Transformations in the economy have led to changes in employment practices that can create a mismatch between parents’ work schedules and family routines. At the same time, approaches to child-rearing have become more time-intensive, with expectations of increased parental involvement in all aspects of children’s lives compared to previous generations. Mothers are subject to a more intensified maternal role and for fathers, the provider role is no longer sufficient. There are strong social pressures for more active participation in children’s lives and to nurture greater emotional connectivity in the parent-child relationship. These transformations in parenting and employment practices have contributed to a situation where parents now report increased levels of time pressure and greater dissatisfaction with the balance between work and the rest of their lives. The purpose of this study was to develop a broader understanding of how mothers and fathers with school-age children allocate their time, how it varies by household composition, season of the year, and work schedule, and how time use is related to subjective well-being. Given the role that leisure may play in creating a more satisfactory work-life balance, special attention was given to the amount of time available for leisure, with whom this time was spent and the relationship to quality of life. The gender relations perspective provided a theoretical framework since role expectations and experiences of parenthood differ for mothers and fathers. By considering individual, interpersonal, institutional and socio-historical levels of influence, patterns of behaviour may be better understood within the Canadian social context. This study is a secondary analysis of the 2005 Canadian General Social Survey, Cycle 19. Using a sub-sample of 2,062 parents of school-age children (ages 5-17 years), patterns of time use and perceptions of quality of life were assessed and compared by gender according to household composition, season of the school year, work schedule and flexible work option. Work schedules were categorized as traditional (daytime, no weekends), non-standard (evening, weekend and rotating shifts) and irregular (unpredictable, with “on call”, casual, or other irregular patterns). Gender inequality in the allocation of time to important life spheres remained substantial even when faced with very complex challenges in coordinating employment arrangements, family routines, and the school year schedule. With the exception of single fathers, men spent more time on employment-related activities than women regardless of work schedule, while women continued to perform greater amounts of domestic and child care activities. Combined workloads of paid and unpaid labour were significantly different only among single mothers and fathers. For married or cohabitating parents, the distribution of paid and unpaid labour was asymmetrical but the combined workload was not significantly different. Fathers continued to be privileged with greater amounts of leisure time. This was especially noticeable for men with non-standard work schedules and fathers of teenage children. Seasonal differences in time use indicated that women’s routines were more linked to the school year than men’s because of their greater child care responsibilities. When irregular or non-standard schedules were in place that could create more optimal conditions for reconsidering time allocation, parents still followed activity patterns that reproduced traditional gender roles. For women, non-standard schedules were the most detrimental to quality of life, whereas for men irregular schedules decreased well-being. Flexible schedules also perpetuated inequality in the distribution of paid work, unpaid work and leisure although quality of life actually improved for women. This improved quality of life may be attributable to more time spent on activities with physical health benefits or increased options for daily schedules, but it also leads to questions about how much control mothers actually have over their time and whether they recognize or care to challenge the inequalities that persist in the distribution of labour and leisure. Quality of life was diminished by conditions that contributed to a deviation from traditional role expectations. Some of these included not having a partner, women’s work schedules that conflicted with other family members, and for men, having an irregular and unpredictable work schedule. Since these conditions are characteristic of a sizable minority of Canadians parents, their experiences should not be dismissed but rather given greater attention. Additionally, future discussions of work-life integration should consider access to leisure since time for leisure was shown to contribute to parents’ quality of life. The gender relations perspective proved to be helpful in interpreting and understanding the dynamics of time use and behaviour. The four levels of interaction were highly interconnected, but changing institutional conditions such as employment schedules did not lead to greater equality. Instead, non-traditional work schedules widened the gender gap, particularly for child care and domestic activities. Dominant parenting practices were shown to be so deeply imbedded that stereotypical patterns remained a prevailing force guiding men’s and women’s daily activities. The GSS data, despite some limitations, provided considerable insight into the effect of parents’ employment and gender on time use and well-being. The findings of this study underscore the relevance of considering multiple levels of influence when assessing parenting practices, gendered behaviour, and quality of life for employed parents.

Transformations in the economy have led to changes in employment practices that can create a mismatch between parents’ work schedules and family routines. At the same time, approaches to child-rearing have become more time-intensive, with expectations of increased parental involvement in all aspects of children’s lives compared to previous generations. Mothers are subject to a more intensified maternal role and for fathers, the provider role is no longer sufficient. There are strong social pressures for more active participation in children’s lives and to nurture greater emotional connectivity in the parent-child relationship. These transformations in parenting and employment practices have contributed to a situation where parents now report increased levels of time pressure and greater dissatisfaction with the balance between work and the rest of their lives. The purpose of this study was to develop a broader understanding of how mothers and fathers with school-age children allocate their time, how it varies by household composition, season of the year, and work schedule, and how time use is related to subjective well-being. Given the role that leisure may play in creating a more satisfactory work-life balance, special attention was given to the amount of time available for leisure, with whom this time was spent and the relationship to quality of life. The gender relations perspective provided a theoretical framework since role expectations and experiences of parenthood differ for mothers and fathers. By considering individual, interpersonal, institutional and socio-historical levels of influence, patterns of behaviour may be better understood within the Canadian social context. This study is a secondary analysis of the 2005 Canadian General Social Survey, Cycle 19. Using a sub-sample of 2,062 parents of school-age children (ages 5-17 years), patterns of time use and perceptions of quality of life were assessed and compared by gender according to household composition, season of the school year, work schedule and flexible work option. Work schedules were categorized as traditional (daytime, no weekends), non-standard (evening, weekend and rotating shifts) and irregular (unpredictable, with “on call”, casual, or other irregular patterns). Gender inequality in the allocation of time to important life spheres remained substantial even when faced with very complex challenges in coordinating employment arrangements, family routines, and the school year schedule. With the exception of single fathers, men spent more time on employment-related activities than women regardless of work schedule, while women continued to perform greater amounts of domestic and child care activities. Combined workloads of paid and unpaid labour were significantly different only among single mothers and fathers. For married or cohabitating parents, the distribution of paid and unpaid labour was asymmetrical but the combined workload was not significantly different. Fathers continued to be privileged with greater amounts of leisure time. This was especially noticeable for men with non-standard work schedules and fathers of teenage children. Seasonal differences in time use indicated that women’s routines were more linked to the school year than men’s because of their greater child care responsibilities. When irregular or non-standard schedules were in place that could create more optimal conditions for reconsidering time allocation, parents still followed activity patterns that reproduced traditional gender roles. For women, non-standard schedules were the most detrimental to quality of life, whereas for men irregular schedules decreased well-being. Flexible schedules also perpetuated inequality in the distribution of paid work, unpaid work and leisure although quality of life actually improved for women. This improved quality of life may be attributable to more time spent on activities with physical health benefits or increased options for daily schedules, but it also leads to questions about how much control mothers actually have over their time and whether they recognize or care to challenge the inequalities that persist in the distribution of labour and leisure. Quality of life was diminished by conditions that contributed to a deviation from traditional role expectations. Some of these included not having a partner, women’s work schedules that conflicted with other family members, and for men, having an irregular and unpredictable work schedule. Since these conditions are characteristic of a sizable minority of Canadians parents, their experiences should not be dismissed but rather given greater attention. Additionally, future discussions of work-life integration should consider access to leisure since time for leisure was shown to contribute to parents’ quality of life. The gender relations perspective proved to be helpful in interpreting and understanding the dynamics of time use and behaviour. The four levels of interaction were highly interconnected, but changing institutional conditions such as employment schedules did not lead to greater equality. Instead, non-traditional work schedules widened the gender gap, particularly for child care and domestic activities. Dominant parenting practices were shown to be so deeply imbedded that stereotypical patterns remained a prevailing force guiding men’s and women’s daily activities. The GSS data, despite some limitations, provided considerable insight into the effect of parents’ employment and gender on time use and well-being. The findings of this study underscore the relevance of considering multiple levels of influence when assessing parenting practices, gendered behaviour, and quality of life for employed parents.

This dissertation studies the impact of the mode of data collection on the quality of answers to survey questions, defined as the product of reliability and validity. Using data from the Netherlands about different topics (media, social and political trust, satisfaction, political orientation, left-right self-placement, attitudes toward immigration), it shows that the quality is similar in a computed assisted face-to-face survey using show cards (the European Social Survey, ESS) and a web survey based on a probability sample (the LISS panel). This is true both at the level of single items and composite scores. It suggests that standardised relationships across variables can be compared across these two modes. On the contrary, telephone interviews lead to some differences in quality. For complex concepts, measurement equivalence also holds, meaning that means and unstandardised relationships can be compared across the faceto- face and web surveys mentioned previously. / Esta tesis estudia el impacto que el método de recolección de datos en encuestas tiene sobre la calidad de las respuestas, definida como el producto de la fiabilidad y la validez. Utilizando datos de Holanda sobre temas diversos (utilización de los medios de comunicación, confianza social y política, satisfacción, orientaciones políticas, autoubicación en la escala izquierda-derecha, actitudes hacia la inmigración), se muestra que la calidad es similar en una encuesta cara-a-cara asistida con ordenador y utilizando tarjetas (la Encuesta Social Europea) y una encuesta online basada en una muestra probabilística (el panel LISS). Esto se cumple tanto para los indicadores simples, como para indicadores complejos. Los resultados sugieren que las relaciones estandardizadas entre variables son comparables entre los dos métodos de recolección. Al contrario, las entrevistas telefónicas producen diferencias de calidad. Para conceptos complejos, la equivalencia de las mediciones también está garantizada: las medias y las relaciones no estandarizadas son comparables en las entrevistas cara-a-cara y online.

The aim of this thesis is to determine what affects cross-national differences in attitudes towards immigrants and immigration in Europe while using mainly theoretical framework of the Ethnic Competition Theory and the Human Capital Theory. We use multilevel models to test the hypotheses based on these theories. We use individual level data from European Social Survey 2014/2015 and country level data from World Bank, Eurostat, and MIPEX. The thesis finds a support for the Human Capital Theory, but does not find a clear support for the Ethnic Competition Theory. Even though economic vulnerability of a person is associated with attitudes towards immigrants, this association can be due to education. It seems in this thesis that people with higher education tend to hold more positive attitudes towards immigration of both skill levels of immigrants, professionals and laborers, than individuals with less years of education. Therefore, we find a support for the Human Capital Theory. On the contextual level, more permissive migrant integration policies seem to have positive effect on attitudes towards immigrants. Further investigation of the association between attitudes towards immigrants and immigration, and education and migrant integration policies is needed.

Far-right parties and their supporters have long been associated with climate skepticism and opposition to climate action. However, all far-right supporters do not share these views, and some even emphasize the importance of caring about the environment. Prior research has not paid much attention to this question; this thesis hence aims to investigate which kinds of far-right supporters are more likely to hold pro-environmental views. The study argues that it is essential to disentangle different eco-friendly attitudes related to the (national) environment on the one hand, and to (global) climate change on the other hand. Using prior research on far-right values and climate change attitudes, the study focuses on regional differences and various individual-level characteristics such as attitudes towards the nation- state, state sovereignty, and individuals’ socio-economic background. The empirical analysis uses the European Social Survey’s data from 2016 and employs multiple linear regression. The results demonstrate that there is indeed a “green divide” between concern for the environment and for the climate among the European far-right, particularly in Eastern Europe. Nationalist attitudes were statistically related to caring for the (national) environment, and not as much to climate responsibility. Female and older far-right supporters care more for the environment, while younger far-right supporters have higher climate responsibility. These results demonstrate the heterogeneity of far-right supporters and their pro-environmental attitudes. They also suggest that certain groups within the far right may be more open to environmentally friendly politics than others, and that an emphasis on the environment instead of on climate may greatly impact polarization in modern environmental politics.

From 2011 to 2031, the Canadian population living with neurological conditions is expected to double, but the population able to give informal care is not keeping pace, leading to a greater care burden. One element of this increasing care burden is emotional care. However, the effects of giving emotional care on caregiver health outcomes have not been sufficiently explored in the caregiving literature, where the majority of studies focus on instrumental forms of care, or fail to differentiate between different aspects of caregiving. This problem is further complicated by findings from other contexts which indicate that emotional supporting and helping others actually benefits the supporter or helper. Informed by the stress process and other ancillary theories, I use data from the 2012 General Social Survey to test several hypotheses which may help us understand the mental health, functional health, and caregiver burden of caregivers of persons with neurological conditions who emotionally support their care receivers, and of caregivers who are the sole provider of emotional support. The results suggest that emotionally supporting a care receiver with a neurological condition is detrimental to caregiver mental health, and that being the sole emotional supporter is detrimental to caregiver mental health, functional health, and experience of burden. A significant interaction effect also exists between emotional supporting and caregiver gender for functional health. These findings have important implications for future research, for intervention planners, and for caregivers themselves. / Graduate / 2020-08-06

在問卷設計上，一般人常用傳統勾選的方式讓受訪者作答。這種0或1的二分法方式，讓受訪者在數個選項中勾選出一個較適當之答案，但其勾選的並非絕對，而其無勾選的卻非不曾發生的，如此所得到的資料往往會扭曲事實的真相。 　　本論文即是利用模糊之概念來改良傳統之問卷，允許受訪者在數個選項中填寫百分比，解決上述傳統問卷之缺失，並以家庭關係問卷為例，來比較傳統及模糊問卷結果的差異性。更進一步建構一家庭關係模糊指標及定義一家庭關係警訊燈號，用來衡量一般人家庭關係之優劣。分析結果我們可以得到以下三點結論：1.傳統問卷之結果，往往容易集中在某個選項上；而模糊呈現的較為均衡。2.由於模糊問卷答題方式較為多樣化，故家庭關係模糊指標分布較為廣泛且均勻。3.整體而言，較多數人之家庭關係警訊燈號為綠燈，顯示家庭關係不錯。 / In survey question design, people used the method of traditional selection to let respondent to answer. This method let respondent to select an appropriate answer in several options. However, his selections would not be absolute, and the options that he did not select would happen. Such data may skew the reality. 　　In this paper, we make use of fuzzy concept which allow respondent to write down percentage in several options to improve traditional survey question and to resolve the shortcoming of traditional survey. Also, we take family relation survey question for instance to compare the difference of traditional and fuzzy survey question result. Furthermore, we build a family relation fuzzy index and define a family relation warning signal to judge the good and the bad of one's family relation.

The Labour Supply of Unpaid Caregivers in Canada, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Meredith Lenore Lilly, Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, 2008. As medical care increasingly shifts from the hospital to the home, responsibility for care has also shifted from the state and paid care, to the family and unpaid care. Unpaid caregivers are family members and friends who provide homecare services to recipients in their place of residence without financial compensation, as a result of their close personal relationships. This research tests the multiple hypotheses that unpaid caregiving has an impact on (1) the probability of labour force participation (LFP); (2) hours of labour force work; and (3) earnings by caregivers in Canada. We analyzed the 1996 and 2002 General Social Surveys, applying multivariate probit, logistic, and OLS regression analyses to four equations: 1) the probability of labour force participation; 2) the hourly wage; 3) weekly hours of labour market work; and 4) the probability of being an unpaid caregiver. Results indicate that unpaid caregiving was negatively associated with labour force participation; however, the impact on hours of labour market work and wages was uncertain. Women and men caregivers were impacted differently: only caregiving men in 1996 had significantly lower wages than non-caregivers, and only women in 1996 worked significantly fewer hours in the labour market. When caregiving was defined broadly, only men in 1996 were significantly less likely to be employed than non-caregivers. Yet when we controlled for caregiving intensity in 2002, both male and female primary caregivers were much less likely to be in the labour force than non-caregivers, while secondary caregivers were no less likely to be employed than non-caregivers. We conclude that when caregiving responsibilities are relatively small, individuals seem able to balance both caregiving with employment. Yet when caregiving commitments become heavy, it becomes increasingly difficult to balance employment with caregiving. We make a number of policy recommendations ranging from improving caregiver access to financial supports, formal care and respite services, particularly for primary caregivers. We also encourage the development of workplace legislation and caregiver friendly workplaces for the majority of caregivers who remain in the labour market.

The Labour Supply of Unpaid Caregivers in Canada, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Meredith Lenore Lilly, Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, 2008. As medical care increasingly shifts from the hospital to the home, responsibility for care has also shifted from the state and paid care, to the family and unpaid care. Unpaid caregivers are family members and friends who provide homecare services to recipients in their place of residence without financial compensation, as a result of their close personal relationships. This research tests the multiple hypotheses that unpaid caregiving has an impact on (1) the probability of labour force participation (LFP); (2) hours of labour force work; and (3) earnings by caregivers in Canada. We analyzed the 1996 and 2002 General Social Surveys, applying multivariate probit, logistic, and OLS regression analyses to four equations: 1) the probability of labour force participation; 2) the hourly wage; 3) weekly hours of labour market work; and 4) the probability of being an unpaid caregiver. Results indicate that unpaid caregiving was negatively associated with labour force participation; however, the impact on hours of labour market work and wages was uncertain. Women and men caregivers were impacted differently: only caregiving men in 1996 had significantly lower wages than non-caregivers, and only women in 1996 worked significantly fewer hours in the labour market. When caregiving was defined broadly, only men in 1996 were significantly less likely to be employed than non-caregivers. Yet when we controlled for caregiving intensity in 2002, both male and female primary caregivers were much less likely to be in the labour force than non-caregivers, while secondary caregivers were no less likely to be employed than non-caregivers. We conclude that when caregiving responsibilities are relatively small, individuals seem able to balance both caregiving with employment. Yet when caregiving commitments become heavy, it becomes increasingly difficult to balance employment with caregiving. We make a number of policy recommendations ranging from improving caregiver access to financial supports, formal care and respite services, particularly for primary caregivers. We also encourage the development of workplace legislation and caregiver friendly workplaces for the majority of caregivers who remain in the labour market.

Petra A n ý ž o v á Doctoral thesis: Cross-Country Comparability of Social Capital and Political Disaffection Attitude Scales in the European Social Survey Abstract The doctoral thesis deals with the methodological perspectives of comparative cross-national research. Currently, in the globalization period, the importance of these perspectives has been increasing. Unfortunately, social scientists analyse attractive international data more and more often without realising the levels of data comparability. Therefore they are not fully aware the best approach to statistical analysis of these data and their convenient comparative interpretation. This thesis introduces the issue of data equivalence as one of the most important quality aspects of cross-national research and focuses especially on attitude scales owing to the fact that their comparability is endangered the most in comparative research. In particular, the subject of the analysis is the international comparability of two of the most frequent robust attitude scales: namely social capital and political disaffection scales as they are measured in the European Social Survey first data set. In sociology and political science, these two social science concepts are very significant and they have been studied both theoretically and empirically as social...