Differential mortality of Asians and Pacific Islanders in The Pacific Labour Trade

Quantitative evidence is presented on the differential mortality suffered by Indian and Pacific Island labour migrants on Fiji’s plantations between 1883 and 1919, and by Japanese, Chinese and Pacific Island labour migrants in the phosphate mines on Ocean Island and Nauru between 1913 and 1940. Pacific Island labour migrants suffered much higher death rates than Asian labour migrants, due, it is suggested, to their much greater vulnerability to newly introduced infectious diseases. This paper was generated by an ongoing project supported by the Australian Research Grants Scheme. I am indebted to Maie Raud for excellent research assistance, to Doug Munro for stimulating my interest in Ocean Island and Nauru while on a Visiting Research Fellowship at The Flinders University of South Australia, to Bryan Gandevia and Barry Smith for a most helpful correspondence on disease in history, and to Stanley L. Engerman, Brij V. Lal, Barrie Macdonald, Doug Munro, Jonathan J. Pincus, Leonie Randall, Barry Smith, Richard H. Steckel and two anonymous referees for comments on an earlier version of this paper.     

Evaluation of Developmental Toxicity Data: A Discussion of Some Pertinent Factors and a Proposal

There is currently no well-accepted standard method for evaluation of developmental toxicity data. This paper presents one approach to the evaluation of developmental toxicity data. We initially identify some pertinent factors that influence the interpretation of animal data and summarize the literature pertaining to these factors. Such factors include the quality and quantity of data and the relationship between maternal and developmental toxicity. We proceed with a discussion of quantitative assessment of data and propose schemes for qualitative and quantitative developmental hazard assessments.     

National culture,migration & xenophobia: With particular reference to migration and regional development in central Europe

The present paper argues that the phenomenological problems associated with xenophobia stem from social conflict, processes of ethnification, and a misperception of the role of migration in development. It also argues that this misperception is not just something created and exaggerated by politicians and populist media, but stems from the current fixation with the nation‐state framework of policy makers, social groups, economists and other policy advisers. Within this context one should treat national culture as a debatable set of relationships which nevertheless has force at the national level and therefore forms the current focus of different brands of Xenophobic politics.     

Nationalism and community in North West Wales

This paper develops an explanation for the simultaneous surge in support of both parliamentary and extra-parliamentary nationalism in North West Wales. Close analysis of the way in which the concept ‘community’ is used within the process of political mobilisation provides the key to this understanding. By demonstrating that a number of social constructions of community co-exist within the same social space (in this instance. North West Wales), the paper contributes an added dimension to the understandings of community current within sociology. The paper identifies four social constructions of community, each relating to a different variant of Nationalist ideology. The capacity within the concept community to legitimate a locality simultaneously as a place of resistance and of conflict is demonstrated to be central to the explanation for the dual rise in nationalist support.     

Risk Analysis: Understanding “How Safe is Safe Enough?“

The basic characteristics of determining acceptable risk are discussed. Technical, political, and social aspects of the problem add much complexity. The appropriate manner to reach responsible decisions regarding acceptable risk is suggested. This explicitly addresses the alternatives, the objectives, the uncertainty, and the values which constitute the information necessary to arrive at any solution. The inappropriateness of many "solutions" currently in use or "suggested" is exposed.     

Neighborhood naming as an index of attachment to place

One aspect of attachment to place may relate to neighborhood naming. That is, recent investigations have found that in many communities large numbers of residents can supply locality labels. The most recent studies, however, have failed to confirm the importance of local social involvement as a predictor of naming. Following the earlier suggestion of Shumaker and Taylor (1983) that attachment dynamics can operate at the group level, we focus on small, local groups by analyzing street blocks. Results support our hypothesis that groups with more shared local ties are more able to supply a neighborhood name. This relationship was also obtained when we examined purely individual-level covariation. Results underscore the multilevel nature of attachment processes and how they are both social and psychological in nature. Links between cognitive and affective components of attachment and practical outcomes such as local problem solving are discussed.     

Radon Risk Information and Voluntary Protection: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

This study examines the perceived risks and mitigating behavior of Maine households who received new information on their exposures to significant health risks from indoor radon. The observed responses of these households illustrate conceptual issues related to designing an effective risk information program. Despite the involvement of generally well-motivated homeowners and well-intentioned researchers and government officials, we conclude that the risk information approach used in Maine failed to induce appropriate, cost-effective voluntary protection. The results indicate that, after receiving radon test results, information on associated health risks, and suggestions on how to reduce exposures: perceived risks tended to understate objective risks by orders of magnitude, and there was no statistically significant relationship between mitigating behavior and objective risks. These results suggest that the formation of risk perceptions and subsequent behavioral adjustments involve complex interactions among information, contextual, socioeconomic, and psychological variables. Therefore, government programs that seek to reduce health and safety risks with information programs, instead of using more conventional enforced standards, must be crafted very carefully to accommodate this complex process.     

Improving Risk Communication

This paper explores reasons for difficulties in communicating risks among analysts, the laypublic, media, and regulators. Formulating risk communication problems as decisions involving objectives and alternatives helps to identify strategies for overcoming these difficulties. Several strategies are suggested to achieve risk communication objectives like improving public knowledge about risks and risk management, encouraging risk reduction behavior, understanding public values and concerns, and increasing trust and credibility.     

Does the Vertical Mosaic Still Exist? Ethnicity and Income in Canada, 1991*

Cet article met à jour nos connaissances sur les liens entre appartenance ethnique et classe sociale au Canada en s'appuyant sur le document The Public Use Microdata File for Individuals, qui se fonde sur le recensement du Canada de 1991. L'analyse se fait en trois temps: on examine d'abord les liens entre l'appartenance ethnique et le niveau d'etudes par groupe ethnique; on considère ensuite les revenus en fonction du niveau d'études chez différents groupes ethniques; enfin, à l'aide de l'analyse de régression log-linéaire, on étudie les liens entre appartenance ethnique, niveau d'études et revenu en neutralisant les effets de nombreuses autres variables sociales. On constate que, dans la plupart des catégories de niveau d'études, les Canadiens-Français ont des revenus beaucoup plus élevés que les Canadiens-Anglais, lorsqu'on neutralise les effets d'autres variables. À cette exception près, il n'y a presque aucune différence de revenus entre les différentes ethnies d'origine européenne possédant le même niveau d'études lorsqu'on neutralise les effets d'autres variables sociales. Toutefois, ceux qui appartiennent à des minorités visibles ont des revenus beaucoup plus modestes que les autres Canadiens, quel que soit leur niveau d'études. L'origine raciale est done devenue la principale cause d'inégalités de revenus au Canada. This paper updates our knowledge about the relationship between ethnicity and social class in Canada using The Public Use Microdata File for Individuals drawn from the 1991 Census of Canada. We provide three levels of analysis. First, we examine the relationship between ethnicity and education by ethnic group. Second, we examine the “return to education” in terms of income for those of various ethnic groups. Third, we use log-linear regression to examine the relationship between ethnicity, education and income while controlling for the effects of a variety of other social variables. We find that, at most educational levels, Canadians of French ethnicity now earn significantly more than those of British ethnicity when other variables are controlled. With this exception, for those of European ethnic backgrounds there are now virtually no significant differences in income within educational levels when other social variables are controlled. However, those who belong to visible minorities have significantly lower incomes than other Canadians at all educational levels. Race is now the fundamental basis of income inequality in Canada.