Inge Varekamp, Trudie Knijn, Martin van der Gaag and Peter Bos
Long-term welfare recipients in the Netherlands are either long-term unemployed or part-time employed in jobs that generate incomes below the subsistence level. The question is…
Abstract
Purpose
Long-term welfare recipients in the Netherlands are either long-term unemployed or part-time employed in jobs that generate incomes below the subsistence level. The question is whether reintegration policies aiming at their return to – a fulltime – job should consider individual social network factors besides psychological and human capital factors. The purpose of this paper is to investigate welfare recipients’ job search behaviour, in particular how individual social capital is distributed, and whether it is related to job search activities.
Design/methodology/approach
Standardised and structured interviews were conducted with 189 long-term unemployed welfare recipients. An adapted version of the Resource Generator instrument was used to measure individual access to social capital.
Findings
Social capital scales measuring domestic social resources, status-related social resources, expert advice on regulations and financial matters, and advice on finding a job were developed and psychometrically tested. Status-related social resources were more easily accessible to men and higher educated persons. Advice on finding a job was more easily accessible to recently unemployed individuals. Domestic social resources were less accessible to ethnic minorities. Persons with more social capital, specifically status-related social resources and advice in finding a job, showed more active job search behaviour.
Social implications
The differences in job search activities between respondents with more social capital and those with less social capital were present but to a small degree, and therefore there is no argument for reintegration activities to focus on enlarging social capital.
Originality/value
This study addresses the instrumental functions of the social network by multidimensionally scrutinising the resources that social relationships provide access to.
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The purpose of this paper i to determine which group – the managerial personnel or the directors of libraries – had a more extensive social network and were more eager to engage…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper i to determine which group – the managerial personnel or the directors of libraries – had a more extensive social network and were more eager to engage in cooperation, in other words – had the qualities believed to be important in managerial positions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents the results of research on the levels of individual social capital, as well as the social activity among librarians in 20 countries across the world, which are important for integration with the local community and development of library services.
Findings
The research confirmed that library directors are more active than managerial personnel or line workers, although there were areas in which line workers and managers scored higher than directors. In some areas of civic activity, line workers and managers, rather than directors, led the way.
Research limitations/implications
This is the first research into the social capital and social activity of the managerial personnel of libraries conducted on such a large scale – in 20 countries across the world. The electronic survey resulted in the total of 6,593 valid responses, which were analysed statistically. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistics were calculated, and the chi-square test of independence and the Mann–Whitney U test were applied. The level of individual social capital was calculated on the basis of a resource generator – Questionnaire for the Measurement of Individual Social Capital (KPIKS).
Originality/value
This is the first research into the social capital and social activity of the managerial personnel of libraries conducted on such a large scale – in 20 countries across the world. The electronic survey resulted in the total of 6,593 valid responses, which were analysed statistically. The one-way ANOVA statistics were calculated, and the chi-square test of independence and the Mann–Whitney U test were applied. The level of individual social capital was calculated on the basis of a resource generator – Questionnaire for the Measurement of Individual Social Capital (KPIKS).
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Presents a special issue, enlisting the help of the author’s students and colleagues, focusing on age, sex, colour and disability discrimination in America. Breaks the evidence…
Abstract
Presents a special issue, enlisting the help of the author’s students and colleagues, focusing on age, sex, colour and disability discrimination in America. Breaks the evidence down into manageable chunks, covering: age discrimination in the workplace; discrimination against African‐Americans; sex discrimination in the workplace; same sex sexual harassment; how to investigate and prove disability discrimination; sexual harassment in the military; when the main US job‐discrimination law applies to small companies; how to investigate and prove racial discrimination; developments concerning race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; developments concerning discrimination against workers with HIV or AIDS; developments concerning discrimination based on refusal of family care leave; developments concerning discrimination against gay or lesbian employees; developments concerning discrimination based on colour; how to investigate and prove discrimination concerning based on colour; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; using statistics in employment discrimination cases; race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning gender discrimination in the workplace; discrimination in Japanese organizations in America; discrimination in the entertainment industry; discrimination in the utility industry; understanding and effectively managing national origin discrimination; how to investigate and prove hiring discrimination based on colour; and, finally, how to investigate sexual harassment in the workplace.
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Linda Dye, Dougal Hare and Steve Hendy
Much of the discussion of capacity to consent has focused on how capacity can be assessed. However, in focusing on the assessment of capacity of people with learning disabilities…
Abstract
Much of the discussion of capacity to consent has focused on how capacity can be assessed. However, in focusing on the assessment of capacity of people with learning disabilities, information from studies of human judgement and decision‐making in the general population has been ignored. This paper reviews the main factors that affect an individual's capacity to consent and examines the integration of research into these factors in the general population with that of people with learning disabilities. A person's capacity to consent is considered to be affected by three main processes: comprehension (ability to understand and retain information), decision‐making (ability to weigh up information and reach a decision) and communication (ability to communicate the decision made). The difficulties people with learning disabilities may have in these processes are discussed, and possible ways of overcoming these limitations are suggested.
Juan Antonio Carrasco, Cristián Bustos and Beatriz Cid-Aguayo
Purpose — In the context of the study of the role of social networks in travel behavior, this chapter adds to that body of knowledge by presenting a new data collection effort…
Abstract
Purpose — In the context of the study of the role of social networks in travel behavior, this chapter adds to that body of knowledge by presenting a new data collection effort, which collects a wide array of information about the social, urban, and temporal context where social activity-travel behavior occurs.
Methodology/approach — The study was developed in Concepción, Chile, involving 240 respondents from four different urban contexts and their personal networks. The analysis concentrates on the challenges and opportunities of different techniques to build personal networks as a way of studying the social dimension of travel behavior. Although most of the current methods to study personal networks rely on emotional closeness, this approach may not be sufficient, since these “elicited” people may not include daily contacts that could be relevant to study social activities. Tackling this issue, the data instrument also collects those daily “revealed” people, on a two-day time use diary and a social activities listing. With this information, the chapter presents a comparative analysis between these “elicited” and “revealed” personal networks.
Findings — Overall, the results illustrate the dependence of the name generator technique on what is observed in terms of social activity-travel behavior, specifically on aspects such as personal network size, average distance, and frequencies of interaction. In addition, the comparison between the different methods to construct the personal networks, illustrates how name generators provide the opportunity to further understand transport related questions, such as the role of income and access to amenities on spatial and temporal patterns of social interactions, and their effect on social capital.
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Markus König, Christian Pfarr and Peter Zweifel
Preferences of both Alzheimer patients and their spouse caregivers are related to a willingness-to-pay (WTP) measure which is used to test for the presence of mutual (rather than…
Abstract
Purpose
Preferences of both Alzheimer patients and their spouse caregivers are related to a willingness-to-pay (WTP) measure which is used to test for the presence of mutual (rather than conventional unilateral) altruism.
Methodology
Contingent valuation experiments were conducted in 2000–2002, involving 126 Alzheimer patients and their caregiving spouses living in the Zurich metropolitan area (Switzerland). WTP values for three hypothetical treatments of the demented patient were elicited. The treatment Stabilization prevents the worsening of the disease, bringing dementia to a standstill. Cure restores patient health to its original level. In No burden, dementia takes its normal course while caregiver’s burden is reduced to its level before the disease.
Findings
The three different types of therapies are reflected in different WTP values of both caregivers and patients, suggesting that moderate levels of Alzheimer’s disease still permit clear expression of preference. According to the WTP values found, patients do not rank Cure higher than No burden, implying that their preferences are entirely altruistic. Caregiving spouses rank Cure before Burden, reflecting less than perfect altruism which accounts for some 40 percent of their total WTP. Still, this constitutes evidence of mutual altruism.
Value
The evidence suggests that WTP values reflect individuals’ preferences even in Alzheimer patients. The estimates suggest that an economically successful treatment should provide relief to caregivers, with its curative benefits being of secondary importance.
This paper discusses early childhood classrooms as powerful spaces for identity work and, more specifically, as a place (or not) for supporting early STEM identity development. It…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper discusses early childhood classrooms as powerful spaces for identity work and, more specifically, as a place (or not) for supporting early STEM identity development. It makes the case for educators and researchers alike to promote an expanded role of early childhood STEM education in the daily lives of young children.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a qualitative interpretive methodology, drawing from a wide array of research and theoretical literature from early childhood and STEM education and developmental psychology, as well as public policy.
Findings
Today, both research and interventions aimed at fixing the “leaking STEM pipeline” and theory/research on STEM identity development focus on children in middle school and above. Yet, children's attitudes about STEM and about themselves as STEM learners are formed early, and identity work is a task of early childhood. This suggests a need to focus on young children's engagement with STEM education as a means of nurturing their early STEM identity development.
Originality/value
This paper synthesizes previous research to outline the need for expanding STEM education in early public schooling. It proposes a conceptualization of early STEM academic identity development (based on the premise that middle school is too late to fix the leaking STEM pipeline).
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Lyndsay M.C. Hayhurst, Holly Thorpe and Megan Chawansky
Steve McDonald, S. Michael Gaddis, Lindsey B. Trimble and Lindsay Hamm
Purpose – The introductory chapter to this special issue highlights contemporary scholarship on networks, work, and inequality.Methodology – We review the last decade of research…
Abstract
Purpose – The introductory chapter to this special issue highlights contemporary scholarship on networks, work, and inequality.Methodology – We review the last decade of research on this topic, identifying four key areas investigation: (1) networks and hiring, (2) networks and the labor process, (3) networks and outcomes at work, and (4) networks and institutional dynamics.Findings – Social networks play an important role in understanding the mechanisms by which and the conditions under which economic inequality is reproduced across gender, race, and social class distinctions. Throughout the review, we point to numerous opportunities for future research to enhance our understanding of these social processes.