Parental Leave Policies in 21 Countries: Assessing Generosity and Gender Equality

This report examines the parental leave policies in 21 high-income nations and identifies five "best practices" for parental leave policies. The study shows that the U.S. has the least generous leave policies of the 21 countries examined in the report. The states exhibiting the five best practices include Finland, France, Greece, Norway, Spain, and Sweden

Supports for Working Families: Work and Care Policies across Welfare States

Familienpolitik, Sozialpolitik, Sozialstaat, Eltern, Erwerbstätigkeit, Familie, Kinderbetreuung, Vereinigte Staaten, Westeuropa, Family policy, Social policy, Welfare state, Parents, Labour force participation, Family, Child care, United states, Western

Parental Leave Policies in 21 Countries: Assessing Generosity and Gender Equality

This report examines the parental leave policies in 21 high-income nations and identifies five "best practices" for parental leave policies. The study shows that the U.S. has the least generous leave policies of the 21 countries examined in the report. The states exhibiting the five best practices include Finland, France, Greece, Norway, Spain, and Sweden.parental leave

Sibling Interaction: Sisters\u27 Use of Advice Episodes in the Construction of Relational Identities

The purpose of this study was to examine how sisters collaboratively construct advice episodes in naturally-occurring conversation and how they used these advice episodes in their negotiation of relational identities. Thus, two research questions were addressed: 1) How do sisters collaboratively construct advice episodes in naturally occurring conversation, and 2) How do sisters use advice episodes in their negotiation of relational identities. The database for the study consisted of four sister sets who audio taped naturally occurring conversation. Jefferson\u27s (1984b) transcript notation system was used to transcribe sibling conversations which contained advice episodes and the transcripts were analyzed using the method of conversation analysis. The findings of the study determined that advice episodes were composed of three sequentially ordered activities: 1) problem construction, 2) issuing of advice, and 3) receipt of advice, and that the interactional work required to accomplish these activities differed depending upon whether problem construction was initiated by the potential advice-giver or by the potential advice-recipient. Moreover, it was found that the construction of these episodes served siblings in their ongoing negotiation of relational identities and, so, the sibling relational bond. By nature, advice episodes involve identity issues and the siblings in this study oriented to these concerns and addressed them. This was accomplished, in part, by the use of conversational resources to make claims of authority, to challenge or downplay such claims, and to interactionally resist problem construction, the issuing of advice, and advice receipt

Sibling Interaction: Sisters\u27 Use of Advice Episodes in the Construction of Relational Identities

The purpose of this study was to examine how sisters collaboratively construct advice episodes in naturally-occurring conversation and how they used these advice episodes in their negotiation of relational identities. Thus, two research questions were addressed: 1) How do sisters collaboratively construct advice episodes in naturally occurring conversation, and 2) How do sisters use advice episodes in their negotiation of relational identities. The database for the study consisted of four sister sets who audio taped naturally occurring conversation. Jefferson\u27s (1984b) transcript notation system was used to transcribe sibling conversations which contained advice episodes and the transcripts were analyzed using the method of conversation analysis. The findings of the study determined that advice episodes were composed of three sequentially ordered activities: 1) problem construction, 2) issuing of advice, and 3) receipt of advice, and that the interactional work required to accomplish these activities differed depending upon whether problem construction was initiated by the potential advice-giver or by the potential advice-recipient. Moreover, it was found that the construction of these episodes served siblings in their ongoing negotiation of relational identities and, so, the sibling relational bond. By nature, advice episodes involve identity issues and the siblings in this study oriented to these concerns and addressed them. This was accomplished, in part, by the use of conversational resources to make claims of authority, to challenge or downplay such claims, and to interactionally resist problem construction, the issuing of advice, and advice receipt

I HAVE AN ENEMY AND I AM GLAD: AN EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS ENEMYSHIP HAS ON THE INDIVIDUAL

Despite its prevalence in popular culture, little research has specifically investigated the topic of enemyship and how it affects our lives. This research proposes to fill that gap by focusing on the effects involved with claiming to have an enemy. Specifically, this research introduces a theory of optimal enemyship which suggests that (1) there are both positive and negative psychological consequences for having an enemy, and (2) there are specific circumstances that maximize the positive benefits of enemyship. The focus of this research is to assess when optimal enemyship occurs by looking at characteristics of both the enemyship relationship and the individual. I propose that when there is a mismatch between the target domain of the enemy in question and the individualistic orientation of the perceiver (i.e. an individualist thinking about a group enemy, or a collectivist thinking about an individual enemy), we are more likely to optimize the positive effects from an enemyship relationship and sidestep the negative effects. To test this theory, I measured the individualism/collectivism of participants and primed them with either a group enemy, an individual enemy, or no enemy. Results provided mixed support for the theory: the predicted interaction between perceiver characteristics and enemy domain did not emerge for more chronically-stable measurements (life satisfaction and self-esteem), but did emerge - in a direction consistent with the theory - for more malleable psychological states (positive affect and reactance). Implications of these findings are discussed

DIGITAL THREE-DIMENSIONAL PHOTOGRAMMETRY: ACCURACY AND PRECISION OF FACIAL MEASUREMENTS OBTAINED FROM TWO COMMERCIALLY-AVAILABLE IMAGING SYSTEMS

Traditionally, direct anthropometry, two-dimensional (2D) photogrammetry and cephalometry have served as primary methods to quantify craniofacial characteristics. Stereophotogrammetry, a more recent method, is able to capture a three-dimensional (3D) image of a subject's facial surface almost instantaneously. This image can then later be measured in a variety ways, allowing the calculation of linear distances and the quantification of angles, surface areas and volumes. Several 3D stereophotogrammetric systems are commercially available and although some systems have been independently validated, little is known about how measurement data generated by different systems compare. The objective of this study is to evaluate the accuracy and precision of craniofacial measurements obtained using different 3D stereophotogrammetry systems (3dMDface and Vectra 3D) by comparing their values to each other and to measurements obtained using a Microscribe mechanical digitizer. The study sample consisted of 18 mannequin heads, pre-labeled with 28 anthropometric landmarks. All possible inter-landmark distances (n = 378) were calculated and several error magnitude statistics were used to compare facial measurement techniques: mean absolute difference (MAD), relative error magnitude (REM), technical error of measurement (TEM) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Overall, measurements across all three facial measurement techniques were highly comparable. Over 99% of MAD values were less than 1 mm and over 99% of REM scores were deemed excellent or very good (REM 0.05). Thermal maps depicting 3D surface-to-surface comparisons also showed negligible differences, with an average Root Mean Squared value across all 18 3D models of 0.197 mm. Results indicate that measurements derived from the Vectra-3D and 3dMDface imaging systems are virtually identical. Furthermore, both systems demonstrated similarly high levels of accuracy when compared to the Microscribe digitizer. Both imaging systems produce facial measurements sufficiently similar to allow for their data to be combined or compared statistically