Chicanas modernize domestic service

The shift from live-in to day work was a step in the modernization of domestic service because it limited the length of the working day and reduced the psychological exploitation involved in the interpersonal relationship between domestics and mistresses. Even the shift to an hourly wage did not end the extraction of emotional labor, however. Interviews with Chicanas employed as private household workers reveal the next step in the evolution of domestic services. The current development is away from wage work, in which labor time is sold, selling a service in which a job is exchanged for a specified amount of money. Chicanas are defining themselves as expert cleaners hired to do general housework. Most supervision and personal services are thus eliminated from the job. Mistress-servant relations are being transformed into customervendor relations, reducing the personalism and asymmetry of employer-employee relationships.An earlier draft of the paper was presented at the 1986 National Association for Chicano Studies, El Paso, Texas. This research was made possible by a grant from the Business and Professional Women's Foundation and a University of California President's Fellowship. I wish to thank Frances Kleinman and Eric Margolis for their helpful comments on this paper     

Assessing the relevance of higher education courses

The establishment of the European Higher Education Area has involved specifying lists of professional competencies that programs are expected to develop, and with this the need for procedures to measure how every course within a higher education program is aligned with the program's competencies. We propose an instrument for characterizing this alignment, a process that we call assessing the relevance of a course. Using information from the course syllabus (objectives, contents and assessment scheme), our instrument produces indicators for characterizing the syllabus in terms of a competence list and for assessing its coherence. Because assessment involves quality, the results obtained can also be used to revise and improve the course syllabus. We illustrate this process with an example of a methods course from a mathematics teacher education program at a Spanish university.     

Assessing the Gender Invariance of the Modern Homonegativity Scale

The measurement invariance of the Modern Homonegativity Scale (MHS) was examined among heterosexual female (n = 449) and male (n = 329) university students who were predominantly Mexican American. The MHS demonstrated full invariance of factor loadings and partial invariance of latent intercepts. At the latent mean level, heterosexual men compared to heterosexual women held more negative attitudes toward both gay men and lesbian women. There were no latent mean differences in attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women when rated by either heterosexual men or heterosexual women. The MHS can be used by heterosexual men and heterosexual women to assess their homonegativity.     

Has the rise in globalization reduced U.S. inflation in the 1990s?

This article investigates whether increased globalization of the U.S. economy has helped hold down inflation in the 1990s. Based on several measures, we find that globalization has increased. Further, we find that import prices exert a greater impact on prices of products in industries faced with greater import penetration. High foreign excess capacity accounts for much of the recent decline in U.S. inflation. Our results suggest that the decline in inflation is explained by the interaction of increased globalization and high excess foreign capacity. Globalization by itself does not lead to less inflation, just greater sensitivity to foreign economic conditions.     

Saving Open Spaces: Determinants of 1998 and 1999 "Antisprawl" Ballot Measures

Objective. Although such measures received media attention as indicative of a nationwide rebellion against sprawl, determinants of the appearance and success of 1998 and 1999 open-space preservation ballot measures have not been investigated. We suspect that, contrary to assumptions, these are not triggered by sprawled development and represent a response limited to small, wealthy communities. Methods. The influence of population density, total population, percentage of Anglos, and median income on these initiatives is estimated through regression. Results. Low population density is not the trigger for the appearance and passage of these measures; however, demographic factors determinant of limits on growth in general do exhibit significant influence. Conclusions. The 1998 and 1999 open-space measures are better explained by the broad "growth machine" approach than they are by popular assumptions of what prompted these policies. In short, the existence of sprawl lacks a positive empirical link to its putative solution.     

To What Extent Did Ethnicity and Economic Issues Matter in the 2007 Disputed Kenyan Elections?

This article assesses the key factors that influenced the intention to vote in the 2007 presidential election in Kenya, using data from a survey and other external datasets. Ethnicity was found to be one of the main factors. However, access to private and public goods, poverty and differences in wealth across ethnic groups also mattered, depending on how the voter claimed to be self‐identified. Those who self‐identified in terms of their ethnicity were influenced the most by access to services such as schools, health clinics and police stations, evidence suggesting that voters use ethnicity as a proxy to gauge which candidates will give them greater access to services provided by the state.     

Estimating Age: College Males Versus Convicted Male Child Sex Offenders

Two samples, male college students and convicted male child sex offenders, are compared on their abilities to accurately estimate the age group of a series of photographs of a sole female ranging in age from 11 to 29. Both samples tend to overestimate the age group of the subject photos, and no significant difference was found between college students and convicted child sex offenders in their ability to estimate the age of females. Both groups are compared demographically, and only limited differences were found. The implications are discussed in regard to theory and prevention of child sexual abuse.     

Employment discrimination against older workers: an experimental study of hiring practices

Pairs of resumes, one for a 57-year-old and the other for a 32-year-old, were mailed to 775 large firms and employment agencies across the United States. Although the resumes presented equal qualifications, the older job seeker received a less favorable employer response 26.5% of times when a position appeared to be vacant. Vigorous enforcement of equal opportunity laws as well as initiatives to change employer attitudes are appropriate responses to such discrimination. The technique of employment testing, demonstrated in this research, can be useful in both efforts.