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1 – 10 of 132Anu Järvensivu, Ritva Horppu and Hanna Keränen
Multiple jobholding (MJH) is assumed to be a growing phenomenon due to working life changes. This study presents new knowledge on the MJH career paths, from the perspectives of…
Abstract
Purpose
Multiple jobholding (MJH) is assumed to be a growing phenomenon due to working life changes. This study presents new knowledge on the MJH career paths, from the perspectives of both employers and employees.
Design/methodology/approach
The qualitative interview study was focused on retail trade and restaurant and food service industries in Finland, where MJH is a quite common work arrangement compared to other European countries. The data were analyzed with the concepts of the chaos theory of careers and with an abductive thematic content analysis.
Findings
According to the results, several events and intertwined factors may lead individual careers gradually to MJH. Changing personal and family situations and leisure time needs attracted the careers towards MJH. MJH was not only a financial necessity to employees, but it also served their flexibility interests. The interviewed employers applied flexible non-standard employment arrangements mainly due to rapidly varying labor needs established in the industries. It was important for them to strengthen the non-standard core employees' sense of belonging to the work community. However, employees with work ability challenges were in risk to end up in peripheral positions at the labor market.
Originality/value
Previous research on multiple jobholding has not combined employers’ perspectives of MJH to employees’ experiences of career paths.
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Priya Kataria and Shelly Pandey
The purpose of this paper is to study the experiences of middle-class working mothers from the ITES (Information Technology Enabled Service) sector in India during the COVID-19…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the experiences of middle-class working mothers from the ITES (Information Technology Enabled Service) sector in India during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their experiences of work from home are studied in the backdrop of the ideal worker model at work and the adult worker model at home. Further, the study aims to identify the need for sustainable, inclusive practices for working mothers in Indian organizations to break the male breadwinner model in middle-class households.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach to collect data from 39 middle-class mothers working in MNCs in four metro cities in India. The semi-structured, in-depth interviews focused on their experiences of motherhood, care and work before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Findings
The pandemic made it evident that the ideal worker model in organizations and the adult worker model at home were illusions for working mothers. The results indicate a continued obligation of the “ideal worker culture” at organizations, even during the health crisis. It made the working mothers realize that they were chasing both the (ideal worker and adult worker) norms but could never achieve them. Subsequently, the male breadwinner model was reinforced at home due to the matrix of motherhood, care and work during the pandemic. The study concludes by arguing the reconstruction of the ideal worker image to make workplaces more inclusive for working mothers.
Originality/value
The study is placed in the context of Indian middle-class motherhood during the pandemic, a demography less explored in the literature. The paper puts forth various myths constituting the gendered realities of Indian middle-class motherhood. It also discusses sustainable, inclusive workplace practices for mothers from their future workplaces' standpoint, especially in post-pandemic times.
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This chapter introduces the topic of mental health and wellbeing in schools and the overarching theoretical framework for the book. The evolving role of schools from nurturing…
Abstract
This chapter introduces the topic of mental health and wellbeing in schools and the overarching theoretical framework for the book. The evolving role of schools from nurturing environments to frontline support for pupils’ mental health and wellbeing is scrutinised in the context of demand, capacity and constraints in a post-pandemic world. Alongside this is a critical consideration of schools’ and education staff’s role, responsibilities and boundaries. The disparate mental health needs of pupils within the school population are discussed, as well as key risk and protective factors to help facilitate timely identification and appropriate support pathways for vulnerable pupils. Key topics and case studies which comprise the remainder of the book are introduced to navigate the reader, and this concludes the chapter.
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Stefania Velardo, Kristen Stevens, Michelle Watson, Christina Pollard, John Coveney, Jessica Shipman and Sue Booth
Children's food insecurity experiences are largely unrepresented in academic literature. Parents and caregivers cannot always accurately evaluate their children's attitudes or…
Abstract
Purpose
Children's food insecurity experiences are largely unrepresented in academic literature. Parents and caregivers cannot always accurately evaluate their children's attitudes or experiences, and even within the same family unit, children and their parents may report differing views and experiences of family food insecurity. The purpose of this narrative review is to identify studies that include children's voices and their perceptions, understanding, and experience of food insecurity in the household.
Design/methodology/approach
This narrative review aimed to address the following questions: (1) “What research studies of household food insecurity include children's voices?” and (2) “Across these studies, how do children perceive, understand and experience food insecurity in the household?”. A database search was conducted in October 2022. After inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, 16 articles remained for review.
Findings
The findings from this review were organised into three themes: Theme 1: Ways children coped with accessing food or money for food; Theme 2: Food-related strategies children used to avoid hunger; and Theme 3: Children attempt to mask food insecurity.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should further explore the long-term consequences of social pressures and informal economic engagement on children's well-being and social development. By addressing the social determinants of food insecurity, this study can strive to create supportive environments that enable all children to access adequate nutrition and thrive.
Social implications
Overall, the findings of this review demonstrate the significant social pressures that shape children's responses to food insecurity. Results suggest that children's decision-making processes are influenced by the desire to maintain social standing and avoid the negative consequences of being food insecure. As such, this review underscores the need for a comprehensive understanding of the social context in which food insecurity occurs and the impact it has on children's lives. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing effective interventions and policies addressing the multifaceted challenges food insecure children face.
Originality/value
This review has highlighted a need for interventions to incorporate trauma-informed strategies to protect children from and respond to the psychologically distressing experiences and impact of living in food insecure households.
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Sewanu Awhangansi, Michael Lewis, Khalid Karim, Jibril Abdulmalik, Philip Archard, Adeniran Okewole and Michelle O'Reilly
This paper aims to report a non-randomized control study undertaken to investigate prevalence and correlates of conduct disorder among male secondary education students in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report a non-randomized control study undertaken to investigate prevalence and correlates of conduct disorder among male secondary education students in South-West Nigeria and to assess the impact of a problem-solving skills and attributional retraining (PSSAR) intervention with this population.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 787 male students from two schools were screened for conduct disorder. All participants who met criteria for the disorder were allocated to either treatment (n = 55) or control (n = 47) groups. Outcome measures comprised the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ; teacher and student versions) and the teacher rating of students’ aggressive behaviors.
Findings
Of the sample, 13% were found to present with difficulties that met criteria for conduct disorder. The presence of these difficulties correlated with several demographic variables, including parental conflict and alcohol use. A statistically significant reduction in mean scores was observed for the treatment group in the student rating of the SDQ emotional subscale and total difficulties scores. Teacher ratings were less consistent in that conduct problems, prosocial behavior and total difficulties increased following the intervention, whereas peer problems and aggressive behavior were reported by teachers to reduce. No statistically significant change was found in the outcome measures for the control group.
Practical implications
In resource-constrained settings, school-based interventions are an important means through which treatment gaps in child and adolescent mental health can be addressed.
Originality/value
In resource-constrained settings, school-based interventions are an important means through which treatment gaps in child and adolescent mental health can be addressed. This study’s findings offer some preliminary support for the PSSAR intervention for conduct disorder in this context and indicate areas for further research.
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Allison Starks and Stephanie Michelle Reich
This study aims to explore children’s cognitions about data flows online and their understandings of algorithms, often referred to as algorithmic literacy or algorithmic folk…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore children’s cognitions about data flows online and their understandings of algorithms, often referred to as algorithmic literacy or algorithmic folk theories, in their everyday uses of social media and YouTube. The authors focused on children ages 8 to 11, as these are the ages when most youth acquire their own device and use social media and YouTube, despite platform age requirements.
Design/methodology/approach
Nine focus groups with 34 socioeconomically, racially and ethnically diverse children (8–11 years) were conducted in California. Groups discussed data flows online, digital privacy, algorithms and personalization across platforms.
Findings
Children had several misconceptions about privacy risks, privacy policies, what kinds of data are collected about them online and how algorithms work. Older children had more complex and partially accurate theories about how algorithms determine the content they see online, compared to younger children. All children were using YouTube and/or social media despite age gates and children used few strategies to manage the flow of their personal information online.
Practical implications
The paper includes implications for digital and algorithmic literacy efforts, improving the design of privacy consent practices and user controls, and regulation for protecting children’s privacy online.
Originality/value
Research has yet to explore what socioeconomically, racially and ethnically diverse children understand about datafication and algorithms online, especially in middle childhood.
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Panos Vostanis, Sajida Hassan, Syeda Zeenat Fatima and Michelle O'Reilly
Children in majority world countries (MWC) have high rates of unmet mental health needs, with limited access to specialist resources. Integration of child mental health in…
Abstract
Purpose
Children in majority world countries (MWC) have high rates of unmet mental health needs, with limited access to specialist resources. Integration of child mental health in existing psychosocial care can improve provision. Through a Train-the-Trainer (ToT) cascade approach, this study aimed to provide a framework for such integration in resource-constrained communities in Karachi, Pakistan and to establish hindering and enabling factors.
Design/methodology/approach
Eight practitioners attended a child mental health ToT program, including training on a five-domain service transformation framework. Trainers co-designed and implemented interventions that integrated child mental health knowledge and skills on each domain. These were attended by 136 end-users (youth, parents, teachers, managers), of whom a sub-sample of 47 stakeholders, as well as the trainers, attended focus groups on their experiences. Data were analysed through a thematic codebook.
Findings
Established themes reflected common ingredients across all domains/interventions that were deemed important for child mental health care integration. These included child-centric approaches, positive parenting, community mobilization and systemic changes.
Originality/value
Integrated child mental health care informed by the Train-of-Trainer approach can be a useful model for resource-constrained MWC contexts. Integrated interventions should be co-produced with communities.
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Amelia Talbot, Michelle O'Reilly and Nisha Dogra
The paper aims to explore the anxiety of university students. The authors note that the rhetoric of the snowflake is frequently invoked in lay discourse to characterise a…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to explore the anxiety of university students. The authors note that the rhetoric of the snowflake is frequently invoked in lay discourse to characterise a generation of young people as overly sensitive. This misleading conceptualisation is potentially stigmatising.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews were conducted with tweleve young women (18–25 years) about anxiety during their transition through university and into adulthood.
Findings
The authors identified three themes: (1) students in a modern world, (2) gendered demands and (3) anxiety of adulting. Analysis demonstrated numerous, transecting and discourse-informed anxieties about modern life.
Practical implications
University professionals may benefit from understanding the gendered dimensions of anxiety associated with transitions to adulthood, including the increased pressures to succeed and achieve.
Originality/value
The arguably pejorative label of “snowflake” could negatively impact the social progress made in recognising the importance of taking care of mental health and help-seeking. This is especially concerning for females, as they have higher prevalence of anxiety conditions than males.
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Michelle O’Kane, Connie M. Bird, Sheila Marshall, Ashley Quinn and Grant Charles
Children and youth who enter the care system have lower educational outcomes and university participation rates than their peers. This study aims to understand trend exceptions by…
Abstract
Purpose
Children and youth who enter the care system have lower educational outcomes and university participation rates than their peers. This study aims to understand trend exceptions by examining the background of care-experienced undergraduates attending a research-intensive university in Canada.
Design/methodology/approach
Informed by social affordance theory, this study examined the presence of four indicators of stability (home, household occupants, school and legal status) during participants’ final three years of secondary education. Care-experienced undergraduates (N = 30) completed an online questionnaire. Associations between stability indicators, child welfare involvement in the final year of high school, educational outcomes and routes into higher education were analysed.
Findings
Stability across three to four indicators was experienced by 40% of participants, while 47% reported changes across three to four indicators. Only 20% had a change of school as compared to 47%–60% for other indicators. During their final year of high school, 73% of participants were supported by the child welfare system, with 50% being supported via a support program specifically for 16- to 18-year-olds. Stability scores were significantly lower for this latter subgroup compared to those who spent time in foster or group care and those who did not receive child welfare support during the final year of high school. Ninety percent of participants graduated from high school, 67% with the grades required to attend university. Three trajectories into undergraduate study were identified but could not be predicted using regression models.
Originality/value
This paper focuses on what has supported progression into a research-intensive university for care-experienced young adults and highlights the role of support programs for 16- to 18-year-olds.
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