Social capital at work How family, friends and civic ties relate to labour market outcomes

This paper investigates the extent to which an individual's 'stock' of social capital relates to labour force outcomes, over and above more well established determinants. In particular, it examines how family and kinship networks, friends and neighbours relate to individual labour market outcomes, compared with the role of civic ties and institutional networks. Using data collected from a national random sample of 1500 Australians, the paper investigates the relative impact of trust, bonding, bridging and linking relationships upon labour force status and successful job search method.

All things being equal? Equality and diversity in careers education,information, advice and guidance

In its education chapter, the Commission’s first Triennial Review of evidence on inequality, How Fair is Britain? Equality, Human Rights and Good Relations in 2010, found that educational attainment has been transformed in recent years. Around half of young people are now getting good qualifications at 16 (5+ A*-C GCSEs or equivalent including English and Maths) and, in 2008/09, 2.4 million students enrolled in higher education in the UK – a considerable change from a time when educational opportunities were only available to a minority of young people. However, the evidence shows that educational attainment continues to be strongly associated with socio-economic background. Stereotypical information and guidance can limit young people’s options and aspirations at an early age. Careers advice often reinforces traditional choices and young people have limited information on the pay advantages of nontraditional routes. Nearly one in four young people say that they have not had enough information to make choices for their future. This rises to just under a quarter of disabled young people

A brief social-belonging intervention in the workplace: evidence from a field experiment

Brief interventions that strengthen an individual’s sense of social belonging have been shown to improve outcomes for members of underrepresented, marginalized groups in educational settings. This paper reports insights based on an attempt to apply this type of intervention in the technology sector. Adapting a social-belonging intervention from educational psychology, we implemented a quasi-random field experiment, spanning twelve months, with 506 newly hired engineers (24% female) in the R&D function of a west coast technology firm. We did not find a statistically significant effect of the treatment on a core attainment outcome—bonus relative to base salary—that exhibited a significant gender gap, with women receiving proportionally lower bonuses than men. We did not find anticipated gender gaps in promotion rates or social network centrality, and we also did not find a statistically significant effect of the treatment for women on these outcomes. Drawing on meaningful differences between educational versus workplace settings, we identify four theoretical moderators that might influence the efficacy of social-belonging interventions adapted from educational settings into the workplace. Finally, based on the limitations of our study design, we provide four recommendations that future researchers might adopt.Accepted manuscrip

Duration of Access of Canadian Immigrants to the First Job in Intended Occupation

Using detailed information on employment trajectory provided by the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC), this study examines labour market outcomes of recent immigrants in terms of duration of access to the first job in their intended occupation, as determined by a question in the first wave interview on labour market intentions. The matching between actual and intended occupations is obtained from the first two digits of National Occupational Classification codes, which consider successively occupation type and skill level. Using a Cox proportional hazards model, the study investigates the roles of factors related to human and social capital in speeding up the matching process of actual and intended occupations. It is found that the initial year in Canada is critical for an immigrant to land a job in intended field; after that period, the hazards of finding employment in intended occupation flatten down. In general, those with intention to work in non-professional jobs, such as sales and services, trades, transport and equipment operators, primary industry, and processing and manufacturing occupations, enter the first job in intended occupation more quickly. The results also show that education, English language ability, Canadian work experience and friend networks facilitate access to intended occupation..Immigrants, Occupation, Labour market, Canada

An Examination of the Experiences of BAME Students in the Community and Criminal Justice Division

Freedom to Achieve is De Montfort University’s commitment to its students, whatever their ethnicity, to ensure there is an equal playing field. The attainment gap between Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME)1 and white students within UK Higher Education (HE) is well documented and DMU are part of a ground-breaking project to positively address this issue. As part of this multi-faceted programme, the Community and Criminal Justice Division (CCJ) undertook a pilot study to explore our BAME students’ experiences at the university. The aim of these results is to help establish preliminary short term and long term strategies to help deliver overall improvements in the BAME attainment gap and aspirations to achieve at DMU. After undertaking a survey of BAME students within the CCJ, a series of key thematic areas emerged, namely: 1) Assessments, 2) Discrimination, 3) Diversity, 4) Lecture Style, 5) Support, and 6) Universal Design for Learning. We examine and explore these issues in relation to three key theoretical models used to explore BAME attainment in Higher Education. Nigrescence Theory, Social Identity Theory, and Critical Race Theory are all used to help understand the experiences of BAME students. Using the results, we have identified a series of short and long term recommendations that could be utilised to ensure and take steps towards addressing the attainment gap between BAME and White students at DMU

Creating Community Environments That Promote Comprehensive Health and Wellness

Describes the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the health of the residents of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Outlines strategies to identify effective programs designed to reduce health disparities and improve health status in the region

MONITORING REPORT ON INTEGRATION 2018. ESRI Report, November 2018

Given that a significant proportion of the population living in Ireland is of non-Irish origin, how are non-Irish nationals integrating into Irish society? How do they compare to the Irish population in terms of employment rates, educational qualifications, income and poverty rates, health outcomes, housing and participation in Irish political life? This Integration Monitor is the sixth of a series of reports which consider outcomes in a wide range of life domains, including employment, education, social inclusion and active citizenship. It is based on indicators proposed at the European Ministerial Conference on Integration held in Zaragoza in 2010. These indicators are comparable across European Union (EU) Member States, based on existing data and focused on outcomes. It should be noted that some differences between Irish and non-Irish may be a result of differences in age, gender, duration in Ireland, educational background and work experience. Accounting for these differences using statistical modelling is beyond the scope of this report, but readers are alerted to relevant differences. This Monitor’s special topic is: ‘Muslims in Ireland’, based primarily on data from the 2016 Irish Census

Broker Positions in Task-Specific Knowledge Networks

In this paper we empirically investigate various benefits and costs associated with broker characteristics of individuals who operate in the account management system of financial service providers. We narrow our focus to broker positions in two specific task-specific knowledge networks that facilitate account management. We study the effect of broker positions on the contribution of individuals to organizational performance. We measure such a contribution by measuring the perceptions of others concerning a particular individual. We also explore how certain personal costs are associated with these task-specific broker positions. More specifically, we explore how these positions affect role ambiguity and role conflict, as self-perceived by that particular individual. To test the hypothesized effects we collect data for a network consisting of 55 individuals. We conclude with stating that service specification broker positions benefit organizations, but service delivery broker positions are detrimental to an organization and that they also invoke personal costs.social networks;account management;role stress;task-specific broker positions