Comparing the U.S. Decennial Census Coverage Estimates for Children from Demographic Analysis and Coverage Measurement Surveys

Following every U.S. decennial census since 1960, the U.S. Census Bureau has evaluated the completeness of coverage using two different methods. Demographic analysis (DA) compares the census counts to a set of independent population estimates to infer coverage differences by age, sex, and race. The survey-based approach (also called dual system estimation or DSE) provides coverage estimates based on matching data from a post-enumeration survey to census records. This paper reviews the fundamentals of the two methodological approaches and then initially examines the results of these two methods for the 2010 decennial census in terms of consistency and inconsistency for age groups. The authors find that the two methods produce relatively consistent results for all age groups, except for young children. Consequently, the paper focuses on the results for children. Results of the 1990, 2000, and 2010 decennial censuses are shown for the overall population in this age group and by demographic detail (age, race, and Hispanic origin). Among children, the DA and DSE results are most inconsistent for the population aged 0–4 and most consistent for ages 10–17. Results also show that DA and DSE are more consistent for Black than non-Black populations. The authors discuss possible explanations for the differences in the two methods for young children and conclude that the DSE approach may underestimate the net undercount of young children due to correlation bias.     

Former Minister Zhang's discourse on SARS: Government's image restoration or destruction?

This study analyzes the image repair discourse by Chinese Health Minister Zhang Wenkang's discourse on SARS. The minister faced several accusations: the SARS outbreak was growing, the Chinese government had covered up the severity of this problem, the Chinese government ignored Taiwanese who suffered from SARS, and the Health Ministry provided information that was neither timely nor accurate. He employed several image repair strategies (denial, defeasibility, bolstering, minimization, differentiation, attack accuser, and corrective action). However, his messages were contradictory and apparently related on false information, so his efforts were unsuccessful and he was stripped of his office.     

Adolescent Deliberate Self‐Harm: Linkages to Emotion Regulation and Family Emotional Climate

Parents' responses to their children's emotional expressivity have been shown to significantly influence children's subsequent psychosocial functioning. This study hypothesized that adolescents' deliberate self‐harm (DSH) may be an outcome associated with poor emotion regulation as well as an invalidating family environment. The mediational role of specific emotion processes (i.e., poor awareness of emotion, difficulties expressing emotions) between family emotional environment and the frequency of DSH was examined with 131 psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents (M age=14.84 years, SD=1.75 years). Results indicated that adolescents who self‐injured reported that this behavior reduced their negative emotional states. Structural equation modeling provided support for the proposed model that family climate influences frequency of DSH through emotion regulation skills but the model held for girls only. A direct model effect was not supported. Emotion regulation partially mediated the relationship between family climate and DSH, and direct effects were also observed.     

First Impressions from the 2000 Census of China

The 2000 census of China has several notable innovations, including a sample long form containing detailed items on migration, housing, and employment. Preliminary data indicate rapid urbanization and continued rapid social change in the 1990s, and apparent success in the government's drive to curtail population growth. Although a post‐enumeration survey indicates that overall data quality is good, the rise of a mobile “floating population” and pressures of the birth planning program caused problems for the enumeration of migrants and infants. Data released to date have been silent on two important issues, fertility and rising sex ratios.     

Structure and process in occupational mobility

The distinction between structure and process in occupational mobility has been a dominant theme in contemporary research. While successive attempts to “solve” the structure/process dilemma have typically focused on new methodological procedures, we emphasize the conceptual issues underlying the distinction as a basis for further analysis. We introduce a simple two-stage model for the specification of mobility structure and process and use this model to evaluate current methodological “solutions” to the analysis of mobility.     

DETERMINING OPTIMAL SHIFT SCHEDULES FOR TELEPHONE TRAFFIC EXCHANGE OPERATORS

A branch and bound algorithm is presented for determining the minimum number of telephone operators, and their shift schedules, required to meet demand that varies over a 24 hour operating period. An integer linear programming formulation is used, and the algorithm is described in terms of its separation, relaxation, fathoming, and branching procedures. Computational results are provided, using actual operating data. The results indicate that practical sized problems can be solved by the algorithm, involving as many as 100 different shift type variables and demand profiles typical of those encountered in many telephone traffic exchanges.     

THE EFFECT OF MASCULINE AND FEMININE BRAND NAMES ON THE PERCEIVED TASTE OF A CIGARETTE *

The purpose of the current study was to determine whether brand name can affect the public's evaluation of a product. All subjects smoked identical cigarettes. One group of subjects, however, knew the cigarettes by the name of “Frontiersman,” a masculine name, while the other group knew the cigarettes as “April,” a feminine name. Male and female subjects were asked to rate the cigarette on seven measures. Results show that women gave a more positive evaluation to the cigarette purportedly named “April,” while men gave a more positive evaluation to the identical cigarette when they thought it was named “Frontiersman.” In addition, women reacted more strongly than did men to brand name influence.     

SOME TESTS OF BINOMIAL PROBABILITY ASSESSMENTS

A replication of the Alpert-Raiffa probability assessment experiment is used to motivate the development of several tests for evaluating assessors. The tests permit an evaluation of an assessor's accuracy in estimating target quantities and in estimating his own uncertainty as well. Assumption of normal subjective distributions permits the determination of subjective variances. Data from trial assessments are employed to test models which assert that assessed quantities are equal to subjectively assessed error variances. Several tests of the latter type are compared using data from individual, as well as pooled, assessors.     

Presence Through Absence: Phylloxera and the Viticultural Imagination in McLaren Vale,South Australia

Grape phylloxera is an insect pest that has destroyed vineyards and brought ruin to winegrowing regions worldwide. In South Australia, however, strong biosecurity regulations have ensured it has remained absent. In this absence phylloxera takes on powerful symbolic value, and regional viticultural identities may be imagined in relation to the presence of phylloxera elsewhere. This paper draws from ethnographic research with grape growers and wine producers in McLaren Vale, a region whose vineyards are understood through this ‘phylloxera-free’ paradigm. The article specifically explores controversies around modification of South Australian biosecurity regulations in a way that favoured large winegrowing corporations’ need to more easily move material between regions, to the perceived detriment of vineyard security. The phylloxera risk has economic, social and symbolic dimensions in McLaren Vale, where the insect has become symbolically aligned with the most impersonal, pervasive and destructive aspects of globalised wine capitalism.