Distribution, Inequality and Concentration of Incomeamong Older Immigrants in Canada

While there are many studies on differences in earnings between immigrants and the native‐born or among immigrant groups, they do not consider distribution and concentration of income among immigrants explicitly. These aspects are important for understanding the distribution of economic welfare and consumer behaviour among members and hence are policy relevant. Using the 1991 Census data, the distribution and concentration of incomehave been examined among 15 broad birthplace groups for population aged55 years and over. About 19 per cent of males and 15 per cent of femalesreceive less than half the median income and obtain 5 per cent and 3 per centof the aggregate income respectively. About 30 per cent of males and29 per cent of females receive more than one and half times the medianincome and obtain 61 per cent and 59 per cent of aggregate incomerespectively. About 51 per cent of males and 56 per cent of females whoreceive incomes between half and one and half times the median income aretermed middle‐class and their shares of aggregate income amount to 34 and38 per cent respectively. Although older immigrants aged 55 years and over, as a group, have roughlythe same quartile distribution and concentration of income as theirCanadian‐born counterparts, the birthplace groups differ considerably.Those from the developing regions, that is, the groups that have loweraverage annual incomes, also have more inequitable distribution of incomethan the Canadian‐born or their counterparts from the developed regions. Thus, income distribution is more polarized in populations from developingregions than in populations from developed regions or in the Canadian‐bornpopulation. On average, females receive 45 per cent less income than males, and thereis less polarization of income among them than among males regardless ofthe place of birth. A part of the explanation lies in the receipt of government transfers, whichtend to equalize rather than polarize incomes, and older women derive ahigher proportion of their income from government transfers than older men.     

Connotative Meanings Assigned to Contraceptive Options

Abstract

The authors surveyed a stratified sample of 880 colleges and universities in the United States to assess the status and characteristics of their prematriculation immunization requirements (PIRs). On the basis of a 90% return (796 responses), they estimated that 55% of US colleges and universities had implemented a PIR at the time of the survey. Among schools with PIRs, measles vaccine was almost universally required, with 74% requiring two doses, mumps vaccine was required by 70%, and rubella vaccine by 92%. Hepatitis B vaccine was rarely required and was usually recommended only for students in health-profession programs. The strongest determinant of having a PIR was the presence of a state law or regents' policy. PIRs implemented under the aegis of a state law were, on average, less comprehensive but better enforced. Other factors associated with the implementation of a PIR included membership in the American College Health Association (ACHA), the presence of a student health clinic, and availability of record-keeping personnel.     

The Patient Profile Pharmacy Filing System

Abstract

“Herpes Simplex Virus Proctitis in Homosexual Men: Clinical, Sigmoidoscopic, and Histopathological Features,” Steven E. Goodell, Thomas C. Quinn, Emmanuel Mkrtichian, Michael D. Schuffler, King K. Holmes, and Lawrence Corey. Acute herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection was detected in 23 of 102 consecutively examined, sexually active male homosexuals who presented with anorectal pain, discharge, tenesmus, or hematochezia, as compared with 3 of 75 homosexual men without gastrointestinal symptoms (P < 0.01). Findings that were significantly more frequent in men with HSV proctitis than in men with proctitis due to other infectious causes included fever (48 per cent), difficulty urinating (48 per cent), sacral paresthesias (26 per cent), inguinal lymphadenopathy (57 per cent), severe anorectal pain (100 per cent), tenesmus (100 per cent), constipation (78 per cent), perianal ulcerations (70 per cent), and the presence of diffuse ulcerative or discrete vesicular or pustular lesions in the distal 5 cm of the rectum (50 per cent). Serologic evidence indicated that 85 per cent of the men with symptomatic HSV proctitis were having their first episode of HSV-2 infection. The diagnosis of HSV proctitis is suggested by the presence of severe anorectal pain, and diffuse ulceration of the distal rectal mucosa. (New England Journal of Medicine 1983;308:868–71.)     

Changes in sex practices and beliefs of male college students: Over 30 years∗

Abstract

Replication of an earlier survey, using the same questionnaire in the same college course, reveals an increase in proportion of male students with premarital heterosexual experience, from 45 per cent in 1943–44 to 61.8 per cent in 1967–68 and 74.9 per cent in 1969–73. While the mean number of episodes is also greatly increased, the tendency is toward reducing the number of partners. Since the proportion condoning premarital intercourse has risen to over 90 per cent, still further increments in activity may be anticipated. The number reporting homosexual behavior (most often limited to the pre‐ and early‐adolescent years) has declined from 27 per cent to 13.7 per cent, but the amount of activity during the college years has increased. Students having experienced a particular sexual activity impute that activity to a higher proportion of the general population than do the inexperienced.     

Use of pre-school daycare and education 1979–86

SUMMARY. Using General Household Survey data, this paper considers attendance by children under five at public and private services providing non-parental daycare and education in 1986 and compares it with 1979. Attendance of children under five rose from 32 per cent in 1979 to 42 per cent in 1986. The services included are primary schools, nursery schools and classes, playgroups, day nurseries and child minders. Playgroups are most used for two and three year olds and schools for four year olds with the majority of children attending on apart time basis. Children from higher social class backgrounds are more likely to receive care and/or education with 50 per cent of such children using pre-school services, as compared to 3 7 per cent of children with fathers in manual occupations     

Quality of medical care by central government health scheme--a study

This study reports findings on the time spent by CGHS medical officers per patient in different medical care activities for 2,115 patients, as obtained by time study technique. This study was conducted during the year 1976-77. The average observed time spent by the medical officer per patient was found to be 117.15 seconds per patient. The medical officers elicited only main complaints without asking past and family history in 84.44 per cent of patients and the average time spent on history taking was 42 seconds per patient which also included examination of identify card, recording of name, age and sex of the patients. Physical examinations were conducted in only 23.88 per cent of patients and the time spent per patient was 45.93 seconds. The advice for investigations was imparted in 2.60 per cent of patients, though the facilities for routine laboratory examinations were available in the dispensaries. Advice to the patient regarding dietary instructions and general advice was exclusively given in only 5.20 per cent of cases whereas the family planning/health education advice to the patients was given only in 0.76 per cent of patients. The medical officers are aware of the inadequate quality of medical care provided to the beneficiaries and they felt they should at least spend 6.83 minutes for an old patient and 12.42 minutes for the new patient. Probably they are not able to do so because of long queues in the dispensaries during peak hours. Hence, to improve the overall medical care and provide comprehensive care to the beneficiaries it is suggested that the medical officers can be given certain beneficiary population and made responsible to them.     

Reaching the child in need

"Reaching the Deprived Child" is India's theme for the Year of the Child. This paper describes the recording system employed in the Community Health Programme of Christian Medical College, Ludhiana and how it enables us to reach not only deprived children, but those in danger of deprivation, the majority being the children of the socioeconomically underprivileged. Many are nutritionally normal at 12 months but 57 per cent of the males and 75 per cent of the females suffer from malnutrition in the 2nd year, 50 per cent of females having severe malnutrition. The etiology, discerned from a study of the deprived, allowed a preventive approach to be designed for those at risk. Intensive nutrition education is given in the homes, commencing as each baby reaches 5 months, and mothers are taught to feed them on suitable modifications of the food available in Punjab homes. The results in respect of 123 babies who had a minimum of 6 months of this care, are described. Complete compliance was achieved in 82 per cent and in the rest partial compliance was achieved. The nutritional status of these infants, compared with a control group, improved greatly, especially in females in whom the prevalence of normal nutrition rose from 26 to 61 per cent and that of severe malnutrition fell from 50 to 17 per cent. The success of this approach depends on an accurate knowledge of the community since this allows priorities to be selected with clarity and maximum effort to be expanded upon those in greatest need.     

Wealth and inheritance in Britain from 1896 to the present

Personal wealth has grown since the 1970s twice as fast in real terms as national income. Has this rise in the wealth-income ratio led to a corresponding increase in the wealth being passed on from one generation to the next? Are we returning to the levels of inheritance found in the 19th century? The aim of this paper is to construct UK evidence on the extent of the transmission of wealth in the form of estates and gifts inter vivos. It takes a long-run view of inheritance, starting from 1896, when the modern Estate Duty was introduced, and exploits the extensive estate data published over the years. Construction of a long-run time series for more than a century is challenging, and there are important limitations. The resulting time-series demonstrates the major importance of inheritance in the UK before the First World War, when the total transmitted wealth represented some 20 per cent of net national income. In the inter-war period, the total was around 15 per cent, falling to some 10 per cent after the Second World War, and then falling further to below 5 per cent in the late 1970s. Since then, there has indeed been an upturn: a rise from 4.8 per cent in 1977 to 8.2 per cent in 2006. This increase was more or less in line with the increase in personal wealth, and has to be interpreted in the light of the changing net worth of the corporate and public sectors of the economy.     

Economic Contribution of Migrant Workers to Thailand

In the past decade or two, an increasing number of migrants from countries neighbouring Thailand have moved to Thailand temporarily or permanently in search for jobs and life security, causing an increase in the labour supply in the Thai labour market. This paper attempts to find the economic contribution of these migrant workers to Thailand using various data sources and a collection of related findings. We find that capital gains from migrant workers show an increasing trend from around 0.03 per cent of the real national income (880 million baht) in 1995 to around 0.055 per cent of the real national income (2,039 million baht) in 2005. Using the adjusted labour share, the net contribution of migrant workers is on average 0.023 per cent of the real national income per year, or around 760 million baht per year.     

Social security and firm performance: The case of Vietnamese SMEs

This article investigates how social security provision – a key determinant of formality – impacts on small and medium‐sized firm performance in Viet Nam. Based on enterprise census data covering all registered firms from 2006 to 2011, the authors find that firms which increase their social security coverage by 10 per cent experience a revenue gain of 1.4–2.0 per cent per worker and a profit gain of up to 1.8 per cent, depending on the survival time of the firm. However, given the time lag between “investment” (in social security contributions) and returns (enhanced firm performance), specific policy measures such as initial social insurance subsidies for small firms could increase participation in mandatory schemes.     

Serb Returnees in Croatia – the Question of Return Sustainability1

The authors report on representative field research dealing with ethnic Serb returnees to Croatia. The total sample consisted of 1,500 randomly chosen persons from a population of 120,000 officially registered Serb returnees to Croatia. The main questionnaire was answered by 403 respondents. Drawing on references relating to the concept of sustainability, they further develop it through differentiation of seven sustainability aspects or dimensions: safety; socio‐demographic structure of returnees; socio‐economic conditions of return; refugee experiences; citizenship and minority rights; and subjective perceptions of sustainability. According to field findings, between 35 and 45 per cent of the registered returnees reside permanently at the addresses they reported upon return, and an additional 3,5 per cent moved to other locations within Croatia. At the same time, between 35 and 42 per cent actually reside in their refugee countries (mostly in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina). Some 6 per cent of returnees occasionally stay in Croatia and occasionally outside of it. The interviewers were unable to get any reliable information regarding permanent stay for 15 per cent of the people from the sample. Finally, 11 per cent of them have, in the meantime, passed away since registered return started in 1996. The research results confirm the prevailing impression that Serb returnees are predominantly old people. The average age of all interviewed family members is around 51. The findings and conceptualization suggest the need for a differentiated approach to a returnee body to better understand the complexity of a return. First, we have to distinguish among refugees potential returnees from non‐returnees (political and economic ones). Returnees themselves can then be grouped into several types: I) unconditional permanent; II) conditional permanent; III) semi‐returnees or trans‐national; IV) non‐formal and V) formal or quasi‐returnees.     

Toward an Understanding of Russian Speaking Heroin Addicts and Drug Treatment Services in Israel

Abstract

This pa per de scribes the find ings from a pur pos ive sample of 152 male and fe male Rus sian-speak ing drug ad diets who im migrated to Is rael dur ing the last ten years. Ap prox i mately one-third of the co hort was not Jew ish, in clud ing 47 per cent of the women. Forty-one per cent of the subjects re ported be ing phys i cally abused and 25 per cent of the women, com pared to 5 per cent of the men, re ported be ing sex u ally abused as a child. Al co hoi abuse was found to be dif fer ent among the par ents of male and fe male ad diets: 46% of the women com pared to 31% of the men had fa thers who drank ex ces sively; 14% of the women compared to 5% of the men had moth ers who were heavy drink ers. Also, female ad diets were more likely than male ad diets to have a mother who used il licit drugs. Treat ment re lated is sues are dis cussed along with the need for specialized, culturally sen si tiveser vice pro vision.     

The Development and Implementation of a Nursing Clinic on a College Campus

Abstract

“Usefulness of Screening Chest Roentgenograms in Preoperative Patients,” Lloyd Rucker, Elizabeth B. Frye, Myrlene A. Staten. We proposed that clinical criteria could define a group of patients very unlikely to have abnormal preoperative chest roentgenograms. Nine hundred five surgical admissions were screened for the presence of clinical factors we thought would make those patients more likely to have abnormal preoperative chest roentgenograms. Of these, 368 had no risk factors. One patient (0.3%) of the 368 had an abnormal x-ray film, which did not affect the surgery. No material abnormalities were found in the remainder of the group without risk factors. Five hundred four patients had identifiable risk factors. Of these, 114 (22%) were found to have serious abnormalities on preoperative chest roentgenograms. (Journal of the American Medical Association 1983;250:3209–3211)

“Effect of Treatment Regimens for Neisseria Gonorrhoeae on Simultaneous Infection With Chlamydia Trachomatis,” Walter E. Stamm, et al. We evaluated the effect of treatment for gonorrhea on simultaneous Chlamydia trachomatis infection by randomly assigning 293 heterosexual men and 246 heterosexual women with gonorrhea to receive one of the following treatment regimens: (1) 4.8 million units of aqueous procaine penicillin plus 1 g of probenecid, (2) nine tablets of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole daily for three days, or (3) 500 mg of tetracycline four times a day for five days. Among the men, gonococcal infection was cured in 99 per cent given penicillin plus probenecid, 96 per cent given trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and 98 per cent given tetracycline. Among the women, only 90 per cent given tetracycline were cured, in contrast to 97 per cent given penicillin plus probenecid and 99 per cent given trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.     

Intergenerational Life Courses of Teenage Pregnancy in Ogbomosho South‐Western Nigeria

Concern that the teenage pregnancy rate in an urban community in Southwest Nigeria has doubled within the last decade prompted an intergenerational survey of a sample of 277 respondents (163 pregnant teenagers, 91 teen parents and 23 adult parents who were once teen parents) selected through snowballing and then interviewed in four group discussions in Ogbomosho, Nigeria. Findings revealed that 43.5 per cent of the female and 48.5 per cent of the male teenagers informed their parents first when they became pregnant or made someone pregnant respectively. They also showed that lack of knowledge about puberty (21.3%) was a major factor that influenced teenage pregnancy. The majority (53.4%) of the respondents believed that their parents perceived teenage pregnancy as God's blessing, while it was perceived as sign of poverty by their school teachers (36.5%). Blame for unwanted pregnancy was put on the girls by 49.5 per cent of the respondents. Focused educational enlightenment for teenagers on sexual reproductive health is needed for reshaping teenagers' risky behaviours. This is in line with 25.6 per cent of the respondents who felt that community youth forum on sex education could reduce teenage pregnancy.     

THE SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY OF GENDER-SWITCHING IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS ON THE INTERNET

The virtual social worlds of the internet give people unparalleled control over the construction and presentation of their identities. Gender-switching is perhaps the most dramatic example of how people exercise this control. It occurs when people present a gender that is different from their biological sex. While gender-switching figures prominently in academic commentaries and popular writings about on-line social life, there is little systematic research on the phenomenon. On-line surveys of two stratified random samples (N's=233 and 202) of MOO users were conducted. The majority of participants (60 per cent) in social MOOs (popular text-based internet social venues) had never engaged in gender-switching, while the majority in role-playing MOOs were either gender-switching currently (40 per cent) or had done so in the past (16.7 per cent). More than half of those who currently gender-switched did so for less than 10 per cent of their time on-line. In spite of the freedom to use indeterminate or even plural gender identities, most participants who switched genders (78.7 per cent) did so within traditional binary conventions (male to female, female to male). The primary reason for gender-switching was the desire to play roles of people different from one's self. The primary barrier to gender-switching was the belief that it is dishonest and manipulative. Attitudes toward gender-switching and on-line participation were better predictors of gender-switching than personal background demographics or personality measures. The images of gender-switching that emerge from this first systematic study of the phenomenon are considerably more benign than that usually portrayed in the literature. Gender-switching appears to be practised by a minority of MOO users for a small percentage of their time on-line. Gender-switching within MOOs of all kinds might best be understood as an experimental behaviour rather than as an enduring expression of sexuality, personality, or gender politics.     

Catholicism and the Philippine population problem

"The Philippines has two characteristics which differentiate if from other countries in Southeast Asia. It is the only predominantly Christian country in the region and it has one of the highest rates of population growth. Non-Catholic Christians make up only about 9 per cent of the population compared with around 82 per cent for Roman Catholics. Given the Catholic Church objections to both contraception and abortion, it is not illogical to hypothesize a relation between the religious composition of the population and its rate of population growth."     

Look Again: Research,Uncertainty, and Understanding

Abstract

An outbreak of measles (rubeola) occurred on the Bloomington campus of Indiana University in February 1983, resulting in 179 clinically diagnosed cases. An aggressive, voluntary immunization program followed by the possibility of sanctions against nonimmunized students returning to campus after spring break resulted in 23,000 vaccinations, with other students submitting verifications of previous history of disease or live-vaccine immunization.

The factors that may have contributed to the outbreak were less natural immunity in this age group, absence of school legislation when these individuals were entering school, and use of killed vaccine which did not provide immunity.     

Massive Migration and Elections: Evidence from the Refugee Crisis in Greece

This article explores whether the massive arrival of refugees at Greek islands has had an impact on natives’ voting behaviour. Our results show a positive and significant effect of refugees’ presence on votes for the Greek extreme‐right party Golden Dawn. More precisely, we find that a 1 per cent increase in the share of refugees is associated with an increase of 5 per cent in the share of votes for Golden Dawn. This outcome is robust under different estimation methodologies and placebo regressions.     

A study of low birth weight infants in an urban community

The study concerns the problem of low birth weight as seen in a prospectively studied cohort from a South Delhi urban community covering 23,700 families and 1,19,799 population over a four year period from 1969-73. The incidence of low birth weight was 22.9 per cent of which 2.7 per cent had a birth weight of 2000 gms. or less and 20.2 per cent had a birth weight 2001-2500 gms. Maternal height of 140 cms or less and pregravid weight of 35 kg or less were associated with the occurrence of low birth weight infant. The mortality was related inversely to birth weight and the gestation affected the outcome directly. The mortality rates declined sharply in infants of birth weight 2001-2500 gms but was still high as compared to infants of birth weight more than 2.5 kg. The later physical growth was affected by the initial birth weight. The study was conducted under the research project 01-658-2 funded by the National Centre for Health Statistics, 3700 East West Highway, Hyattsville, Maryland-20782, U.S.A.     

A new look at the health and homeless experience of a cohort of five-year olds

Homelessness is increasing and health workers and others need to be ever vigilant about the risk that this has on children's health. What is that risk and what are children's experiences of homelessness? A retrospective case note study was carried out to compare the health of a group of five-year olds who had experienced homelessness and compare them with matched ‘non-homeless’ controls. A home interview questionnaire was used to give a profile of the children's housing experience and the health issues faced during their time in temporary accommodation. Fifty-three cases when compared with 41 controls showed a statistically greater prevalence of child protection issues and an increased number of health needs identified at the school nurse health appraisal. The housing profile identified that the case children moved homes many times (37 per cent more than five times), were homeless much longer than the officially registered period (67 per cent more than 12 months) and 61 per cent were made homeless through domestic violence. The study reinforces the need for us to acknowledge important environmental stress and to continue to advocate for this group of disadvantaged children.