Envisioning the power of data analytics

It could be argued that the power of data is located in what they are used to reveal. Yet we have little understanding of the role played by the emerging industry of data analytics in the interpretation and use of big data. These data analytics companies act as intermediaries in the digital data revolution. Understanding the social influence of big data requires us to understand the role played by data analytics within organisations of different types. This particular article focuses very specifically upon the way in which data and data analytics are envisioned within the marketing rhetoric of the data analytics industry. It is argued that to understand the spread of data analytics and the adoption of certain analytic strategies, we first need to look at the projection of promises upon that data. The way that data and analytics are imagined shapes their incorporation and appropriation into practices and organisational structures – what I call here the data frontiers. This article draws upon a sample of 34 data analytics companies in order to explore the way in which data analytics are envisioned within that increasingly powerful industry.     

Measuring the effect of changing legislation on the frequency of divorce: The Netherlands, 1830–1990

This article discusses different procedures for measuring the effects of judicial changes on divorce rates. It presents an alternative model and applies it to a historical time series for the Netherlands. In this model, intervention variables were added to a statistical time-series (ARIMA) model. The conclusion of our analysis was that the effects of three judicial changes were only temporary. Revised text of a paper presented at the seminar “The Role of the State and of Public Opinion in Sexual Attitudes and Demographic Behaviour since the 18th Century,” 17th International Congress of Historical Sciences/ Commission Internationale de Démographie Historique, held in Madrid, August 31-September 1, 1990. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies of the Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics.     

Donald Molteno and South African liberalism

Donald Molteno: “Dilizintaba ‐ He‐Who‐ Removes‐Mountains” by David Sher, Johannesburg: The South African Institute of Race Relations and The Donald Molteno Memorial Committee, 1979.     

An Explanatory Model for Projecting Regional Fertility Differences in the Netherlands

Current differences in the level of the total fertility rate (TFR) between Dutch municipalities are smaller than they were in the 1970s and 1980s. Nevertheless, there are still considerable differences. Small municipalities have higher TFRs than large cities. This article aims to answer the question whether these differences will decline further until differences between large and small cities disappear. For that purpose we develop a regression model of regional differences in the TFR including demographic, socioeconomic, and cultural variables. Using the estimation results we decompose differences in fertility between large and small cities into the contribution of differences in levels of the determinants versus differences in the relationships between the determinants and fertility. The results show that differences in cultural variables have a larger effect on differences in the TFR than the demographic and socioeconomic variables. As cultural differences do not tend to change quickly, they will not lead to quick changes in regional differences in the TFR. Demographic differences are not expected to lead to strong changes either, as the two demographic variables (household structure and ethnic structure) have opposite effects. As the effect of the socioeconomic variable is caused by differences in the magnitude of the regression coefficient rather than by differences in the value of this variable, even if differences in this variable disappeared, this would still not lead to convergence of the TFR. Thus the article concludes that differences in the TFR between large and small cities are not likely to diminish quickly.     

From birth expectations to birth forecasts: a partial-adjustment approach

"As women's expectations about their own future fertility tend to deviate systematically from realizations, these expectations cannot be used directly for forecasting purposes. This paper discusses a partial-adjustment approach for deriving forecasts from the expectations. The sensitivity of the results to various assumptions is examined. Empirical results obtained for the Netherlands seem promising."     

The Roles of Instability and Housing in Low-Income Families’ Residential Mobility

Given the repercussions of residential mobility, increased understanding of correlates of mobility is important for efforts to support family well-being. Using survey data on low-income families from the Three City Study (N = 2393), multilevel mixed longitudinal analyses examined factors associated with family residential mobility across the domains of family instability, housing and neighborhood contexts, and family characteristics. Results revealed contributions of family instability and housing and neighborhood contexts to residential mobility, with a higher rate of residential moves associated with experiences of intimate partner violence, relationship transitions, and job transitions, as well as with living in private-market rentals, substandard housing, and disordered neighborhoods. However, owning a home and living in disadvantaged neighborhoods predicted a lower rate of residential moves.