A Culturally Sensitive Approach to the Relationships between Identity Formation and Religious Beliefs in Youth

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Youth encounter issues of religion in the process of identity formation. However, most prior studies have focused on Christian youth in Western counties. This...     

Five‐year effects of an anti‐poverty program on marriage among never‐married mothers

Using data from an experimental evaluation of the New Hope project, an anti‐poverty program that increased employment and income, this study examined the effects of New Hope on entry into marriage among never‐married mothers. Among never‐married mothers, New Hope significantly increased rates of marriage. Five years after random assignment, 21 percent of women assigned to the New Hope condition were married, compared to 12 percent of those assigned to the control group. The New Hope impact on marriage was robust to variations in model specification. The program also increased income, wage growth, and goal efficacy among never‐married mothers, and decreased depression. In non‐experimental analyses, income and earnings were associated with higher probability of marriage and material hardship was associated with lower probability of marriage. © 2006 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management     

The Impact of Home‐Based Child Care Provider Unionization on the Cost,Type, and Availability of Subsidized Child Care in Illinois

In February 2005, Illinois became the first U.S. state to grant home‐based child care providers (HBCPs) the right to form a labor union in order to bargain collectively with the state government. This policy inspired similar efforts across the country and represents a potentially important direction for child care policy. To date, the implications of labor unions for the cost, type, and availability of subsidized child care have not been evaluated empirically. In this study, we examine the impact of granting Illinois HBCPs the right to form a labor union on (a) the type of child care (licensed vs. license‐exempt/home‐based vs. center‐based) used by subsidy‐receiving Illinois infants and toddlers; (b) the per‐child cost of subsidized child care for infants and toddlers; and (c) the percentage of Illinois infants and toddlers who use child care subsidies. To conduct these analyses, we combine data from the Current Population Survey with Child Care and Development Fund administrative records on U.S. infants and toddlers whose families received child care subsidies during the period from 2002 to 2008. We use both a traditional difference‐in‐differences as well as a comparative case study with a “synthetic” control group approach. The synthetic control group approach improves on traditional comparative case studies by providing a transparent, empirical approach for constructing the counterfactual, documenting comparison units’ contribution to the synthetically created control group and detailing the degree to which the synthetic control group is, or is not, similar to the treated unit on preintervention measures of the outcome as well as on other selected characteristics. We find that subsidy‐receiving Illinois infants and toddlers spent an average of between 6.4 and 7 percentage points more hours in licensed care settings, as compared to license‐exempt settings, in the three years following child care unionization. We also find that between 0.7 and 1.1 percentage points fewer Illinois infants and toddlers used child care subsidies following unionization.     

Japanese biotechnology: Government,corporations, and technology transfer

In the newly emerging field of biotechnology, Japan so far is generally considered to be lagging somewhat behind the US. Through the judicious application of industrial policy to encourage the growth of the industry, however, Japan is rapidly gaining on the US lead. Joint ventures between large Japanese Companies specializing in areas such as chemicals and food and new American biotechnology companies play a key role in the technology-transfer process. This paper analyzes the dynamics and potential of Japanese efforts in biotechnology. Certain structural features of the Japanese economy, such as extensive corporate financial resources, traditional fermentation expertise, and, in particular, government policy to encourage high-technology research and development. serve to increase Japanese competitiveness in the field.     

Traffic injuries of the pregnant women and fetal or neonatal outcomes

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between pregnancy outcome and injury severity of pregnant woman in traffic accidents. METHOD: We reviewed insurance reports of traffic accidents and collected data on injuries of pregnant women and outcomes of their pregnancies. RESULT: A total of 135 pregnant women, with a mean injury severity score of 1.8+/-4.0, were involved in traffic accidents from 1994 through 2003. Injury severity score, abdominal abbreviated injury scale score were significantly higher in women whose neonates died than in women with healthy newborns. However, neither the likelihood of having been subjected to direct external forces during the accident nor injury severity differed between women with spontaneous abortions and woman with healthy newborns. CONCLUSION: Predicting abortion on the basis of maternal injury severity is difficult. Because unknown variables may contribute to fetal loss, further studies of traffic injuries are needed.     

The rise of the Chinese ‘Other’ in Japan's construction of identity: Is China a focal point of Japanese nationalism?

Abstract

Since 1945, the United States (US) has served as a focal point of both Left-wing and Right-wing Japanese nationalism. Both sides argued that the US was an arrogant hegemon that unjustly robbed Japan of its autonomy, and prevented Japan from achieving its own ideal national identity. Both sides frequently demanded that Japan should be more ‘resolute’ and resist unfair demands emanating from the US. In recent years, however, both camps are increasingly using the same rhetoric to criticise the Japanese government's China policy. China is also being depicted as an overbearing state that unfairly browbeats Japan into making diplomatic concessions. Given the similarities between the portrayal of China and the US, has China now become a nationalist focal point for both the Japanese Left and Right? Utilising constructivist insights, this article seeks to shed light on this question, by examining how the Japanese Right and Left portray China, and explores the implications for Japan's China policy.     

Identification and quantitation by 1H-NMR of metabolites in animal organs and tissues. An application of NMR spectroscopy in forensic science

1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was applied to the study of metabolites in rat organs and tissues. From 1H-NMR spectra of D2O extracts of various organs and tissues, lactate, pyruvate, and some other substances were simultaneously identified and quantitated. On the basis of the results, the use of 1H-NMR for estimating post-mortem time was suggested.     

Daily Identity Processes and Emotions in Young Adulthood: a Five-Day Daily-Diary Method

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - The process of exploring and committing to one’s identity for the sake of a future-oriented goal is important for young adults’ psychosocial...