Analyzing birth intervals: Implications for demographic theory and data collection

In the last decade, the study of birth intervals has been greatly facilitated by a rapid expansion in data availability and by improvements in analytical techniques. Unfortunately, the results emerging from individual level, empirical studies of birth interval dynamics do not correspond with the predictions of standard demographic theory. This paper reviews a series of individual level studies that find substantial socioeconomic variation in childspacing after controlling statistically for the major intermediate or proximate variables. It then offers possible explanations for the lack of fit between theory and results at the micro level, concluding that the two most likely explanations are poor measurement of the four principal proximate determinants and the exclusion of additional proximate determinants.     

Time completion for various dispatching rules in job shops

This study investigates the relative priority of various job shop dispatching rules for various shop utilization levels under both deterministic and stochastic assumptions with regard to processing times. The primary criterion for evaluation is that of percentage on time completion. The results indicate that an assumption of accurately predetermining actual operation times in most cases is not likely to weaken the analysis and impact of research studies which are performed using such an assumption. Also conclusions indicate that the ranking of dispatching rules according to their effectiveness varies significantly with shop utilization levels.     

Migration differentials by education and occupation: Trends and variations

The effects of education on current migration propensities in the United States are examined for each age group, and an estimate is made of how these age-specific differentials cumulate over a lifetime in determining the number of times that individuals at different educational levels can expect to move over the course of their lives. The independent effects of age, education, and occupation are also examined. Two other sections investigate trends in educational selectivity of migration in the United States and international comparisons of occupational differences in migration.     

A general moodel of crisis intervention

This article presents a general model of crisis intervention designed to be used in most practice settings. The model is a synthesis of what has previously been written about crisis intervention theory and practice along with the author's own contributions. The various definitions of what constitutes a crisis and the stages of a crisis reaction are discussed. In the beginning phases of crisis treatment it is suggested that the clinician should complete six tasks, one of which is identifying with the client and precipitating event that led to the crisis. As the treatment process continues it is suggested that the clinician should complete six tasks, one of which is designing psychological and behavioral tasks that will reduce stress and help the client resolve the crisis. Finally, the termination process is reviewed.     

Total Performance Inconsistency and Status Generalization: An Expectation States Formulation*

Past research has documented the fact that status characteristics organize group interaction. Freese and Cohen (1973) specified a condition under which a performance characteristic would eliminate the effect of a differentiating diffuse status characteristic. The present research extends the Freese-Cohen theory to specify a condition under which a differentiating diffuse status characteristic will eliminate the effect of a performance characteristic. Predictions derived from the formulation are (a) in situations where actors are differentiated by a diffuse status characteristic and a totally inconsistent performance characteristic, influence rates will be a function only of diffuse status and (b) it is the strength (0) of a totally inconsistent performance characteristic, rather than the number of traits comprising the characteristic, that determines its effect. These predictions are contrasted with those of other expectation states formulations (i.e., Berger et al., 1977). Laboratory experiments generally support our formulation while providing some disconfirming evidence for the other formulations.     

The influence of mumber and ages of children on residential mobility

Married couples without children are more geographically mobile than those with children, at least through age 45. Among husband-wife couples with children, ages of children exercises a consistent mobility differential; when age of family head is controlled for, families with children under 6 years old only are the most mobile both within and between counties, followed by those with children under 6 and 6–17 years old, and followed in turn by families with children 6–17 years old only. The relationship between number of children and the probability of moving within counties has a reverse J-shape for family heads at each age under 45; after age 45 the relationship assumes a more normal J shape. Number of children is inversely related to the probability of migrating (moving between counties) for husband-wife families in which the husband is under 35; after age 35 the relationship is erratic. The effect of ages of children generally holds for each size of family. Female family heads with children are generally more geographically mobile than male family heads (wife present) at the same age and with the same number and ages of children present.     

Interpersonal Behaviour in Families: Research on the Theoretical Relationship of Two Models*

An integration of theories of family process under a recently formulated unified theory is proposed. Research was conducted testing hypothesized interrelationships between two models subsumed under the unified theory: Satir's model of defended communication and Kantor and Lehr's psychopolitical model of family process. Behavioural ratings from an Australian sample and self-report ratings from an American sample both show the two models to be significantly correlated and structurally consistent with the unified theory.     

Fertility patterns among religious groups in Canada

The U shape that has been traced out by the crude birth rate in the United States and Canada is well known. Falling birth rates reached a low point in the mid-1930’s; the rate rose to a peak in 1947 and remained high through the 1950’s. In terms of cohorts, completed family size was smallest for women born around 1910, whose childbearing was concentrated in the 1930’s. With data from the 1961 census of Canada, trends in cohort marital fertility by religion are examined. The U pattern appears for both Protestants and Jews. For Catholics, a reversal in the downward trend of family size had not appeared by 1961, although the U pattern can be discerned for some subgroups such as Catholics living in big cities and persons of Irish ancestry. In the United States, however, changes in family size for all three religious groups and both whites and nonwhites follow the U pattern. Religious differentials in family size in Canada have been decreasing, but they remain much larger than either religious or color differentials in the United States, which show no decrease. The distinctive features of Catholic fertility in Canada are most pronounced among the regionallyconcentrated French Canadians, suggesting an interplay of religious, regional, and ethnic influences.