy-related death among Zambian women: district-level estimates from the 2010 census

The aim of this study was to examine district differentials in the lifetime risk of pregnancy-related death among females aged 15–49 in Zambia. We used data on household deaths collected in the 2010 census to estimate the lifetime risk of pregnancy-related death among females in Zambia. Using all-cause age-specific death rates, we generated female life tables for 74 districts and estimated person-years of exposure to all-cause mortality at each age. We then applied age-specific pregnancy-related mortality rates to the person-years of exposure to obtain estimates of adult lifetime risk that took account of competing causes of death. We used the ArcGIS software to analyse clustering and the spatial distribution of risk. A female aged 15 in Zambia had a 3.7 % chance of dying a pregnancy-related death before the age of 50. At district level, the lifetime risk ranged from 1.7 to 7.7 %. The Global Moran’s I was 0.452 (z-score 5.8, p value <0.01), indicating clustering of districts with similar risk levels of pregnancy-related mortality. Clustering of high-risk districts was found in Western province while clustering of low risk districts was found in Lusaka and Muchinga provinces. The level of adult lifetime risk was more positively associated with pregnancy-related mortality than with fertility. Females in Zambia have a high lifetime risk of pregnancy-related death overall but this risk varies greatly across the different districts of the country. The observed diversity is larger than when merely studying differences between provinces and is only weakly linked to differences in fertility levels. The identification of districts with varying levels of risk should enable evidence-based and focused delivery of maternal health services in districts where risk of death from maternal causes is greatest.