Street Ball,Swim Team and the Sour Cream Machine: A Cluster Analysis of Out of School Time Participation Portfolios

Adolescents spend only a fraction of their waking hours in school and what they do with the rest of their time varies dramatically. Despite this, research on out-of-school time has largely focused on structured programming. The authors analyzed data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) to examine the out-of-school time activity portfolios of 6,338 high school sophomores, accounting for time spent in school clubs and sports as well as 17 other activities. The analytical sample was balanced with respect to sex and racially and ethnically diverse: 49% female, 67% White, 10% Latino, 10% African American, and 6% Asian and Pacific Islander. Approximately 76% of the sample attended public schools, 30% were in the highest socioeconomic quartile, and 20% were in the lowest socioeconomic quartile. The authors identified five distinct out-of-school time activity portfolios based on a cluster analysis. The demographic profiles of students by portfolio type differed significantly with respect to sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, school type and location. Students by portfolio type also differed significantly in terms of measures of academic success, school behavior, victimization and perceptions of school climate, controlling for covariates. These findings underscore the importance of more complex considerations of adolescents’ out-of-school time.

Strong and Weak Gender Quota Regimes

A study of the introduction and adoption of gender quotas that does not examine both the interpretation of the problem and the process of implementation is insufficient. A gender quota regime may be promising in its formal features, without guaranteeing the intended results in more informal practices. Six criteria form the basis for a strong gender quota regime: (1) unambiguous and concrete goals, (2) rank order of candidates, (3) evaluations and adjustments of the regime, (4) information from superior authorities, (5) satisfactory implementation by the actors involved, and (6) control and sanctions. An evaluation of these six criteria presupposes the use of a variety of methodological approaches. The development of specific criteria for strong versus weak quota regimes makes it possible to identify both the weak points of the legislation and the failures of implementation. In addition, these criteria will contribute to comparative studies on gender quota regimes and supplement the work of cumulative research. This study applies the six criteria in order to evaluate the Norwegian gender quota regime in local politics and shows that even if four criteria are fulfilled the result is still not satisfactory. The practices of implementation among politicians at the local level as well as among the supervising bodies (county governors) vary. Different discourses create various practices that force or obstruct the implementation of gender balance.     

Einleitung: Subsidiäres Staatshandeln in modernen Gesellschaften

En s'interrogeant sur la manière dont un Etat central, dans un système fédéraliste, parvient à redéfinir la réalité sociale, l'article analyse la dimension symbolique de l'action publique et ses modes de légitimation. L'auteur présente la transformation de la politique de protection de la nature et du paysage qui se manifeste tant au niveau de la répartition du pouvoir fédéral, qu'au niveau de la représentation symbolique du territoire. A l'aide d'une étude de cas, il analyse la démarche mise en place par l'administration fédérale et cantonale en vue de légitimer cette politique auprès des communes et des groupes d'intérêts locaux. Celle-ci était basée sur des procédures discursives. Si ces modes de légitimation secondaires conduisent à la reproduction des inégalités propres au champ de la politique, ils favorisent néanmoins une transformation de la perception de la nature et du paysage à l'aide d'échange de normes et de valeurs entre les différents acteurs. Un tel mode d'intervention de l'Etat central au niveau local peut être interprété comme un type de subsidiarité réflexive.     

Hydrogen: Fueling EU-Morocco Energy Cooperation?

The war in Ukraine and the looming threat of climate change are driving the strategic need to diversify sources of energy, including renewables. Therefore, the European Union aims to develop energy relations with non-EU member states, and Morocco has become a key priority. Both Brussels and Rabat are pursuing ambitious green policies and cooperation initiatives, including on hydrogen. Drawing on theories of international institutions and political economy, this article analyzes hydrogen-related relationship patterns and explains demand and supply factors as drivers of institutionalized energy cooperation. We examine the EU's hydrogen approach and development, its relations with Morocco, and the political interests of both sides. Our analysis shows that the complex interdependencies in the evolving EU-Morocco hydrogen relations indicate that demand can be met by supply. However, challenges remain, including the need to deepen the partnership and prepare the market for commercial hydrogen production.     

Changes in Patterns of Social Role Combinations at Ages 25–26 among Those Growing Up in England between 1996 and 2015–16: Evidence from the 1970 British Cohort and Next Steps Studies

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Changes across education, employment, and family life over the past 20 years challenges the capacity of previously established social role combinations to...     

Do Housing Vouchers Improve Academic Performance? Evidence from New York City

The Housing Choice Voucher program is currently the largest federally funded housing assistance program. Although the program aims to provide housing assistance, it also could affect children's educational outcomes by stabilizing their families, enabling them to move to better homes, neighborhoods, and schools, and increasing their disposable incomes. Using data from New York City, the nation's largest school district, we examine whether—and to what extent—housing vouchers improve educational outcomes for students whose families receive them. We match over 88,000 school-age voucher recipients to longitudinal public school records and estimate the impact of vouchers on academic performance through a comparison of students’ performance on standardized tests after voucher receipt to their pre-voucher performance. We exploit the conditionally random timing of voucher receipt to estimate a causal model. Results indicate that students in voucher households perform 0.05 standard deviations better in both English Language Arts and Mathematics in the years after they receive a voucher. We see significant racial differences in impacts, with small or no gains for black students but significant gains for Hispanic, Asian, and white students. Impacts appear to be driven largely by reduced rent burdens, increased disposable income, or a greater sense of residential security.