The Occupational Attainment of Immigrant Groups in Australia

It is commonly assumed that immigrants are disadvantaged in the Australian labour market because of a variety of interacting factors, some related to their skills, some to cultural differences between them and the host society, and some to the time it takes to adjust to their new circumstances. Using specially-prepared cross tabulations from the 1996 Australian Census, this article evaluates the assumption for the country's 52 largest immigrant groups, as defined by birthplace. Separate analyses for male and female immigrants relate their concentration in ten occupational groups, including unemployment, to their educational qualifications, facility with the English language, and period of arrival. The analyses suggest that the first two variables are particularly relevant to appreciating the occupational distribution of male immigrants, with period of arrival also being important for females, probably reflecting different cultural norms from their host society.     

Kin Effects on Black-White Account and Home Ownership

This article combines the literature on kin networks and racial disparities in asset ownership. Specifically, we examine the effects of kin characteristics—sibling poverty and parental poverty, education, and occupation—on financial account ownership and home ownership. We find that kin matter for these outcomes. Having a poor sibling and coming from a poor family are negatively associated with account and home ownership while mother's education has a positive effect. Separate analyses by race suggest that kin characteristics matter for both Blacks and Whites for account ownership, but for home ownership they are significant for Whites only. Racial differences in kin characteristics account for over half of the racial gap in account ownership, but are not important for understanding the racial gap in home ownership. The significant effects of extended family characteristics on socioeconomic well-being make a case for the inclusion of kin variables in the growing literature on wealth disparities among Blacks and Whites.     

The Effects of Educational-Occupational Mismatch on Immigrant Earnings in Australia,with International Comparisons1

This paper examines the way immigrant earnings are determined in Australia. It uses the overeducation/required education/undereducation framework and a decomposition of the native-born/foreign-born differential in the payoff to schooling. This decomposition links overeducation to the less-than-perfect international transferability of immigrants’ human capital, and undereducation to favorable selection in immigration. Comparisons are offered with findings from analyses for the U.S. and Canada to enable assessment of the relative impacts of favorable selection and the limited international transferability of human capital to the lower payoff to schooling for the foreign born. The sensitivity of the results of the decomposition to several measurement issues is assessed.     

The Dynamics of Self-employment and Ethnic Business Ownership among Taiwanese in Australia

Taiwan‐born business and skilled migrants who settle in Australia have high unemployment rates despite being well educated and fairly affluent. This phenomenon, commonly found in Australia among new Asian immigrants, has seldom been researched. Using qualitative methodologies, including ethnographic interviews and participant observation, this paper examines economic integration of recent Taiwanese business and skilled migrants in three Australian cities: Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. The results indicate that Taiwanese immigrants find it difficult to secure employment, start profitable businesses, and adapt to the host society. The integration challenges include: lack of fluency in English, different social and cultural milieu, lack of familiarity with Australian business culture and labour relations, complex rules and regulations governing the establishment of business enterprises, small size of the market, high taxes, and lack of willingness to take up work not commensurate with their education and economic background. Policy recommendations to foster early integration of skilled migrants from Taiwan are included.     

The Employment Status of Immigrant Women: The Case of Sweden1

This article presents an exploration of the employment status of various groups of immigrant women in the Swedish labor market in the period 1970–1995. Since employment is one of the key components for the integration of immigrants, it is interesting to study what factors determine whether or not immigrants become employed after entering Sweden. Numerous studies have analyzed the labor market integration of immigrant men, whereas the integration of women still has received less attention (Ekberg, 1983, 1991; Hammarstedt, 2001; Scott, 1999). This study can be seen as a contribution to an increase in the knowledge of the labor market integration of female immigrants in Sweden.     

Restoring and Sustaining Home: The Impact of Home Modifications on the Meaning of Home for Older People

ABSTRACT

The importance of a supportive home environment to successful aging has been well-established in the literature, with home modifications increasingly acknowledged as ways of removing barriers to function and increasing independence for older people. Home modification literature and practice primarily focus on the home environment as a physical space in which to perform tasks and on the impact of modification on competencies and function. Home, however, is much more than a physical environment. Within a transactive framework, people and places are seen as engaged in a dynamic, reciprocal relationship through which home becomes a place of significant personal meaning. Through a qualitative framework, this study examines the experience of older people living in the community who are recipients of a home modification service. It explores the impact modifying the physical environment has on their experience of home as a place of meaning and provides insight into how home modifications can strengthen the home as a place of personal and social meaning as well as improve safety and comfort for the older person at home.     

The Impact of the Social Environment on Nursing Home Residents

ABSTRACT

This study contrasted the experienced quality of life of residents living on one of two nursing home units: a unit for those considered socially intact and a unit combining residents who had moderately impaired cognition or physical function with those requiring skilled nursing or therapy. Qualitative interviews were held with residents of both units. The findings indicate that the social environment of each of the units played a fundamental role in the residents' quality of life. The social environment affected the residents' conceptions of self, their interactions with other residents and their interactions with the nursing staff. The article suggests the processes behind the social environment of each floor that may have resulted in different perceptions of the quality of life.     

The Impact of Home Hemodialysis on the Marital Dyad*

Twelve home hemodialysis patients and their spouse-assistants were evaluated to determine how the interaction between the marital partners affected their marital satisfaction, degree of psychopathology, physical health and effective performance of dialysis-related tasks. The data suggested that the patient's medical adaptation is enhanced when there is a non-conflictual relationship and when the spouse makes a positive emotional adjustment to home dialysis, experiencing few somatic complaints. Professional attention, therefore, should shift from the traditional focus on the patient alone to include assessment of the marital relationship and the physical and psychological well-being of the spouse-assistant.     

The Health Risk Behaviours and Social Connectedness of Adolescents in Immigrant Families: Evidence from Australia

Using data from Australia, health behavior outcomes and the social connectedness of adolescents in immigrant families are contrasted with the outcomes of adolescents in non‐immigrant families. Findings suggest that first and second generation adolescents are less likely to drink alcohol and lack social support than third generation adolescents, but more likely not to be physically active and not to have membership to a social club or group than third generation adolescents. Second generation adolescents are more likely to smoke than third generation adolescents. Findings suggest that immigrant adolescents appear protected from negative risks, yet at the same time, do not benefit from Australia's cultural traditions for physical activity and social participation. Across generations, however, social participation and physical activity increase. Lastly, as length of time in Australia increases, the protective effect of the immigrant family against some negative risks wanes. Overall, the assimilation process leads adolescents in immigrant families to adopt Australia's prevailing social customs of health and social behaviors.     

The Economic Impact of Progressive Neurological Illness on Quality of Life in Australia

The current study examined the impact of financial costs and self-reported economic pressure on the quality of life of patients with progressive neurological illness. Participants were 423 people from four illness groups in Australia. Participants completed measures of (a) quality of life, (b) income, (c) expenses, (d) economic pressure, (e) social support, (f) relationship satisfaction, and (g) severity of illness. There was a strong negative association between quality of life and economic pressure (but not income or expenses) for all groups. Subjective assessment of economic pressure was strongly associated with quality of life for people with motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis. Implications of these results for assisting people with progressive neurological illnesses to cope with the financial changes that occur due to their illness are discussed.     

Factors Associated with the Poverty Status of Asian Immigrant Householders by Citizenship Status

As a response to changing profiles of the Asian population in the United States, this study examines the demographic, human capital, and acculturation factors that are associated with the official poverty status of Asian immigrant householders by their U.S. citizenship status. From the 1990 Census Public Use Microdata Sample (Census of Population and Housing, 1990a), responses from 229,004 Asian householders are analyzed using hierarchical bivariate logistic regression. The results suggests that high levels of human capital and acculturation reduce the odds of Asian householders living below the official poverty threshold, regardless of their citizenship status. The degree to which the selected variables are associated with poverty status varies by citizenship status.     

Decreasing the Recent Immigrant Earnings Gap: The Impact of Canadian Credential Attainment

It is well documented that newly arrived immigrants face a significant earnings gap relative to native‐born workers. One way for new immigrants to improve their relative labour market position upon arrival in a host country is to improve their educational credentials. According to signalling theory, a host‐country credential should provide employers with a proxy for true productivity on the job, leading to higher earnings. Using data from a Canadian longitudinal survey, we employ longitudinal growth‐curve techniques to estimate the effect of receiving a Canadian educational credential on the income growth of racial‐minority recent immigrants compared to native‐born Canadians. The results indicate that the earnings gap between recent immigrants and native‐born Canadians is significantly reduced with the attainment of a Canadian educational credential.     

Nursing Home Ownership Trends and Their Impacts on Quality of Care: A Study Using Detailed Ownership Data From Texas

The role of ownership in the provision of nursing home care has long been a challenging issue for policy makers and researchers. Although much of the focus historically has been on differences between for-profit and not-for-profit facilities, this simple distinction has become less useful in recent years as companies have employed more complicated ownership and management structures. Using detailed ownership data from the state of Texas, we describe the evolution of nursing home corporate structures from 2000 to 2007, analyze the effect of these structures on quality of care and staffing in nursing homes, and discuss the policy implications of these changes.     

The Impact of Remittances on Nutritional Status of Children in Ecuador1

This work analyzes the impact of remittances on nutritional status of children aged <5 years old in Ecuador in 2006. Using a set of anthropometric indicators constructed according to the new World Health Organization standards, the last household survey available for this country, and an instrumental variables strategy controlling for endogeneity of remittances, this study finds a positive and significant effect of remittance income on short-term and middle-term child nutritional status; nevertheless, no significant impact on long-run anthropometric indicators.     

Masturbatory Behavior and Feelings: An Exploratory Study of Indian Immigrant Men in Australia

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Sexual problems associated with masturbation (especially intense negative feelings) are commonly reported among Indian subcontinental men. Yet there is a paucity of scientific information about masturbatory behavior and feelings. Much of the available information is either from clinic-based studies or from studies involving young Indians. Methods: The present study, using a community sample of Indian men in Australia, aimed to explore their masturbatory behavior and feelings. Results: Overall, 268 men took part in an online survey, and 221 of these men completed the section on masturbation. Some demographic characteristics of the study sample were comparable to those of the Indian community in Australia. A large proportion (n = 174, 79%) reported that they currently masturbate, while the rest said they never masturbated (n = 9, 4%) or did masturbate in the past but not at present (n = 38, 17%). Among those who currently masturbate, the mean age of onset of masturbation was 14.9 years. Married men tended to masturbate less frequently than unmarried men. The most common mode, source of stimuli, and reason for masturbation were using hands (n = 162, 95%), watching erotic material on the Internet (n = 136, 81%), and to gain pleasure (n = 137, 79%), respectively. A high proportion (n = 114, 66%) of Indian men who currently masturbate said that they experienced positive feelings when masturbating. Conclusions: Masturbatory feelings of Indian men were found to differ by length of residence in Australia but not by degree of acculturation or age. The present exploratory study has provided baseline information about masturbation among Indian men and indicates the need for further research.     

The Impact of Socio-economic Status and Mobility on Perceived Family Functioning

Perceptions of current family functioning in relation to current household income level, educational status, social-class at birth and social mobility over the lifecourse were investigated in a group of 483 individuals at age 50. Subjective report of family functioning was assessed using the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD) with socio-economic information obtained from a self-report Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire. Results indicated significant relationships between household income, social mobility and FAD scores for men but not for women in this sample. For men, lower current income and downward social mobility over the lifecourse were associated with a more negative perception of family functioning. Further research is required to understand the gender differences observed and delineate cause versus effect mechanisms.     

Labour Market and Human Capital Behaviour of Immigrant Couples: Evidence from Australia

We examine the labour market and human capital investment behaviour of immigrant couples in Australia. The family investment hypothesis (FIH) states that immigrant husbands, whom the FIH assumes to be the primary earners in the family, will invest more in their human capital than immigrant wives, whom the FIH assumes to be secondary earners. Using longitudinal data from Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) for the period 2001 to 2014, we do not find support for the FIH. Instead, we find that foreign-born husbands and wives share similar labour market assimilation patterns with respect to hours of work and wages. Our estimates suggest that immigrant wives' labour market behaviour can be better explained by their own long-term career progression and labour market assimilation, than through supporting their husbands' labour market assimilation.     

The Burden of Deportation on Children in Mexican Immigrant Families

In 2011, a record number of foreign‐born individuals were detained and removed from the United States. This article looks at the impact enforcement policies have had on Mexican families more broadly and children specifically. Drawing on interviews with 91 parents and 110 children in 80 households, the author suggests that, similar to the injury pyramid used by public health professionals, a deportation pyramid best depicts the burden of deportation on children. At the top of the pyramid are instances that have had the most severe consequences on children's daily lives: families in which a deportation has led to permanent family dissolution. But enforcement policies have had the greatest impact on children at the bottom of the pyramid. Regardless of legal status or their family members' involvement with immigration authorities, children in Mexican immigrant households describe fear about their family stability and confusion over the impact legality has on their lives.