Occupational Differences Research Articles

Occupational specialization, skills, and urban wage premium in Brazil

Occupational specialization, skills, and urban wage premium in Brazil

Differences in the impact of land transfer on poverty vulnerability among households with different livelihood structures

IntroductionEradicating poverty is the primary objective of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. While China has achieved great success in achieving poverty reduction targets, reducing the poverty vulnerability of rural households is crucial for ensuring the sustainability of poverty reduction gains. The purpose of land transfer is to ensure the continuous increase of farmers’ income through efficient land use; it has become an important initiative for poverty alleviation in rural areas. Existing studies have confirmed the positive effect of land transfer on poverty alleviation, but few have explored the difference in the impact of land transfer on poverty vulnerability of households with different income structures.MethodsUsing data from the China Family Panel Survey (CFPS) from 2010 to 2020, this paper empirically examines the impact of land transfer on poverty vulnerability.Results and discussionThe results show that land transfer has a significant positive impact on poverty vulnerability alleviation among rural households. Further comparing households with different livelihood structures, we find that land transfer is more effective in reducing poverty for non-farm employment-oriented household. Therefore, we suggest that the government should improve the land transfer system, increase agricultural subsidies, and consider the occupational differentiation among farmers to improve the poverty reduction effect of land transfer. These suggestions also provide a reference for promoting sustainable agricultural development and consolidating the achievements of poverty alleviation.

Advancements in Research on Cichlid: Reproductive Biology, Social Structure, and Communication

The social behavior of cichlid fish emerged as a captivating subject within the realm of ichthyological research. The sociality of these aquatic organisms often encompasses a wealth of intricate elements. Within this complexity, the reproductive biology of cichlids was observed to mirror the characteristics pivotal for progeny propagation and population development. Their social structures were characterized by stringent hierarchies and occupational specialization among individuals. Communication mechanisms were found to be instrumental in ensuring the timely exchange of information across members of the species. Furthermore, population behaviors served as vital conduits, maintaining the cohesion of the aforementioned elements and securing the seamless operation of this organic system. Given these aspects, this study chose these topics as entry points for inquiry, synthesizing recent scholarly work on cichlid sociality to retrace the trajectory of research in this field. This retrospective analysis was conducted to distill clear future directions based on the examined data. The research undertaken provided a scientific reference poised to enhance further inquiry into the enigmatic subject of cichlid sociality, laying a robust foundation for both advancing the study of these fishes and fostering their conservation.

From Iya Ijebu’s shop to Igbo market: ethnicity and the transformation of Mushin leather market in Lagos, Nigeria

AbstractLeather markets are critical nodes in the leather industry value chain. They attract manufacturers and small and medium enterprises that facilitate social interactions and opportunities, leading to increased availability of finished leather goods. This study explores the social transformation and organization of Mushin leather market in Lagos megacity based on data collected through observation and in-depth and key informant interviews with traders, association and community members, transporters and customers in the market. Mushin leather market evolved from a shop owned by an indigenous woman known as Iya Ijebu (Ijebu woman) into a leather trading community. State and local governments intervene minimally in the market affairs through sanitation rules and revenue collection. Routes to market socialization include mentoring and apprenticeships, with visible gender disparities. Associational membership guarantees full integration to traders. Strong business, personal and group networks structure ethnic dynamics and occupational specializations. The article reveals the inherent interdependence of social institutions in understanding the organization of the leather market, particularly in terms of how capital, associational norms and networks shape the formation of a heterogeneous market in an indigenous Yoruba community. Mushin leather market is transforming the domains of ethnic trade speciality and patterning intergroup social relations in Lagos megacity.

Occupational Segmentation and Cohesion: Examining the Linkages

Essentially occupation is a productive endeavor. It expresses man’s desire to pursue work to further his life. Remaining productive makes life meaningful. It earns him a return that makes it possible to care for all needs within limits it may permit. Occupation therefore is any activity that is the prime means of livelihood for which a considerable part of time is spent in a day. Ever since man began organized living, he used to engage in occupations. It has become the basis for collective life. They complement each other in functional dependence to satisfy the plethora of human needs. The occupation performed by each individual depends on their health, intellect, knowledge, skill, and attitude. Some may not be sufficiently healthy to take on arduous tasks, some may not have sufficient intellect when compared with others and hence thrive on mechanical, or routine activities, and some may not have a proper attitude at all to utilize knowledge or skill desirably. Whatever it be occupations develop functional dependence and serve to connect through their mutual interactions. It forms the basis of social cohesion. By Involving individuals in productive tasks, occupations contribute to establishing social order thereby minimizing conflict. Therefore, occupational specializations are not sources of conflict. On the contrary, they act as instruments of unity. The advent of technology has resulted in newer forms of occupational stratification leading to the formation of classes within social class. As a result, occupational attributes have substituted the key features for class composition. Classes today are occupational classes. They signify wealth, status, power, authority, and lifestyle which are the main attributes of class. This paper discusses occupational segmentation as a basis of social cohesion.

Putting women back into the early modern economy: Work, occupations, and economic development

AbstractA dataset of just under 10,000 work tasks gleaned from court depositions that records women's as well as men's work, and unpaid as well as paid activities, prompts a reassessment of the transformation of the early modern economy and women's role within it. Rather than sectoral change in production activities with a growth of manufacturing at the expense of agriculture, the evidence suggests that work tasks changed little over time despite occupational specialization increasing. Women's labour force participation is shown to contribute 44 per cent of work in the economy, rather than 30 per cent as in previous estimates. This is partly because of the importance of commercialized housework and care work, which has been largely overlooked in existing models of the early modern economy. Turning to waged work, findings confirm that men's and women's participation in paid agricultural work were linked, with women being employed in greater numbers when men were not available. However, these trends had a strong relationship with access to land, a factor that has been neglected in comparison with demographic trends and the cost of consumables. The organization of work was transformed in the seventeenth century as the number of completely landless households increased rapidly.

The service sector in the classical world: focus on entertainment and well-being

PurposePredicting effects of artificial intelligence on service occupations can be supported by a long historical perspective. Historical databases and archaeology help reconstructing the service sector in ancient societies. Here, the purpose of this paper is to analyse occupational specialization within services in cities of ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, as well as how the service sector is reflected in architectural remains, to identify differences and similarities with today’s Europe.Design/methodology/approachOccupational titles are traced in epigraphical and literary sources, sorted according to ISCO-08. Secondary sources are used for the architectural evidence of service activities, as well as for the role of contests and entertainment in antiquity.FindingsCompared to current European service employment, professionals were fewer in classical Athens and imperial Rome, which had a greater proportion of specialized salespersons. There were few office buildings and no civic hospitals, but heavy investment in facilities for entertainment and well-being. Quality assessments for goods were little developed; contests for cultural and sports activities assessed entertainment service quality.Research limitations/implicationsThis study covers two periods in classical antiquity and is restricted to Mediterranean cultures, although findings may help understanding the service sector in poor countries with informal employment.Originality/valueWhile particular services provided in ancient cities have been studied, there has been no broad comparative overview of their service occupations. Services in earlier societies with primitive information and communication technologies can provide clues for current developments.

Regional unevenness in the construction of digital villages: A case study of China.

In regard to the comprehensive promotion of rural revitalization, the construction of digital villages is a crucial development. Because the construction of digital villages is considerably novel, the existing studies mainly focus on the theoretical aspects pertaining to the rational and practical robustness of digital villages, and with regard to regional unevenness, the number of studies that consider the current characteristics, absolute gaps, and impact mechanisms pertaining to the construction of digital villages is insufficient. Based on the regional unevenness that characterizes digital village construction, this study proposes a research framework for digital technology-enabled village construction, which integrates three major factors, namely technology, institutions, and human resources; thus, the comprehensive assessment pertaining to the level of digital village construction is enhanced. This study, which applies the aforementioned research framework, constructs an index system for evaluating the construction level of digital villages, and to reveal the characteristics pertaining to regional heterogeneity and the main influencing factors pertaining to the construction level of digital villages in China (study period; 2015-2020), it utilizes the Dagum Gini coefficient method and the spatial econometric model. Consequently, the researchers observe the following: First, the level of digital village construction in China exhibits a "W-shaped" recovery growth. Second, with respect to the regional level, the eastern region exhibits the highest level of digital village construction, followed by central and western regions; furthermore, we observe that the eastern and western regions account for the greatest intra-regional variation, and that with regard to the overall difference, the inter-regional gap represents the main causative factor. Finally, with regard to influencing factors, technology and innovation capabilities, occupational differentiation of farmers, economic development significantly contribute to the level of digital village construction, whereas fiscal autonomy exerts a significant inhibiting effect. In regard to the level of digital village construction, the research framework and results may provide a novel analytical framework for examining the main sources of regional unevenness, and it may also provide a reference for decision-making, which can influence the construction of digital villages in China as well as in other countries.

Migrant culture maintenance among the Welsh in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, USA, 1870–1920

ABSTRACT This paper provides an analysis of the nature of the Welsh ethnolinguistic community in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The study considers culture maintenance, and suggests that Welsh ethnic integrity was initially maintained due to linguistic necessity, high levels of endogamy, occupational specialization, and the creation of popular cultural institutions. Ultimately, however, the community was undermined, not only by economic change, the cessation of immigration from Wales, and the general forces of acculturation, but also by specifically Welsh factors. The paper suggests, therefore, that while the Welsh experience in Blue Earth County differed sharply from that of the other nationalities of the United Kingdom, it did not simply mirror the experience of other non-Anglophone groups.

The role of occupational skill sets in the digital transformation: how IT progress shapes returns to specialization and social skills

Workers’ occupational skill sets play a crucial role in successfully handling digital transformation. We investigate whether and how different types of occupational skill sets benefit from digital transformation. We theoretically and empirically analyze wage returns of workers in occupations with more or less specialized skill sets and with more or less social skills when IT increases in their industry. Applying natural language processing methods to the texts of occupational training curricula, we develop measures for occupational specialization and social skills. We use vocational education and training curricula from Switzerland because they cover approx. two-thirds of the working population. Using curricula, industry-level IT data and individual-level administrative wage data, our individual fixed-effects analyses show that IT progress leads to higher wage returns for workers in highly specialized occupations but not for workers in more general occupations. In addition, we find that high levels of social skills cannot make up for this difference when IT advances. However, our results indicate that for workers with high specialization, a combination with high social skills generates additional benefits when IT advances. Overall, our results suggest that, contrary to typical assumptions in educational policy debates, workers with specialized occupational skill sets—possibly in combination with high social skills—appear to be the ones who are particularly well prepared to cope with digital transformation.

Sanjiangyuan Eco-immigrants: lifestyle, social adaptation, change of idea and urbanization process

This paper describe the lifestyle about Eco-immigrants after relocated into city during the implementation of Sanjiangyuan ecological protection plans, and study the social adaptation and change of ideas about Eco-immigrants in the rapid urbanization. Then the author thinks that the lifestyle of immigrants presents heavy traditional characteristics because lack of prominent pluralism, little social mobility, low occupational differentiation, and heterogeneity. At same time, Eco-immigrants experience cultural oscillation and forms marginal personality in social and culture adaptation process, due to the slow process of rationalization, secularization, without forming a stable and complete market economy and urban lifestyle, urbanization of Eco-immigrants is at the primary stage.

(Not just) Intelligence stratifies the occupational hierarchy: Ranking 360 professions by IQ and non-cognitive traits

Occupational sorting, the process of individuals actively selecting into and being selected for different occupations, has significant implications for social stratification and inequality. The psychometric view of occupational differentials in ability emphasizes the importance of intelligence for occupational sorting, as it acts as a necessary condition to enter and remain in certain professions due to their high cognitive demand. The resulting cognitive stratification of the occupational hierarchy leads to strong associations between occupational mean IQ and sociological measures of occupational status and pay. Past research has been criticized for lack of representativeness and small sample sizes. In this study, we both confirm the psychometric view in a large representative sample and extend it to a set of nine non-cognitive traits. We show that the psychometric view holds (on a weaker level) for multiple non-cognitive traits, and using small-area estimation, we provide precise mean estimates and rankings of intelligence and non-cognitive traits for 360 occupations, including rare professions. Keywords: Social Stratification, Occupation, Non-Cognitive Traits.

Impact of Village Governance Quality on the Satisfaction of Farmers’ Life Experiences

This study presents a discussion concerning the impact of village governance quality on farmers’ life experience satisfaction using a multiple linear regression model. Accordingly, there is an analysis regarding the heterogeneity of the impact of village governance quality on farmers’ life experience satisfaction from the perspective of income differentiation and career differentiation. The results show the following: (1) The improvement of village governance quality is conducive to improving the satisfaction of farmers’ life experiences. Among them, the living and social conditions have the greatest impact, followed by village cohesion, and then village inclusiveness. (2) From the perspective of income differentiation, the quality of village governance plays the largest role in promoting the life experience satisfaction of middle-income farmers, followed by low-income farmers, and then high-income farmers. (3) From the perspective of occupational differentiation, the quality of village governance has the largest role in promoting the satisfaction of part-time farmers’ life experiences, followed by full-time farmers, and then non-agricultural farmers. Based on the research conclusion, it is suggested that strengthening the quality of village governance and paying attention to the differentiation of the farmers’ economy and occupation will improve the satisfaction of farmers’ life experiences.

Study about Oppressed People in Thagapan Kodi, a Novel by Azhagiya Periyavan

Human society has undergone various progression and thus developed into a civilized society. The main reason for oppression in Indian society is caste. Castes were formed and rigidified on the basis of occupational differentiation. Due to the upper and lower caste system, people were treated with disgrace, impurity and untouchability and certain ethnic groups were excluded from society. The lower caste people lived with such cruelties throughout their life. Thus, they were called oppressed people. No changes took place in the life of those people and the reason behind it is they are ideologically oppressed. The oppressed people began to think about their lives only when education is offered for all people. Through education they realized that they were enslaved. Thus, the oppressed people’s survey reveals the objections of the oppressed people. Such objections lead to protests. In that way Dalit literature become very famous. In the novel Thagappan Kodi, the sentiments of resistance against the dominant class are gradually formed and the thought of liberation is developed through renouncing various symbolic activities that disparage themselves. This article exemplifies the sufferings of the oppressed people, their moaning and the plans laid out by upper caste to torture them.

Standardization of the JobMatch Loqiq (JMLQ) Instrument to IQ-Scores

In the present study, standardized IQ-score distributions were constructed (M=100, SD=15) for the norm-group and for each of the JMLQ scales, including the General factor and the JMLQ scales (Math, Numerical, Logical 1 & 2, Speed). Subsequently, the influence of levels of education, i.e., elementary school, upper secondary school, post-secondary and university education, and occupational specialization, including advanced tasks, leadership, administration, practical skills, communication, practical work, upon IQ-scoring were assessed. It was found that normal frequency distributions of standardized IQ-scores were obtained for the General (N=1017), Numeric (N= 1004), Math (N=1001), Logic (N=1005), Logic2 (N=998), Complex (N=990), and Speed (N=1013) JMLQ-scales. Furthermore, it was observed that the standardized IQ-scores for the General scale over the four educational levels, elementary school, upper secondary, post-secondary and university, IQ-levels increased incrementally from the former, elementary and secondary school levels to post-secondary and university levels of education. Finally, the standardized IQ-scores for the six occupational sub-norm-groups, advanced tasks, leadership, administration, practical skills, communication, practical work, presented higher scores among the former three groupings, Advanced tasks, Leadership and Administration, than the latter three groups, Practical skills, Communication, Practical work presented. These results, consistent with those results presented in studies utilizing metaanalysis, intelligence testing and life-span analysis, underline advantages of higher academic preponderance and job specialization for the maintenance of higher intellectual and neurocognitive functioning.

Combat exposure and behavioral health in U.S. Army Special Forces.

Although combat has been found to be associated with adverse health outcomes, little is known about the impact of specific combat exposures, particularly among specialized personnel. This study examined the association of different types of combat exposures with behavioral health outcomes, and whether these associations differed by Army occupational specialization: General Purpose Forces infantrymen (n = 5,361), Ranger Qualified infantrymen (n = 308), and Special Forces personnel (n = 593). Multivariable regression models estimated the association of combat severity, type of combat event (fighting, killing, threat to oneself, death/injury of others), and type of killing with mental health disorders, trouble sleeping, and problem drinking. Combat severity, each type of combat event, and killing noncombatants were associated with adverse health outcomes after adjusting for covariates and other combat exposures. Except for trouble sleeping, these associations did not differ by occupational specialization, though the prevalence and odds of outcomes were generally lower for Special Forces personnel.

Occupational Specialisation of Labour Force in Class One Cities of India

Occupational Specialisation of Labour Force in Class One Cities of India

Trends in Employment and Wages of Female and Male Workers in India: A Task-Content-of-Occupations Approach

This paper uses the task-content-of-occupations framework to analyze trends in employment and wages of female and male workers in the Indian labor market from 1994 to 2017. Workers are classified into four main occupational categories: nonroutine cognitive, routine cognitive, nonroutine manual, and routine manual. Decomposing the changes in employment shares into between-industry changes and within-industry changes across occupational categories reveals that within-industry employment changes have increasingly played an important role, suggesting the growing importance of using the task-content framework to analyze labor market trends. The biggest increase in employment shares is for nonroutine cognitive occupations for both female and male workers. The wage analysis reveals that, on average, the gender wage gap has been lowest in routine cognitive occupations for most of the period of analysis. However, the analysis finds no consistent, significant changes in wages based on occupational specialization during the period of analysis.

Off-farm employment experience triggers heterogeneity of exiting part-time farming in rural China

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the occupational specialization in rural labor market by analyzing the nature of part-time farming in rural China and estimating the impact of off-farm experience on the individual’s persistence and exit of part-time farming as well as its heterogeneity.Design/methodology/approachUsing the panel data collected in 100 villages and 2,000 households across five provinces in 2008, 2012 and 2016, this study provides insights on the nature of part-time farming in rural labor market and find the impact and mechanism of off-farm employment experience on exiting part-time farming by adopting event history analysis.FindingsPart-time farming is a stable long-run occupation in rural labor market of China from 2008 to 2015. Off-farm employment experience generally has positive effects on long-term part-time farming and the probability of exiting part-time farming. It significantly promotes female to exit part-time farming.Originality/valueBased on the two-sector model, this study builds a conceptual framework of off-farm experience and occupational specialization and sets a theoretical basis of hazard model when using event history analysis. This study contributes to identify the impact of off-farm experience on persistence and exiting part-time farming in recent years. The empirical findings support the policy of promoting off-farm employment to improve occupational specialization.

Structural Change Shapes Career Mobility Opportunities: An Analysis of Cohorts, Gender and Parental Class

Research suggests that structural change drives occupational mobility in high-income countries over time, but two partially competing theories explain how such change occurs. One suggests that younger cohorts replace older ones through higher education, and the second suggests that individuals adapt to structural change by switching from declining to new or growing occupations during their careers. A proposed occupational scheme aligns with the two dimensions of structural change – skill upgrading on the vertical axis of occupational differentiation, increasing demand for data comprehension (i.e. high skill) and primary tasks concerning either people or things on the horizontal axis. Applied to career trajectories in the Swedish labour market, sequence analyses of the scheme suggest stability in attainment of career mobility types over time between consecutive birth cohorts, and considerable evidence for within-career manoeuvring. Analyses address heterogeneity along parental class and gender.