Reversal of gender differences in Educational Attainment – historical analysis of the West German Case

Background information: During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, West Germany witnessed a reversal of gender differences in educational attainment, as females began to outperform males. Purpose: The main objective was to analyse which processes were behind the reversal of gender differences in educational attainment after 1945. The theoretical reflections and empirical evidence presented for the US context by DiPrete and Buchmann (Gender-specific trends in the value of education and the emerging gender gap in college completion, Demography 43: 1–24, 2006) and Buchmann, DiPrete, and McDaniel (Gender inequalities in education, Annual Review of Sociology 34: 319–37, 2008) are considered and applied to the West German context. It is suggested that the reversal of gender differences is a consequence of the change in female educational decisions, which are mainly related to labour market opportunities and not, as sometimes assumed, a consequence of a ‘boy’s crisis’. Sample: Several databases, such as the German General Social Survey, the German Socio-economic Panel and the German Life History Study, are employed for the longitudinal analysis of the educational and occupational careers of birth cohorts born in the twentieth century. Design and methods: Changing patterns of eligibility for university studies are analysed for successive birth cohorts and gender. Binary logistic regressions are employed for the statistical modelling of the individuals’ achievement, educational decision and likelihood for social mobility – reporting average marginal effects (AME). Results: The empirical results suggest that women’s better school achievement being constant across cohorts does not contribute to the explanation of the reversal of gender differences in higher education attainment, but the increase of benefits for higher education explains the changing educational decisions of women regarding their transition to higher education. Conclusions: The outperformance of females compared with males in higher education might have been initialised by several social changes, including the expansion of public employment, the growing demand for highly qualified female workers in welfare and service areas, the increasing returns of women’s increased education and training, and the improved opportunities for combining family and work outside the home. The historical data show that, in terms of (married) women’s increased labour market opportunities and female life-cycle labour force participation, the raising rates of women’s enrolment in higher education were – among other reasons – partly explained by their rising access to service class positions across birth cohorts, and the rise of their educational returns in terms of wages and long-term employment.

How Cantonal Education Systems in Switzerland Promote Gender-Typical School-to-Work Transitions

The paper asks how cantonal education systems in Switzerland promote gender-typed school-to-work transitions and gender segregation at work. Data from the Swiss TREE youth panel study is used to analyse the impact of cantonal provision of vocational education and training (VET) on gender-typical educational trajectories. The findings show that education systems with higher VET rates have higher allocations of men in gender-(male-) typical occupational careers. The paper concludes that the pronounced and persistent gender segregation on the Swiss labor market is partly due to a prominent VET system, which urges early gender-typed occupational career decisions.

School screening for tuberculosis in high risk areas of Texas

Screening for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is an integral component of an effective tuberculosis control strategy, but one that is often relegated to the lowest priority. In a state with higher than national average rates of tuberculosis, due consideration should be given to LTBI screening. Recent large scale contact investigations in the middle school of Del Rio, Texas, raised questions about the status of school screening for LTBI. An evidence based approach was used to evaluate school screening in high risk areas of Texas. A review of the literature revealed that the current recommendations for LTBI screening in children is based on administration of a risk factor questionnaire that should be based on the four main risk factors for LTBI in children that have been identified. Six representative areas in Texas were identified for evaluation of the occurrence of contact investigations in schools for the period of 2006 to 2009 and any use of school screening programs. Of the five reporting areas that responded, only one utilized a school screening program; this reporting area had the lowest percentage of contact investigations occurring in schools. Contact investigations were most common in middle schools and least common in elementary schools. In metropolitan areas, colleges represented up to 42.9% of contact investigations. The number of contact investigations has increased from 2006 to 2008. This report represents a small sample, and further research into the frequency, distribution and risk for contact investigations in schools and the efficacy of screening programs should be done. ^

The Elegant Simplicity of Family Preservation Practice Legecies and Lessons

An earlier version of this manuscript was prepared for the Chapin Hall invitational seminar on family preservation, The Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago, September 16 & 17, 1999. The author wishes to acknowledge the comments and helpful suggestions of seminar participants-Jacqueline McCroskey, Martha Shirk, Fran Jacobs, John Schuerman, Lee Schorr, Charlotte Booth, Kristi Nelson, Susan Kelly, Frank Farrow, and Susan Notkin. These comments, as indeed many of their prior contributions, have had a seminal effect on my thinking about family preservation services over the years. Clark Peters and other Chapin Hall staff deserve special thanks for creating the conditions necessary to produce a lively and productive discussion. As always, Harold Richman, Executive Director of Chapin Hall, and Hermon Dunlap, Smith Professor at the School of Social Service Administration of the University of Chicago, as seminar convenor combined perfectly the skills of gracious host and incisive critic. We in the child welfare field are in his debt for continually raising the level of discourse in our field. In the end, as it should be, the thoughts and opinions in the following paper are wholly my own.

La lógica social del boxeo en el Chicago negro. Hacia una sociología del boxeo

Este artículo es dedicado a la memoria de Aaron, jovencito español y amigo del gimnasio, a quien el ring no lo salvó de los peligros de la calle. Este trabajo se benefició de las respuestas, los comentarios críticos y el aliento de una serie de colegas, entre los cuales se encuentran Pierre Bourdieu, Rogers Brubaker, Dan Chambliss, S. Lynn Chancer, Rick Fantasia, Harvey Molotch, Bill Wilson, y los miembros del Centro de Sociología Europea en París. También agradezco a mis colegas de la "la dulce ciencia", que me enseñaron mucho más que a lanzar gancho de izquierda, y a mi familia y amigos que me apoyaron moralmente durante este extenuante proyecto (con mención especial para Elizabeth Bonamour du Tartre, una importante asistente en el lugar). Esta investigación fue posible en parte por el apoyo financiero de la Maison des sciences de l'homme, un Lavoisier Fellowship del Gobierno Francés y la Fundación Milton de la Universidad de Harvard.

La lógica social del boxeo en el Chicago negro. Hacia una sociología del boxeo

Este artículo es dedicado a la memoria de Aaron, jovencito español y amigo del gimnasio, a quien el ring no lo salvó de los peligros de la calle. Este trabajo se benefició de las respuestas, los comentarios críticos y el aliento de una serie de colegas, entre los cuales se encuentran Pierre Bourdieu, Rogers Brubaker, Dan Chambliss, S. Lynn Chancer, Rick Fantasia, Harvey Molotch, Bill Wilson, y los miembros del Centro de Sociología Europea en París. También agradezco a mis colegas de la "la dulce ciencia", que me enseñaron mucho más que a lanzar gancho de izquierda, y a mi familia y amigos que me apoyaron moralmente durante este extenuante proyecto (con mención especial para Elizabeth Bonamour du Tartre, una importante asistente en el lugar). Esta investigación fue posible en parte por el apoyo financiero de la Maison des sciences de l'homme, un Lavoisier Fellowship del Gobierno Francés y la Fundación Milton de la Universidad de Harvard.

La lógica social del boxeo en el Chicago negro. Hacia una sociología del boxeo

Este artículo es dedicado a la memoria de Aaron, jovencito español y amigo del gimnasio, a quien el ring no lo salvó de los peligros de la calle. Este trabajo se benefició de las respuestas, los comentarios críticos y el aliento de una serie de colegas, entre los cuales se encuentran Pierre Bourdieu, Rogers Brubaker, Dan Chambliss, S. Lynn Chancer, Rick Fantasia, Harvey Molotch, Bill Wilson, y los miembros del Centro de Sociología Europea en París. También agradezco a mis colegas de la "la dulce ciencia", que me enseñaron mucho más que a lanzar gancho de izquierda, y a mi familia y amigos que me apoyaron moralmente durante este extenuante proyecto (con mención especial para Elizabeth Bonamour du Tartre, una importante asistente en el lugar). Esta investigación fue posible en parte por el apoyo financiero de la Maison des sciences de l'homme, un Lavoisier Fellowship del Gobierno Francés y la Fundación Milton de la Universidad de Harvard.

Local experiences of liberal peace : marketization and emergent conflict dynamics in Sierra Leone

Peer reviewed

Principales puntos de convergencia entre las escuelas hegemónicas de teoría económica y sociológica desde la Ilustración escocesa hasta nuestros días

This research aims to show the main points of convergence between hegemonic schools of economic and sociological theory from the Scottish Enlightenment until today. To this end, on the one hand, we set three basic families of economic thought (the mainstream, the Austrian school and Marxism); and, on the other, we divide the history of sociology in five major generations (pioneers, founders, institutionalizers, compilers and constructivist). Subsequently, we set five historical periods as reference to our respective chapters and compare, within each of them, the theoretical contributions from these two areas. Thus, in the first chapter, called "the liberal parenthesis", we consider the relationship between the classical school of economics and the pioneers and founders of sociology. In the second, entitled "the social question" we analyze, on the one hand, the theoretical consistency of both the neoclassical school, as Austrian, with the principles defended by the institutionalizers of sociology; and, on the other, the influence of Karl Marx, as founder of sociology and classical economist, in the work of Soviet revolutionary theorists. In chapter three, called the "new industrial state", we demonstrate the theoretical proximity between both Keynesianism and the Austrian school of economics, with the doctrine defended by the generation of compilers in sociology. The fourth chapter, entitled "second industrial divide", refers to the similarities between the theoretical contributions of the monetarist Chicago school and the Austrian school with sociological constructivism. Finally, chapter five, the "global market", shows that the two hegemonic schools in economics, "integrated model", and sociology, "analytical sociology", are composed of the same three schools of thought: the rational choice, the neo-institutionalism and network approach. Thus, we can conclude that, if we look at their respective areas of influence, during this historical period occurs an manifest agreement between the theoretical contributions from the economic and sociological fields.

Proceedings of the High school conference.

1910-1917 issued as University of Illinois. School of Education. Bulletin no. 4,6,9,10,13,15,17,19.

Women in industry, by C. E. Knoeppel; an address based on answers to 1,000 questionnaires on women in industry, delivered before the national conference on "labor problems under war conditions," under joint auspices of the Society of industrial engineers and the Western efficiency society, Chicago, Ill., March, 1918.

Mode of access: Internet.