Services and Employment: Explaining the U.S.-European Gap

Why is Europe's employment rate almost 10 percent lower than that of the United States? This "jobs gap" has typically been blamed on the rigidity of European labor markets. But in Services and Employment , an international group of leading labor economists suggests quite a different explanation. Drawing on the findings of a two-year research project that examined data from France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States, these economists argue that Europe's 25 million "missing" jobs can be attributed almost entirely to its relative lack of service jobs. The jobs gap is actually a services gap. But, Services and Employment asks, why does the United States consume services at such a greater rate than Europe? Services and Employment is the first systematic and comprehensive international comparison on the subject. Mary Gregory, Wiemer Salverda, Ronald Schettkat, and their fellow contributors consider the possible role played by differences in how certain services--particularly health care and education--are provided in Europe and the United States. They examine arguments that Americans consume more services because of their higher incomes and that American households outsource more domestic work. The contributors also ask whether differences between U.S. and European service sectors encapsulate fundamental trans-Atlantic differences in lifestyle choices. In addition to the editors, the contributors include Victor Fuchs, William Baumol, Giovanni Russo, Adriaan Kalwij, Stephen Machin, Andrew Glyn, Joachin Möller, John Schmitt, Michel Sollogoub, Robert Gordon, and Richard Freeman.services, employment, jobs gap, rigidity, labor market, health care, education, incomes, lifestyle, United States, Europe

Moving Down? Women's Part-time Work and Occupational Change in Britain 1991-2001

The UK`s Equal Opportunities Commission has recently drawn attention to the `hidden brain drain` when women working part-time are employed in jobs below their level of educational attainment and/or previous experience. These inferences were based on self-reporting. We give an objective and quantitative analysis of the nature of occupational change as women make the transition between full-time and part-time work. In order to analyse down-grading we construct an occupational classification which supports a ranking of occupations by the average level of qualification of those employed there on a full-time basis. We note that the incidence (and by implication the availability) of part-time work differs across occupations, and that occupational concentration is more acute for part-time work. Using a large sample of panel observations over the period 1991-2001 we show that women moving from full- to part-time work are approximately twice as likely to move down as up the occupational ladder, while those moving from part-time back to full-time work are twice as likely to be moving up than down the ranking. These effects are particularly marked when a change of employer is involved. Not all women are equally at risk of downgrading. It is particularly likely among women in management positions; over one-third of women in managerial or high-skilled clerical/administrative jobs downgrade when they move into part-time employment. But women in some occupations with higher specific skill requirements and where employees may have a stronger sense of vocation, notably teaching and nursing, are much less likely to experience downgrading. Nonetheless, 20% of teachers and nurses who change employer and switch into part-time work move downwards. These findings indicate a loss of economic efficiency through the underutilisation of the skills of many of the women who work part-time.Female employment, Part-time work, Occupation, Life-cycle, Downgrade

Test anxiety levels of board exam going students in Tamil Nadu, India

The latest report by the National Crime Records Bureau has positioned Tamil Nadu as the Indian state with highest suicide rate. At least in part, this is happening due to exam pressure among adolescents, emphasizing the imperative need to understand the pattern of anxiety and various factors contributing to it among students. The present study was conducted to analyze the level of state anxiety among board exam attending school students in Tamil Nadu, India. A group of 100 students containing 50 boys and 50 girls from 10th and 12th grades participated in the study and their state anxiety before board exams was measured by Westside Test Anxiety Scale. We found that all board exam going students had increased level of anxiety, which was particularly higher among boys and 12th standard board exam going students. Analysis of various demographic variables showed that students from nuclear families presented higher anxiety levels compared to their desired competitive group. Overall, our results showing the prevalence of state anxiety among board exam going students in Tamil Nadu, India, support the recent attempt taken by Tamil Nadu government to improve student's academic performance in a healthier manner by appointing psychologists in all government schools

Profiling executive dysfunction in adults with autism and comorbid learning disability

Executive dysfunction is thought to be primary to autism. We examined differences in executive function between 20 adults with autism and learning disability and 23 individuals with learning disabilities outside the autistic spectrum. All participants were matched for chronological age and full-scale IQ, and were given a battery of tasks assessing fluency, planning, set-shifting, inhibition and working memory. Analyses of the individual tasks revealed very few significant differences between the two groups. However, analyses of composite scores derived for each executive domain revealed that the group with autism showed impaired performance on the working memory and planning tests. Together, these two measures were sufficient to classify participants into their diagnostic groups significantly better than would be expected by chance (75% of the autism group; 65% of the control group). Executive impairments were neither universal nor exclusive to the autism group, and we suggest that an alternative cognitive theory may better explain the cognitive profile we found

The Isaqueena - 1906, November

Contributors include: Virginia Felder, Carrie Wideman, Eunice Gideon, Achsah Belle Mack, Annie Lavinia Miller, Ola Gregory, Marguerite Geer, Sallie McGee, Ruth Pettigrew, H. W. B. Barnes, Helen Mauldin, Mrs. Beattie Rowlandhttps://scholarexchange.furman.edu/isaqueena/1005/thumbnail.jp

The Isaqueena - 1907, January

Contributors include: Virginia Felder, Carrie Wideman, J. T. Clarke, Achsah Mack, Ola Gregory, Marguerite Geer, Sallie McGee, Helen D. Mauldin, Ruth Pettigrew, Mrs. Beattie Rowlandhttps://scholarexchange.furman.edu/isaqueena/1007/thumbnail.jp

The Isaqueena - 1906, December

Contributors include: Ola Gregory, Virginia Felder, Carrie Wideman, Eunice Gideon, H. W. B. Barnes, Pattie Bowers, Marguerite Geer, Helen D. Mauldin, Ruth Pettigrew, Sallie McGee, Bertha Eubankshttps://scholarexchange.furman.edu/isaqueena/1006/thumbnail.jp

A descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational exploration of perceived stress, quality of life, and family functioning in parents of a child with congenital heart disease: The PinCHeD Study

Title from PDF of title page viewed January 27, 2020Dissertation advisor: Sue LasiterVitaIncludes bibliographical references (page 165-197)Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Nursing and Health Studies. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2019Background: As survival rates for infants born with severe forms of cardiac disease improve, attention is directed to evaluating factors that affect the child’s short- and long-term outcomes, including parental stress, quality of life, and family functioning. Facing the unique struggles of having a child with congenital heart disease (CHD) can often result in high stress for the child, their parents, and other family members and may result in adverse effects in family functioning. Mothers of a child with CHD tend to report higher levels of stress and poorer quality of life and family functioning when compared to mothers of heart-healthy children or children with other chronic illnesses. Paternal perspectives when having a child with CHD have been understudied in comparison to mothers of a child with CHD. Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional study was to explore parental perceptions of stress, quality of life, and family functioning when having a child with CHD. Factors that influence parental stress, quality of life, and family functioning when having a child with CHD are described, and relationships between the perceived factors and comparisons between the perceptions of mothers and fathers were made. relationships being examined. McCubbin and Patterson’s (1983a, 1983b) double ABCX theory of family adjustment and adaptation was chosen as the framework for this study. Methods: A purposive sample of 62 parents of a child with a CHD below six years of age, who had received neurodevelopmental care from the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental program at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri were included in the study. The parents completed the following instruments: The Pediatric Inventory for Parents (PIP), The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ Family Impact Module (PedsQL™ FIM), and a demographics survey. Results: Thirty-one parent pairs participated in this study. The mean age for mothers and fathers were 36.68, ±5.353 and 38.48, ±5.941, respectively. Race and ethnicity of the parent population was largely homogeneous, with mothers (n = 31, 90.3%) and fathers (n = 31, 93.5%) being of White race, and, of parents who reported ethnicity, mothers, (n = 19, 100% White) and fathers, (n = 21, 54.8% White; 12.9% Hispanic or Latino). The mean education level for mothers and fathers was just under that of a bachelor’s degree (mothers μ = 9.90, SD= 1.720) (fathers μ = 9.61, SD = 1.706). Parent pairs had a mean relationship length of 11.37 years. The children with CHD of the participating parents were mostly male (n = 19, 61%). The child’s mean age at time of parent survey completion was 4.83 years and have 18 different fundamental CHD diagnoses among the sample. Among 62 parents of 31 children with CHD, all subscale and summary scale median stress scores for fathers fell within the low stress range except for total frequency of stress (n =31, Mdn = 86.00, IQR = 35), which fell within the moderate stress range. Mothers reported median scores in the low stress range for all subscales except for the following subscales that had scores in the moderate stress range: emotional distress frequency (n = 31, Mdn = 33.00, IQR = 118), emotional distress difficulty (n =31, Mdn = 37.00, IQR = 20), total frequency (n = 31, Mdn = 86.00, IQR = 47), and total difficulty (n = 31, Mdn = 86.00, IQR = 47). There was a statistically significant difference (Z = -2.30, p = 0.02) in the role functioning subscale where fathers (n = 31, Mdn = 16.00, IQR = 10) reported less difficulty in role functioning than mothers (n = 31, Mdn = 21.00, IQR = 16). In regards to quality of life, fathers reported high levels of quality of life in all subscales and summary scales, and mothers reported high levels of quality of life in all subscales except emotional functioning, worry, and the health related-quality of life (HRQOL) summary scale, which were all in the moderate range. Statistically significant scores were found in emotional functioning, where fathers reported statistically significant (Z = -2.52, p = 0.01) better emotional functioning (n = 29, Mdn = 450.00, IQR = 162) in comparison to mothers (n = 29, Mdn = 350.00, IQR = 250), and in communication, where fathers reported statistically significant (Z = -2.38, p = 0.02) better communication (n = 29, Mdn = 275.00, IQR = 100) in comparison to mothers (n = 29, Mdn = 225.00, IQR = 137.5). There were no statistically significant differences between family functioning scores between mothers and fathers. All measured factors of parental stress and quality of life were found to have statistically significant relationships with family functioning (p ≤ 0.05). Regarding the relationship between stress and family functioning, fathers of a child with CHD reported lower mean scores in every PIP subscale and summary scale compared to mothers. Regarding the relationship between quality of life and family functioning, the PedsQL-FIM quality of life summary score and family functioning summary scores are positively correlated (r(58) = 0.84, p = 0.00). There were no statistically significant relationships between the severity of the child’s heart defect type, as measured by the STAT and parent reports of stress, quality of life, and family functioning (p < 0.05). Additional analyses determined time since most recent cardiopulmonary bypass surgery had a positive association on communication of both parents (r(58) = 0.275, p = 0.03), and fathers of a child with CHD (r(28) = 0.396, p = 0.03). Regarding the frequency of past cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) procedures, the only statistically significant difference (U = 3.00, p = 0.007, r = -0.63) found was among fathers of a child who had had one CBP procedure and fathers of a child who had had four (n = 4, Mdn = 25.00, IQR = 4) CBP surgeries when compared to those whose child had had only one CBP surgery (n = 14, Mdn = 17.00, IQR = 7). Having a child with CHD and abnormal brain imaging negatively influenced many aspects of their parents’ quality of life and family functioning (p < 0.05): physical function (r(58) = -0.296, p = 0.02); social functioning (r(58) = -0.254, p = 0.05); worry (r(58) = -0.281, p = 0.03); daily activities (r(58) = -0.314, p = 0.01); parent HRQL summary score (r(58) = -0.260, p = 0.04); family functioning summary score (r(58) = -0.260, p = 0.05); and total FIM score (r(58) = -0.267, p = 0.04). When their child had received early intervention services, there were statistically significant associations in all of the parents’ reports of worry, (r(58) = -0.281, p = 0.03); and daily activities, (r (58) = -0.328, p = 0.01). For gender-based sub groups, fathers had statistically significant associations with worry (r(29) = -0.374, p = 0.04), and mothers had statistically significant associations found with the daily activities subscale (r(29) = -0.393, p = 0.03). Discussion: The differences between fathers and mothers of a child with CHD were not clinically meaningful. The descriptive statistics for scaled and summary scores indicated that parents who report better outcomes in their stress and QOL also report better overall family functioning and vice versa. These results indicated that parent perceptions of their stress, QOL, or family’s functioning were not significantly impacted by the severity of the child’s heart defect; therefore, severity of CHD type should not be used to predict which parents may experience high levels of stress or poorer QOL and family functioning. Results also demonstrated as more time passed, QOL for parents improved and may serve as an indicator of parents developing bonadaptation related to their child’s health condition. Having a child with CHD and a known developmental delay or brain injury may serve as a better indicator for identification of parents and families who will benefit from supportive interventions. Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrated feasibility for additional research about the experiences among parents of a child with CHD to understand their needs for support, and to determine if fathers report similar outcomes as mothers, who are much more prevalent in research addressing parental outcomes when having a child with CHD. Longitudinal and interventional studies will assist in determining timing and effectiveness of supportive interventions for parents of a child with CHD. Parent-supportive policies will benefit from additional father-inclusive research and advocacy.Introduction -- Systematic review of literature -- Theoretical framework and methodology -- Results -- Discussion -- Appendix A. instruments used -- Appendix B. Letters of support and permissio