Donald D. Hackney, Daniel Friesner and Erica H. Johnson
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the timing associated with the implementation of the health insurance-related provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the timing associated with the implementation of the health insurance-related provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) altered the presence and distribution of medical/non-medical debts accumulated by different types of bankruptcy filers.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were drawn from the US Bankruptcy Court’s Eastern Washington District over the years 2009, 2011 and 2014 using interval random sampling. Binary probit and Tobit analyses were used to model the existence, and distribution, of medical debts and total debts, respectively, at the time of filing. The impact of the time frame associated with the ACA was operationalized via a Chow test for structural dynamic change.
Findings
Chapter 13 filers in 2014 (post-ACA-based health exchange implementation) were more likely to report medical debts than Chapter 7 filers in the pre-intervention period, and were also more likely to report a larger proportion of outstanding debts owed to a single creditor. Filers claiming health insurance premium expenses in 2011 were (at the 10 percent significance level) more likely to report a more skewed distribution of medical debts.
Originality/value
The time frame associated with the implementation of the ACA impacts the distribution of medical debts among filers who have sufficient net disposable income to fund a Chapter 13 plan. The polarization of outstanding medical debts may indicate coverage gaps in existing health insurance policies, whose costs would be disproportionately borne by patients operating on thin financial margins.
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Donald D. Hackney, Daniel Friesner and Erica H. Johnson
Medical bankruptcies occur when an individual experiences an acute or chronic health event, and the costs of care exceed the individual’s ability to pay. In such cases, the…
Abstract
Purpose
Medical bankruptcies occur when an individual experiences an acute or chronic health event, and the costs of care exceed the individual’s ability to pay. In such cases, the individual typically files for bankruptcy. There is an extensive literature that estimates the prevalence of medical bankruptcy, but studies either select a population whose medical care is extremely expensive or chooses ad hoc thresholds for medical bankruptcy categorizations. In both cases, the prevalence of medical bankruptcy is biased. The purpose of this paper is to estimate the actual prevalence of medical bankruptcies in a manner that avoids these limitations.
Design/methodology/approach
Data are randomly drawn from a single US Bankruptcy Court district. Following the literature, an ad hoc threshold of medical debts which places the bankruptcy filer “at risk” for a medical bankruptcy is postulated. Misclassification analyses are used to estimate the likelihood of a medical bankruptcy filing while adjusting for the use of ad hoc thresholds.
Findings
The naive prevalence of medical bankruptcy is 23.1 percent, but exceeds 50 percent when accounting for misclassification. Many individuals are “ostensibly” medically bankrupt. They are already seriously indebted, and any outside financial shock, including but not limited to medical bills, can push these debtors into insolvency.
Originality/value
Bankruptcy is an important social safety net. An improved understanding of the types and magnitudes of medical debts which precipitate a bankruptcy filing can lead to policies that improve outcomes for bankruptcy filers and reduce the social costs of bankruptcy.
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Filicide, the killing of a child by a parent, is one of the only crimes committed by women and men in roughly equal numbers. Women's violence against their children, however, more…
Abstract
Filicide, the killing of a child by a parent, is one of the only crimes committed by women and men in roughly equal numbers. Women's violence against their children, however, more profoundly confounds common understandings of the links between gender and family violence, leading to its ambivalent treatment within the media. When men kill their children, they are usually characterised as either monsters or as sad, failed men. When women kill their children, they are usually represented as bad mothers or mad mothers suffering under the burdens of the pathological female body. In both cases, a mental illness/distress lens is common, though how it manifests is inflected by gender. This chapter examines recent Australian news representations of maternal filicide-suicide. Focussing on the mental illness/distress frame in news, it examines the ideological work this frame does in decontextualising and de-gendering maternal filicide, framing women's mental illness/distress in ‘psychocentric’ terms that strip it of political or social significance and subjecting it to an individualised lens that obscures the gendered aetiologies of women's use of violence.
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This study aims to analyze the relationship between telework and teleworkers’ characteristics and the work-nonwork conflict (WNWC) in the Brazilian context, investigating time…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze the relationship between telework and teleworkers’ characteristics and the work-nonwork conflict (WNWC) in the Brazilian context, investigating time spent in eight nonwork dimensions and the more affected dimensions.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was quantitative and descriptive. A survey was conducted with 299 professionals’ teleworking in Brazil. Data analysis was conducted through descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation and analysis of variance.
Findings
Results show diversified interests other than work and family among teleworkers, variation within the affected nonwork dimensions in the WNWC, and that teleworkers’ WNWC is negatively associated with time flexibility and manager support and positively associated with individual preference for segmentation as a boundary management strategy.
Research limitations/implications
The study highlights the need to include more nonwork aspects in telework studies to influence organizational practices. The main limitation is the nonprobabilistic sample.
Practical implications
Knowing more about teleworkers’ WNWC will help organizations improve lives by implementing practices and building a cultural environment that preserves nonwork time.
Social implications
The study reinforces demands from new family arrangements and an aging society: organizations have to prepare to have teleworkers who want or need to dedicate time to interests besides family or children.
Originality/value
It progresses towards a broad understanding of nonwork besides family to understand teleworkers’ WNWC.
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Introduces a special issue on globalization and the welfare state. Asserts that economic globalization constrains national economic and social policy far more now than ever…
Abstract
Introduces a special issue on globalization and the welfare state. Asserts that economic globalization constrains national economic and social policy far more now than ever before, although the level of international trade has not increased that much compared to levels at the beginning of this century. Talks about the political consequences of economic globalization, particularly welfare state retrenchment in the advanced capitalist world. Outlines the papers included in this issue – comparing welfare system changes in Sweden, the UK and the USA; urban bias in state policy‐making in Mexico; and the developing of the Israeli welfare state. Concludes that economic globalization has a limited effect in shaping social welfare policy in advanced capitalist countries; nevertheless, recommends further research into which aspects of economic globalization shape social welfare policy.
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ERIC G. FLAMHOLTZ and ERICA D. MAIN
We have witnessed a significant transformation in the world economy and the organisations that comprise it. The economy of old was manufacturing‐based and relied heavily on…
Abstract
We have witnessed a significant transformation in the world economy and the organisations that comprise it. The economy of old was manufacturing‐based and relied heavily on tangible assets as determinants of value. In contrast, the present‐day economy is based on knowledge and information, intangible assets that are embodied in people. This shift has triggered the development of tools with which to measure these intangible assets. One accounting tool that is directly relevant to the measurement and, in turn, the management of human capital is human resource accounting. The purpose of this article is to discuss some current issues, recent advancements, and possible future directions for further development.
How can researchers develop methods that are both child-centered and grounded in the “epistemology of racial emancipation” given the unique challenges associated with conducting…
Abstract
How can researchers develop methods that are both child-centered and grounded in the “epistemology of racial emancipation” given the unique challenges associated with conducting research with young people and white people? The purpose of this chapter is to examine the use of an innovative child-centered visual research method within the context of a larger ethnography focused on how white children come to form ideas about race in America. As part of a broader ethnographic study, white children between the ages of 10 and 13 were presented with photographs of celebrities. Children were asked questions about how to racially classify these popular culture icons, an activity that led to further discussion about race and racism in America. Drawing upon photographs of popular cultural icons and celebrities is one strategy for approaching uncomfortable topics with children in way that is less intimidating and that also brings new data to the study. Children made this aspect of the interview their own, bringing their unique perspectives to bear. This chapter discusses at length unique methodological issues, strategies, and innovations involved in research with white children about race. This chapter makes original contributions to the field of developing innovative, child-centered methods for conducting research with children and youth as well as existing scholarship on whiteness, privilege, and the social reproduction of racial ideology/racism.
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Cameron C. Beatty, Erica R. Wiborg, Brittany Brewster and Julie B. LeBlanc
Few studies explore post-collegiate leadership applications of alumni who complete curricular leadership programs, like minors or certificates. How can we, as a field, say our…
Abstract
Few studies explore post-collegiate leadership applications of alumni who complete curricular leadership programs, like minors or certificates. How can we, as a field, say our leadership programs and courses integrate beyond the boundaries of campus or undergraduate life without an understanding of post-collegiate leadership applications? This study explored the leadership learning of alumni of an undergraduate academic leadership certificate in the southeast United States. The researchers employed a qualitative, single, embedded case study design and data collection for this study. The study primarily relied on in-depth interviews, utilizing an interview guide approach (Johnson & Christensen, 2014). The interview guide’s purpose was to focus interviews on topics related to students’ learning and current applications of program learning outcomes. This study’s findings highlighted the practice of reflection for alumni, appreciation for collaboration and building relationships, and how alumni could connect and apply their past leadership coursework to their current professional or personal leadership experiences. The researchers were interested in exploring how leadership learning in higher education contributed to students’ success in their careers, personal life, and community.
Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).
This study looks at the development of critical literacy for three pre-service teacher participants, relevant support systems, and pedagogies. It considers how pre-service teacher…
Abstract
This study looks at the development of critical literacy for three pre-service teacher participants, relevant support systems, and pedagogies. It considers how pre-service teacher participants construct knowledge on critical literacy within the methods course. The participants started with their own literacy histories in order to began developing internalization and critical consciousness within the methods and field experience course. Throughout the course, the participants took social action by using some of the critical literacy approaches that were presented as instructional strategies in the methods course. However, the participants were still internalizing two essential components of critical pedagogy in their own teaching: problem posing and dialogue. They acknowledged the value of problem posing and dialogue in their own learning but had some difficulty using these methods in their own teaching. The implications from this study suggest that teacher educators and future teachers take a stance on critical education and push for structural changes in common teaching practices and school curriculum mandates.