Forced Displacement,Migration, and Fertility in Burundi

The civil war in Burundi (1993–2005) led to the forced displacement of a large part of the population. This study aims to explore how that displacement affected fertility behavior. Using a nationally representative, retrospective survey on birth and residential histories of 4,523 Burundian women, we examine the impact of conflict-induced displacement on fertility. These unique data enable us to distinguish between remaining-in-place, voluntary migration, and forced displacement, as well as to distinguish between periods spent “on the move” versus periods spent in residence in the new site. Adopting a semiparametric regression model, we analyze both the probability of the first pregnancy and the subsequent spacing of higher order pregnancies. We find that the risk of a first pregnancy was higher in the year in which a woman was forcibly displaced and lower in the year a woman migrated voluntarily. Residency in a new site increased the risk of pregnancy for both.     

A methodology for industrial studies of productivity performance

This article describes a methodology for measuring productivity and competitiveness in industry. The methodology is developed mainly for the mechanical industry (including shipyards, offshore and electromechanical companies). Two different approaches are described—one is based on a self-audit using a questionnaire answered by the industry itself, the second, using a more complete audit, is based on expert teams analysing the company. The productivity is described by indicators given points on a scale from 1 to 7 (1—far behind international competitors, 7—(best practice’).     

Rationing in the presence of baselines

We analyze a general model of rationing in which agents have baselines, in addition to claims against the (insufficient) endowment of the good to be allocated. Many real-life problems fit this general model (e.g., bankruptcy with prioritized claims, resource allocation in the public health care sector, water distribution in drought periods). We introduce (and characterize) a natural class of allocation methods for this model. Any method within the class is associated with a rule in the standard rationing model, and we show that if the latter obeys some focal properties, the former obeys them too.     

County Government Resources Associated with Dependent-Adult Abuse Investigations in Iowa

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated on a county level the association of Iowa's domestic dependent-adult abuse investigations with the location of adult protective services (APS) offices, rurality, government resources, felony charges and prosecutions, child abuse reports, and census demographics. In 2003, the rate of dependent-adult abuse investigations for Iowa was 0.70 per 1,000 population age 18 and older. Higher rates of child abuse investigations, felony prosecutions, sheriff's annual salary, and lower rates of child abuse substantiations are associated with higher rates of dependent-adult abuse investigations and substantiations.     

Elder Abuse and Oppression: Voices of Marginalized Elders

The voices of elderly people from marginalized groups are rarely solicited, and the relationship between elder maltreatment and belonging to an oppressed group has not been adequately investigated. This article reviews the literature on oppression and elder abuse and describes findings from the secondary analysis of data from focus group discussions on elder abuse held with marginalized older adults and (quasi)professionals caring for them in two Canadian cities. Participants identified that increased vulnerability to elder abuse was related to oppression experienced as a consequence of ageism, sexism, ableism/ disability, racism, heterosexism/homophobia, classism, and various intersecting types of oppression.     

Addressing Elder Abuse: The Waterloo Restorative Justice Approach to Elder Abuse Project

The Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) of Waterloo Region, in partnership with a number of other social service agencies, designed and implemented a restorative justice model applicable to older adults who have been abused by an individual in a position of trust. The project was very successful in building partnerships, as many community agencies came together to deal with the problem of elder abuse. The program also raised the profile of elder abuse in the community. However, despite intensive efforts, referrals to the restorative justice program were quite low. Because of this, the program moved to a new organizational model, the Elder Abuse Response Team (EART), which has retained the guiding philosophy of restorative justice but has broadened the mandate. The team has evolved into a conflict management system that has multiple points of entry for cases and multiple options for dealing with elder abuse. The team has developed a broad range of community partners who can facilitate referrals to the EART and also can help to provide an individualized response to each case. The transition to the EART has been successful, and the number of referrals has increased significantly.