Weber’s Protestant Work Ethic: a case study of Scottish entrepreneurs,the Coats Family of Paisley

This study examines the potential of Weber’s Protestant Work Ethic (PWE) to illustrate the growth, development and business philosophy of J & P Coats, a thread manufacturer from Paisley. The company grew from humble beginnings in 1826 to dominate the world thread market in a comparatively short period of time. The article will begin with a synopsis of the key arguments from the PWE, before moving to a summary of many of the debates, both past and recent, which have been put forward both for and against Weber’s work. The review of this body of work will highlight the continued relevance of Weber’s thesis. The brief history of the J & P Coats firm, and the main family members involved in its rise and progress will be provided, which will then provide a background against which Weber’s theories can be examined. Finally, the article will conclude that Weber’s thesis provides a rationale for understanding the development of the company, and the behaviour of its owners, which will in turn offer more contemporary validation of Weber’s theories.     

Family Activity Model: Crossroads of Activity Environment and Family Interactions in Family Leisure

ABSTRACT

This article proposes the Family Activity Model (FAM) that integrates the previous work of Orthner's theoretical constructs of joint and parallel activities with Zabriskie and McCormick's constructs of core and balance experiences. FAM includes two dimensions of family experiences: activity environment and family interaction. Activity environment refers to the degree of novelty in the environment, while family interaction refers to the degree of social interaction among family members. These dimensions include objective and subjective elements of experiences. As a result of these orthogonal dimensions, four categories were developed providing a more nuanced understanding of family experiences: core-joint, core-parallel, balance-joint, and balance-parallel. The broader implications of using the FAM are discussed for researchers and practitioners.     

The Core and Balance Model of Family Leisure Functioning: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT

In the past 15 years, the Core and Balance Model of Family Leisure Functioning has emerged as a focus in family leisure research. This body of work has demonstrated that family leisure involvement is consistently a significant predictor of elements of family well-being from multiple perspectives in the family, and among a variety of family types. A closer examination of this work reveals a more complex interrelationship between family leisure involvement and well-being and calls for further refinement and testing of the model. A systematic review of this body of work was conducted with the goals of offering a summary of findings, a revised graphic of the model, strengths, limitations, and recommendations for future work. Nineteen peer-reviewed journal articles, nine research abstracts, and one dissertation were reviewed.     

Parental Leave Policy and Gender Equality in Europe

This article uses data from 2008–10 to analyze parental leave policies in twenty-one European countries and their influence on men's behavior. It examines entitlement characteristics, such as nontransferability, duration, payment, compulsory period, and other policies to assess their effect on the proportion of leave men use out of the total parental leave in each country. The findings, which suggest that a large majority of men take nontransferable and highly paid leave, and a small minority take other types, provide the basis for developing the Parental Leave Equality Index (PLEI). PLEI ranks countries by the degree to which parental leave policies reinforce or diminish the gendered division of labor. Results indicate that although Iceland's parental leave policies do the most to advance gender equity, no country has equal, nontransferable, and well-paid leave for each parent. This policy arrangement would be a precondition to men's and women's equal participation in childcare.     

理想家庭、婚姻制度与司法程序——对我国婚姻家庭制度与生活实践相关性的反思

婚姻家庭本身具有建构性。改革开放以来,面对我国婚姻家庭生活的急剧变化,婚姻家庭制度的规范力和塑造力弱化,制度变革体现为对生活实践变化的被动接受,继而加剧了婚姻解体的趋势。当下极有必要反思婚姻家庭制度与生活实践的相关性问题,这涉及婚姻家庭理想模式建构、制度规范重构以及婚姻家庭纠纷审理的司法程序设计等内容。     

Choice and Constraint in paid work: Women from low-income households in Tehran

ABSTRACT

Based on interviews and participant observation conducted in 2009–10 in Tehran among women living in low-income communities, this contribution examines the complex ways in which women experience paid work. Most low-income Iranian women interviewed had conflicted views about paid employment. Some held up the male breadwinner as ideal, occasionally invoking Islam to limit their engagement in work they viewed as socially stigmatizing, physically difficult, or low paying. Others, particularly younger and unmarried women, had more positive views of work. Class, age, type of employment, and marital status all played roles in shaping women's experiences; but among women with similar characteristics, considerable differences were also apparent. Building off previous work that rejects simplistic dualisms such as choice versus constraint or exploitation versus empowerment, this contribution argues for more nuanced categories that allow for an emphasis on the conflicted ways women experience paid work.     

基于产品族DNA的岩心切割机产品形象设计

对目前国内市场上的岩心切割机进行分析和研究，并结合企业岩心切割机设计案例，从产品造型、产品色彩、产品材质和交互界面四个角度阐述现有产品存在的问题以及解决方法。运用工业设计的方法对企业现有岩心切割机系列产品进行产品形象设计，提升产品视觉关联度，为企业品牌效应起到积极的推动作用。     

Addressing the Stress of Work and Elder Caregiving of the Graying Workforce: The Moderating Effects of Financial Strain on the Relationship Between Work‐Caregiving Conflict and Psychological Well‐Being

Human resource policies and practices must consider the issues associated with an aging workforce, and, more specifically, the stress experienced by those involved in caring for elders. This study examined such stress by studying the relationship between work–elder caregiving conflict and well‐being, as well as the role of perceived financial need in moderating that relationship. The sample included 583 women who worked full‐time and had significant elder caregiving responsibilities. The analysis showed that work interfering with caregiving (WIC) was significantly associated with both positive and negative affect, but caregiving interfering with work (CIW) was not significantly associated with either. Perceived financial need decreased older women's psychological well‐being and moderated the relationship between work–elder caregiving conflict and psychological well‐being such that the negative effect of WIC was stronger for older women with higher perceived financial need, while CIW decreased the well‐being of older women with lower perceived financial need but not for those with higher need. The results stress the importance of considering elder care as a source of work‐family conflict when managing the aging workforce as well as suggest a way to attenuate the negative effect of work‐family conflict by managing the perception of financial resources and needs of the employees. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

老年人的资源禀赋与养老方式选择——基于CLASS 2012数据的实证检验

选择何种方式进行养老，是老年人依据自身资源禀赋状况做出的一种理性选择。基于可能影响老年人养老方式选择的个体特质禀赋、经济禀赋和自理能力禀赋，采用2012年中国老年社会追踪调查（CLASS）的相关数据，检验老年人资源禀赋对其养老方式选择（居家养老或机构养老）的影响，分析表明：女性老年人、年龄较小的老年人和收入较高的老年人更倾向于选择机构养老，而老年人自理能力禀赋对其养老方式选择的影响不显著。因此，老年人对机构养老的需求呈上升趋势。一是要从供给侧满足老年人多样化的养老方式需求，提升居家养老服务质量，增加养老机构数量，构建“三位一体”的新型养老模式；二是也应该密切关注老年人的资源禀赋状况，尤其要保障老年人的收入水平。     

社会养老为何在农村水土不服——“家文化”视角下城乡养老意愿差异的实证研究

本文从理论层面上分析了"家文化"对城乡间养老意愿差异的潜在影响,并运用中国健康与养老追踪调查2015年数据进行实证检验。结果显示:农村和城市居民的养老偏好存在明显差异,相较于城市居民,农村居民会更偏好家庭养老方式;另外,形式上具备城市基本特征的"村改居"社区居民的选择偏好同农村居民一致,表明"家文化"转型的滞后性。进一步地,我们借助家庭结构作为"家文化"的代理变量,通过构建文化与区域的交乘项,验证了"家文化"对于农村地区家庭养老模式选择的增强效应。因此,应充分认识到"家文化"对城乡间养老意愿差异的影响,社会养老在经济层面可以替代家庭养老,但尤其是对农村地区不能忽略家庭养老在文化层面的重要性。