Happiness surveys: Some comparability issues and an exploratory survey based on just perceivable increments

Most questionnaires to obtain reports of happiness are primitive with the results obtained of low (interpersonal) comparability. This paper argues that happiness is intrinsically cardinally measurable and comparable though with many difficulties. Moreover, a sophisticated questionnaire was developed and used to obtain more accurate and interpersonally comparable reports of happiness based on the concept of just perceivable increments of pleasure/pain. Comparisons with the traditional questionnaire are also made (by the respondents) to show the superiority of the sophisticated questionnaire.     

Epidemics in the Americas: major issues and future research

The author discusses the problems associated with the study of epidemics in the Americas. He indicates that "study of the history of the epidemics in the Americas faces peculiar difficulties inherent in any topic which covers the New World from pole to pole in a widely interdisciplinary range.... The interdisciplinary nature of the theme exposes the inadequacies of our bibliographies and indexes, especially those by field of study. The topic apparently falls between the interstices of anthropological, historical, and even medical indexes, including the international medical index." He then proposes new avenues of research that may prove helpful.     

Researching international student migration in Asia: research design and project management issues

In the context of Asia, the changing dynamics of higher education has increased the visibility and significance of the group of intraregional education migrants. There are several methodological issues which need to be addressed in conducting research for this group of migrants. First, how does the particular type of migrant group and Asian context influence the research design? Second, in order to capture the scale and diversity of this migrant group, how should research be conducted across multiple sites? Third, how does a mixed method design allow researchers to learn more about the behaviour, practice and orientations of education migrants? Our paper aims to make contributions to the discussions on the methods of education migration research in Asia through answering these questions. We use research experiences and preliminary data from a multinational project to illustrate the issues involved in the selection of methods, research design and project management.     

Emerging issues in urban ecology: implications for research,social justice,human health,and well-being

Urbanization affects landscape structure and the overall human condition in numerous ways. Green spaces include vegetated land cover (e.g., urban forests, trees, riparian zones, parks) which play a distinctive role in urban ecology. This article reviews emergent literature on the linkages between urban green spaces, social justice, and human health. We explore this subject in the context of landscape structure, ecosystem services, and distributional equity as it relates to various health outcomes. Finally, we conclude by identifying gaps in the scholarship and potential areas of future research.     

Welfare states and social inequality: Key issues in contemporary cross-national research on social stratification and mobility

Research on welfare states and research on social stratification and mobility share a common concern for social inequality. Research on welfare states is usually comparatively designed, looking for similarities and variation across countries in a number of aspects related to social structure and social institutions. On the other hand, the basic model of social stratification, utilized in most cross-national research on social stratification and mobility, is an abstract model which does not specify why and how we are to understand cross-national differences. Yet for about 20 years or so, researchers within the social stratification community have undertaken several cross-national studies. This paper reviews a few selected studies within each area and summarizes their conclusions with regard to similarities versus differences between countries. In the final section of the paper, I discuss key issues for future work within cross-national research on social stratification.     

Dual record demographic surveys: A re-assessment

Summary A Review of 'Population Growth Estimation': A Handbook of Vital Statistics Measurement, by Eli S. Marks, W. Seltzer and K. J. Krotki. pp. 496.     

Dual record demographic surveys: A re-assessment

A Review of ‘Population Growth Estimation’: A Handbook of Vital Statistics Measurement, by Eli S. Marks, W. Seltzer and K. J. Krotki. pp. 496     

Follow-up surveys for census estimates of maternal mortality: experiences from Bolivia and Mozambique

Maternal mortality measurement through special census questions will be a common practice in the 2010 census round. To check this information or make it cause-specific, some countries have experimented with follow-up surveys containing verbal autopsies or triangulation with administrative data. However, follow-up studies can be costly and not without complications. In order to assess the benefits, two such experiences are discussed in detail (Bolivia, 2002; and Mozambique 2007–2008) and two others mentioned more briefly (Islamic Republic of Iran, 1996; and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 2008). In the former, several problems were apparent. In Mozambique, the follow-up survey used a cluster sample of 4.5% of deaths, from all causes. This design was adequate for the more common causes, but not for maternal mortality. Another problem was the large proportion of invalid cases (35.1%, plus 16% not verifiable) and the likelihood that there was a similar proportion of omitted deaths. The Bolivian census generated many invalid cases and missing ages, due in part to the flawed design of the questionnaire. This overburdened the follow-up, so that only 15% of the census deaths of women of reproductive age unrelated to pregnancy could be investigated. Once the false positives were eliminated, the results seem consistent with Growth Balance analyses, but the many classification errors compromise confidence in the results. Despite this mixed record of outcomes, it is believed that carrying out a limited number of similar studies in the current census round may be valuable, if appropriate lessons are learned from these experiences.     

Rationale and procedures for nesting semi-structured interviews in surveys or censuses

Demographers who use survey data and census data from health and demographic surveillance areas can gain substantially from expanding their repertoire of methods to make use of qualitative methods. Similarly, those who conduct and analyse data primarily from semi-structured interviews or focus groups can benefit from information provided by survey research. This paper presents a systematic mixed-methods model-data-linked nested studies-for sampling respondents for semi-structured interviews from survey or census lists. The paper outlines how to conduct these types of study, and their technical and analytical advantages. It highlights the benefits of building on a strong foundation, the ability to compare samples, and the expansion of the range of evidence for, or against, the validity of the substantive findings. Case studies from two data-linked nested projects-in Malawi and South Africa-are used to describe in detail the nested-study approach.     

HIV and fertility in Africa: first evidence from population-based surveys

The historical pattern of the demographic transition suggests that fertility declines follow mortality declines, followed by a rise in human capital accumulation and economic growth. The HIV/AIDS epidemic threatens to reverse this path. We utilize recent rounds of the demographic and health surveys that link an individual woman’s fertility outcomes to her HIV status based on testing. The data allow us to distinguish the effect of own positive HIV status on fertility (which may be due to lower fecundity and other physiological reasons) from the behavioral response to higher mortality risk, as measured by the local community HIV prevalence. We show that although HIV-infected women have significantly lower fertility, local community HIV prevalence has no significant effect on noninfected women’s fertility.     

Morbidity and multi-morbidity in Australia: Evidence from the national health surveys

This paper examines the prevalence of reported morbidity in Australia during the two time periods 1977–78 and 1989–90. It utilizes data from the National Health Surveys conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in the respective years. Prevalence of reported multi-morbidity is also examined for persons who reported one or more of ten specific long-term conditions in the 1989–90 survey. The study found that the prevalence of morbidity increased in Australia between the survey years, which occurred, as in some other low-mortality countries, along with mortality reduction over this period. Females reported higher morbidity than males but the sex differential narrowed over time. The Aboriginal population had lower morbidity than the total population of Australia but the difference was not statistically significant. For some specific conditions, prevalence of morbidity was higher for the Aboriginal population. Capital city dwellers in the states had higher prevalence of morbidity than non-capital city dwellers. The Australian Capital Territory had the highest and the Northern Territory the lowest prevalence of morbidity among all states and territories of Australia.     

Adult mortality in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from demographic and health surveys

This article reports levels, trends, and age patterns of adult mortality in 23 sub-Saharan Africa countries, based on the sibling histories and orphanhood data collected by the countries' Demographic and Health Surveys. Adult mortality has risen sharply since HIV became prevalent, but the size and speed of the mortality increase varies greatly among countries. Excess mortality is concentrated among women aged 25-39 and among men aged 30-44. These data suggest that the increase in the number of men who die each year has exceeded somewhat the increase for women. It is time for a systematic attempt to reconcile the demographic and epidemiological evidence concerning AIDS in Africa.     

American families: policy issues

"Increases in the number of children living in single-parent (usually female-headed) households and in the proportion of mothers who work outside their homes have raised concern in the United States about the effects of these trends on the well-being of children and the possible need for policy intervention. This paper discusses the arguments for and against policies that affect families. We review a number of such policies and what research suggests about their likely effects. The policies discussed...include those concerning child support, welfare, income taxes, child and dependent care, family leave, family planning, programs to improve parenting skills and family function, and economic growth."     

Depo-Provera: clarifying the issues

In this interview, deputy executive director Ester B. Sy-Quimsiam of the Commission on Population talks on Depo-Provera, the latest method officially accepted by the Philippine Population Program. Medically, Depo has been proven to be safe, effective, long-acting, and reversible. A single dose of this drug can prevent a woman from pregnancy for 3 months. In clinics where the nurse or the midwife is trained in comprehensive family planning technology the drug will be introduced. Clinics in areas where prevalence of the more effective method is low must be targeted. Managers, supervisors, trainers of service providers, and fieldworkers will be trained to implement the information and education campaign and generate demand among married couples of reproductive age who are most eligible for Depo. Family planning services will continue to be subsidized by the program, but the cost of contraceptive supplies will be shared by the user. But there will still be subsidized supplies for those who cannot afford them. Service providers must be well informed; they must not only at the contraceptive, they must also consider a prospective client as a total person.     

Population forecasting and planning: Some philosophical issues

The preceding article by Isserman and Fisher is considered with regard to the question of active versus passive population forecasting and planning. The reasons are examined for the difference between my position, as outlined in my article earlier in this issue, and that of Isserman and Fisher.Population Forecasting and Local Economic Planning by Andrew Isserman and Peter Fisher was the catalyst for this article. Exchanging ideas with Isserman and Fisher has been both a pleasure and benefit to me.     

Immigrants’ educational disadvantage: an examination across ten countries and three surveys

Studies on immigrants’ disadvantage focus predominantly on labour market perspectives. Immigrants’ poor education is a subject much less examined especially in a cross-national context. This paper examines differences in educational achievement between immigrants and natives across ten OECD countries. In English-speaking countries, immigrants fare best, while in Continental European countries they fare worse compared to natives. Whilst language skills seem to explain immigrants’ disadvantage in English-speaking countries, socioeconomic background and school segregation are further important determinants of immigrants’ gap in Continental Europe. Results presented are predominantly robust across three sources of achievement data: PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS.      

Redefining procreation: facing the issues

It is now possible for a child to have up to 5 individuals claiming to be parents: a sperm donor, an egg or ovum donor, the woman providing a womb for gestation, and the couple raising the child. Technology has provided 3 techniques of conception: artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, and surrogate motherhood. There is increased concern with infertility in the US and decreased availability of children for adoption. New reproductive technologies share, with the recent profound changes in the American family and more relaxed attitudes towards sexuality, a common potential to alter family structure and family dynamics. Certain issues are germane to all birth technologies such as whether such technologies should exist at all, whether there is a right to procreate, what criteria should govern access to these technologies, and how they should be regulated. Complex ethical, legal, social and moral questions are involved. Advances in reproductive technologies have created a gap between science and public policy. The articulation of guiding principles is essential to narrow that gap.