Infant Mortality Rate as a Measure of a Country’s Health: A Robust Method to Improve Reliability and Comparability

Researchers and policymakers often rely on the infant mortality rate as an indicator of a country’s health. Despite arguments about its relevance, uniform measurement of infant mortality is necessary to guarantee its use as a valid measure of population health. Using important socioeconomic indicators, we develop a novel method to adjust country-specific reported infant mortality figures. We conclude that an augmented measure of mortality that includes both infant and late fetal deaths should be considered when assessing levels of social welfare in a country. In addition, mortality statistics that exhibit a substantially high ratio of late fetal to early neonatal deaths should be more closely scrutinized.     

Relationships with Citizens in Public Management: A Study at the Largest Spanish Town Halls

This paper provides an analysis of the relationships existing between citizen participation and satisfaction levels within the framework of Spanish local administrations, additionally paying attention to the links between organisational size and the said participation and satisfaction levels. The results of a survey questionnaire answered by 388 Human Resources (HR) managers from the largest Spanish Town Halls were examined for these purposes. A claim is made both to increase the degree of citizen participation in public decision-making and to ensure the delivery of efficient and effective public services that can really meet citizens’ needs in Spanish town Halls.     

Estimation of non-parametric regression in the analysis of the anti-inflammatory activity of diverse extracts of Sideritis foetens

SUMMARY A procedure to choose the best non-parametric estimator from among all nonparametric methods to fit regression curves is described. The methodology that is proposed prevents a lack of fit at the edges of the regression curve. The method is summed up in a few steps to facilitate its application by researchers. The procedure is applied to the determination of various curves that explain the anti-inflammatory activity of diverse extracts of Sideritis foetens and phenylbutazone against the time elapsed from the application of the agent which provokes the inflammation. Discussion shows that it is possible to obtain valid conclusions about the effects of the different products and to establish comparisons between them. Such conclusions are not possible when starting from the classical statistics methods usually employed in pharmacology.     

Book Review: Theories of the Information Society,Second Edition. By Webster,Frank, New York: Routledge 2002. 304 pages,ISBN 0415282012

Qualitative Sociology -     

District elections and the power of municipal employee unions

Very little prior research has been devoted to the effects of the institutional structure of local government on public sector labor markets. This study addresses the differential effects of the two main systems used to elect city council members — district versus citywide (at-large) elections. The study hypothesizes that, in district-election cities, municipal employees, especially those who are unionized, face a lower cost of influencing city council candidates and, consequently, will have greater power to influence employment conditions. To test this hypothesis, data on U.S. cities over 25,000 population are used to estimate both reduced form and structural wage and employment equations. The results are consistent with the basic hypothesis: district elections provide a more fertile ground for municipal employees, especially those organized in unions, to affect their employment conditions. The authors acknowledge the helpful comments of Tim Sass, Tom Means, and participants in a session at the 1991 Public Choice Society meetings.     

Facilitating interviews with children who may have been sexually abused

The introduction of the Memorandum of Good Practice on interviewing children who have been sexually abused has had an important unifying effect on professional practice. However, because of the traumatic nature of sexual abuse there will be a group of children about whom there are high levels of suspicion and where arrangements need to be made for their future care, protection and treatment. These include children who have learning disabilities or communication problems, have psychiatric disorders associated with abuse, or where there have been considerable delays since allegations were first made. Such children require a second-stage facilitative assessment interview. These include different forms of questioning, and the use of a wide range of prompting materials including art work, free and structured play context and the use of anatomically correct dolls. These approaches are reviewed and illustrated through case studies.     

Work-nonwork conflict among MBAs: Sex differences in role stressors and life satisfaction

Predictors of work-nonwork conflict (work role conflict, career salience, age, length of service, number of children living at home) and relationships between work-nonwork conflict and life satisfaction were investigated among 271 MBA students. There were no significant differences in the level of work-nonwork conflict due to sex or marital status, and work role conflict was the best independent predictor of work-nonwork conflict for both women and men. The number of children living at home was unrelated to work-nonwork conflict. Except for single women, work-nonwork conflict was significantly related to life satisfaction.     

Family Policy and After-Birth Employment Among New Mothers – A Comparison of Finland, Norway and Sweden

This article compares the employmentpatterns of women after first and second birthin Finland, Norway and Sweden during 1972–1992,focusing on the impact of parental leave andchildcare programs on the transitions tofull-time and part-time work. The resultsunanimously point to the great importance ofthe programs. Women who are entitled to a paidleave have a much higher overall employmententry rate during the first three yearsfollowing birth than non-eligible women.But since mothers tend to use their fullentitlement, the higher entry rates are largelyconcentrated to the period after leave expiry,except in Sweden where entitled mothers havehigher entry rates also during the leaveperiod. This is probably a result of thegreater flexibility of the Swedish program. Inall countries, leave extensions delay thereturn to work among entitled mothers andreduce their excess entry rate. Moreover, theFinnish home-care allowance system is found toreduce employment entry. On the whole, thissuggests that very long leave entitlements andchild-minding benefit programs could havenegative consequences for women's career andearnings potentials and may preserve an unequaldivision of labour in the family.     

Judged Terror Risk and Proximity to the World Trade Center

In November 2001, a nationally representative sample of Americans (N = 973, ages 13–88), queried via WebTVs at home, judged the probability of five terror-related events (e.g., being injured in an attack) and three “routine” risks (e.g., being a victim of other violent crime), in the following 12 months. Judgments of terror risks, but not routine risks, were related to whether respondents were within 100 mi of the World Trade Center. This relationship was found only in the following demographic groups, and not their complements: men, adults, whites, and Republicans. These differential responses to risk have both theoretical and policy implications.     

Immigration from Mexico into the Math/Science Pipeline in American Education*

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to explore generational differences in math/science enrollment and achievement among Mexican‐American students and the role of family and school contexts in these differences. Methods. We applied survey regression techniques to data from 12,020 adolescents in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Results. Native‐born Mexican‐American students had lower math/science enrollment than their peers, especially after differences in family and school contexts were taken into account. Mexican‐American immigrants had lower achievement when enrolled in such classes, but this was explained by their greater level of family and school disadvantages. Conclusions. Persistence and success in the math/science pipeline, a mechanism of social mobility in the modern economy, would likely be enhanced in the fast‐growing population of Mexican‐American students by improvements in family resources and school organization.