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Racially minoritized groups have disproportionately borne the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in America. We draw on Public Health Critical Race Praxis to investigate racial differences in college students' attitudes about mitigation efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 and concerns about one's own and others' actions in these efforts. We used survey data from a random sample of Midwestern undergraduates (n = 620) who participated in a fall 2020 COVID-19 study; chi-square tests and logistic regression modeling were employed. Students of color were more likely than white students to report mitigation strategies as not sufficiently restrictive and that communities ought to prioritize limiting the spread of COVID-19. Students of color were also more likely to be concerned that the actions of others were spreading COVID-19. Universities need to continuously ask how their policies and practices acknowledge the broader racial context and seek the perspectives of diverse students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current Population Survey data on flextime use of married full-time workers (7,837 women, 10,846 men)and a survey of 146 married employees using various alternative arrangements indicate that personal, family, and work characteristics significantly influence flextime use. Women were more likely to use it to reduce work-family conflicts, men to enhance personal productivity. (Contains 47 references.) (SK)

Gender differences in employment rates in later life, although still substantial, have narrowed dramatically in the past four decades. The authors hypothesize that some of the gender variation in employment rates results from gendered differences in the demand for labor independent of individuals' characteristics. The authors use multilevel models to investigate variation across local-area labor markets in gender differences in employment among 56- to 66-year-olds. The demand for female labor is measured as the degree to which the occupational structure of a local labor market is skewed toward typically female occupations. Areas with relatively more female occupations have lower gender differentials in full-time employment than areas where occupations are overwhelmingly male. This would suggest that some of the convergence in employment rates among the elderly in the past half century might be traced to the larger historical shift from traditionally male industrial employment to more typically female service and office employment.

This paper uses a postmodern family perspective to examine the interaction between Army Casualty Assistance Officers (CAOs) and the families of deceased soldiers. The data we examine are open-ended survey responses of CAOs (N = 188) who assisted bereaved families of soldiers killed in three unrelated air disasters. Five themes emerged from our analysis of the qualitative responses: postmodern family structures, contested definitions of 'significant other,' language, diversity, and emotion. These themes appear to be related to the difficult demands associated with bereavement work. We argue that the experiences of the CAO are comparable to the experiences of others who may work with the bereaved (e.g., police officers, medical workers, and disaster workers) when working in similar familial contexts.

Nonmetropolitan-metropolitan differences in the United States are large and growing, but we know relatively little about how they interact with gender differences. Using data from the CPS, the Census PUMS, and the GSS, we find nonmetropolitan and metropolitan areas are quite similar in the gender gap in earnings and in rates of married women's labor force participation. Occupational sex segregation is higher and some gender attitudes are a few percentage points less egalitarian in nonmetropolitan areas. Each of these dimensions of gender stratification has been declining over the last two decades and the declines are roughly similar in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan areas. Variations in gender stratification have been greater over time than across place. Thus, while both place and gender are important dimensions of stratification, there appears to have been little interaction between the two.

This research documents the prevalence and extent of work-related overnight travel among employed men and women in the United States, revealing substantial differences by gender. Multivariate analyses show gender differences in the determinants of travel behavior with regard to job characteristics, gender ideology, and background characteristics. Interestingly, family characteristics are not important determinants for either women or men. Gender remains a significant variable when controlling for the effects of all of these variables. The analyses are based on data from the 1987-1988 National Survey of Families and Households.

The earnings gap and occupational segregation between men and women have declined as per the 1980 and 1990 US Census data. Gender gap in hourly earnings has declined by 6.5 percentage points. There is no difference in the decline percentage for white and colored women. The decline in the earnings gap is directly related to a fall in occupational segregation and more equal pay within similar occupations.

Study results of occupational gender discrimination in the 1980s, examined using 1980 and 1990 Public Use Microdata Samples data, revealed a steady increase of gender desegregation in workforce during the 1980s. Changing gender composition within occupation contributed primarily to the desegregation, while rapid integration of occupations also played a crucial role. Desegregation was also fuelled by the increasing presence of women in the labor force.

Despite important policy implications, there is scant research on the relationship between distress from victimization and perceptions of police effectiveness. This study investigates the relationship between extent of distress due to violent victimization and perceptions of local law enforcement. In addition, we examine the way that perceived neighbourhood social cohesion accounts for the relationship. We use data from a U.S. statewide victimization survey to estimate regression models that compare victims of violent crime with no/mild distress, victims with moderate/severe distress and nonvictims of violent crime on ratings of police effectiveness. Models include controls for local crime and poverty rates, demographic characteristics, property crime victimization and respondents' exposure to negative policing via media and their own contact with law enforcement. Results show that 10% of respondents are victims of violent crime, and among victims, 40% report no/mild distress and 60% report moderate/severe distress. While victims with greater distress rate police lower on the effectiveness scale, these differences can be accounted for by controls for neighbourhood context, especially the level of perceived social cohesion. Results suggest neighbourhood social environments should be incorporated into models of perceptions of police effectiveness and policing more broadly and that increasing social cohesion may improve police‐community dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Place of residence is one factor that may affect individual engagement and experiences in outdoor recreation. In this paper we assess four measures of place of residence and their associations with fears related to outdoor recreation. Data are from a statewide survey of Missouri households conducted in 2013 (n = 3,204). Logistic regression models are used to examine different measurements of place of residence and their relationship to the likelihood respondents reported environmental or social fears related to participation in outdoor recreation. The relationship between place of residence and reporting environmental fears was contingent on how place of residence was measured. In contrast, results related to social fears were more consistent such that residents of more urban and suburban settings were significantly more likely to report a social fear related to outdoor recreation activities regardless of how place of residence was operationalized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]