Most of the contemporary literature on Turkey’s industrial relations emphasises the impact of globalisation in bringing about fundamental institutional changes in the domain of industrial relations that have resulted in diminished capability of organised labour to act as an independent socioeconomic actor. However, what is often overlooked in these accounts is the historical continuity of insecurity as an embedded rationale in the institutions regulating industrial relations, the roots of which can be traced back to the first steps towards industrialisation following the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. The emergence of what I call the political economy of insecurity in Turkey was carried out by the generations of political actors to come and has had two far-reaching consequences in the domain of industrial relations. First, it distributed power between actors in favour of capital and the state. And second, with an exception of a couple of years, it served as an effective tool for the political actors to steer the behaviours of labour in the direction of so-called social peace and order. Against this background, my study investigates the institutionalisation of insecurity as a rationale in the political economy of Turkey’s industrial relations during the 20th century. It highlights the centrality of the modern Turkish state in shaping the interests of and interactions between the socioeconomic actors in modern Turkish society and the economy by adopting a long historico-institutionalist perspective, beginning with the early years of republican period and ending with Turkey’s integration into the global economy. The overall contributions of this study can be outlined in terms of theoretical, empirical and methodological aspects. Theoretically, this thesis brings forth new comprehension of the concept of security/insecurity by analysing it in relation to its different facets, i.e. security as one form of power resource, as an institutional outcome, and as an institutional rationale. Empirically, by taking an historical-institutionalist approach and by building on a power-sensitive perspective, the work investigates the formation and (re)configuration of Turkish industrial relations and calls attention to historically entrenched class alliances in the (re)distribution of power resources between the state, employers and labour, which is still an under-researched area. Methodologically, by examining industrial relations over a period of time as an institution, and by inserting power and actors at the heart of the analysis, this study presents a detailed and power-sensitive account of the institutional continuity, development and change that came into place in Turkey’s industrial relations.

acase@tulane.edu / 1 / Sonita Singh

The food vs. fuel debate has heated up since the 2008 global food crisis when major crop prices dramatically increased. Heavily subsidized biofuel production was blamed for diverting food crops from food production and diverting resources from food and feed production, triggering a food crisis globally and leading to increases in the world food insecure population. Few studies have quantified the effects of biofuel policies on world food prices and world food insecurity. This study added the Brazil and China's biofuel sectors to an existing global trade CGE model, and applies the measurement of food insecurity as developed by FAO. Alternative scenarios were food insecurity. Results are examined with focus on (1) effects on domestic biofuel productions, (2) change in food commodity productions and trade, (3) change in land use and land rents, and (4) change in regional undernourished populations. Results indicated that biofuel expansion is not cost competitive to traditional fossil fuel. Without any policy incentives, huge expansion of biofuel production is not likely under current technology. The conventional biofuel mandates in U.S., Brazil and China lead to increases in world food insecurity, while the advanced biofuel mandate in U.S. has the opposite effect. Subsidies to biofuels production help to lessen the increase in world food insecurity that is caused by increases in conventional biofuel production. Additionally, the effects from U.S. biofuel policies are smaller but more widespread than the effects from Brazil or China's biofuel policies. Overall, the long term effects of biofuel production expansion on world food insecurity are much smaller than expected.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Social Work in the Department of Social Work at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2013 / The study “An Investigation of Factors Surrounding Food Insecurity in KwaMthethwa”examines the factors responsible for food insecurity with specific reference to the rural people of KwaMthethwa. The investigation found that many factors coalesce to worsen the problem of food insecurity in the area under study. Mainly but not exclusively, factors that were found to worsen food insecurity in the KwaMthethwa area were: inadequate land supply, unemployment exacerbated by lack of marketable work skills, cultural practices and beliefs that tend to marginalize women away from the profitable work force, the HIV- AIDS epidemic which leaves many children without parents and the colonial mentality of white farm employers who see black labour as an exploitable commodity. In KwaMthethwa area the population group most severely affected by food insecurity was women and children. It was found that the situation of food insecurity could be improved by increasing productive infrastructure such as roads, telecommunication links, clinics, schools and properly equipped libraries.

Restructuring and widespread workplace closures have exposed white-collar workers to unprecedented levels of job insecurity and unemployment. This thesis describes two studies which examined effects on health of job insecurity and job loss in a longitudinal study of 10,308 white-collar British civil servants. Study 1 examined the consequences of short and long-term job insecurity generated by the transfer of work to agencies which were periodically under threat of privatisation. Relative to unaffected controls, self-reported morbidity increased significantly among respondents expecting transfer to an agency. Physiological measurements, such as blood pressure and body mass index, deteriorated significantly among respondents working in an agency. Increases in morbidity were greater in men than women. Study 2 examined the effects of job insecurity and job loss for respondents in one complete Civil Service department sold to the private sector. Data from three time points were analysed: 2 years pre-privatisation (anticipation phase); 3 months pre-privatisation (pretermination phase); and Ilh years post-privatisation. During the anticipation phase, compared with controls, respondents from the department undergoing privatisation experienced an overall increase in self-reported morbidity. By the pre-termination phase adverse changes were also seen in physiological measures. Postprivatisation, respondents were stratified by employment status. Overall, respondents in secure employment enjoyed better self-reported health than those in any other group. Unemployed men and insecurely employed women had the poorest self-reported health. Psychological disorder was significantly associated with insecure employment in both sexes and unemployment in men. Some evidence of health selection out of the workforce was found, but adjustment for preexisting morbidity demonstrated adverse effects on health in excess of those attributable to selection. Changes in work characteristics and health-related behaviours explained little of the effect of employment status on health. Further research on the employment statushealth relationship is required.

This study was an investigation of the relationship between feelings of insecurity of institutionalized delinquent boys and the following personality variables: Ascendancy, Responsibility, Emotional Stability, Sociability, Cautiousness, Original Thinking, Personal Relations, and Vigor.

ABSTRACT The present research study examines the possible relationship between students’ career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE) and their perceptions of their family members’ job satisfaction and job insecurity. The present research uses a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional research design, on a sample of 148 subjects drawn from a sample of first year Psychology students from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. The Career Decision Self-Efficacy scale was used to measure career decision-making self-efficacy (Betz & Taylor, 2001), Warr, Cook and Wall’s (1979) Overall Job Satisfaction scale to measure job satisfaction (Short, 1996) and the Job Insecurity scale developed by Ashford, Lee and Bobko (1989) to measure job insecurity. The statistical procedures used to analyse the data, included correlations to test the first hypothesis, which proposed a relationship between students’ CDSME and their perceptions of their family members’ job satisfaction and the second hypothesis, assumed a relationship between students’ CDMSE and their family members’ job insecurity. A Stepwise Multiple Regression was performed to examine the above hypotheses. The results reported a significant relationship between students’ CDMSE and their perceptions of their family members’ job satisfaction. However, there was insufficient evidence to support the relationship between students’ CDMSE and their perceptions of their family members’ job insecurity.

Urban violence represents one of the greatest development challenges for Latin American countries. During the past two decades, Mexico has witnessed an alarming increase of violence levels heavily associated with homicides and crimes related to drug trafficking. The way this extreme violence problem has been framed has had implications regarding the focus of studies which, from a variety of disciplines, are concerned in understanding the socio-economic causes, the regional security, and governance consequences as well as the national, sub-national and local government policy responses to this phenomenon. In this context, the multifaceted ways in which daily violence manifests in the urban space have been less studied. Aiming to shed light on how varied types of violence and insecurity are experienced at the local level, this research adapts an ecological framework in an attempt to disentangle the impact that urban planning has on the perceptions that citizens living in inner cities and peripheral settlements have of their own urban space, and what the implications for future violence reduction policies may be. Through a comparative study of two Mexican cities, and using participatory methods including transect walks, auto-photography and risk mapping assessments, the research explores the perceptions of violence and insecurity and their link to urban space, highlighting the role that physical and spatial interventions have played. A main finding of the research is that, while these interventions are seen by policy makers and city planners as an answer to violence, failing to include residents' perceptions of violence and insecurity in the design and implementation of these responses limits their effectiveness and outcomes. Moreover, implementation of generic socio-spatial solutions in Mexican cities tends to obscure the real causes of violence, and in some cases, worsens residents' feelings of insecurity. In this sense, urban planning seems to have exacerbated the experiences and manifestations of insecurity and violence.

Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / Child-headed households (CHHs) are a recent development that has become progressively noticeable not only in South Africa but also internationally. This phenomenon arose as a result of the death of parents or abandonment of children by their primary caregivers. The Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic has taken away the lives particularly of many adults, leaving children orphaned and having to take on the adults’ responsibilities. In the past, relatives or the extended family would take the responsibility of caring and providing for orphaned children but, with current economic hardships, most families are unable to take the extra responsibility. As a result, older siblings become caregivers to their younger siblings. Unfortunately, when parents die, children often lose access to adequate food, social grants, education and health services. Despite the fact that it is the right of all South Africans, including children, to have access to sufficient food, many households, including CHHs, are living in poverty. As a result, they are vulnerable to food insecurity, leading to developmental, social and emotional challenges. The aim of the present study was to explore and describe the experiences, challenges and coping strategies of CHHs with food insecurity in Ingwavuma, from a bio-ecological perspective. Ingwavuma is a small rural town in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The study makes recommendations for social work projects, education and future research regarding CHHs’ experiences of food insecurity. This is a qualitative study that utilised an explorative-descriptive methodological approach. Purposive sampling was used to select 20 children between the ages of 13 and 18 years old from CHHs in Ingwavuma. One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants at their homes in the town.

<p>Over the last few decades, increased flexibility and lack of stability in employment has made job insecurity a work stressor that keeps affecting more and more  employees. This study investigates to what extent core self-evaluations influence the appraisal of job insecurity in a Swedish sample of white-collar workers (N=425). By applying the Preacher & Hayes’ macro for multiple mediation the study also tests if there is a mediating effect of coping style on the relation between core self-evaluations and job insecurity. The results show that core self-evaluations have predictive validity in relation to job insecurity. Core self-evaluations are also associated with task-based coping style. However, no mediating effect of coping style was found on the relation between core self-evaluations and job insecurity.</p> / Stockholm Stress Center / Job insecurity from a gender perspective