Male workers in the female-dominated long-term care sector: evidence from England

Labor market changes, including growing opportunities to work in the long-term care (LTC) sector, may attract more men to this traditionally female-dominated occupation. Analyzing an English national workforce data-set we investigate whether men are remaining within traditional masculine jobs or crossing traditional boundaries into more emotional, and personal care work. We examine organization, local area effect, and service provision on the probability of attracting more men to the workforce. The analysis utilizes multivariate statistics and mixed-effect models. The findings highlight both horizontal and vertical segregation in the types of jobs undertaken by men in the LTC sector. A research agenda is identified.     

B. Review article

EPIC AND SEDITION: THE CASE OF FERDOWSI'S SHAHNAMEH. By DICK DAVIS. Fayetteville, University of Arkansas Press, 1992. xxxvi, 222 pp. $30.00 (hb).     

Legitimacy crises and the temporal dynamics of bureaucratic representation

The representation of specific groups and social interests within (or by) the civil service has long been a concern of public administration scholarship. Yet, much of this literature focuses on representation at a single point in time. In this article, we propose a more dynamic perspective. In terms of theory, we postulate specific temporal relationships between triggering cues (e.g., a crisis event) and the representation decisions of civil servants. We specify two complementary mechanisms underlying these relationships: that is, a sensemaking process whereby the perceived meaning and relative salience of distinct groups and interests changes over time; and a shift in bureaucrats' discretion to represent specific groups or interests changes over time. We illustrate these time-dependent processes using interview and survey data from the European Commission.     

Improvising Peace: Towards New Social Contracts in Tunisia

ABSTRACT

Eight years after the Arab Spring revolutions, Tunisia's state and citizens are crafting an increasingly resilient national social contract, despite setbacks. This case study examines what is driving Tunisia's efforts, focusing in particular on key transition initiatives – including a national dialogue and a forward-looking constitution adopted by broad consensus, following nation-wide consultations. The case examines how informed and empowered Tunisians built these structures to leverage the inherent resilience capacities of the people, which developed throughout state and civil society formation, women's movements, labour movements, and civic education. The research suggests that two issues that gave rise to the revolution have remained particular challenges for efforts to mediate and address conflict: political and social polarisation and lack of livelihoods. It reveals how Tunisians are calling for more inclusion and institutionalised citizen engagement as a means to address them. Conclusions point to how post-revolution, democratisation gains as well as values of compromise, tolerance, dialogue appear to be immunising Tunisia against irreparable reversals and are laying the foundations for sustainable democratic peace.     

Quantitative Determination of Cannabinoids in Cannabis and Cannabis Products Using Ultra‐High‐Performance Supercritical Fluid Chromatography and Diode Array/Mass Spectrometric Detection

Ultra‐high‐performance supercritical fluid chromatography (UHPSFC ) is an efficient analytical technique and has not been fully employed for the analysis of cannabis. Here, a novel method was developed for the analysis of 30 cannabis plant extracts and preparations using UHPSFC /PDA ‐MS . Nine of the most abundant cannabinoids, viz . CBD , ?⁸‐THC , THCV , ?⁹‐THC , CBN , CBG , THCA ‐A, CBDA , and CBGA , were quantitatively determined (RSD s < 6.9%). Unlike GC methods, no derivatization or decarboxylation was required prior to UHPSFC analysis. The UHPSFC chromatographic separation of cannabinoids displayed an inverse elution order compared to UHPLC . Combining with PDA ‐MS , this orthogonality is valuable for discrimination of cannabinoids in complex matrices. The developed method was validated, and the quantification results were compared with a standard UHPLC method. The RSD s of these two methods were within ±13.0%. Finally, chemometric analysis including principal component analysis (PCA ) and partial least squares‐discriminant analysis (PLS ‐DA ) were used to differentiate between cannabis samples.     

Potency Trends of Δ9‐THC and Other Cannabinoids in Confiscated Cannabis Preparations from 1993 to 2008*

Abstract: The University of Mississippi has a contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to carry out a variety of research activities dealing with cannabis, including the Potency Monitoring (PM) program, which provides analytical potency data on cannabis preparations confiscated in the United States. This report provides data on 46,211 samples seized and analyzed by gas chromatography‐flame ionization detection (GC‐FID) during 1993–2008. The data showed an upward trend in the mean Δ⁹‐tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹‐THC) content of all confiscated cannabis preparations, which increased from 3.4% in 1993 to 8.8% in 2008. Hashish potencies did not increase consistently during this period; however, the mean yearly potency varied from 2.5–9.2% (1993–2003) to 12.0–29.3% (2004–2008). Hash oil potencies also varied considerably during this period (16.8 ± 16.3%). The increase in cannabis preparation potency is mainly due to the increase in the potency of nondomestic versus domestic samples.