Jeff Carroll's research into Huntington's disease is not only offering hope for the afflicted; it's changing the course of his own genetic destiny.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Work-life conflict has been repeatedly demonstrated to have a negative impact on individuals and organizations alike. Although the negative impact of work-life conflict has been recognized in the Industrial Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavioral literature, very few researchers have developed interventions to reduce it. Moreover, the interventions currently in existence tend not to be practical, grounded in relevant theory, or experimentally tested. Thus, the present study sought to create and test an intervention based upon concepts from border theory and conservation of resources theory. Specifically, using these theories, the intervention sought to provide segmentation techniques as a resource for participants to reduce work-life conflict. The intervention was tested on a group of university employees. Results were unsupportive of predicted hypotheses, the intervention was not found to significantly impact segmentation, work-life conflict, work outcomes, or personal outcomes. Future directions, theoretical and practical contributions, and limitations are discussed. Despite insignificant findings, the present study offers practical and theoretical guidance for organizations and researchers interested in developing interventions to reduce work-life conflict.

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The study is made in Nacka, a suburb of the capital of Sweden, Stockholm, and focuses on “the parental school choice" that takes place when children start in first grade at the age of six.  New differences in the number of pupils attending various municipal schools have appeared after reforms in the early 1990s giving parents free choice of elementary school for their children. Some schools are located in areas where most children have a middle class background, while others are placed in less attractive surroundings where the parents have a lower educational status, and are more often immigrants. Parents living in the latter kind of surroundings can now send their children to schools further off, but located in more attractive areas. This leads to some schools get an increasing number of pupils and others gets a decreasing. The income of schools in Sweden is largely based on the number of pupils; the idea behind the reform is that schools with a good educational quality should be rewarded by the system. But other factors also influence the parent’s choice; bad rumors, good reputations, the number of children with immigrant background, the physical surroundings and social atmosphere where the school is located, and maybe also ethnical prejudice. My study concerns the grounds upon which school the parents choose the first school for their children in a part of Nacka municipality. The study is based on staff interviews from a school located in a socio-economically disfavored area as well as interviews and questionnaire surveys with parents having a choice between the nearby school and a school located in a more wealthy area. I found that the parent’s primary criterion when choosing schools is still proximity. When looking at the group that has opted out the most nearby schools however, the reputation of the local school – the spreading of bad rumors – proved to be a major influence. An example from the answers I received is the following: I chose a school based on the number of immigrants in it, my child should have a safe schooling, it’s said that schools with a lot of immigrants have an atmosphere that is much tougher, I’ve heard from others, that the “apartment complex” school is a tougher school to attend. (Interview Lisa, verbal, March 2010) Many parents obviously prefer not to have their children attend a school located in a socio-economic disfavored area with a large low-income and/or immigrant population. They are worried that their children will have trouble even getting the final grade from primary school, which is a precondition to entering the secondary, “gymnasium” level.

Most studies on parenthood and learning difficulties focus on mother and child, and very little is know about fathers with learning difficulties. Moreover, people with learning difficulties are rarely asked to tell their own narratives. The aim of the current study is to identify the role of the father in families where one or both of the parents have learning difficulties. Laws and regulations concerning the rights of people with learning difficulties in Sweden are accounted for and the he social support system for all parents in Sweden are described . The empirical study is a qualitative phenomenological interview study, inspired by narrative traditions, and describes how fathers with learning difficulties experience these support systems. The main data are two life stories of fathers with learning difficulties and one observation in a family. The findings suggest that although Sweden has a highly regarded disability policy and social support system, and even though fathers with learning difficulties are assured equal rights as members of the society and as parents by the Act of Human Rights, they are not treated equal but still faces structural inequalities. Their strengths and needs are not recognized, gender based support is not used and last but not least there is a lack of adequate competence in the support system. As long as the fathers are not included in the discussions about strengths and weaknesses in families with at least one parent with learning difficulties, these families are not given reasonable chances of fulfilling their parenthoods.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / With an increased interest in work-family conflict, researchers have recently turned much of their attention to understanding what puts people at risk of experiencing higher levels of work-family conflict. The purpose of this paper is to examine how gender might influence work-family conflict (WFC) experienced. While past research has explored this topic, results have remained inconclusive. Although some research indicates that women experience more conflict, other research indicates that men experience more conflict, while still other research indicates no gender difference. It is proposed here that these mixed results indicate other factors may be present which moderate the effect of gender on work-family conflict. Drawing on the theory of work-family conflict and role congruity theory, this paper looks specifically at how the gender-type of a job moderates the relationship between gender and experienced levels of work-family conflict. Data from alumni from a large Midwestern University were analyzed using hierarchical regression. Job gender-type (i.e., femininity) was found to moderate the relationship between gender and work-family conflict such that women in jobs that were less stereotypically feminine reported higher levels of time based-conflict than women working in jobs that were more stereotypically feminine. Men reported similar levels of WFC regardless of their job type. Directions for future research on gender and WFC are discussed.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Theoretically, inter-role conflict can occur between any life domains that place competing demands on an individual. However, inter-role conflict research has mainly focused on the conflict between only two domains: work and family. This limited focus is problematic because it has excluded many other potential life domains in which people participate. In order to focus more attention on other life domains, however, it is necessary to understand which life domains people are participating in. As such, the goal of the present qualitative research was to identify and define the full spectrum of life domains by asking two questions: What life domains are relevant to work-life conflict, and how do people value the various life domains in which they are involved? A total of 13 life domains emerged from the data. Participants engaged in an average of 9 of these domains, indicating that people engage in many activities in life outside just work and family.

Die Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Familie ist eine der größten Herausforderungen und gleichzeitig Gelingensbedingung für Geschlechtergerechtigkeit auf dem Arbeitsmarkt und im familiären Bereich. Die vorliegende Dissertation verdeutlicht in drei empirischen Papieren die Relevanz von Sorgearbeit für die Arbeitsmarktpartizipation von Frauen und Männern, sowie die Rolle von Unternehmen für das Unterfangen, berufliche und familiäre Aufgaben zu vereinbaren. Im ersten Papier fragt diese Dissertation nach der Rolle von Haus- und Sorgearbeit sowie ihrer Verteilung im Paar für die Arbeitsmarktpartizipation von Frauen und Männern. Für die Analyse werden Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) der Jahre 2001-2017 herangezogen. Um sich bestmöglich einer kausalen Identifikation anzunähern, werden First- Difference Instrumentalvariablen-Regressionen (FD-IV) geschätzt. Das zweite Papier betrachtet die Gründe von Vätern gegen eine (längere) Elternzeitnahme. Anhand eines Mixed-Methods Forschungsdesigns wird untersucht, welche betrieblichen Determinanten eine (längere) Elternzeitnutzung erklären. Darüber hinaus wird analysiert, ob und in welchem Unternehmenskontext Männer und Frauen Karriereeinbußen nach Elternzeitnutzung erfahren. Die Datenbasis sind qualitative und quantitative Daten einer Zusatzbefragung zum AID:A II Survey. Das dritte Papier untersucht die Frage nach dem Zusammenhang von Homeoffice-Nutzung und Work-Family Conflicts. Konkret wird analysiert, ob es Unterschiede nach Unternehmenskultur gibt. Auf Grundlage des LPP-ADIAB werden Multilevel-Regressionen mit fixen Effekten für Berufe separat für Männer und Frauen geschätzt. Zusammengefasst belegt die Dissertation geschlechtsspezifische Unterschiede in der Herausforderung, Erwerbstätigkeit und private Verpflichtungen in Einklang zu bringen. Darüber hinaus wird die Notwendigkeit von politischen Reformen und der Handlungsbedarf, aber auch die Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten von Unternehmen verdeutlicht. / Reconciling work and family is one of the greatest challenges and, simultaneously, a precondition for gender equality both in the labor market and in the domestic sphere. In three empirical chapters, this dissertation illustrates the relevance of care work for the labor market participation of women and men, as well as the role of companies in the effort to reconcile work and family responsibilities. In the first paper, this dissertation asks about the role of housework and care and its distribution in the couple for the labor market participation of women and men. The analysis uses data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) from 2001-2017 on time use for various household chores as well as childcare and eldercare. First-difference instrumental variable regressions (FD-IV) are estimated to best approximate a causal identification. The second paper examines fathers’ reasons against taking (longer) parental leave. Building on this, a mixed-methods research design is used to investigate which firm-level determinants explain (longer) parental leave use by men and women. Furthermore, it analyzes whether, and in which company contexts, men and women experience perceived career setbacks after taking parental leave. The database is qualitative and quantitative data from a supplementary survey to the AID:A II. The third paper investigates the question of the relationship between working from home and work-family conflicts. Specifically, it analyzes whether there are differences according to corporate culture. Based on the LPP-ADIAB, multilevel regressions with occupation fixed effects are estimated separately for men and women. Overall, the dissertation demonstrates gender-specific differences in the challenge of reconciling gainful employment and private obligations. In addition, it points out the necessity of political reforms and the need for action, but also the potential for companies to shape these changes.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The division of labor in households is an important topic in marital relationships. Families are not static; they are in a constant state of change. Employment, individual family members’ schedules, and religious beliefs can impact how couples divide household tasks. This particular study draws on in-depth interviews of four married couples from American Baptist churches to explore how couples within this type of church divide household tasks. The interviews focused on the management of second- and third-shift household tasks, as well as childcare. The purpose of obtaining this information was to see if the way American Baptist couples handle second-, third-shift duties, and childcare is more consistent with general population couples or more consistent with Evangelical/Conservative couples. Husbands and wives were interviewed separately to obtain individual thoughts and opinions. The interviews revealed that when it comes to second-shift tasks and child care, American Baptist couples are more in line with general population couples. As far as third-shift duties, Evangelical, general population, and American Baptist couples are all currently handling in very similar ways with the female performing the majority of third-shift tasks.