Exploring the relation between maternal mind‐mindedness and children’s symbolic play: A longitudinal study from 6 to 18 months

Relations between mothers’ mind‐mindedness (appropriate attunement to their infants’ internal states) at 6 and 12 months and infants’ early symbolic play during infant–mother pretense at 12 and 18 months were investigated in a sample of 43 mothers and infants. Mothers’ appropriate mind‐related comments were associated with average level, length, complexity, and maturity level of symbolic play. Specific sub‐categories of appropriate mind‐related comments were identified as independent predictors of children's symbolic play. Appropriate comments about desires and cognitions at 6 months were associated with average level and length of episodes, as well as with maturity level of symbolic play at 12 months. Longitudinal stability in the appropriateness and content of mothers’ mind‐related comments was also investigated. The results are discussed in terms of the proposal that attunement to specific types of internal state should vary as a function of infant age in order to index mind‐mindedness.     

Does Tourism Consumption Behaviour Mirror Differences in Living Standards?

Based on the theoretical foundation of well-being measurement, the study explores differences in living standards by analysing the distribution of tourism expenditure. A mixture of regression models is used to explore the heterogeneity in tourism consumption by identifying groups of families with similar tourism consumption behaviour as a function of certain socio-demographic and economic factors. The empirical analysis, performed on Italian expenditure data, suggests that there are three different patterns of consumption behaviour conditional to the socio-demographic and economic covariates in the tourism market and that differences in tourism consumption between groups of households mirror inequalities in living standards.     

A factor mixture model for analyzing heterogeneity and cognitive structure of dementia

The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is funded by the National Institute on Aging of US with the aim of investigating the health, social and economic implications of the aging of the American population. The participants of the study receive a thorough in-home clinical and neuropsychological assessment leading to a diagnosis of normal, cognitive impairment but not demented, or dementia. Due to the heterogeneity of the participants into three classes, we analyze some overall cognitive functioning responses through a factor mixture analysis model. The model extends recent proposals developed for binary and continuous data to general mixed data and to the situation of observed heterogeneity, typical of the HRS study.     

With strings attached: Philanthropic funding and greater inclusiveness

A dominant theme of the philanthropy research literature is conservative funder influence on social movements. In this paper we look at a “reverse” case, focusing on a philanthropic funder using financial clout to move non-profit organizations in a more liberal direction. We interviewed a random sample of 48 executive directors from the 634 non-profit organizations that were funded recently by the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado (GLFC). GLFC required grantees to change personnel policies toward greater inclusiveness and to publicly acknowledge GLFC funding. Directors responded to interview questions on reactions to sponsorship and changes in diversity and inclusivity. Results show retaliation, a serious form of resistance or pushback, was rare and is more common from external sources, especially donors, than internal sources (e.g. staff; p < .05). Because some organizations are diverse prior to grant application, further increases in organizational personnel diversity and constituent outreach are difficult. Therefore, the efficacy of attaching strings to funding was mixed.     

Seeing red: Quality of an essay,color of the grading pen,and student reactions to the grading process

Undergraduates read one of the four vignettes depicting a student essay on social stratification, comments by the instructor, and a grade. In a 2 × 2 factorial design we manipulate independent variables of quality of the essay and color of the grading pen. We test hypotheses that a higher quality essay and an aqua grading pen results in higher teaching evaluations. MANOVA show no statistically significant differences on two instrumental evaluation items: instructor is knowledgeable and organized. Statistically significant differences are observed for quality of the essay and color of the grading pen on three expressive items of instructor is nice, enthusiastic, and has rapport with students. Results suggest that instructors should use a grading pen of a neutral color.     

An international classification system for child welfare programs

A major challenge in child welfare is whether a program (or service) developed and successfully implemented in one jurisdiction, especially another country, will attain the same outcomes for children and families in another jurisdiction? This paper presents the “DCE Classification System” (Defining, Classifying, and Evaluating), a classification system that facilitates cross-jurisdiction comparisons of child and family services. The paper reviews the cross-national research literature in child and family services as well as literature on classification schemes and typologies. As an example of the issues that arise when importing a promising program, we briefly highlight the exporting and importing of family group conferencing. After tracing the history and development of the DCE Classification System, the paper describes the proposed classification scheme, and provides a brief example of how researchers and practitioners can use the classification system for cross-national comparisons of client outcomes and program costs. Finally, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this approach, as well as possible benefits for child and family practices.     

Skewed Sex Ratios at Birth in Italian Migrant Populations: Evidence from a Longitudinal Register 1999–2017

European Journal of Population - Many studies in different settings have suggested that migrants from countries with skewed sex ratios at birth tend to adjust the sex of their offspring to ensure...     

Residual Wage Inequality and Immigration in the USA and the UK

This paper assesses the effects of immigration on the increasing residual wage inequality in the USA and UK from 1994 to 2008. It does so by using an extension of the Lemieux (2006) methodology, whereby counterfactual residual variances are constructed to account not only for composition effects (changes in education‐experience of the workforce), but also for increasing immigration in the labour force. The empirical analysis reveals that residual wage inequality is higher among immigrants than among natives. However, increase in immigration does not seem to represent the major force behind the increase in residual wage inequality for the USA and for the UK.