Correlates of welfare dependency among immigrants in Australia

"This article investigates some of the factors that are associated with welfare dependency among immigrants in Australia. It examines the role of factors such as gender, age, migration category, birthplace, period of arrival and educational background in explaining immigrants' dependence on government pensions and benefits as their main source of income." The author finds that there are "significant differences in welfare dependency...by birthplace and migration category even after controlling for age, education and employment status. Immigrants from Vietnam, Lebanon and Turkey were more likely than others to be dependent on welfare. Refugees were also more likely than other immigrants to be dependent on welfare; however the effect of refugee status on welfare dependency diminished with duration of residence in Australia."     

A Global Labor Market: Factors Motivating the Sponsorship and Temporary Migration of Skilled Workers to Australia1

The recruitment of skilled foreign workers is becoming increasingly important to many industrialized countries. This paper examines the factors motivating the sponsorship and temporary migration of skilled workers to Australia under the temporary business entry program, a new development in Australia's migration policy. The importance of labor demand in the destination country in stimulating skilled temporary migration is clearly demonstrated by the reasons given by employers in the study while the reasons indicated by skilled temporary migrants for coming to work in Australia show the importance of both economic and non‐economic factors in motivating skilled labor migration.     

Variable Sampling Interval Cumulative Count of Conforming Chart with Runs Rules

The cumulative count of conforming (CCC) chart is effective in detecting very low fraction of nonconforming items for high yield manufacturing processes. In this study, a combination of runs rules and variable sampling interval feature is proposed to a lower sided CCC chart by inspecting the items one by one. The performance measures of the control chart are derived by using the Markov chain approach. The numerical comparisons show that the performance of the CCC chart can be improved by adding the runs rules and varying the sampling interval.     

Using turn taking to achieve intertemporal cooperation and symmetry in infinitely repeated 2 × 2 games

Turn taking is observed in many field and laboratory settings captured by various widely studied 2 × 2 games. This article develops a repeated game model that allows us to systematically investigate turn-taking behavior in many 2 × 2 games, including the battle of the sexes, the game of chicken, the game of common-pool-resources assignment, and a particular version of the prisoners’ dilemma. We consider the “turn taking with independent randomizations” (TTIR) strategy that achieves three objectives: (a) helping the players reach the turn-taking path, (b) resolving the question of who takes the good turn first, and (c) deterring defection. We determine conditions under which there exists a unique TTIR strategy profile that can be supported as a subgame-perfect equilibrium. We also show that there exist conditions under which an increase in the “degree of conflict” of the stage game leads to a decrease in the expected number of periods in reaching the turn-taking path.     

A decomposition of immigrant divorce rates in Australia

Crude divorce rates of overseas-born Australians by birthplace are not comparable because different birthplace groups have different age structures and marriage patterns that affect the rates. This paper decomposes the crude rates into components due to the effects of age structrue, marriage patterns and the divorce rate of married men and women. This allows for a better comparison of the level of divorce by birthplace. The range in the standardized divorce rates by birthplace is smaller than that indicated by the crude rates. Nonetheless, there remains considerable variation in immigrant divorce rates in Australia.     

The Context of Spouse Migration to Australia

The article discusses five types of spouse migration. Data on the country of origin of migrant spouses and their sponsoring partners suggest that the largest component of spouse migration is chain migration for marriage, with previous immigrants sponsoring partners from their former home country. Other smaller components are sponsorship of spouses by the second generation from the parents' country of origin; sponsorship of foreign spouses by Australians for intermarriage; and family reunion of spouses separated by refugee movements. Spouse migration from English‐speaking or European countries is often motivated by a preference for Australia's climate or lifestyle rather than marriage to an Australian partner, unlike spouse migration from other parts of the world where the process is more closely related to marriage.     

Approximations to Optimal k‐Unit Cycles for Single‐Gripper and Dual‐Gripper Robotic Cells

We consider the problem of scheduling operations in bufferless robotic cells that produce identical parts using either single‐gripper or dual‐gripper robots. The objective is to find a cyclic sequence of robot moves that minimizes the long‐run average time to produce a part or, equivalently, maximizes the throughput. Obtaining an efficient algorithm for an optimum k‐unit cyclic solution (k ≥ 1) has been a longstanding open problem. For both single‐gripper and dual‐gripper cells, the approximation algorithms in this paper provide the best‐known performance guarantees (obtainable in polynomial time) for an optimal cyclic solution. We provide two algorithms that have a running time linear in the number of machines: for single‐gripper cells (respectively, dual‐gripper cells), the performance guarantee is 9/7 (respectively, 3/2). The domain considered is free‐pickup cells with constant intermachine travel time. Our structural analysis is an important step toward resolving the complexity status of finding an optimal cyclic solution in either a single‐gripper or a dual‐gripper cell. We also identify optimal cyclic solutions for a variety of special cases. Our analysis provides production managers valuable insights into the schedules that maximize productivity for both single‐gripper and dual‐gripper cells for any combination of processing requirements and physical parameters.     

Gatekeeping in child welfare: a comparative study of intake decisionmaking by social workers in Canada and Sweden

This article details findings from social workers in Sweden and Canada, illuminating similarities and differences in gatekeeping in child welfare and child protection. Analysis revealed different patterns of inclusion and exclusion. Swedish child welfare includes a greater readiness to intervene with more resources and measures. Gatekeeping is assessment driven and focused on family preservation. In Canada, only the most needy children are eligible for a limited range of services. Gatekeeping is structure driven and narrowly focused on protection. Analyses of evidence-based research to improve outcomes for children and families must include comparisons of how different structural orientations influence management of referrals at intake. The authors discuss the implications of these findings.