Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Price Laboratory School Citizenship Program, the First Amendment Schools, ASCD and the CoE’s American Democracy Project extend student’s knowledge of First Amendment rights and responsibilities with government and business involvement.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper examines changes in employment following the birth of a woman’s first child. The results of these analyses will shed light on the strategies women adopt in order to balance their work and family commitments. In particular, the authors predict the likelihood of women returning to their pre-birth employer, and of changing their post-birth work hours, skill level, or pay. This research draws on prior studies by the authors (Downs and Smith 2001; Smith, Downs, and O’Connell 2001), that examined the types of leave women used while caring for their newborn child and the length of time they were away from the labor force after the first birth.
The present research compares women who return to their pre-birth employers with women who switch to a new employer. These comparisons will enhance our understanding of the many ways which women adjust their work schedules upon becoming mothers.
The paper takes the following form. First, we describe general trends in maternity leave length and types of leave used, since the 1960s. We then use this information to predict the likelihood of changing employers after the birth. Next, we study which women adjust their work circumstances, in terms of hours worked, skill level, or pay. This allows us to determine which women (“same employer” or “different employer”) adjust their work circumstances more often.
The results of these analyses shed light on the factors that best predict variability in labor force behavior after the first birth. Women are increasingly likely to spend a short amount of time away from the labor force at the time of their first birth. What does this mean for the career-family juggling act? Most working women, 77 percent-, do not change employers upon becoming mothers. And most of those women return to jobs just like (or the same as) the ones they had before giving birth. For these women, the juggling act takes place outside the workplace. However, nearly a quarter of first-time mothers change their employer post-birth, and most of those women change at least one aspect of their working conditions. Many of these women work more hours, earn more money, or increase their job skills. However, we question how often, and through which pathways, some women reduce their skill and pay levels in order to work fewer hours.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The individual-level diffusion process of first marriage and that of first cohabitation have not been studied sufficiently in the literature, and important research questions are left behind such as whether the cohabitation diffuses from the socioeconomic elites or the disadvantaged group, and what is the mechanism of the diffusion of first marriage/cohabitation. These questions invite systematic investigations on the diffusion of these processes. In this study, I use the data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979-2004 (NLSY79) in the United States and the Survey of Labor and Income Dynamics 1993-1998 (SLID93) in Canada to examine the comparative diffusion processes of first marriage (without premarital cohabitation) and first cohabitation. Significant diffusion effects are found in the process of first marriage and that of first cohabitation for both males and females in the US and Canada. And there is evidence that the cohabitation diffusion starts from the socioeconomically disadvantaged group rather than the socioeconomic elites. In addition, it seems plausible that females develops further ahead in the diffusion of partnership transformation as compared with their male counterparts in both the US and Canada.

Supporting Publications:
Supporting Document

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: While previous studies have examined the linkages between educational success and
marriage and fertility transitions, most have focused on educational performance as a predictor of
mate selection and childbearing consequences. In contrast, this study proposes that the timing of
marriage and childbirth have significant implications for eventual educational attainment. Using a
sample of 11,933 young adults, the analyses demonstrate that marriage and childbirth prior to
enrollment in college are indeed detrimental to educational attainment. However, marriage during
the college years actually appears to increase the likelihood of college completion for both sexes,
and particularly for young adult women. The implications of these findings, particularly in regard
to young adult transitions, are discussed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: In times past the expectations of first ladies were of helpmates and hostesses. With advances in the media and the impact of feminism, expectations have modified to allow first ladies to advance their own identities, but only as long as they are not divergent from the overall message and agenda of their husband's administration. In this paper we examine this changing role of first ladies through the lense of feminist theory. Specifically, we argue that the dawn of post-feminism is real and has arrived in the Bush White House. We examine the role of Laura Bush and argue that she is actually the first post-feminist first lady.