Sacrificing their Careers for their Families? An Analysis of the Family Pay Penalty in Europe

This paper examines the extent of and the mechanisms behind the penalty to motherhood in six European countries. Each country provides different levels of support for maternal employment allowing us to determine institutional effects on labour market outcome. While mothers tend to earn less than non-mothers, the penalty to motherhood is considerably lower in countries with policy support for working mothers. The paper establishes the United Kingdom and West Germany to have the least policy support for working mothers as well as the largest penalties to motherhood

Having a lot of a good thing: multiple important group memberships as a source of self-esteem.

Copyright: © 2015 Jetten et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are creditedMembership in important social groups can promote a positive identity. We propose and test an identity resource model in which personal self-esteem is boosted by membership in additional important social groups. Belonging to multiple important group memberships predicts personal self-esteem in children (Study 1a), older adults (Study 1b), and former residents of a homeless shelter (Study 1c). Study 2 shows that the effects of multiple important group memberships on personal self-esteem are not reducible to number of interpersonal ties. Studies 3a and 3b provide longitudinal evidence that multiple important group memberships predict personal self-esteem over time. Studies 4 and 5 show that collective self-esteem mediates this effect, suggesting that membership in multiple important groups boosts personal self-esteem because people take pride in, and derive meaning from, important group memberships. Discussion focuses on when and why important group memberships act as a social resource that fuels personal self-esteem.This study was supported by 1. Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT110100238) awarded to Jolanda Jetten (see http://www.arc.gov.au) 2. Australian Research Council Linkage Grant (LP110200437) to Jolanda Jetten and Genevieve Dingle (see http://www.arc.gov.au) 3. support from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Social Interactions, Identity and Well-Being Program to Nyla Branscombe, S. Alexander Haslam, and Catherine Haslam (see http://www.cifar.ca)

Randomised control trial of the effectiveness of an integrated psychosocial health promotion intervention aimed at improving health and reducing substance use in established psychosis (IMPaCT)

© 2017 The Author(s). Background: People with psychosis have a reduced life expectancy of 10-20years, largely due to cardiovascular disease. This trial aimed to determine the effectiveness of a modular health promotion intervention (IMPaCT Therapy) in improving health and reducing cardiovascular risk in psychosis. Methods: A multicentre, two arm, parallel cluster RCT was conducted across five UK mental health NHS trusts. Community care coordinators (CC) were randomly assigned to training and supervision in delivering IMPaCT Therapy or treatment as usual (TAU) to current patients with psychosis (cluster). The primary outcome was the physical and mental health subscales of the Short form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire. Results: Of 104 care coordinators recruited, 52 (with 213 patients) were randomised to deliver IMPaCT therapy and 52 (with 193 patients) randomised to TAU. Of 406 patients, 318 (78%) and 301 (74%) attended 12- and 15-month follow-up respectively. IMPaCT therapy showed no significant effect on the physical or mental health component SF-36 scores versus TAU at 12 or 15months. No effect was observed for cardiovascular risk indicators, except for HDL cholesterol, which improved more with IMPACT therapy than TAU (Treatment effect (95% CI); 0.085 (0.007 to 0.16); p= 0.034). The 22% of patients who received > 180min of IMPACT Therapy in addition to usual care achieved a greater reduction in waist circumference than did controls, which was clinically significant. Conclusion: Training and supervising community care coordinators to use IMPaCT therapy in patients with psychosis is insufficient to significantly improve physical or mental health quality of life. The search for effective, pragmatic interventions deliverable in health care services continues. Trial registration: The trial was retrospectively registered with ISRCTN registry on 23/4/2010 at ISRCTN58667926 ; recruitment started on 01/03/2010 with first randomization on 09.08.2010 ISRCTN58667926

Phosphorus removal from eutrophic waters with an aluminium hybrid nanocomposite

An excess of phosphorus (P) is the most common cause of eutrophication of freshwater bodies. Thus, it is imperative to reduce the concentration of P to prevent harmful algal blooms. Moreover, recovery of P has been gaining importance because its natural source will be exhausted in the near future. Therefore, the present work investigated the removal and recovery of phosphate from water using a newly developed hybrid nanocomposite containing aluminium nanoparticles (HPN). The HPN-Pr removes 0.80 ± 0.01 mg P/g in a pH interval between 2.0 and 6.5. The adsorption mechanism was described by a Freundlich adsorption model. The material presented good selectivity for phosphate and can be regenerated using an HCl dilute solution. The factors that contribute most to the attractiveness of HPN-Pr as a phosphate sorbent are its moderate removal capacity, feasible production at industrial scale, reuse after regeneration and recovery of phosphate.The authors acknowledge the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) Project SFRH/BD/39085/2007 for the financial support

Can being gay provide a boost in the hiring process? Maybe if the boss is female

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to investigate whether men and women differentially prefer hiring gay and lesbian job applicants relative to equally qualified heterosexual job applicants. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from two samples of non-student participants. Each participant evaluated the perceived hirability of an ostensibly real job applicant by reviewing the applicant’s resume. In reality, all participants were randomly assigned to evaluate the same fictitious resume that differed only in the gender and sexual orientation of the applicant. Findings – We find that men perceived gay and lesbian job applicants as less hirable, while women perceived gay and lesbian job applicants as more hirable than heterosexual job applicants. Additionally, we show perceptions of hirability are mediated by perceptions of gay and lesbian job applicants’ competence. Implications – These results show that bias against gays and lesbians is much more nuanced than previous work suggests. One implication is that placing more women in selection roles within organizations could be a catalyst for the inclusion of gay and lesbian employees. Additionally, these results could influence when and how gays and lesbians disclose their gay identities at work. Originality/value –These studies are the first to identify a positive bias in favor of gay and lesbian job applicants. As attitudes toward gays and lesbians become more positive, results like these are important to document as they signal a shift in intergroup relations. These results will also help managers and organizations design selection processes to minimize bias towards applicants. Keywords: gender, sexual orientation, selection, bia

Analyzing Childlessness

Childlessness has been on the rise in many European societies. In Germany, the UK, Austria, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, childlessness has increased starting with the 1950s cohorts. In these countries, about 20 % of the women born around 1965 will remain childless. In southern Europe and the former state-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the rise in levels of childlessness is a more recent phenomenon. Yet among younger cohorts in these countries, childlessness has reached levels of 15 % or higher. In this introductory chapter, we summarize the long-term trends in childlessness and discuss the differences between European countries in the prevalence of childlessness. We also outline the structure and the logic of this volume

Cell-Type Specific Expression of a Dominant Negative PKA Mutation in Mice

We employed the Cre recombinase/loxP system to create a mouse line in which PKA activity can be inhibited in any cell-type that expresses Cre recombinase. The mouse line carries a mutant Prkar1a allele encoding a glycine to aspartate substitution at position 324 in the carboxy-terminal cAMP-binding domain (site B). This mutation produces a dominant negative RIα regulatory subunit (RIαB) and leads to inhibition of PKA activity. Insertion of a loxP-flanked neomycin cassette in the intron preceding the site B mutation prevents expression of the mutant RIαB allele until Cre-mediated excision of the cassette occurs. Embryonic stem cells expressing RIαB demonstrated a reduction in PKA activity and inhibition of cAMP-responsive gene expression. Mice expressing RIαB in hepatocytes exhibited reduced PKA activity, normal fasting induced gene expression, and enhanced glucose disposal. Activation of the RIαB allele in vivo provides a novel system for the analysis of PKA function in physiology

Database analysis of children and adolescents with Bipolar Disorder consuming a micronutrient formula

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Eleven previous reports have shown potential benefit of a 36-ingredient micronutrient formula (known as EMPowerplus) for the treatment of psychiatric symptoms. The current study asked whether children (7-18 years) with pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) benefited from this same micronutrient formula; the impact of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) on their response was also evaluated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were available from an existing database for 120 children whose parents reported a diagnosis of PBD; 79% were taking psychiatric medications that are used to treat mood disorders; 24% were also reported as ADHD. Using Last Observation Carried Forward (LOCF), data were analyzed from 3 to 6 months of micronutrient use.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At LOCF, mean symptom severity of bipolar symptoms was 46% lower than baseline (effect size (ES) = 0.78) (<it>p </it>< 0.001). In terms of responder status, 46% experienced >50% improvement at LOCF, with 38% still taking psychiatric medication (52% drop from baseline) but at much lower levels (74% reduction in number of medications being used from baseline). The results were similar for those with both ADHD and PBD: a 43% decline in PBD symptoms (ES = 0.72) and 40% in ADHD symptoms (ES = 0.62). An alternative sample of children with just ADHD symptoms (n = 41) showed a 47% reduction in symptoms from baseline to LOCF (ES = 1.04). The duration of reductions in symptom severity suggests that benefits were not attributable to placebo/expectancy effects. Similar findings were found for younger and older children and for both sexes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The data are limited by the open label nature of the study, the lack of a control group, and the inherent self-selection bias. While these data cannot establish efficacy, the results are consistent with a growing body of research suggesting that micronutrients appear to have therapeutic benefit for children with PBD with or without ADHD in the absence of significant side effects and may allow for a reduction in psychiatric medications while improving symptoms. The consistent reporting of positive changes across multiple sites and countries are substantial enough to warrant a call for randomized clinical trials using micronutrients.</p

Age at Menarche and Time Spent in Education: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

Menarche signifies the primary event in female puberty and is associated with changes in self-identity. It is not clear whether earlier puberty causes girls to spend less time in education. Observational studies on this topic are likely to be affected by confounding environmental factors. The Mendelian randomization (MR) approach addresses these issues by using genetic variants (such as single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs) as proxies for the risk factor of interest. We use this technique to explore whether there is a causal effect of age at menarche on time spent in education. Instruments and SNP-age at menarche estimates are identified from a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) meta-analysis of 182,416 women of European descent. The effects of instruments on time spent in education are estimated using a GWAS meta-analysis of 118,443 women performed by the Social Science Genetic Association Consortium (SSGAC). In our main analysis, we demonstrate a small but statistically significant causal effect of age at menarche on time spent in education: a 1 year increase in age at menarche is associated with 0.14 years (53 days) increase in time spent in education (95% CI 0.10-0.21 years, p = 3.5 × 10-8). The causal effect is confirmed in sensitivity analyses. In identifying this positive causal effect of age at menarche on time spent in education, we offer further insight into the social effects of puberty in girls

Die Vereinbarkeitsfrage für Männer: Welche Auswirkungen haben Elternzeiten und Teilzeitarbeit auf die Stundenlöhne von Vätern?

Studien zeigen, dass sich viele Väter in Deutschland wünschen, mehr Zeit mit ihren Kindern zu verbringen, dies aufgrund von langen Arbeitszeiten jedoch oft nicht umsetzen können. Elternzeit und Teilzeitarbeit könnten Optionen sein, die Vätern eine bessere Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf ermöglichen. Arbeitsmarkttheorien legen jedoch nahe, dass die Inanspruchnahme solcher Maßnahmen mit Lohneinbußen verbunden ist. Dementsprechend entscheiden sich derzeit viele Väter gegen diese Möglichkeiten zur Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf, da sie finanzielle Einbußen und Karrierenachteile befürchten. Um zu überprüfen, inwieweit diese Erwartungen empirisch fundiert sind, untersucht diese Arbeit daher den Einfluss von Elternzeit und Teilzeitarbeit auf die Stundenlöhne von Vätern. Fixed Effects-Analysen auf Basis des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) 1991-2013 und Familien in Deutschland (FiD) 2010-2013 zeigen, dass Teilzeitarbeit mit Lohneinbußen verbunden ist. Eine Elternzeit wirkt sich hingegen nicht auf die Löhne von Vätern aus - unabhängig davon, ob Väter nur die beiden für sie reservierten Partnermonate oder eine längere Elternzeit in Anspruch nehmen. Die Ergebnisse deuten somit darauf hin, dass die gesetzliche Elternzeit Vätern einen Rahmen bietet, in dem sie sich stärker in ihren Familien engagieren können, ohne berufliche Nachteile zu erfahren.As previous research shows, many German fathers would like to spend more time with their children, but long working hours often restrict their opportunities to do so. Parental leave and part-time work could help fathers to reconcile work and family. Yet, labor market theories predict that using such family-friendly policies may lead to wage penalties. Hence, many fathers decide against using such policies because they fear that parental leave or part-time work will lead to financial penalties and career disadvantages. This article evaluates this concern by empirically examining the effect of parental leave and part-time work on fathers’ hourly wages. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) 1991-2013 and Families in Germany (FiD) 2010-2013, results from fixed-effects regression analyses show that part-time work is associated with wage penalties, but parental leave is not - irrespective of whether fathers only took the two months fathers’ quota or longer parental leaves. The results hence indicate that the German parental leave legislation enables fathers to spend more time with their children while protecting them from wage penalties at work