28 research outputs found
Womenâs Career Strategy Choices and Fertility in Finland
To better understand the correlation between fertility, female employment, and family policy, this paper employs Finnish register data on women born in 1969 to study the association between womenâs labour market careers and fertility. The investigation is based on a theoretical argument which holds that women make different kinds of strategic choices about their careers as influenced by their own preferences, family policies, and household resources. Women are divided into three different groups based on their activity in the labour market from the month they reach age 18 until the month before they turn 35. The level and timing of fertility, the central characteristics of the women belonging to the different groups, and the entry into motherhood are examined with descriptive statistics and event history techniques. Results show that Finnish womenâs choices concerning employment and fertility are relatively heterogeneous: At one end of the scale a considerable number of women stay outside the labour market for longer periods of time, enter motherhood at a relatively early age, and have large families, whereas at the other end we find women with long periods of continuous education and employment, high age of entry into motherhood, and small family sizes
Determinants of Childbearing: A Review of the Literature
Dieser Artikel gibt einen breiten Ăberblick ĂŒber die Determinanten von Geburtenraten und legt dabei den Schwerpunkt auf Deutschland. Auf der Grundlage von vier TheoriestrĂ€ngen (Wertewandel, Familienpolitik, ökomische FertilitĂ€tstheorie, PrĂ€ferenz-Theorie) werden die folgenden PhĂ€nomene untersucht: GeburtenrĂŒckgang, lĂ€nderspezifische Unterschiede und die Diskrepanz zwischen angestrebter und tatsĂ€chlicher Geburtenanzahl. Alle vier verwendeten Theorien bieten eine TeilerklĂ€rung fĂŒr das PhĂ€nomen niedriger Geburtenzahlen, jedoch ist keine der Theorien in der Lage, eine alleinige Explikation zu liefern. Der Aufsatz schlieĂt mit der Aufforderung, mehr Aufmerksamkeit auf die tatsĂ€chliche GröĂe der unterschiedlichen Variablen, die PrĂ€ferenz der Frauen und interdisziplinĂ€re Forschung zu legen.This paper presents a broad review of the determinants of childbearing with a special focus on Germany. Fertility decline, cross-country differences, and the gap between desired and realized fertility are addressed by discussing the evidence related to four theoretical arguments: change in values, family policy, economic theory on fertility, and preference theory. Each of the theories reviewed provides a partial explanation of the low fertility puzzle, but none of the theories alone is able to fully explain low fertility. The paper closes with the argument that more attention needs to be paid to the effect size of the different variables, womenâs preferences, and interdisciplinary research
Women's Career Strategy Choices and Fertility in Different Welfare Regime Contexts
The comprehensive aim of this study is to increase the understanding of the cross-country differences in low fertility. In particular, the study discusses the interaction between womenÂŽs preferences, family policy, female labor force participation and fertility. The central argument of the thesis is that women, driven by their preferences but constrained by family policies and householdâs resources, choose between three different types of strategies concerning work and family. In the empirical part of the thesis longitudinal data is employed to study womenÂŽs career strategy choices in Germany, the UK, and Finland. In all three countries a substantially large share of the women has remained outside the labor market for longer periods and has high average fertility (âhomemaking careerâ). The largest share of the women have combined work and children with shorter absences from the labor market (âcombination strategyâ). Finally, a considerable share of the women have been working/studying continuously and have low fertility (âcareer strategyâ). All in all, the study adds to the literature on womenÂŽs heterogeneous work-family decisions and suggests that future research on fertility should concentrate more on the heterogeneity in womenÂŽs preferences and choices
Fertility, Family Policy and Welfare Regimes
Dieser Beitrag wurde durch die zahlreichen Ăbereinstimmungen zwischen der genderspezifischen Wohlfahrtsstaatsforschung und der Bevölkerungsforschung im Bezug auf die Determinanten der FertilitĂ€t angeregt. Der erste Teil dieses Beitrages befasst sich mit einer Reihe von Reproduktionstheorien vor dem Hintergrund der These des genderspezifischen Wohlfahrtsstaates. Eine zentrale Parallele zwischen diesen beiden Theorien ist die Tatsache, dass bei der Analyse von Work-Life-Choices schwerpunktmĂ€Ăig eine Politik untersucht wird, die eine Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Familie ermöglicht. Folglich nimmt man an, dass sich die informelle Betreuung nachteilig auf die Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf auswirkt, ebenso wie man von homogenen PrĂ€ferenzen seitens der Frauen ausgeht, also voraussetzt, dass alle Frauen Beruf und Familie miteinander verbinden wollen. Dieser Ansatz trĂ€gt jedoch der informellen Betreuung sowie der HeterogenitĂ€t der Frauen nicht genĂŒgend Rechnung, weder im Hinblick auf ihre PrĂ€ferenzen noch in Bezug auf ihr Verhalten. Um diese LĂŒcken zu schlieĂen, wird im zweiten Teil dieses Beitrages ein neuer Rahmen zur Analyse der Work-Life-Choices von Frauen ausgearbeitet. Der vorgestellte Analyserahmen legt ein besonderes Augenmerk auf die Art und Weise der Förderung oder Durchsetzung formeller sowie informeller Betreuungsformen in verschiedenen Wohlfahrtsstaaten, ebenso wie auf die Auswirkungen einer solchen Förderung auf die Entscheidungen der Frauen. Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt liegt auĂerdem auf der HeterogenitĂ€t der Frauen, sowohl im Hinblick auf ihre PrĂ€ferenzen als auch in Bezug auf ihr Verhalten. Das Hauptargument besagt, dass sich die heterogenen PrĂ€ferenzen von Frauen in verschiedenen Wohlfahrtsstaatstypen auf unterschiedliche Weise zu unterschiedlichen Lebensverlaufsstrategien (in puncto Beruf und Familie) hinentwickeln, da die jeweiligen Lebensstilstrategien durch die Familienpolitik in unterschiedlichem MaĂ gefördert oder verhindert werden. Infolgedessen differieren die Zahlen der Frauen, die sich fĂŒr eine bestimmte Strategie entscheiden, ebenso wie die FertilitĂ€tsniveaus zwischen den Wohlfahrtsstaaten. AuĂerdem wird angenommen, dass sich die Haushaltsressourcen auf die Entscheidungen auswirken. Die vorgebrachte These wird anhand aktueller Daten zur Familienpolitik, zu BeschĂ€ftigungsmustern sowie zur FertilitĂ€t von Frauen in den sozialdemokratischen (DĂ€nemark, Finnland, Norwegen, Schweden), konservativen (Ăsterreich, Belgien, Frankreich, Deutschland, Griechenland, Italien, die Niederlande, Portugal, Spanien) sowie den liberalen Wohlfahrtsstaaten (Australien, Kanada, Irland, GB und die USA) aufgezeigt. DarĂŒber hinaus beinhaltet dieser Beitrag eine Neuinterpretation der Ergebnisse in Bezug auf die ZusammenhĂ€nge zwischen der Familienpolitik und der ErwerbstĂ€tigkeit sowie FertilitĂ€t von Frauen vor dem Hintergrund des hierin vorgestellten Rahmens.This paper is inspired by the many similarities between gendered welfare state research and demographic research on the determinants of fertility. The first part of the paper discusses some of the theories on childbearing in the light of the gendered welfare state theory. One important similarity between these two genres is that when work-life choices are studied, the emphasis is on policies which enable women to reconcile employment and family. Support for informal care is accordingly treated as having a negative influence on work-life compatibility, and women are moreover assumed to have homogeneous preferences, i.e., they are supposed to want to combine work and family. However, such an approach does not pay sufficient attention to informal care and to heterogeneity among women, either when it comes to preferences or to behaviour. To address these gaps, in the second part of the paper a new framework to analyse womenâs work-life choices is developed. The suggested framework gives considerable attention to the way in which formal as well as informal care is supported or enforced in different welfare states and the consequences such support has on womenâs decision making. Moreover, heterogeneity among women is emphasised, both in preferences and when it comes to behaviour. The central argument is that womenâs heterogeneous preferences transform differently to different lifestyle career strategies (with regard to employment and childbearing) in different welfare state settings, as each lifestyle strategy is encouraged or discouraged by family policy to differing degrees. Hence, the number of women who choose a particular strategy, as well as the level of fertility, varies between the welfare states. In addition, household resources are assumed to influence the choices that are being made. The argument that is put forward is illustrated with recent data on family policy, womenâs employment patterns and fertility in the social-democratic (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden), conservative (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain) and liberal welfare states (Australia, Canada, Ireland, the UK, the USA). Moreover, a reinterpretation of the findings on the relationship between family policy, female employment and fertility is provided in the light of the framework outlined
The interactome of the prostate-specific protein Anoctamin 7
BACKGROUND: Elevated Anoctamin 7 (ANO7) expression is associated with poor survival in prostate cancer patients.OBJECTIVE: The aim was to discover proteins that interact with ANO7 to understand its functions and regulatory mechanisms.METHODS: The proximity-dependent biotin identification (BioID) method was utilized. ANO7 fused to biotin ligase was transiently transfected into LNCaP cells, and the biotinylated proteins were collected and analysed by mass spectrometry. Four identified proteins were stained with dual fluorescent immunostaining and visualized using Stimulated emission depletion microscopy (STED).RESULTS: After bioinformatic filtering steps, 64 potentially ANO7-interacting proteins were identified and analysed with the GO enrichment analysis tool. One of the most prominently enriched cellular components was cellular vesicle. Co-localization was showed for staphylococcal nuclease and tudor domain containing 1 (SND1), heat shock protein family A (Hsp70) member 1A (HSPA1A), adaptor related protein complex 2 subunit beta 1 (AP2B1) and coatomer protein complex subunit gamma 2 (COPG2).CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study in which ANO7 interacting proteins have been identified. Although further studies are needed, the findings reported here expand our understanding of the role and regulation of ANO7 in prostate cancer cells. Furthermore, these results are likely to introduce new targets for the novel cancer therapies
The variant rs77559646 associated with aggressive prostate cancer disrupts ANO7 mRNA splicing and protein expression
Prostate cancer is among the most common cancers in men, with a large fraction of the individual risk attributable to heritable factors. A majority of the diagnosed cases does not lead to a lethal disease, and hence biological markers that can distinguish between indolent and fatal forms of the disease are of great importance for guiding treatment decisions. Although over 300 genetic variants are known to be associated with prostate cancer risk, few have been associated with the risk of an aggressive disease. One such variant is rs77559646 located in ANO7. This variant has a dual function. It constitutes a missense mutation in the short isoform of ANO7 and a splice region mutation in full-length ANO7. In this study, we have analyzed the impact of the variant allele of rs77559646 on ANO7 mRNA splicing using a minigene splicing assay and by performing splicing analysis with the tools IRFinder (intron retention finder), rMATS (replicate multivariate analysis of transcript splicing) and LeafCutter on RNA sequencing data from prostate tissue of six rs77559646 variant allele carriers and 43 non-carriers. The results revealed a severe disruption of ANO7 mRNA splicing in rs77559646 variant allele carriers. Immunohistochemical analysis of prostate samples from patients homozygous for the rs77559646 variant allele demonstrated a loss of apically localized ANO7 protein. Our study is the first to provide a mechanistic explanation for the impact of a prostate cancer risk SNP on ANO7 protein production. Furthermore, the rs77559646 variant is the first known germline loss-of-function mutation described for ANO7. We suggest that loss of ANO7 contributes to prostate cancer progression.</p
Genome-wide association of familial prostate cancer cases identifies evidence for a rare segregating haplotype at 8q24.21
Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of prostate cancer risk focused on cases unselected for family history and have reported over 100 significant associations. The International Consortium for Prostate Cancer Genetics (ICPCG) has now performed a GWAS of 2511 (unrelated) familial prostate cancer cases and 1382 unaffected controls from 12 member sites. All samples were genotyped on the Illumina 5M+exome single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) platform. The GWAS identified a significant evidence for association for SNPs in six regions previously associated with prostate cancer in population-based cohorts, including 3q26.2, 6q25.3, 8q24.21, 10q11.23, 11q13.3, and 17q12. Of note, SNP rs138042437 (p = 1.7eâ8) at 8q24.21 achieved a large estimated effect size in this cohort (odds ratio = 13.3). 116 previously sampled affected relatives of 62 risk-allele carriers from the GWAS cohort were genotyped for this SNP, identifying 78 additional affected carriers in 62 pedigrees. A test for an excess number of affected carriers among relatives exhibited strong evidence for co-segregation of the variant with disease (p = 8.5eâ11). The majority (92 %) of risk-allele carriers at rs138042437 had a consistent estimated haplotype spanning approximately 100 kb of 8q24.21 that contained the minor alleles of three rare SNPs (dosage minor allele frequencies <1.7 %), rs183373024 (PRNCR1), previously associated SNP rs188140481, and rs138042437 (CASC19). Strong evidence for co-segregation of a SNP on the haplotype further characterizes the haplotype as a prostate cancer pre-disposition locus
FertilitÀt, Familienpolitik und Wohlfahrtsregime
"Dieser Beitrag wurde durch die zahlreichen Ăbereinstimmungen zwischen der genderspezifischen Wohlfahrtsstaatsforschung und der Bevölkerungsforschung in Bezug auf die Determinanten der FertilitĂ€t angeregt. Der erste Teil dieses Beitrages befasst sich mit einer Reihe von Reproduktionstheorien vor dem Hintergrund der These des genderspezifischen Wohlfahrtsstaates. Eine zentrale Parallele zwischen diesen beiden Theorien ist die Tatsache, dass bei der Analyse von Work-Life-Choices schwerpunktmĂ€Ăig eine Politik untersucht wird, die eine Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Familie ermöglicht. Folglich nimmt man an, dass sich die informelle Betreuung nachteilig auf die Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf auswirkt, ebenso wie man von homogenen PrĂ€ferenzen seitens der Frauen ausgeht, also voraussetzt, dass alle Frauen Beruf und Familie miteinander verbinden wollen. Dieser Ansatz trĂ€gt jedoch der informellen Betreuung sowie der HeterogenitĂ€t der Frauen nicht genĂŒgend Rechnung, weder im Hinblick auf ihre PrĂ€ferenzen noch in Bezug auf ihr Verhalten. Um diese LĂŒcken zu schlieĂen, wird im zweiten Teil dieses Beitrages ein neuer Rahmen zur Analyse der Work-Life-Choices von Frauen ausgearbeitet. Der vorgestellte Analyserahmen legt ein besonderes Augenmerk auf die Art und Weise der Förderung oder Durchsetzung formeller sowie informeller Betreuungsformen in verschiedenen Wohlfahrtsstaaten, ebenso wie auf die Auswirkungen einer solchen Förderung auf die Entscheidungen der Frauen. Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt liegt auĂerdem auf der HeterogenitĂ€t der Frauen, sowohl im Hinblick auf ihre PrĂ€ferenzen als auch in Bezug auf ihr Verhalten. Das Hauptargument besagt, dass sich die heterogenen PrĂ€ferenzen von Frauen in verschiedenen Wohlfahrtsstaatstypen auf unterschiedliche Weise zu unterschiedlichen Lebensverlaufsstrategien (in puncto Beruf und Familie) hinentwickeln, da die jeweiligen Lebensstilstrategien durch die Familienpolitik in unterschiedlichem MaĂ gefördert oder verhindert werden. Infolgedessen differieren die Zahlen der Frauen, die sich fĂŒr eine bestimmte Strategie entscheiden, ebenso wie die FertilitĂ€tsniveaus zwischen den Wohlfahrtsstaaten. AuĂerdem wird angenommen, dass sich die Haushaltsressourcen auf die Entscheidungen auswirken. Die vorgebrachte These wird anhand aktueller Daten zur Familienpolitik, zu BeschĂ€ftigungsmustern sowie zur FertilitĂ€t von Frauen in den sozialdemokratischen (DĂ€nemark, Finnland, Norwegen, Schweden), konservativen (Ăsterreich, Belgien, Frankreich, Deutschland, Griechenland, Italien, die Niederlande, Portugal, Spanien) sowie den liberalen Wohlfahrtsstaaten (Australien, Kanada, Irland, GB und die USA) aufgezeigt. DarĂŒber hinaus beinhaltet dieser Beitrag eine Neuinterpretation der Ergebnisse in Bezug auf die ZusammenhĂ€nge zwischen der Familienpolitik und der ErwerbstĂ€tigkeit sowie FertilitĂ€t von Frauen vor dem Hintergrund des hierin vorgestellten Rahmens." (Autorenreferat)"This paper is inspired by the many similarities between gendered welfare state research and demographic research on the determinants of fertility. The first part of the paper discusses some of the theories on childbearing in the light of the gendered welfare state theory. One important similarity between these two genres is that when work-life choices are studied, the emphasis is on policies which enable women to reconcile employment and family. Support for informal care is accordingly treated as having a negative influence on work-life compatibility, and women are moreover assumed to have homogeneous preferences, i.e., they are supposed to want to combine work and family. However, such an approach does not pay sufficient attention to informal care and to heterogeneity among women, either when it comes to preferences or to behaviour. To address these gaps, in the second part of the paper a new framework to analyse women's work-life choices is developed. The suggested framework gives considerable attention to the way in which formal as well as informal care is supported or enforced in different welfare states and the consequences such support has on women's decision making. Moreover, heterogeneity among women is emphasised, both in preferences and when it comes to behaviour. The central argument is that women's heterogeneous preferences transform differently to different lifestyle career strategies (with regard to employment and childbearing) in different welfare state settings, as each lifestyle strategy is encouraged or discouraged by family policy to differing degrees. Hence, the number of women who choose a particular strategy, as well as the level of fertility, varies between the welfare states. In addition, household resources are assumed to influence the choices that are being made. The argument that is put forward is illustrated with recent data on family policy, women's employment patterns and fertility in the social-democratic (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden), conservative (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain) and liberal welfare states (Australia, Canada, Ireland, the UK, the USA). Moreover, a reinterpretation of the findings on the relationship between family policy, female employment and fertility is provided in the light of the framework outlined." (author's abstract
Ist es Kommodifizierung, De-Kommodifizierung, Familiarismus oder De-Familiarisierung? Erziehungsurlaub in Schweden und Finnland
The aim of this paper is to discuss four central concepts of welfare state policy, (commodification, de-commodification, familialization, de-familialization) in the context of parental leave policies in two social democratic welfare states, Sweden and Finland. One could claim that the parental leave in these countries is including all of the four elements, but could mostly be characterized by commodification, de-commodification and de-familialization of the mothers. Sweden with its more generous parental leave (both when it comes to the amount of the days and the compensation) is being more de-commodifying and de-familializing than Finland. Despite the critique towards these Esping-AndersenÂŽs concepts, they can be said to be more clarifying than confusing when discussing parental leave in Sweden and Finland, while the dimensions of the parental leave in these two countries seem to be complex and cannot be captured with only one concept.Diese Arbeit behandelt vier zentrale Konzepte der Wohlfahrtsstaatspolitik (commodification, de-commodification, familialization, de-familialization) vor dem Hintergrund der Politiken des Eltern-/Erziehungsurlaubes in Schweden und Finnland, zwei sozialdemikratischen Wohlfahrtsstaaten. Man könnte sagen, dass der Erziehungsurlaub in diesen Staaten alle vier Elemente umfaĂt, aber vor allem durch die Kommodifikation, De-Kommodifikation und De-Familiarisation der MĂŒtter charakterisiert werden kann. Schweden mit seinem umfangreicheren Elternurlaub (sowohl was die Zeit als auch was die Bezahlung anbelangt) ist mehr de-kommodifizierend und de-familiarisierend als Finnland. Trotz der Kritik an diesen konzeptuellen Begriffen Esping-Andersens kann man sagen, dass sie bezĂŒglich der Diskussion des Elternurlaubes in Schweden und Finnland mehr klĂ€ren als verwirren, da die Dimensionen des Elternurlaubes in diesen zwei LĂ€ndern sehr komplex zu sein scheint und nicht nur mit einem Begriff erklĂ€rt werden kann