Degrouping mortality data for the elderly

Proposed in this paper is a technique for estimating, from coarsly grouped empirical death data, the age‐specific numbers of deaths for the elderly population. This question is primarily of interest in countries where the empirical data are available only in a grouped form, given usually in quinquennial age groups and in a large open‐ended interval for the ages 85 and over. The main reason that the official data are given in such a form in some countries of Southern Europe and in the Third World is the existence of heaping in the empirical data, i.e. misstatements in age recording, usually rounding to the nearest integer divisible with five. Our evaluation of the method on Swedish mortality data shows that the technique proposed can be efficiently applied to period mortality data.     

A nine‐parameter version of the Heligman‐Pollard formula

In this paper we outline and evaluate a nine‐parameter version of the Heligman‐Pollard formula. In our applications, using mortality data for five European countries we found that this version provides closer fits to empirical mortality data than the classical eight‐parameter formula, thus eliminating a source of systematic error in this latter formula.     

Comparison of Census 2000 and American Community Survey 1999–2001 Estimates: San Francisco and Tulare Counties, California

Data from the United States 2000 decennial census long form sample is compared to the U.S. Census Bureau’s fledgling American Community Survey (ACS) that was designed to replace the census long form in 2010. This article concentrates on two California counties, San Francisco and Tulare, which were part of the demonstration phase of the ACS. These counties are described and an overall comparison of the demographic, social, economic, and housing variables is presented. The project data and measures of census and survey quality such as self-response rates and nonresponse rates are displayed and discussed. Differences in the census and survey results are noted in the context of statistically significant and meaningful differences. Finally, strategies for analyzing and using ACS data are suggested.     

The demand for advice at the European Union level: policy advice politicization in the European Commission

ABSTRACT

The study focuses on the role of policy advice brokers – political advisors – pertaining to the issue of politicization in the European Commission (EC). The study conceptualizes politicization as increased use of political advisors – known as “cabinets” in the EC context – by the Commissioners to ensure political direction over the work of the civil service. Commissioners’ private cabinets fulfil several functions, one of which is political steering of the policy work in the departments. The study argues that as a result of the NPM-style reform and strengthening of the civil service accountability to the political level, the political steering function of the cabinet advisors grew in importance. To examine whether the political steering function of cabinets became more important after the reform, the study analyzed the lists of cabinets’ responsibilities available online from the Prodi to the Junker Commissions. The content of the lists of responsibilities was first coded and then statistically analyzed testing for the effect of the reform on the structure of cabinets’ responsibilities.     

The Long‐Term Effects of Spousal Care Giving on Survivors' Well‐Being in Widowhood*

Objective. Previous research suggests that bereavement and adjustment to widowhood are long term and should be studied as processes rather than as static outcomes. We analyze how spousal care giving affects survivors' depressive symptoms 18 and 48 months into widowhood. Method. We use three waves of data from the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) Survey and estimate OLS regression equations to determine the long‐term effects of spousal care giving on widow(er)s' well‐being. Results. At 18 months, more burdensome spousal care giving predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms, while greater caregiver stress predicted lower levels. Specific characteristics of the caregiving situation were no longer significant predictors of well‐being 48 months into widowhood, although care giving itself had an ameliorative effect on level of symptoms. Conclusions. The results highlight the dynamic nature of bereavement and suggest that the effects of spousal care and characteristics of the care situation on depressive symptoms during widowhood are not linear over time. We discuss the implications of our findings for the conceptualization of the relationship between care giving and bereavement.     

Occupational Destinations and Economic Mobility of Filipino Overseas Workers1

This study examines employment and occupational shifts experienced by Filipino overseas contract workers in the transition from country of origin to country of destination and examines the impact of labor migration on economic conditions and standard of living of the families left behind. Data for the analyses were obtained from a representative sample of 2,346 households drawn from four primary sending areas in the Philippines. The analyses focus on characteristics of the households and of the household members employed overseas. The findings reveal that a considerable number of overseas workers (both men and women) were unemployed prior to migration and that the overwhelming majority of these workers were recruited to fill low‐status (manual and service) occupations in the host country. The analysis demonstrates that the odds for Filipino overseas workers to be employed in low‐status occupations were extremely high, net of human capital characteristics, net of the occupations they held in the Philippines, and net of country of destination. Further analysis reveals that overseas employment is associated with a substantial increase in earnings (five‐fold for men and four‐fold for women). Comparison between households with and without overseas workers reveals that, net of household characteristics, the flows of income earned abroad are used to purchase household goods to improve standard of living. These findings provide firm support to expectations derived from the household theory of migration according to which labor migration is a strategy adopted by the household unit to allocate family resources rationally to increase the flows of income in order to raise the family standard of living.     

The Role of Contemporary Family Behaviors in Nonmarital Conception Outcomes of Nonmetro Women: Comments on Albrecht and Albrecht (2004)*

Abstract Recent research by Albrecht and Albrecht (2004) on nonmarital conception outcomes is extended using data from the 1995 cycle of the National Survey of Family Growth. Residential differences in nonmarital conception outcomes are examined, including nonmarital conception, live birth outcomes, and marital status at birth following a nonmarital conception. Analyses emphasize the role of more contemporary family behaviors in conception outcomes and the importance of distinguishing suburban‐metro from central city‐metro residence in studies that emphasize residential variation in family outcomes. Findings are that (1) nonmetro women have retained more traditional family behavior with regards to marriage following a nonmarital conception, (2) nonmetro and suburban women, however, have equally traditional family patterns and behaviors on many of the outcomes of interest, and (3) it is important to include contemporary family behaviors, such as nonmarital cohabitation, in studies that evaluate traditional family behavior among nonmetro populations.     

Exiting and Returning to the Parental Home for Boomerang Kids

Young adults commonly exit from and return to the parental home, yet few studies have examined the motivation behind these exits and returns using a life course framework. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, the authors examined associations between mental health problems and economic characteristics and exits from (n = 8,162) and returns to (n = 6,530) the parental home during the transition to adulthood. The average age of the respondents was 24 years. The authors found evidence that mental health and economic characteristics were related to home leaving and returning. Emotional distress was associated with earlier exits from and returns to the parental home; alcohol problems were associated with earlier returns to the parental home. The findings regarding economic resources were unexpectedly mixed. Greater economic resources were linked to delayed exits from and earlier returns to the parental home. The implications of these findings for young adults are discussed.     

Dose finding with continuous outcome in phase I oncology trials

The goal of a phase I clinical trial in oncology is to find a dose with acceptable dose‐limiting toxicity rate. Often, when a cytostatic drug is investigated or when the maximum tolerated dose is defined using a toxicity score, the main endpoint in a phase I trial is continuous. We propose a new method to use in a dose‐finding trial with continuous endpoints. The new method selects the right dose on par with other methods and provides more flexibility in assigning patients to doses in the course of the trial when the rate of accrual is fast relative to the follow‐up time. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Disabled students’ narratives about their schooling experiences

An ongoing interest in disabled learners’ voices has been reflected in a number of studies that explore students’ experiences of schooling, as part of the quest to understand how inclusive education can be achieved. These studies, however, have been conducted mainly in industrially developed countries, while very few studies exist from industrially developing countries such as Greece in which disabled people’s voices are under-represented not only in political processes but in research as well. The aim of this study was to investigate disabled students’ educational experience, their social interactions with peers and teachers, the choice of school and the support they received for responding to curricular demands and complexities. The results of the study confirmed that disabled students can provide invaluable information on matters involving their education, and showed how personal experiences of disability are influenced by the socio-cultural experiences lived in different social arenas, such as that of education.