Predictors of early care and education type among preschool-aged children in immigrant families: The role of region of origin and characteristics of the immigrant experience

Children of immigrants have lower rates of participation in early care and education (ECE) settings in the year before they enter kindergarten than do children of native parents. There is a dearth of research examining factors associated with the ECE type that immigrant families select for their children. Using data on immigrant families from the ECLS-B (N ≈ 2500) this study aims to fill gaps in the literature by examining associations between immigrant, family, child, and contextual characteristics and patterns of ECE type at age 4. The results show significant differences in ECE type related to parental region of origin that were reduced when characteristics of families and contexts were taken into account. Findings highlight the importance of considering factors that may be especially salient for immigrant families, including household English proficiency, parental citizenship status, parental preferences, and availability of non-English speaking care providers.     

Long-Term Implications of Welfare Reform for the Development of Adolescents and Young Adults

We draw upon the 3-wave longitudinal dataset called Welfare Children and Families: A Three-City Study to examine the long-term implications for adolescents and young adults (N = 783) of mothers' welfare receipt and labor force participation from 1999 to 2005. In general, changes in mothers' work and welfare patterns were not associated with deterioration or improvement in youth development (ages 16 to 20 years at Wave 3). The few significant associations suggested that youth whose mothers increased employment (net of welfare participation) were less likely to show increases in serious behavior problems and delinquency compared to youth whose mothers were unemployed or employed part-time during the study period. Welfare roll exits (controlling for employment experiences) were unrelated to adolescent and young adult outcomes. Mothers' employment transitions were linked to improvements in household income and mothers' self esteem in addition to reductions in financial strain and their own illegal activities. However, these associations did not explain the relation between maternal employment and youths' improved behavior. These results do not support the predictions of either the supporters or the opponents of welfare reform, an outcome we discuss.     

A rapid survey technique for ‘Appropriate technology’ ecological indicators in developing urban areas

For planners, providers and evaluators of vital services in urban areas of developing nations, the availability of sufficient environmental data is oftentimes a major stumbling block. The authors here present a low-cost, rapid survey technique for gathering information on the urban ecology. The effort is developed from and validated in a research program correlating urban neighborhood (barrio) characteristics with infant and child mortality in Cali, Colombia. The technique establishes a minimal set of indicators exhibiting variance with respect to other social indices by utilizing the combined results of a random sample questionnaire and a secondary data set gathered from various public sources. The subset of efficient indicators of quality of life is derived from the total data set by utilizing a system of ridit weights.     

A Two-Latent-Class Model for Smoking Cessation Data with Informative Dropouts

Non ignorable missing data is a common problem in longitudinal studies. Latent class models are attractive for simplifying the modeling of missing data when the data are subject to either a monotone or intermittent missing data pattern. In our study, we propose a new two-latent-class model for categorical data with informative dropouts, dividing the observed data into two latent classes; one class in which the outcomes are deterministic and a second one in which the outcomes can be modeled using logistic regression. In the model, the latent classes connect the longitudinal responses and the missingness process under the assumption of conditional independence. Parameters are estimated by the method of maximum likelihood estimation based on the above assumptions and the tetrachoric correlation between responses within the same subject. We compare the proposed method with the shared parameter model and the weighted GEE model using the areas under the ROC curves in the simulations and the application to the smoking cessation data set. The simulation results indicate that the proposed two-latent-class model performs well under different missing procedures. The application results show that our proposed method is better than the shared parameter model and the weighted GEE model.     

Public Disclosure and Dissimulation of Insider Trades

Regulation requiring insiders to publicly disclose their stock trades after the fact complicates the trading decisions of informed, rent‐seeking insiders. Given this requirement, we present an insider's equilibrium trading strategy in a multiperiod rational expectations framework. Relative to Kyle (1985), price discovery is accelerated and insider profits are lower. The strategy balances immediate profits from informed trades against the reduction in future profits following trade disclosure and, hence, revelation of some of the insider's information. Our results offer a novel rationale for contrarian trading: dissimulation, a phenomenon distinct from manipulation, may underlie insiders' trading decisions.     

Who Gives,Who Gets,and How do We Know? The Promises and Limitations of Administrative Data for Cross-border Philanthropy Tracking

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Cross-border philanthropy occurs across multiple dimensions simultaneously. Seemingly domestic actors become players in...     

Assessing the language of 2 year-olds: From theory to practice

Early screening for language problems is a priority given the importance of language for success in school and interpersonal relationships. The paucity of reliable behavioral instruments for this age group prompted the development of a new touchscreen language screener for 2-year-olds that relies on language comprehension. Developmental literature guided selection of age-appropriate markers of language disorder risk that are culturally and dialectally neutral and could be reliably assessed. Items extend beyond products of linguistic knowledge (vocabulary and syntax) and tap the process by which children learn language, also known as fast mapping. After piloting an extensive set of items (139), two phases of testing with over 500 children aged 2; 0–2; 11 were conducted to choose the final 40-item set. Rasch analysis was used to select the best fitting and least redundant items. Norms were created based on 270 children. Sufficient test-retest reliability, Cronbach's alpha, and convergent validity with the MB-CDI and PPVT are reported. This quick behavioral measure of language capabilities could support research studies and facilitate the early detection of language problems.