When is a job not a job?Complementing previous literature on welfare reform and the character of jobs in the lowwage labour market, we illustrate the lack of regularity and security that mark the jobs held by many low-income mothers. To do so, we present a typology of mothers' work patterns and illustrate their experiences through case examples. Our qualitative analysis of longitudinal pathways-to-work in three cities involved an examination of the experiences of 99 diverse, low-income working mothers with a young child. The work patterns that emerged from this analysis include: continuous duration of a single job; multiple job spells; underemployment; and churning in and out of employment. Findings indicate that a complicated 'coming together' of well-paying stable jobs, consistent aid from public systems and stable family networks are necessary for mothers to take even the first steps into stable employment.Para complementar la literature previa sobre reformes de asistencia social y el cara´cter de trabajo en el mercado laboral de sueldo bajo, ilustramos la falta de regularidad y seguridad que tipifican los puestos de trabajo de muchas madres de bajos ingresos. A este fin, presentamos una tipología de pautas laborales para estas madres e ilustramos sus experiencias dando casos de ejemplo. Nuestra ana´lisis cualitativo de caminos al trabajo longitudinales en tres ciudades supuso un examen de las experiencias de 99 diversas madres de bajos ingresos y con un hijo pequeño. Las pautas laborales que salen de este análisis incluyen: duración contínua de un solo trabajo; multiples temporadas de trabajo; subempleo; y giro contínuo de empleo a desempleo. Los resultados indican que es necesaria una reunio´n complicada de pautas de trabajos estables y bien remunerados, ayuda constante de sistemas públicos y redes familiares estables para que las madres puedan tomar hasta los primeros pasos hacia empleo estable.
Immediately following his acknowledgments, Cohen begins his volume with an invitation that aims to evoke our interest in the Jews of St. Thomas. This chapter structure—in which the volume commences with what is in essence a justification for its publication—elicits an intriguing question about the study of Jewish life. Cohen is asking us to consider why one should be interested in this (and by implication, any?) small community of Jews. His subsequent introductory chapter poses a second fundamental question. It asks whether, in an age in which prevailing historical models have been subject to critical reexamination, a history that is organized by chronology rather than by theme can have scholarly value. The core of his response to these questions is that the St. Thomas Jewish community is an unusual instance of “accumulative ethnicity” (xxii) and thus constitutes a pattern in Jewish ethnicity worthy of scholarly attention. The narrative is arranged in chronological sequence to convey this pattern. Its unfolding temporal structure allows the reader to watch Jewish ethnicities emerge both from, and in place of one another. In raising these questions, Cohen brings a reflexive stance to the narrative. Yet, socially constructed memory seems to lie at the heart of the notion of accumulative ethnicity. Most Jews currently living on St. Thomas are transplants from the American mainland. Might the volume's framework also represent an American search for roots, and for roots that are special?
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