an article by Lyn Craig, Abigail Powell and Natasha Cortis (University of New South Wales, Australia) published in Work Employment & Society Volume 26 Number 5 (October 2012)
Abstract
Does being self-employed, as opposed to being an employee, make a difference to how parents with young children can balance work and family demands?
Does self-employment facilitate more equal gender divisions of labour?
This article uses the Australian Time Use Survey to identify associations between self-employment and mothers’ and fathers’ time in paid work, domestic labour and childcare and when during the day they perform these activities.
The time self-employed mothers devote to each activity differs substantially from that of employee mothers, while fathers’ time is relatively constant across employment types. Working from home is highly correlated with self-employment for mothers, implying the opportunity to be home-based is a pull factor in mothers becoming self-employed.
Results suggest mothers use self-employment to combine earning and childcare whereas fathers prioritize paid work regardless of employment type.
Self-employment is not associated with gender redistribution of paid and unpaid work, although it facilitates some rescheduling.
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
The challenges for disadvantaged young people seeking work
via JRF - Combined Feed by daniel.clarkson
What are the challenges for disadvantaged young people seeking work?
Very active job search is important in the current UK labour market for disadvantaged young people – a “job in itself”.
New research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (Disadvantaged Young People Looking for Work: A job in itself? by Rebecca Tunstall, Ruth Lupton, Anne Green, Simon Watmough and Katie Bates) describes the difficulty of job searching for young people seeking low-skilled work. Studying three contrasting areas in England and Wales, it found that:
Full report (PDF 78pp)
What are the challenges for disadvantaged young people seeking work?
Very active job search is important in the current UK labour market for disadvantaged young people – a “job in itself”.
New research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (Disadvantaged Young People Looking for Work: A job in itself? by Rebecca Tunstall, Ruth Lupton, Anne Green, Simon Watmough and Katie Bates) describes the difficulty of job searching for young people seeking low-skilled work. Studying three contrasting areas in England and Wales, it found that:
- Only 24 per cent of low-skilled vacancies found for the study offered full-time, daytime work. Over half of vacancies stating the pay offered minimum wage, and 78 per cent paid under £7 an hour, making it less likely that jobseekers could travel far for them.
- Employers also preferred local candidates for such jobs. So although jobseekers need to search beyond their immediate neighbourhood, policies demanding wider geographical searches will not necessarily get more people into work.
- Intense competition meant that some employers advertise vacancies online and close them as soon as they have sufficient applicants to select from. Not all jobseekers were aware how speedily they need to respond to vacancies, and those without internet access at home were at a disadvantage.
- Despite public perceptions that employers discriminate against residents from neighbourhoods with poor reputations, the study found no significant difference in positive response rates.
Full report (PDF 78pp)
What stagnation looks like
via ToUChstone blog: A public policy blog from the TUC by Richard Exell
Following on from Duncan’s excellent post yesterday [22 October 2012], new statistics today from the Office for National Statistics confirm just how drawn-out and grinding stagnation has been so far. These are further statistics from the Measuring National Well-being project – one of the Prime Minister’s pet projects and a relic of the time when he wanted to convince us he was a progressive too.
Continue reading
Following on from Duncan’s excellent post yesterday [22 October 2012], new statistics today from the Office for National Statistics confirm just how drawn-out and grinding stagnation has been so far. These are further statistics from the Measuring National Well-being project – one of the Prime Minister’s pet projects and a relic of the time when he wanted to convince us he was a progressive too.
Continue reading
Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Benefits, Adoption Barriers and Myths of Open Data and Open Government
an article by Marijn Janssen and Anneke Zuiderwijk (Delft University of Technology) and Yannis Charalabidis (University of the Aegean, Rhodes) published in Information Systems Management Volume 29 Issue 4 (Fall 2012)
Abstract
In this article, based on data collected through interviews and a workshop, the benefits and adoption barriers for open data have been derived.
The results suggest that a conceptually simplistic view is often adopted with regard to open data, which automatically correlates the publicising of data with use and benefits.
Also, five “myths” concerning open data are presented, which place the expectations within a realistic perspective.
Further, the recommendation is provided that such projects should take a user’s view.
Hazel’s comment:
Too right!
Any projects should take a user’s view.
I have seen too many statements from the UK government which tell me the data is provided but when I try to look at it I discover that I have no way of understanding what these numbers mean.
Abstract
In this article, based on data collected through interviews and a workshop, the benefits and adoption barriers for open data have been derived.
The results suggest that a conceptually simplistic view is often adopted with regard to open data, which automatically correlates the publicising of data with use and benefits.
Also, five “myths” concerning open data are presented, which place the expectations within a realistic perspective.
Further, the recommendation is provided that such projects should take a user’s view.
Hazel’s comment:
Too right!
Any projects should take a user’s view.
I have seen too many statements from the UK government which tell me the data is provided but when I try to look at it I discover that I have no way of understanding what these numbers mean.
Stepping into higher education from the vocational education sector in Australia: student perceptions and experiences
an article by Sarah O’Shea, Pauline Lysaght and Kathleen Tanner (University of Wollongong, Australia) published in Journal of Vocational Education & Training
Volume 64 Issue 3 (September 2012)
Abstract
It is not unusual to hear study in the vocational education sector referred to as a ‘stepping stone’ into further studies in the higher education environment. What this pathway entails for those who choose it is not immediately clear however.
This article reports on research conducted with a small cohort of students who arrived at an Australian university with advanced standing or credit transfer based on their studies in the vocational sector.
A narrative inquiry approach highlights the voices of these participants drawn through stories of their individual experiences of the transition to higher education.
Recommendations related to structural and educational change are based on evidence that this vocational ‘stepping stone’ can mean different things to different people.
Abstract
It is not unusual to hear study in the vocational education sector referred to as a ‘stepping stone’ into further studies in the higher education environment. What this pathway entails for those who choose it is not immediately clear however.
This article reports on research conducted with a small cohort of students who arrived at an Australian university with advanced standing or credit transfer based on their studies in the vocational sector.
A narrative inquiry approach highlights the voices of these participants drawn through stories of their individual experiences of the transition to higher education.
Recommendations related to structural and educational change are based on evidence that this vocational ‘stepping stone’ can mean different things to different people.
Teaching entrepreneurship in vocational education viewed from the regional and field perspectives
an article by Taina Järvi (Lapland Vocational College, Rovaniemi, Finland) published in Journal of Vocational Education & Training Volume 64 Issue 3 (September 2012)
Abstract
Very little research has been conducted on the teaching of entrepreneurship, in particular in vocational education. Entrepreneurship is included in the national curriculum of many European countries, but there is concern over the competence of its teachers and their training in entrepreneurship (European Commission 2009, 14).
This article explores entrepreneurship education from teachers’ viewpoints eliciting their views on its aims, methods and content.
The article investigates the planning behind entrepreneurship studies in a region of Northern Finland and is informed by a literature review of entrepreneurial learning and input from teachers. The analysis indicates that entrepreneurship education should be assessed and applied from the perspective of field and region. The study suggests how vocational field, region and entrepreneurial learning can be brought together when planning the content and methods of practical studies, for example in work-based learning.
Hazel’s comment:
Is entrepreneurship a taught subject in British schools and colleges?
Is it a subject that can be taught or does it have to be learned through experience?
Given that the answer to both the above questions is “yes” just how effective is the learning?
Abstract
Very little research has been conducted on the teaching of entrepreneurship, in particular in vocational education. Entrepreneurship is included in the national curriculum of many European countries, but there is concern over the competence of its teachers and their training in entrepreneurship (European Commission 2009, 14).
This article explores entrepreneurship education from teachers’ viewpoints eliciting their views on its aims, methods and content.
The article investigates the planning behind entrepreneurship studies in a region of Northern Finland and is informed by a literature review of entrepreneurial learning and input from teachers. The analysis indicates that entrepreneurship education should be assessed and applied from the perspective of field and region. The study suggests how vocational field, region and entrepreneurial learning can be brought together when planning the content and methods of practical studies, for example in work-based learning.
Hazel’s comment:
Is entrepreneurship a taught subject in British schools and colleges?
Is it a subject that can be taught or does it have to be learned through experience?
Given that the answer to both the above questions is “yes” just how effective is the learning?
Career and employer change in the age of the ‘boundaryless’ career
an article by Narelle Hess (People Services, Challenge Consulting Australia), Denise M. Jepsen (Macquarie University, Australia) and Nicky Dries (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium) published in Journal of Vocational Behavior Volume 81 Issue 2 (October 2012)
Abstract
This study examined the direct effect of individual career concerns on career and employer change intention, as well as the buffering influence of organisational commitment on this relationship, based on the AMO model of behavioural change intention.
Survey data, collected from 341 employees across industry sectors in Australia, showed that ‘exploration’ concerns related positively to both employer and career change intentions; the impact of exploration concerns on career change intention was buffered by affective commitment, however, and reinforced by normative commitment.
‘Establishment’ concerns related negatively to career change intention, and this effect was also buffered by level of affective commitment. The results point towards the distinct nature of employer and career change, and prompt calls for further research on the interplay of the myriad of factors that influence boundary-crossing career behaviour.
Highlights
► We examined factors influencing boundary-crossing of career and employer change.
► Exploration concerns positively related to both employer and career change intention.
► Affective commitment buffered the impact of exploration concerns on career change intention.
► Normative commitment reinforced the impact of exploration concerns on career change intention.
► Different pattern of results for career change and organisation change.
Abstract
This study examined the direct effect of individual career concerns on career and employer change intention, as well as the buffering influence of organisational commitment on this relationship, based on the AMO model of behavioural change intention.
Survey data, collected from 341 employees across industry sectors in Australia, showed that ‘exploration’ concerns related positively to both employer and career change intentions; the impact of exploration concerns on career change intention was buffered by affective commitment, however, and reinforced by normative commitment.
‘Establishment’ concerns related negatively to career change intention, and this effect was also buffered by level of affective commitment. The results point towards the distinct nature of employer and career change, and prompt calls for further research on the interplay of the myriad of factors that influence boundary-crossing career behaviour.
Highlights
► We examined factors influencing boundary-crossing of career and employer change.
► Exploration concerns positively related to both employer and career change intention.
► Affective commitment buffered the impact of exploration concerns on career change intention.
► Normative commitment reinforced the impact of exploration concerns on career change intention.
► Different pattern of results for career change and organisation change.
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