Appalachian professor helps document child labor worldwide

http://www.news.appstate.edu/2009/08/06/document-child-labor-worldwide/

Posted August 6, 2009 at 2:42 pm · By ASU News
Filed under Business, General, Research, Today

HughHindman_t.jpgBOONE—An estimated 160 million children aged 5-14, or about one in six children worldwide, are engaged in child labor.

And while most of us probably conjure up images of children working in agricultural settings or factories when the term child labor is mentioned, its scope extends to such unseemly settings as the sex industry or warfare.

Hugh D. Hindman, a professor of labor and human resources in Appalachian State University’s Walker College of Business, is editor of the recently published book “The World of Child Labor, An Historical and Regional Survey.” Published by M.E. Sharpe Inc., the 1,032-page work is a reference encyclopedia for libraries, students, scholars and others interested in the topic.

The work features 222 essays written by 178 different scholars, researchers or activists from around the world.

Hindman’s essays in the book include “Child Labor in American Textiles,” “Evolution of US Child Labor Law,” “Child Labor in China: An Overview” and “Worst Forms of Child Labor,” which Hindman says includes children in bondage, child soldiers and the commercial sexual exploitation of children. “I had never taken an in depth look at those forms of child labor. That was an eye opener,” he said.

FULL story at link.