International spinal cord injury socio-demographic basic data set (version 1.0).

STUDY DESIGN: Consensus based on the literature. OBJECTIVE: Create an International Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Socio-Demographic Basic Data Set (Version 1.0). SETTING: International. METHODS: The development included an iterative process where the authors reviewed existing variables containing socio-demographic variables and created a first dataset draft, which was followed by several revisions through email communications. In addition, the work was conducted in parallel with a similar endeavour within the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke SCI Common Data Elements project in the United States. Subsequently, harmonization between the two projects was sought. Following this, a review process was initiated, including The International SCI Data Sets Committee, the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Board, and the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) Scientific and Executive Committees, and then by publishing on the respective websites for membership feedback. The draft was sent to about 40 national and international organizations and several interested individuals for feedback. All review comments were discussed in the working group and responded to before the final draft was developed, and finally approved by ASIA Board and the ISCoS Scientific and Executive committees. RESULTS: The final International SCI Socio-Demographic Basic Data Set includes the following variables: Date of data collection, Marital status, Household member count, Years of formal education, and Primary occupation. CONCLUSION: The International SCI Socio-Demographic Basic Data Set will facilitate uniform data collection and reporting of socio-demographic information at the time of injury as well as at post-injury follow-ups to facilitate the evaluation and comparisons across studies.

Gender, class, employment status and social mobility following spinal cord injury in Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross sectional survey of 1055 persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) in Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. OBJECTIVES: (1) To analyse the employment levels of people of working age with SCI, including possible gender differences. (2) To study the relevance of occupational class before SCI and its impact on employment and occupational class after SCI. SETTING: Members of national SCI consumer associations. METHODS: Employment status and social mobility after SCI was regressed on occupational class before SCI, using multinomial and binary logistic regression analysis of employment, while controlling for other explanatory variables to employment after SCI and demographic characteristics. RESULTS: Employment levels after injury were similar for men and women in each of the four nations, but Dutch women had significantly lower scores on predicted employment than Dutch men. Employment and social mobility trajectories were heavily in favour of middle-class occupations. Gender differences in employment status at the time of study primarily occurred among those in working-class occupations before SCI, with men less likely than women of being non-employed. Working-class men were significantly more likely than working-class women to retain a working-class occupation at the time of study, and although non-significant, to attain a middle-class occupation after SCI. CONCLUSION: There was little variation in employment by gender within and across countries but significant differences between working-class and middle-class occupations before and after injury. The results suggest that targeted employment measures should be particularly invested in the rehabilitation of women in working-class occupations.

From disorganized capitalism to transnational fine tuning? Recent trends in wage development, industrial relations, and 'work' as a sociological category.

The disorganization thesis concentrates upon globalization and market dynamics, which are believed to trigger the breakdown of any kind of institutional structures. The diversity of capitalism approach, by contrast, places much emphasis on the persistence of distinct paths of national economies. Referring to comparative data from the OECD and other sources it is shown that some variables indicate a robustness of national styles of capitalism. Others hint at resemblance: e.g. there is a striking synchronization of the overall and sectoral wage development, there is a significant decrease in industrial disputes, and the class composition tends to become more similar. A move beyond the disorganization thesis and diversity of capitalism approach is suggested. Special attention should be paid to the profound impacts of transnational institutions and knowledge carriers in the form of experts and guidelines.