Maternal employment in Scandinavia: a comparison of the after-birth employment activity of Norwegian and Swedish women

A striking characteristic of recent Western labour market trends is the rise in employment among mothers of very young children. So far, few studies have analysed the impact of public policies on employment rates of young mothers. In this study we address this issue by comparing two similar countries, Norway and Sweden, which have the same set of policies with slight variations, using data sets with similar designs. We analyse rates of re-entry into paid work after first birth for mothers in 1968–88 by means of hazard regression. One important finding is that the right to paid maternity leave with jobsecurity greatly speeds up the return to work.We want to thank Jan Kowalski for programming assistence and the Swedish Research Council for the Social Sciences and the Swedish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences for financial support for the Swedish study. We are grateful to John F. Ermisch, Siv Gustafsson, to two anonymous referees and to colleagues at the Demography Unit for valuable comments. Responsible editors. Siv S. Gustafsson, John F. Ermisch.     

Sexual Concerns and Counseling Needs of Normal Men Attending a University Student Health Service

Abstract

The responses of 582 male university students attending the UCLA Student Health Service for medical evaluation are presented. Of these students, 37% (215) were freshmen and varsity athletes having pretraining physicals, and 63% (367) were students being evaluated in the SHS primary care clinics. A self-report questionnaire examined the frequency of sexual problems experienced by the respondents and their partners. The most common concerns expressed about themselves were orgasmic difficulties, feeling too interested in sex, and trouble getting and keeping erections. Forty-one percent of the SHS group and 33% of the athletes group had sexual concerns, and, of these, 55% and 40% respectively wanted help with their problems. Specific counseling needs of students were also evaluated.     

Understanding the pattern of support for the elderly: a comparison between Israel and Sweden

Cross-cultural comparison can offer critical input to analyses of the interplay between formal and informal services for the elderly. Israel and Sweden have very different population structures and represent different points on the spectrum of welfare state development: Sweden has a much higher percentage of elderly, a less traditional family structure, and a much more developed system of public support. In addition, there are thought to be different attitudes toward family ties, with a less family-oriented value structure in Sweden. The natural question is to what extent these differences translate into differences in the extent and nature of family support for the elderly. In this article, family structure, living arrangements, disability rates, and formal and informal sources of help in Sweden and Israel are compared at various points in time. While there is a greater rate of formal service provision in Sweden and some substitution for family support seems to have occurred, informal care has nevertheless remained important. In both countries, residential patterns are critical: it is when the elderly live alone that the formal system has tended to replace the family. The rate of institutionalization is particularly important in determining the rate of disabled elderly requiring care, both formal and informal, in the community.     

Statistical modelling and saddle-point approximation of tail probabilities for accumulated splice loss in fibre-optic networks

Tail probabilities are calculated by saddle-point approximation in a probabilistic-statistical model for the accumulated splice loss that results from a number of fusion splices in the installation of fibre-optic networks. When these probabilities, representing the risk of exceeding a specified total loss, can be controlled and kept low, the requirements on the individual losses can be substantially relaxed from their customary settings. As a consequence, it should be possible to save considerable installation time and cost. The probabilistic model, which can be theoretically motivated, states that the individual loss is basically exponentially distributed, but with a Gaussian contribution added and truncated at a set value, and that the loss is additive over splices. An extensive set of installation data fitted well with this model, except for occasional high losses. Therefore, the model described was extended to allow for a frequency of unspecified high losses of this sort. It is also indicated how the model parameters can be estimated from data.     

A test of equilibrium theory: Effects of topic intimacy and proximity on verbal and nonverbal behavior in pairs of friends and strangers

This experiment examined verbal and nonverbal behavior by pairs of female friends and strangers as they discussed either intimate or nonintimate topics at face-to-face distances of approximately 2.5 or 4.5 feet. On the basis of equilibrium theory and Altman and Taylor's (1973) theory about interpersonal exchange, strangers were expected to react to intimate topics or close proximity or both with discomfort and decreased affiliative behavior (facial regard, gesturing, speech). Friends were expected to show increased affiliative behavior. Results indicated that both strangers and friends showed signs of discomfort and low levels of affiliative behavior while discussing intimate topics, i.e.compensation. Discomfort with intimate topics and compensation decreased over time, indicatingadaptation. This finding suggests that compensation for intimate topics may occur only during the initial phases of an encounter.