Working for a Better Life: Longitudinal Evidence on the Predictors of Employment Among Recently Arrived Refugee Migrant Men Living in Australia

Although a number of studies have investigated the predictors of employment among refugee migrants, there is a dearth of evidence from longitudinal data. This study investigated the cross‐sectional and longitudinal predictors of employment among 233 adult refugee men living in South‐East Queensland, Australia. Participants were interviewed four times at six‐month intervals between 2008 and 2010. Using a conceptual model developed from the literature, Generalized Estimating Equations were used to model the predictors of employment. Over time, the employment rate increased from 44 per cent to 56 per cent. Region of birth, length of time in Australia, seeking employment through job service providers and informal networks, and owning a car were significant predictors of employment. Contrary to previous research, English language proficiency was not a significant predictor when other variables were controlled for. Recognition of overseas skills and qualifications decreased the chances of finding employment. The policy and programme implications are discussed.

Policy Implications

• Recognition of refugee migrants' overseas‐gained skills and qualifications does not guarantee them securing employment.
• Recognition of overseas skills and qualifications should be accompanied by educating employers, especially those outside the traditional migrant employment ‘niches’, about the resources and capabilities of refugee migrants, and the value of their qualifications.
• Fostering programmes that target the needs of job seekers from refugee backgrounds could enhance their employment outcomes.
• Supporting refugee migrants getting their drivers' licence and establishing favourable loan programmes that enable refugee migrants to buy a car can have a positive impact on their workforce participation.

     

Psychological Wellbeing Among Same‐sex Attracted and Heterosexual Parents: Role of Connectedness to Family and Friendship Networks

Increasing numbers of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults are entering into parenthood. Previous studies indicate many of these parents receive little or no support from their families of origin due to family members' negative attitudes toward homosexuality. This study looks at the extent to which LGB parents report a lower sense of connectedness to family of origin and friendship networks than heterosexual parents and whether this has an impact on psychological wellbeing in either of these groups. Data were derived from two studies of parents: Work, Love, Play, a study of Australian and New Zealand LGB parents (n=324); and the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, a population‐based study of young children and parents (n=6460). Structural equation modelling was used to explore the relationships between: parent sexuality and family/friendship connectedness, family/friendship connectedness and psychological wellbeing, parent sexuality and psychological wellbeing. LGB parents reported feeling less connected to their families of origin but more connected to their friendship groups than heterosexual parents. Counter to previous studies, we found no difference in the psychological wellbeing of LGB parents compared to heterosexual parents when examining the direct effect of sexuality on psychological wellbeing. Clinical implications for counsellors and family therapists are discussed.     

Low-Income Parents and the Public Schools

This article addresses the responses likely to be received by low-income parents from teachers and staff in their children's public schools in the United States. A review of the relevant literature reveals that teachers and school administrators tend to subscribe to the dominant beliefs that low-income parents do not care about their children's schooling, are not competent to help with homework, do not encourage achievement, and do not place a high value on education. This article presents examples of such middle-class bias in the words and actions of individual teachers, and research findings that tend to contradict these stereotypes. The barriers that exist for low-income parents in interacting with the schools are discussed, and suggestions are offered for ways in which schools can recognize and respect the standpoint and potential contributions of these parents.     

DISPERSION CONTROL FOR MULTIVARIATE PROCESSES

This paper presents some techniques for monitoring and controlling the dispersion of multivariate normal processes based on subgroup data. The procedures involve use of independent statistics resulting from the decomposition of the covariance matrix. Those that do not depend on prior estimates of the process covariance matrix are particularly attractive to short-run or low volume manufacturing environments.     

The development of a new measure for work-family research: Community resource fit

We describe the development and validation of a quantitative measure of community resource fit; i.e., satisfaction with the extent to which community resources meet the needs of working families of school-aged children. The measure has good psychometric properties, and preliminary results suggest that the measure warrants further study. The measure is composed of six moderately intercorrelated subscales assessing resource fit in the areas of work, public transportation, school, school transportation, after-school programs and after-school transportation resources. We found interesting patterns of results linking community resource fit, especially in the areas of work and school resource fit, to a variety of quality-of-life and well-being outcomes among employed parents of school-aged children. These outcomes include work-to-family and family-to-work conflict and enhancement, psychological distress, job–role quality, likelihood of losing or leaving one's job and likelihood of leaving one's line of work.     

REDUCED DISTANCE MEASURES AND TRANSFORMATIONS IN PROCESSING MULTIVARIATE OUTLIERS

The study of multivariate outliers raises many problems of definition, principle and manipulation. Well-authenticated tests of discordancy exist only for the multivariate normal distribution. Detection of outliers in non-normal distributions involves the adoption of appropriate criteria to represent 'extremeness' of observations in a sample; corresponding tests of discordancy usually require tedious, or even intractable, distributional and computational manipulations. A class of transformations of the data is considered with a view of transferring some of the familiar and desirable features of discordancy tests for normal samples to non-normal situations.     

Outliers in sample surveys

Outliers can as readily arise in sample survey (i.e. finite population) data as in samples from infinite populations. For infinite populations, an extensive methodology exists: very little has been written on the finite population case. We shall explore matters of definition and concept to formulate some basic principles for handling outliers in sample survey data. Some existing methods for outlier accommodation are reviewed and proposals are made for the dual problem of outlier tests of discordancy.     

The Market Response to the Sioux City DC-10 Crash

The 1989 DC-10 crash at Sioux City, Iowa presented a rare instance in which a potential threat to safety was both (i) intensely publicized over a short period and (ii) also amenable to the unobtrusive measurement of the market reaction it evoked. As such, it allowed a useful case study of the extent and duration of behavior change caused by a frightening event. Using reservations data from travel agencies in five states, this paper estimates the short-term effects of the Sioux City crash on passenger willingness to fly the DC-10. The data suggest that, in the first few weeks after the crash, more than one third of travelers who would normally have booked DC-10 flights chose instead to fly other aircraft. Within 2 months of the disaster, however, DC-10 bookings rebounded to within 10% of the level that would have been expected had the Sioux City crash not occurred. At no time, apparently, did the airlines that operate DC-10s use their "yield-management" computer pricing systems unofficially to lower DC-10 fares relative to those on other types of plane.     

Work‐Family Enrichment and Conflict: Additive Effects,Buffering, or Balance?

We used data from the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS I) (N = 2,031) to compare three models of how work‐family conflict and enrichment might operate to predict well‐being (mental health, life satisfaction, affect balance, partner relationship quality). We found no support for a relative‐difference model in which the conflict‐enrichment balance predicted outcomes. In the work‐to‐family direction, the additive model fit best: Both work‐to‐family conflict and work‐to‐family enrichment were independently linked to outcomes. In the family‐to‐work direction, the interactive model fit best: Family‐to‐work enrichment buffered the negative outcomes ordinarily linked to family‐to‐work conflict. Enrichment is key because with the additive model, it contributed incremental explanatory power, and with the buffering model, it conditioned conflict‐outcome relationships. Work‐to‐family conflict and family‐to‐work enrichment appeared particularly salient for well‐being.