Childcare, work or worries? What explains the decline in parents' well-being at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany?

Objective: We examine how care arrangements, general and altered working conditions, and worries influenced subjective well-being at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic for working parents in Germany. Background: Prior research suggests several reasons for declines in subjective well-being, particularly for working mothers. We employ Pearlin's (1989) stress process model to explore the role of parental childcare, altered working conditions and amplified worries of working parents in terms of increased stressors and modified resources to cope with the extraordinary situation. Method: We use data from two starting cohorts from the National Educational Panel Study and its supplementary COVID-19 web survey from spring 2020 to examine possible heterogeneities in contextual factors for individual-level changes in the well-being of working mothers and fathers. Results: We confirm a more pronounced decline in well-being for working mothers than fathers. Part-time work and access to emergency care reduce the gender gap in decreased well-being. Conversely, young children in the household and personal worries are associated with lower well-being for both parents. However, we cannot explain the more significant decrease in mothers’ well-being by increased childcare responsibilities or altered working conditions. Conclusion: A greater decline in well-being indicates a particular burden among working mothers. However, it cannot be linked solely to gendered inequalities in the changes of paid and unpaid work during the first months of the pandemic.

COVID-19 vaccination status is associated with physical activity in German-speaking countries: the COR-PHYS-Q cohort study

BackgroundTo examine the association between COVID-19 vaccination status and physical activity (PA), sporting behavior, as well as barriers to PA in adults in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.MethodsA total of 1516 adults provided complete responses to our online questionnaire sent out in August 2021. Information about self-reported PA categories, sporting behavior, barriers to PA, and COVID-19 vaccination status were gathered. Main analyses were done using multiple linear regression adjusted for relevant parameters.ResultsWe found a significant association of vaccination status with total PA (p = .011), vigorous PA (p = .015), and moderate PA (p = .001) but not transport-related PA or sedentary time. Unvaccinated adults tended to have more total and vigorous PA than those vaccinated once (ratios of geometric means: 1.34 and 1.60, respectively) or twice (1.22 and 1.09, respectively). Yet, not sufficient evidence was available to confirm this. There was no between-group difference in the contribution of leisure time, work-related, or transport-related PA to total PA. Vaccination status was not associated with sporting behavior except for jogging as the primary intensive type of sports. Finally, there were no significant differences in any of the COVID-19 specific barriers to PA between groups.ConclusionOur data showed that vaccination status is associated with PA even in summer, where the number of COVID-19 cases was low and the severity of safety measures was mild. These findings may enhance future research and improve/extend COVID-19-specific PA guidelines.

Support for Health Insurance Coverage for Legal Abortion in the United States

The use of health insurance to cover legal abortion is a controversial issue on which Americans are sharply divided. Currently, there is a lack of research on this issue as data became available only recently. Using data from the newly released General Social Survey in 2018, this study examines who is more or less likely to support health insurance coverage for legal abortion. The results show that the support and opposition were about evenly divided. The findings from the logistic regression analysis reveal that, holding other variables constant, Democrats, liberals, urban residents, the more educated, and the older were more likely to support health insurance coverage for legal abortion while women, Southerners, Christians, the currently married, and those with more children were less likely to favor it, compared to their respective counterparts. Additionally, the effect of education was stronger for liberals than for non-liberals. Race, family income, and full-time work status make no difference in the outcome. The findings have significant implications for research and practices in health insurance coverage for legal abortion.

Posthumanizm i „syntezoidalny mimetyzm” w komiksie „Vision” Toma Kinga i Gabriela Hernandeza Walty

Cultural texts on the subject of posthuman can be found long before the post-anthropocentric turn in humanistic research. Literary explanations of posthumanism have entered the conventional canon not only in terms of the science-fiction classics. However, a different line follows the tradition of presenting posthumanist existence in the comic book medium. Scott Jeffrey accurately notes that most comic superheroes are post- or trans-human. Therefore, the transgression of human existence into a posthumanoid being is presented. However, in the case of the less culturally recognizable character of Vision, a synthezoid from the Marvel’s Avengers team, combining the body of the android and human consciousness, the vector of transgression is reversed. This article is an attempt to analyze the way the humanization process of this hero is narrative in the Vision series of screenwriter Tom King and cartoonist Gabriel Hernandez Walta. On the one hand, King mimetic reproduces the sociological panorama of American suburbs, showing the process of adaptation of the synthesoid family to the realities of full-time work and neighborly intercourse, on the other, he emphasizes the robotic limits of Vision humanization. Ultimately, the narrative line follows the cracks between these two plans, allowing King to present, with the help of inhuman heroes, one of the most human stories in the Marvel superhero universe.

Job and Organisational Level Aspects of Work in Slovenia

Marginalised groups of workers in Slovenia are traditionally most affected by labour market uncertainty, but increasingly middle-class and upper-class workers are experiencing the same. Furthermore, new work forms have given rise to ethical, psychological and legal dilemmas. In this paper, we examine the concept of decent work and focus on job-related and organisational aspects of work in Slovenia. In the empirical part of the paper we therefore focus on working time, work organisation and co-operation within teams, work-life balance, health and stress, and overall satisfaction with working conditions. Our results evidence that new work forms increase insecurity and consequently diminish worker well-being; and this is most experienced by younger, agency and self-employed workers in Slovenia. This suggests that the development of multilevel and multifaceted measures which take into account socio-psychological and legislative factors to address labour market segmentation is necessary, especially when addressing the needs of those forced to work atypically.

Legal Protection for Indonesian Freelance Workers in Law Number 11 of 2020 Concerning Work Creation: Analysis of Changes in Legal Protection for Freelance Workers in Indonesia after the Omnibus Law

This research aims to review the legal protection for freelancers in Indonesia, stipulated in Law Number 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation. In-Law no. 13 of 2003 concerning Freelance Employment in Indonesia is claimed not to have a clear legal umbrella. The problems examined in this research include the form of freelance legal relations in Indonesia? And the legal protection for freelancers in Indonesia in Law Number 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation? This research uses normative methods with a statute, case, and historical approach. The results showed that freelance legal relationships in Indonesia were divided into two categories: freelancers who entered into work agreements through platforms that acted as intermediaries and freelancers who entered into work agreements directly without intermediaries. Previously, there were only additional regulations in the form of Kepmenakertrans No. 100 of 2004 concerning the Provisions for the Implementation of a Work Agreement for a Specific Time, and no specific regulation has been found in Law no. 13 of 2013 concerning Manpower. After the enactment of Law Number 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation and also Government Regulation No. 35 of 2021 concerning Specific Time Work Agreements, Transfer, Working Time and Rest Time, and Termination of Employment, the legal status of freelance workers in Indonesia has a clear legal umbrella, which is classified as a specific time work agreement (PKWT). This finding also answers the concerns of previous researchers who stated that there is no legal protection for freelancers in Indonesia.

The Adoptive Parents

The chapter draws on case file data and papers presented to the court at the time of the adoption order. The 210 adoptees were placed in 138 adoptive homes. The adoptive parents were on average ten years older than birth parents and had more stable relationships. They were also better educated. Most lived in owner-occupied homes and the secondary carer was generally in full-time work. Attempts to match children with families of the same ethnicity and culture and to place siblings together were mostly successful: 77% of children with siblings were placed in intact groups; only 8% were placed alone. Almost half (44%) the parents adopted more than one child; 9% adopted three or more; many also had biological children still living with them. While adoptive parents had considerable resources, they also faced challenges including helping children overcome the sequelae of early adverse experiences and parenting several children with diverse needs.

Ways to improve legislative regulation of taxation of individuals who carry out independent professional activity

Purpose. The purpose of this work is to explore ways to improve the legal regulation of taxation of individuals engaged in independent professional activity. Methodology. The methodology includes a comprehensive analysis and generalization of available scientific and theoretical material and the formulation of relevant conclusions and recommendations. The following methods of scientific cognition were used during the research: terminological, logical-semantic, functional, system-structural, logical-normative. Results. The study recognized that the implementation of best foreign practices will meet current economic trends associated with increasing the prevalence of non-standard employment, which is based on the mobility of labor resources and reducing employee dependence on the employer (temporary work, part-time, part-time work, division workplace, "virtual enterprise", etc.), as well as provide optimization of fiscal control procedures of the state for non-standard forms of employment, reduction of the "shadow market" of employment, etc. Practical significance. The results of the study can be used in lawmaking to improve tax legislation.

Changing selection into full-time work and its effect on wage inequality in Germany

To explore whether changes in the selection into full-time work among German men were a driver in the rise in wage inequality since the mid-1990s, we propose a modification of selection-corrected quantile regressions. Addressing Huber and Melly’s (J Appl Econom 30(7):1144–1168, 2015) concerns, this modification allows us to estimate the effects of selection with respect to both observables and unobservables. Our findings show that those employed in 1995 would have had lower wages in 2010 than those employed in 2010 and wage dispersion would have been higher, suggesting that full-time workers have become less heterogeneous over time.

Urinary Organophosphate Metabolites and Metabolic Biomarkers of Conventional and Organic Farmers in Thailand

Organophosphate (OP) pesticides are used by most farmers to remove insects and to increase productivity; however, questions remain on the long-term health impacts of their use. This study assessed the relationship between OP biomarker levels and metabolic biomarker parameters. Conventional farmers (n = 213) and organic farmers (n = 225) were recruited, interviewed, and had physical health examinations. Serum glucose and lipid profiles, triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoproteins (HDL), and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) were measured. The average age, gender, education, and self-reported agricultural work time, work in second jobs, smoking status, alcohol consumption, insecticide use at home, home location near farmlands and years of pesticide use were significantly different between the conventional and organic farmers. The urinary OP metabolite levels were also significantly different between the two groups. With an increase in urinary diethyl phosphate, dimethyl phosphate and dialkyl phosphate metabolites, the total cholesterol, LDL and HDL, were significantly increased for all farmers after controlling for age, gender, alcohol consumption, years of pesticide use, and home location near farmlands. The results are consistent with our previous studies which suggests that pesticide usage, especially organophosphates, may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke among Thai farmers.