Stabilizing bootstrap‐t confidence intervals for small samples

A major use of the bootstrap methodology is in the construction of nonparametric confidence intervals. Although no consensus has yet been reached on the best way to proceed, theoretical and empirical evidence indicate that bootstra.‐t intervals provide a reasonable solution to this problem. However, when applied to small data sets, these intervals can be unusually wide and unstable. The author presents techniques for stabilizing bootstra.‐t intervals for small samples. His methods are motivated theoretically and investigated though simulations.     

JOB SECURITY IN AUSTRALIA: BROADENING THE ANALYSIS

An examination of the discussion surrounding aspects of job security in Australia in light of the apparently conflicting evidence and interpretations of the prevailing trends. Notions of job security need to move beyond the narrow perception of a link to actual or expected job duration. After a discussion of why job security is of policy interest, the various definitions and interpretations of the concept are reviewed. This leads to a consideration of whether the available evidence indicates job security is increasing or decreasing in Australia.     

Cross-National Comparison on Family Satisfaction: Super-Specialization Versus Super-Equality

Research has documented that women still assume the main burden of domestic tasks and childcare within the household, despite the recent changes towards a greater equality. This division of labor has clear implications in satisfaction with family life. However, little research has combined other domestic responsibilities, such as decision making and care of dependent relatives with housework to study satisfaction, from a comparative perspective. In this article, data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP)-2012 are used to explore the effects of a proposed index on balance in the couple, for women and men separately, through different multilevel models. The results suggest that the empowerment that could be assumed from a leading role in decision making does not improve satisfaction and that super-equality is the option yielding the highest levels of satisfaction, regardless their hours of paid-work. Differences by countries persist after controlling for individual and contextual variables, with the Latin American countries being those with the most satisfied populations.

     

High School Retention Rates and Social Class

Sixth form retention rates were calculated for each State high school in the Wollongong urban area and correlated with two measures of social class (education and occupation) in each high school feeder area. The study found that retention rates in the Wollongong Urban Area ranged from 12.94% to 31.04%. The rates vary directly with the proportions of the feeder area populations in professional and managerial occupations (r = 0.94, p < 0.01) and with Leaving Certificate or higher education (r = 0.93, p < 0.01). The rates varied inversely with the proportions of feeder area populations employed in trade, unskilled and production process occupations (r = ?0.70, p < 0.05).     

Marginality amidst plenty: Pathways into homelessness for older Australians

In this paper, drawing on in‐depth interviews, we illustrate that despite the significant overall increase in the wealth of older Australians over the last two decades, a sizeable proportion of older Australians (65 and over) are in a vulnerable accommodation situation and many face the possibility of finding themselves homeless. This is especially so for those older Australians who are dependent on government for their income and are living in private rented accommodation. We show that the changing nature of the housing market means that often our informants were not able to find affordable, adequate and secure accommodation. The death of a spouse, rent increases and eviction are common precipitators of a slide into a situation of imminent homelessness. The restructuring of the welfare state and the virtual freeze on the building of social housing means that older private renters who face eviction often have nowhere to turn. Besides not being able to rely on the market or government, many have minimal or no family and social networks.     

False positives or hidden dimensions: What can monetary and multidimensional measurement tell us about child poverty in Vietnam?

Roelen K, Gassmann F, de Neubourg C. False positives or hidden dimensions: what can monetary and multidimensional measurement tell us about child poverty in Vietnam? A widely used division between poverty measures based on conceptual underpinnings and analytical outcomes is that of monetary versus multidimensional measures. Comparisons of the use and outcomes of the two methods have shown that they predominantly provide different pictures of poverty in terms of size, rank and group. This article contributes to the long‐standing and ongoing debate on poverty measurement by comparing the use of monetary and multidimensional poverty approaches, with a special focus on children in Vietnam and extending the empirical analysis beyond conventional methods. In addition to investigating whether poverty outcomes or groups of identified poor children differ when using the two different poverty measures, we also investigated the drivers underlying these differences. Findings confirm a considerable degree of mismatch: both poverty measures proved to be inadequate proxies for the other and factors underlying the identification by either one or both of the measures differed.     

Mental health and educational difficulties in children in contact with Children's Social Services

The British Child Mental Health Survey 1999 collected data from 10 438 children aged 5–15 years, selected at random from the child benefit register. At 2 and 3 years, all those with a psychiatric disorder and a random third without were followed up with further detailed interviews about the services contacted if parents reported service contact or if parents expressed concern about their child's mental health at baseline and follow‐up, but reported no service use. We compared children in contact with Children's Social Services with children in contact with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) or no services. The children in contact with Children's Social Services had a high level of psychopathology and considerable educational difficulties. Despite this, they often had no contact with CAMHS or access to provision for special educational needs. It also became clear that parents were often using Children's Social Services as a first‐line service, i.e. a way of trying to access help. The results provide us with an interesting insight into the level of need of those children in contact with Children's Social Services and we hope to stimulate discussion about how liaison between all the services children access can better provide for their needs.