Migration to London and the development of the north–south divide, 1851–1911

This article uses census data for England and Wales covering the period 1851–1911 to provide new insights into patterns of migration to London. It examines several related themes including the role migration played in London’s growth during this period, age and gender differentials and distance travelled. Calculating net migration rates, the article demonstrates that after age 30, of those born outside of London, more left the Capital than came, yet over time an increasing proportion of the migrant population was retained. The proportion of family migrants fluctuated over the period, yet compared to others tended to travel shorter distances, a feature which increased over time with suburbanization. Turning to the geographical origins of migrants, London drew migrants from across the entirety of England and Wales. However, the data suggest that the migrant sex ratio became more homogeneous over time, with distinct pockets of male dominated migration that were visible in 1851 disappearing by 1911. Lastly, the article investigates migration from the perspective of place of departure rather than destination, as is traditionally the case. This reveals a distinct regional geography, suggesting that the present-day north–south divide was already evident in 1851, and became increasingly distinct over time.     

Gambling with Stimulus Payments: Feeding Gaming Machines with Federal Dollars

In late 2008 and early 2009 the Australian Federal Government introduced a series of economic stimulus packages designed to maintain consumer spending in the early days of the Great Recession. When these packages were initiated the media suggested that the wide-spread availability of electronic gaming machines (EGMs, e.g. slot machines, poker machines, video lottery terminals) in Australia would result in stimulating the EGMs. Using state level monthly data we estimate that the stimulus packages led to an increase of 26 % in EGM revenues. This also resulted in over $60 million in additional tax revenue for State Governments. We also estimate a short-run aggregate income demand elasticity for EGMs to be approximately 2.     

The future of gerontological social work: a case for structural lag

The US population is aging. Traditional perspectives have emphasized that a substantial increase in the number of gerontological social workers is needed to care for this population. However, published evidence demonstrates that, along with population growth, economic and social factors must be taken into account before predicting future gerontological social work demand. Structural lag theory is introduced to explain how these factors affect the profession and may limit its presence in gerontological work settings. Recommendations are made to correct the lag, allowing the social work profession a more substantive voice in the aging enterprise.     

Tests for properties of residual life

The lOOα -percentile (0 < α < 1) residual life function at time x is defined to be the lOOα -percentile of the remaining life given survival up to time x. Joe and Proschan (1982b) develop tests for testing the alternatives representing decreasing 100α-percentile residual life (DPRL-α ) and the property ‘new better than used with respect to the lOOα -percentile’ (NBUP-α ). In this paper, tests are developed for DPRL[α, l) and NBUP[α, l) alternatives, where DPRL[α, l) is the class of life distributions which are DPRL-β distributions for all a ≤ β < 1 if 0 ≤ α < 1 and for all 0 < β < 1 if α = 0, and NBUP[α, l) is similarly defined. When α = 0, the DPRL[α, l) class of life distributions corresponds to the increasing failure rate class and the NBUP[α, l) class of life distributions corresponds to the new better than used class, and the test statistics are respectively asymptotically equivalent to the Hollander and Proschan (1975) test statistics for decreasing mean residual life and new better than used in expectation alternatives.     

Gender Differences in Characteristics of Chinese Treatment-Seeking Problem Gamblers

A total of 952 (841 men and 111 women) Chinese treatment-seeking problem gamblers completed self-report assessment forms. Female in contrast to male gamblers were more likely to be older, married, less educated, and without employment. Female gamblers also started gambling at an older age, had a shorter gambling history, preferred casino and mahjong gambling, and reported more somatic complaints and suicidal thoughts. Male and female gamblers accumulated similar amount of gambling debt and reported an average of 12 gambling-related problems on the Chinese version of the South Oaks Gambling Screen [Lesieur and Blume (Am J Psychiatry 144:1184–1188, 1987)]. Both groups were similarly troubled by their indebtedness, inability to control gambling, and gambling-related interpersonal problems. However, female gamblers had fewer means to pay their gambling debt. Given that significant gender-related differences were observed in Chinese problem gamblers, prevention and treatment services should attend to specific needs of male and female gamblers.     

Environmental education evaluation: Reinterpreting education as a strategy for meeting mission

Critical consideration of the role of environmental education in meeting conservation outcomes is increasingly necessary for environmental agencies and organizations. Evaluation can help move organizations to alignment between educational goals and organizational mission. Moving theory-driven evaluation into mission-based program theory, this chapter examines the ways in which educational goals can and should be linked to conservation outcomes for an agency or organization.