Family, Literacy, and Skill Training in the Antebellum South: Historical-Longitudinal Evidence from Charleston

2004 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 773-799 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN E. MURRAY

Using individual measures of adult and child literacy, this article examines human capital acquisition in one Southern city, Charleston, 1790–1840. White adult literacy rates differed greatly by sex and class and rose gradually over time. Mothers played a critical role in human capital transmission in early childhood and long after children had left their care. Both relatively recent literacy acquisition and early childhood family structure influenced the occupation to which children were apprenticed. These results are consistent with present-day studies that trace sources of adult well-being back into childhood.

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 703-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Cheval ◽  
Dan Orsholits ◽  
Stefan Sieber ◽  
Silvia Stringhini ◽  
Delphine Courvoisier ◽  
...  

BackgroundEarly-life socioeconomic circumstances (SEC) are associated with health in old age. However, epidemiological evidences on the influence of these early-life risk factors on trajectories of healthy ageing are inconsistent, preventing drawing solid conclusion about their potential influence. Here, to fill this knowledge gap, we used a statistical approach adapted to estimating change over time and an outcome-wide epidemiology approach to investigate whether early-life SEC were associated with the level of and rate of decline of physical, cognitive and emotional functioning over time.MethodsWe used data on more than 23 000 adults in older age from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, a 12-year large-scale longitudinal study with repeated measurements of multiple health indicators of the same participants over time (2004 –2015, assessments every 2 years). Confounder-adjusted linear growth curve models were used to examine the associations of early-life SEC with the evolution of muscle strength, lung function, cognitive function, depressive symptoms and well-being over time.ResultsWe consistently found an association between early-life SEC and the mean levels of all health indicators at age 63.5, with a critical role played by the cultural aspect of disadvantage. These associations were only partly explained by adult-life SEC factors. By contrast, evidences supporting an association between early-life SEC and the rate of change in health indicators were weak and inconsistent.ConclusionsEarly-life SEC are associated with health in old age, but not with trajectories of healthy ageing. Conceptual models in life course research should consider the possibility of a limited influence of early-life SEC on healthy ageing trajectories.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alethea Snoeks Desmond

In this critical reflective self study I have examined the Family Literacy Project (FLP) to determine the influences that contributed to the development of an approach to family literacy. This study responds to the question What influences contributed to the development of an approach to family literacy relevant to the needs of families in rural KwaZulu Natal? By identifying and exploring and critically reflecting on these influences I provide insights that can inform policy and practice in the adult education and early childhood development sectors in South Africa. The study includes my critical reflections on finding a voice within a self study and how this has contributed towards the development of a methodology. In the process, I have developed a deeper understanding and appreciation of what has been achieved in the FLP during the first eight years under my directorship, and why. In the study, I report on these insights. The FLP project in this study is situated in deeply rural KwaZulu Natal, where the existing extensive knowledge base is almost exclusively oral, and informed by well established insights, understandings and values. In this context, I have examined the roles of families, adult literacy and early childhood development to establish their impact on the development of literacy in families. Through critical reflection, I then identified the principles – active learning, holistic development, community and children‟s rights – underpinning the FLP and was able to establish how these impacted on the development and success of the project. I then examined the roles, practices and characteristics of the FLP facilitators, and the experiences of facilitators and those who engaged in the project. I also looked at the roles played by the community, the external evaluators, and the effect of exposure of the project in the public domain through attendance at iv conferences, publication of journal articles, and awards made to the project because of its successes. I conclude the study by suggesting how the insights from the study might provide support for others engaged in such initiatives and indicating how the topic may be further investigated.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 573-584
Author(s):  
Tracy Smith-Carrier ◽  
Don Kerr ◽  
Juyan Wang

Although scholarship on social assistance (or welfare) has proliferated over the years, there remains a dearth of literature on the Learning, Earning and Parenting (LEAP) program for teenage parents. We followed two LEAP cohorts (Cohort One: 2003-8; Cohort Two: 2009-14) over five years to explore how many had stayed, shifted programs (e.g. to the disability program) or left social assistance entirely. Exit rates, while higher for Cohort One (51.3 per cent relative to 43 per cent for Cohort Two), were fairly low; roughly 10 per cent lower than those of the overall social assistance caseload. LEAP does not appear to vastly improve the employment prospects of a significant proportion of its participants over time. American researchers are proposing a shift in programming towards a two-generation approach, pairing early childhood education with parent human capital development, Ontario – who imported LEAP from its US counterparts from the beginning – should follow suit.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lubomiła Korzeniewska ◽  
Marta Bivand Erdal

Abstract This article offers empirically based analytical scrutiny of what deskilling looks like and means for migrant nurses. We draw on 30 interviews with Filipino and Polish nurse migrants in Oslo, Norway, which we analyze comparatively. Through empirical attention to nurse migrants’ professional experiences, we address the analytically oriented question of what constitutes deskilling in their experience. Concerns over deskilling, in relation to nurse migration and beyond, prompt attention to instances of human capital not being employed in meaningful and productive ways. We argue that attention to migrants’ professional identities provides analytical opportunity to better unpack what deskilling entails. Borrowing from theorization of identities, deskilling as linked to migrants’ professional identities is understood as dynamic, processual, and situated. We propose that deskilling should be understood as part of the multi-dimensional and interacting processes of de-, re-, and upskilling. We find cases of obvious and wasteful deskilling related to authorization procedures for non-EU-trained nurses, but also instances where it may be disputable whether human resources are used well, or not, and cases of upskilling and reskilling over time. Our findings uncover three core insights. First, our approach to deskilling reveals both the scope for and the salience of migrants’ agency, despite structural constraints. Second, the importance of time and of capturing change over time in migration research becomes apparent. Third, we argue that improved conceptualizations of deskilling, linked to migrants’ professional identities, could inform policies that make better use of migrants’ human capital, and through this also contribute to migrants’ well-being.


Crisis ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friedrich Martin Wurst ◽  
Isabella Kunz ◽  
Gregory Skipper ◽  
Manfred Wolfersdorf ◽  
Karl H. Beine ◽  
...  

Background: A substantial proportion of therapists experience the loss of a patient to suicide at some point during their professional life. Aims: To assess (1) the impact of a patient’s suicide on therapists distress and well-being over time, (2) which factors contribute to the reaction, and (3) which subgroup might need special interventions in the aftermath of suicide. Methods: A 63-item questionnaire was sent to all 185 Psychiatric Clinics at General Hospitals in Germany. The emotional reaction of therapists to patient’s suicide was measured immediately, after 2 weeks, and after 6 months. Results: Three out of ten therapists suffer from severe distress after a patients’ suicide. The item “overall distress” immediately after the suicide predicts emotional reactions and changes in behavior. The emotional responses immediately after the suicide explained 43.5% of the variance of total distress in a regression analysis. Limitations: The retrospective nature of the study is its primary limitation. Conclusions: Our data suggest that identifying the severely distressed subgroup could be done using a visual analog scale for overall distress. As a consequence, more specific and intensified help could be provided to these professionals.


Author(s):  
Melanie K. T. Takarangi ◽  
Deryn Strange

When people are told that their negative memories are worse than other people’s, do they later remember those events differently? We asked participants to recall a recent negative memory then, 24 h later, we gave some participants feedback about the emotional impact of their event – stating it was more or less negative compared to other people’s experiences. One week later, participants recalled the event again. We predicted that if feedback affected how participants remembered their negative experiences, their ratings of the memory’s characteristics should change over time. That is, when participants are told that their negative event is extremely negative, their memories should be more vivid, recollected strongly, and remembered from a personal perspective, compared to participants in the other conditions. Our results provide support for this hypothesis. We suggest that external feedback might be a potential mechanism in the relationship between negative memories and psychological well-being.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 99-110
Author(s):  
Na Zhang ◽  
Jingjing Li ◽  
Xing Bu ◽  
Zhenxing Gong ◽  
Gilal Faheem Gul

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1261-1267
Author(s):  
Ali Medabesh

The quality of public services and the yield of organizations are not limited to the financial investment and innovation solely. Human capital plays a critical role in the growth and excellence in institutions, but its contribution remains dependent on several factors. Its role is not limited on quantitative and qualitative accumulating, because it should be coherent and integrated in the development process. The theories of endogenous growth contributed to account for the disparity in levels of development between countries, by assuming that the extent of human capital response or inversely lack of responsiveness the economic system. This inaction is usually the prime cause of the deterioration of the quality of service and lack of satisfaction of the citizens, in addition of the lack of employee satisfaction about the circumstances of his work. Hence, arose the significance of several research about the mechanisms of reducing non-enthusiasm for the job or complacency professional and indifference. Staff of Jazan University has been chosen as a context of the empirical investigation of this study. The data has been collected using a well designed questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS program.


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