Young Mothers' Time Spent at Work and Time Spent Caring for Children

The association between the time a mother spends at work and in different child care activities is investigated, using data from the 1981 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). The mothers who worked on the index day spent almost one hour less time in physical care, one-half hour less time in interactive care, and over two hours less time in passive supervision of their children. The effects of a set of predictors on time use at work, time use in physical care, interactive care, and passive supervision of children were estimated using a covariance structure model. When the effects of these predictors are controlled, the number of hours at work predicts: (a) a small reduction in time spent in interactive care, and (b) larger reductions in time spent in physical care and passive supervision.     

Introduction to the Special Issue

Qualitative Sociology -     

Effects of agricultural development policies on migration in peninsular Malaysia

State planning plays a central role in Malaysia's social and economic development. The government's rural development policies are designed to promote agricultural incomes and help counterbalance ethnic inequalities. The Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) implements one of the internationally most successful land development and resettlement programs. In this article, we quantify the impact of FELDA settlements on local out-migration rates, linking macro and micro approaches and using data from the Malaysian Family Life Survey, national censuses, and other sources. A model of instantaneous migration rates specifies an individual's migration rate as a function of individual-level sociodemographic characteristics, the level of urbanization of the origin and destination, and the extent of rural development at the district of current residence. Our results show that in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the existence of rural development centers in a district reduced the levels of out-migration to pre-1965 levels.     

Treacherous Productions of Fantasy: Ağaoğlu Housing Commercials

Ali A?ao?lu is the leading figure in the construction industry in Turkey, specializing in luxury housing estates. His sales figures have reached record levels since the early 2000s, far surpassing those of other similar entrepreneurs’. While governmental policies that prioritize the development of the construction sector partially account for A?ao?lu’s commercial success, we contend that the analysis of popular media images is essential in order to understand his estates’ popularity. Based on a close reading of his media appearances in housing commercials and interviews in the light of psychoanalytical theory, we argue that A?ao?lu has manufactured a realizable fantasy for his clients, which structures their desires in the cultural context of consumer capitalism. However, the limits of A?ao?lu’s fantasy world of housing were tested in an unexpected outbreak in one of his estates, where the homeowers traversed their fantasies.     

‘Let’s hope the Boston Marathon Bomber is a White American’: racialising Muslims and the politics of white identity

This paper examines public discourse on race, whiteness and Muslims through an in-depth exploration of an online media controversy following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. On 16 April, the day after the attacks, the liberal magazine Salon.com published David Sirota’s article, ‘Let’s Hope the Boston Marathon Bomber is a White American’. A firestorm of commentary followed, with conservatives defending the profiling of Muslims, and accusing Sirota of anti-white racism. Anchored in questions of race, racism and Muslims and marked by a sharp partisan polarisation, these discussions intensified after 18 April, when the Tsarnaev brothers were identified as the perpetrators. The ensuing debate surrounding the racial identity of the Tsarnaevs displays how Muslim racialisation occurs and operates within a conservative discourse strongly committed to a colour-blind ideology. Our paper moves beyond this affirmation of literature on Muslim racialisation and sets this process within a relationally constructed and performative white racial identity.     

#FamiliesBelongTogether: Facts and Fictions of Race and Family in U.S. Immigration Policy

Family reunification is widely seen as a relatively stable feature of the contemporary U.S. immigration regime protected by the nation’s liberal democratic institutions and humanitarian values. Drawing on critical scholarship that situates immigration policies in racial nation‐building projects, this article explores the development of U.S. family‐based admission policies from 1965 to the early 2000s. I bring attention to the role of racial family logics in the changing character and meaning of these policies. Racial family logics reflect the emergent and contested ways in which families are both idealized and institutionally organized in relation to the state, the economy, and other social institutions to support racial projects. A normative conception of “the family” as a white, heterosexual, male wage earner, nuclear household unit informed the 1965 U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act and its emphasis on family‐based admissions. However, by the 1990s, the landscape of immigration, race, and family in the United States had shifted quite dramatically. The family‐based admissions system was now associated with immigrants from Asia and Latin America rather than Europe. The “browning” of the system was accompanied by its incorporation into racialized projects of state discipline, surveillance, and control over those deemed “undeserving” in relation to neoliberal values of self‐reliant and self‐regulating families.     

Asian Public Concern over the Ethics of Scientists: Predictors and Implications for Research Ethics

The following two research questions were examined in this study: 1) What is the public's level of concern with ethics in science; and 2) Are religious affiliation, religious involvement, and education predictors of that concern in Asia? The sample includes 7,963 men and women between the ages of 20 and 59 from ten Asian countries. An overall low level of relative concern toward ethics in science was reported. Lower educational attainment was associated with lower odds of concern. Christian religious affiliation and moderate religious involvement were also associated with lower odds of concern. This article highlights the importance of more active research into social perspectives on ethics in science.     

Employment Behaviors of Mothers Who have a Child with Asthma

The effects of having a child with asthma on the employment status and the continuity of full-time employment of mothers were investigated using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Mothers who had a child with asthma were less likely to be employed full-time or part-time, and if single, they were less likely to retain their full-time jobs than other mothers. The effects of having a child with asthma depended on the marital status of the mother and the well-being of the child. Employment behaviors of single mothers were affected more than those of married mothers. The bed days of children reduced the prevalence and continuation of full-time employment for single and married mothers.