The demographic impact of Partition in the Punjab in 1947

We use data from the 1931, 1941, and 1951 censuses of India and the 1951 census of Pakistan to examine the demographic consequences of Partition in the Punjab in 1947. Had growth rates for the period 1931–41 for the Punjab as a whole continued to 1951, the population of the Punjab would have been 2.9 million larger than that recorded in 1951. Population losses from migration and mortality above age 20 were approximately 2.7 million greater between 1941 and 1951 than would have been predicted by loss rates between 1931 and 1941. We estimate a net Partition-related population movement out of the combined Punjab of about 400,000. We conclude from several lines of analysis that Partition-related population losses in the Punjab, either from deaths or unrecorded migration, were in the range 2.3–3.2 million. Partition was also marked by a dramatic religious homogenization at the district level.     

Using an empirical binomial hierarchical Bayesian model as an alternative to analyzing data from multisite studies

This article explores the statistical methodologies used in demonstration and effectiveness studies when the treatments are applied across multiple settings. The importance of evaluating and how to evaluate these types of studies are discussed. As an alternative to standard methodology, the authors of this article offer an empirical binomial hierarchical Bayesian model as a way to effectively evaluate multisite studies. An application of using the Bayesian model in a real-world multisite study is given.     

Conservatism, institutionalism, and the social control of intergroup conflict

This research investigates the state social control of intergroup conflict by assessing the sociopolitical determinants of hate crime prosecutions. Consistent with insights from the political sociology of punishment, group-threat accounts of intergroup relations and the state, and neoinstitutional theory, the findings suggest that hate crime prosecutions are fewer where political conservatism, Christian fundamentalism, and black population size are higher, although this last effect is nonlinear. Linkages between district attorneys' offices and communities, on the other hand, increase hate crime prosecutions and the likelihood of offices' creating hate crime policies. Yet these policies are sometimes decoupled from actual enforcement, and such decoupling is more likely in politically conservative districts. The results indicate that common correlates of criminal punishment have very different effects on types of state social control that are protective of minority groups, and also suggest conditions under which policy and practice become decoupled in organizational settings.     

A framework of operating models for interdisciplinary research programs in clinical service organizations

A framework of operating models for interdisciplinary research programs in clinical service organizations is presented, consisting of a "clinician-researcher" skill development model, a program evaluation model, a researcher-led knowledge generation model, and a knowledge conduit model. Together, these models comprise a tailored, collaborative approach to enhancing research-informed practice in community-based clinical service organizations. The models place different degrees of emphasis on the development of research-related skills in practitioners, the generation of knowledge tailored to clinical practice, and knowledge sharing. The nature, philosophical basis, roles of research staff members, outputs and impacts, and strengths and limitations of each model are described, in the context of a long-standing, interdisciplinary research program in a children's rehabilitation service organization. The use of the model framework as a tool for the design of interdisciplinary, community-based research programs is discussed.     

Wealth Accumulation across the Adult Life Course: Stability and Change in Sociodemographic Covariate Structures of Net Worth Data in the Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1984–1991

This paper reports microlevel Tobit regression analyses of sociodemographic covariates of the life course accumulation of total household net worth data in eight waves of five distinct panels—spanning over 6 years from late 1984 through early 1991—of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). It is found that the quadratic age–wealth relationship predicted by Modigliani's Life Cycle Hypothesis is evident in aggregate age–median wealth profiles as well as in the micro data for households with positive net worth. However, when adult status attainment variables are entered into the regression models either by themselves or in combination with marital/family status variables, the age of household head at which net worth begins to decline is far beyond the typical retirement age. In addition, the traditional criterion variables of sociological status attainment theory—educational attainment, occupational status, and earnings—are found to be positively associated with household net worth, although the net effect of occupational status generally is not statistically significant and the earnings effect is nonlinear. Further, consistent with status attainment theory, householder minority status (black, Hispanic) is negatively associated with the accumulation of net worth. It is found that both single male and single female householder status are negatively associated with the accumulation of household net worth (relative to married couple households) as is the size of the household (measured by the number of children under age 18 present). Separate logistic regression analyses show that households with zero and negative net worth are more likely than households with positive net worth to be black and have low earnings. Higher levels of educational and occupational status attainment reduce the probability of zero net worth but not the probability of negative net worth. Male- and female-headed households and households headed by Hispanics also are more likely to have zero net worth, but not negative net worth. The estimated sociodemographic covariate structures of household net worth are found to exhibit substantial stability across both waves and panels in the SIPP—although effects of the 1990–1991 recession are detectable in estimates for the 1990 panel. Possible applications of the estimated models in demographic projections of household net worth are suggested.     

Disneyland and Walt Disney World: Traditional Values in Futuristic Form

The Disney parks—Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida—presented a radical refinement and departure from the traditions of the amusement park: the theme park. Designed for the values of long distance travel, suburban lifestyle, family life, the major vacation excursion, and the new visual culture of telecommunications, these places have grown to attain the status of national popular culture capitals. Because of their importance to American life, these institutions have suffered more than their share of attacks as key symbols ofpopular culture. Like all such targets of elitist ire (led by such accusations as “plastic” and “mindless”), the Disney parks must be experienced carefully and studied closely to see beyond these simplistic slings and arrows. Emerging from this study was a contention directly opposed to the common wisdom of the theme parks' futuristic and artificial nature: they may in fact serve as cultural preserves for the most nostalgic images and dreams of a nation. They are a very special kind of museum, of course—of past and future not as they were or will be but as popular taste has shaped and nurtured them in the collective imagination. The Disney “archive” of Americana is thus highly valuable as a display of popular thought on every featured theme.     

Work/Family Policies,The Changing Role of Fathers and The Presumption of Shared Responsibility for Parenting

Recent approaches to work/family policies which emphasise options for women have the potential to reinforce gender divisions of labour and to increase conflicts between paid work and family. It is argued here that more account needs to be taken of the interaction between male and female commitments to work and family, and of the possible increased involvement by men in family life. The movement away from the traditional role as the autocratic head of the household towards a more nurturant and available father role, while still small, appears to be gathering momentum. This is reflected in recent research findings, in newspaper articles and other media reports, and in proposals for changes in employment policies (e.g., the ACTU “family leave” test case). While research and everyday accounts provide some hope for future changes in gender divisions of labour, more caution needs to be taken in interpreting research findings and in making statements about the extent to which change has already occurred. A radical new direction in approaches to policy development is needed if the existing status quo of father as the major breadwinner and more distant family member, and mother as the housewife, nurturer and supplementary income earner, is to be altered. Suggestions are made for the development of policies that would both respond to the needs of fathers who are primary caregivers, and help promote a greater sharing of parenting responsibilities by fathers. The basis of these proposals is an argument for the adoption of a presumption of shared parenting to parallel the current presumption of gender equality in the paid workforce.