The role of labor market intermittency in explaining gender wage differentials

Using the Health and Retirement Survey and standard wage decomposition techniques, this paper finds that the difference in intermittent labor force participation between men and women accounts for 47 percent of the contribution to the wage gap of differences in observed characteristics. Not controlling for intermittent behavior results in too much importance being placed on gender differences in job characteristics.

Female labor force intermittency and current earnings: a switching regression model with unknown sample selection

Using the Health and Retirement Survey, this paper finds a 16 percent selectivity-corrected wage penalty among women who engage in intermittent labor market activity. This penalty is experienced at a low level of intermittent activity but appears not to play an important role in a woman’s decision to undertake such activity. In addition, employer preferences appear to play a larger role than human capital atrophy in the determination of the wage penalty.

The impact of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games on employment and wages in Georgia

Using the standard differences-in-differences (DD) technique and a modified DD technique in the slopes, this paper determines that hosting the 1996 Summer Olympic Games boosted employment by 17% in the counties of Georgia affiliated with and close to Olympic activity, relative to employment increases in other counties in Georgia (the rate of growth increased by 0.002 percentage points per quarter). Estimation of a random-growth model confirms a positive impact of the Olympics on employment. In addition, the employment impact is shown not to be merely a "metropolitan statistical area (MSA) effect"; employment in the northern Olympic venue areas was found to increase 11% more post- versus pre-Olympics than it did in other, similar southern MSAs. The evidence of an Olympic impact on wages is weak

Giving Voice to the “Speechless”: Depictions of disability in television and Identity politics of Disability Studies

Disability has been an area often overlooked in popular cultural media especially as a main focus of a television show. The few television shows that have made it to mainstream media have the advantage of starting to build connections with audience and society. This allows a deeper understanding of stereotypes and boundary transgressions when it comes to the diverse population of people with disabilities. Exploring these relationships through the new ABC “Speechless” gives several new perspectives to explore relating to disability, identity and family. Disability studies looks from both an outsider and insider perspective on how we view what is “normal” or “fully human.” Using popular media to expand the conversation, and give insight to what it is like to “be” in relationship with a person with disabilities or to “be” that person, we have the ability to enter into more complicated conversation about decency, respect, advocacy and allowing the “Speechless” to have a voice

Cybernetics, Cyborgs, and Bionics, Oh My!!: Counterstories of the Intersection of Disability + Technology and Its Impact on Identities of Adults with Disabilities

In this dissertation inquiry, I explore the counternarratives of adults with disabilities relating to their identities and how their identities intersect and change with regards to technology and assistive technology. Theoretically building upon critical disability studies (Goodley, 2017; Davis, 2013, 2017; Erevelles, 2011) and posthumanism (Haraway, 1985/2016; Snaza & Weaver, 2015; Weaver, 2010) and methodologically drawing upon counternarrative or counterstories (Bamberg & Andrews, 2004; Carmona & Luschen, 2014; Delgado, 1989; Glenn, 2012; He & Phillion, 2008; He & Ross, 2012; Sandoval & Davis, 2008; Smith, 2006; Solazano & Yosso, 2002; Tuck, 2009), I explore the stories of seven participants with shifting and intersecting identities and disabilities. I also explore the possibilities for individuals, schools, and society to push towards action, advocacy, and social justice to remove societal barriers that envelope disability as a group identity in the furtherance of independence and fully-experienced lives. Seven adults with disabilities participated in my study. They are Eli, Silas, McKenzie, Liz, George, Leila, and Paul. These seven participants use technology and assistive technology to navigate their life. Their ages range from 19-50. Five of them are white men, and two are women with one South Asian American and one white. All participants have physical disabilities that stem from a variety of medical impairments such as degenerative muscle diseases, cerebral palsy, or impairment from injury and subsequent infections. All of the participants are working in professional capacities with a college education. Some of them hold postgraduate degrees or certifications. Eight findings have emerged from this inquiry. People with disabilities experience disability as a social reconstruction rather than medical deficits and physical impairments, which fails to capture the multiple abilities and complex aspects of their identities. Technology is a path to independence and connection. Technology is both a tool and an integral part of the lives of people with disabilities. Disability has informed and shaped pieces of these adults\u27 lives, livelihoods, communities and even their leisures. People with disabilities want to be viewed as who they are with many dimensions and intersections but not as a person with a disability as the main or only aspect of identity. Living a life as a person with a disability engenders advocacy for other people with disabilities. Working with people with disabilities through teaching, research, and life helps develop critical empathy and engenders strong advocacy for people with disabilities. Listening to and learning from the counternarratives of people with disabilities fosters urgency to develop a curriculum for social justice that helps create equal opportunities for all to reach their highest potential (Siddle-Walker, 1996) in an unjust and contested world

Elementary Teachers\u27 Views of Environmental Education

The purpose of this research is to examine teachers\u27 views of environmental education (EE) at the elementary level. The study addresses teachers\u27 attitudes toward the EE at the elementary school level and their self-efficacy in teaching EE. The study\u27s sample consisted of 201 randomly selected kindergarten through fifth grade United States public school teachers. The participants completed an on-line survey with eight percent of the respondents participating in follow up interviews. The questionnaire measured two constructs; Teachers Attitudes Toward EE and Teacher Efficacy in EE. Teachers Attitudes Toward EE had 3 subscales; Advocacy for EE, Stewardship in EE, and Using the Outdoors. Teacher Efficacy in EE had two subscales; Confidence in Knowledge of Issues and Resources and Perception of Training and Support . Interview questions were aligned with the questionnaire subscales. Frequency percentages and means were examined for each subscale and items within each. ANOVA was conducted to examine possible relationships between subscale means and four independent variables; school demographic (rural suburban, urban), currently teaches science, years of teaching experience, and grade level taught. Interview data were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded. Coding categories were aligned with questionnaire subscales. All data were examined in context of the literature and the research questions. Results indicate that elementary teachers have positive attitudes toward EE and believe that EE concepts can be integrated into core content subjects. Teachers agree that stewardship is important to teach as part of elementary EE, but expressed caution when dealing with controversial topics and issues. Additionally, although teachers are aware of the importance of the child-nature connection, they did not advocate for the inclusion of outdoor lessons and activities in EE. Teachers\u27 confidence in their knowledge of EE and environmental issues was low; however they were mostly confident that they could locate appropriate resources. Teachers in this study reported that they had received little or no training in EE and do not receive encouragement for EE from their administrators

Freshman learning communities, college performance, and retention

This paper applies a standard treatment effects model to determine that participation in Freshman Learning Communities (FLCs) improves academic performance and retention. Not controlling for individual self-selection into FLC participation leads one to incorrectly conclude that the impact is the same across race and gender groups. Accurately assessing the impact of any educational program is essential in determining what resources institutions should devote to it.

Earnings on the information technology roller coaster: insight from matched employer-employee data

This paper uses matched employer-employee data for the state of Georgia to examine workers’ earnings experience through the information technology (IT) sector’s employment boom of the mid-1990s and its bust in the early 2000s. The results show that even after controlling for individual characteristics before the sector’s boom, transitioning out of the IT sector to a non-IT industry generally resulted in a large wage penalty. However, IT service workers who transitioned to a non-IT industry still fared better than those who took a non-IT employment path. For IT manufacturing workers, there is no benefit to having worked in tech, likely because of the nontransferability of manufacturing experience to other industries.

The ups and downs of jobs in Georgia: what can we learn about employment dynamics from state administrative data?

This paper demonstrates how state administrative data (from Georgia) can be used to decompose net employment growth in order to track establishment births, deaths, contractions, and expansions over time. Even though net employment growth can look quite similar across industries, the composition of that employment change can look quite different. The panel nature of the data allow the authors to see that overall lack of expansion and continued contraction among large establishments were the driving forces behind the weak employment growth immediately following the 2001 recession.

The push-pull effects of the information technology boom and bust: insight from matched employer-employee data

This paper examines the inflow and outflow of workers to different industries in Georgia during the information technology (IT) boom of the 1990s and the subsequent bust. Workers in the software and computer services industry were much more likely to have been absent from the Georgia workforce prior to the boom but were no more likely than workers from other industries to have exited the workforce during the bust. Consequently, the Georgia workforce likely experienced a net gain in worker human capital as a result of being an area of concentration of IT-producing activity during the IT boom.