Exploring attitudes toward older workers among Australian employers: an empirical study

Research suggests that negative stereotyping is at the heart of age discrimination in not hiring older workers. As the aging of the population creates pressures to maintain older adults in the work force, it is important to gain knowledge of such stereotyping. A random sample of 128 hiring decision-makers across Australian industries responded to a questionnaire that was specifically developed to assess attitudes toward older workers. Results showed systematic negative stereotyping: Respondents indicated that they were unlikely to hire older workers. The likelihood of hiring significantly correlated with employers' attitudes. Specific attributes for which older workers were seen as inferior compared to younger workers included trainability, adaptability, creativity, and interest in new technology. The findings could inform policymakers and be utilized to develop interventions aimed to reduce hiring discrimination.     

Encouraging workers to save: the 2005 Retirement Confidence Survey

This Issue Brief reports findings of the 15th annual Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS), which points to potential solutions to the American retirement savings problem, specifically ways that could help workers save more through their employment-based retirement plans. IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYER MATCH: More than 7 in 10 workers not currently contributing to their employer-sponsored retirement plan say an employer contribution of up to 5 percent of their salary would make them much more or somewhat more likely to participate (72 percent). SIMPLIFIED OPTIONS: Other retirement plan options that nonparticipants say would make them more likely to contribute are an investment option that automatically becomes more conservative as their retirement date approaches (66 percent) and a feature that automatically raises workers' contributions by a fixed amount or percentage when they receive a pay raise (55 percent). Two-thirds of nonparticipants indicate they would be very or somewhat likely to remain in their employer's plan if they were automatically enrolled (66 percent). SOCIAL SECURITY: Nearly 7 in 10 of today's workers are skeptical that Social Security will continue to provide benefits of at least equal value to those received by current retirees (68 percent). This proportion has remained relatively constant in recent years, but is below the 1995 level (79 percent). Workers continue to be unable to identify the age at which they will be eligible for full Social Security benefits. MOST BEHIND SCHEDULE IN SAVING: A majority of workers believe they are behind schedule when it comes to planning and saving for retirement (55 percent). Most of those behind schedule say that high expenses, particularly everyday expenses (49 percent), child-rearing expenses (39 percent), and medical costs (35 percent), are a major factor in keeping them from saving. LESS THAN HALF HAVE TRIED TO CALCULATE NEEDED SAVINGS: Approximately 4 in 10 workers say they have tried to calculate how much they need to accumulate for retirement. More than one-third of these workers say they asked a financial advisor to calculate this number or used their own estimates; 10 percent say they simply guessed how much they will need in retirement.     

Technical-Professional Unemployment: Middle-class Adaptability to Personal Crisis*

Previous research generally indicates that unemployment is damaging to self-esteem and morale with attendant economic deprivations. Research among the middleclass unemployed is quite rare and is inconclusive as to the specific impact of unemployment on members of this stratum. In this study, interviews with one hundred unemployed male technical-professionals during the aerospace-defense-electronics recession of early 1972 revealed that for many, unemployment was less stressful than expected. The expression of a positive attitude toward job loss by 48 percent of the sample became a subject of special interest. The reason most frequently given for having a positive attitude toward job loss was that it represented an opportunity to escape from an undesirable job. Being laid off apparently made a decision that many unemployed men had considered but had not brought themselves to make prior to the layoff. Additional variables which might help to explain the high percentage of men expressing a positive attitude toward job loss are discussed. Especially important are factors which taken together enhance the adaptability of these middle-class professionals to their unemployment by softening its financial impact.     

Straw men and fairy tales: Evaluating reactions to A Natural History of Rape

In this paper we respond to two frequent criticisms of our book, A Natural History of Rape (Thornhill & Palmer, 2000). The first criticism portrays the book as little more than a "just-so story" that human rape is an adaptation. We demonstrate that this portrayal is not accurate. The second criticism reflects a common response to the book s challenge of the popular assertion that rapists are not motivated by sexual desire but instead commit these crimes motivated by the urge to power, domination, and violence, and the urge to degrade and humiliate women. We demonstrate that such criticisms of our book are inherently contradictory and illogical. We believe it is important for sex researchers to understand that these sorts of criticisms are seriously flawed so that future research efforts toward understanding the causes of sexual coercion are not stalled.     

Optimal regional distribution of petroleum products

An economic model is presented which applies linear programming to determine the most efficient distribution of petroleum products among industries and regions. The model maximizes employment while (1) ensuring a balanced economy via input-output relationships, (2) maintaining at least the minimum production of basic goods and services necessary to prevent abnormally high inflation which could be caused by shortages, (3) ensuring that regional economies do not become severely depressed due to energy unavailability for their industrial base, (4) making sure that the industry capacity in each region is not exceeded, and (5) allowing policy makers control over the balance of payments. The model utilizes an input-output framework at both the national and regional level and makes adjustments for regional differences by incorporating regional multipliers.     

Inbreeding effects on competition inTribolium

When replicate cultures ofT. confusum andT. castaneum are husbanded together under identical treatment conditions, sometimesT. confusum eliminatesT. castaneum, and other times,T. castaneum wins (i.e., competitive indeterminacy occurs). While several plausible explanations were advanced, the results of Mertz et al. (1976) implicated demographic stochasticity and not classical genetic founder effect as the predominant factor influencing the identity of the winning species. They also observed, however, that the size of the founding population had an influence on the competitive strength ofT. castaneum. The present study shows that the decline in competitive strength that accompanied decreasing founder size inT. castaneum can be amply explained by simple inbreeding depression. The eggs of inbred adults showed an approximate 15% reduction in hatchability when compared to outbred adults. No evidence was found that the decrease in competitive strength was due either to prior history differences or reduced genetic heterogeneity of the founding adults.     

Money Isn't Everything. Fiscal Policy and Family Policy in the Child Support Act

One of the explicit aims of the 1991 Child Support Act is to ensure that parents honour their financial obligations towards their natural children to a greater extent than they have hitherto. An equally important underlying objective is that of reducing the costs to the state of supporting lone parents. This paper examines the extent to which these two objectives are compatible within the framework of the Child Support Act through an examination of the impact of the Act's implementation on lone mothers and their children. It presents some of the key findings of a study of lone mothers on means-tested benefits, interviewed almost one year after the implementation of the Act. The paper concludes that the Act is failing to meet its stated aim of increasing the extent to which parents honour their financial obligations to children, because of an excessively narrow conception of the ways in which financial obligations are met combined with too strong an emphasis on maximizing savings in state expenditure on lone parents. The implementation of the Child Support Act, far from enhancing the welfare of children in lone parent families, has brought with it considerable financial and emotional costs for children and their mothers.     

Religion and Presidential Politics in Florida: A List Experiment*

Objective. Although national surveys indicate that Americans have become more accepting of the prospect of a Jewish presidential candidate, this could reflect some voters' desire to be seen as having socially correct opinions. The present study uses a survey technique known as the “list experiment” to assess public reaction to the nomination of Jewish candidates for high office. Methods. Two telephone surveys of registered voters in Florida, each employing the list‐experiment methodology, were conducted in October 2000 and May/June 2002. Results. We find only limited evidence of negative affect directed at either the vice presidential candidacy of Joseph Lieberman in 2000 or a hypothetical (unnamed) Jewish presidential candidate who might choose to run in the future. Conclusions. Although there still are enough voters with anti‐Semitic views to affect the outcome of a close election, their numbers do not appear to be as great as some observers have feared.     

Cancer Anxiety and the Perception of Risk in Alarmed Communities

Cancer is a significant public health topic and is frequently a factor in public reactions to environmental hazards. It may be reasonable to suggest that a unique form of health anxiety exists - one specific to cancer. In this article, we explore a measure of cancer anxiety that has applicability to risk perception in the specific context of communities that are alarmed over suspect cancer rates thought to be associated with environmental hazards. A literature search was used to identify survey questions previously used to measure cancer worry, fear, anxiety, etc. A list of 24 items was employed in a mail survey sent to 30 communities in which cancer rates were under investigation (part of a broader study). An analysis of the dataset of 1,111 responses yields two versions of a cancer anxiety scale: one an additive combination of 21 items (alpha= 0.77) and the other a two-factor model consisting of nine- and four-item subscales (alpha= 0.74 and 0.69). The resulting scales are evaluated for their ability to predict perception of risk from the environmental hazards in these cases. Controlling for age, sex, and cancer status, the scales explain between 2% and 10% of risk perception (full R(2) values ranging from 0.17 to 0.24). Given the range of concepts required to model risk perception, we conclude that this measure of cancer anxiety is sufficiently reliable and robust to be recommended for use in circumstances involving hazards associated with cancer. Other uses and further development of the measure are discussed.