Orphanhood and Completion of Compulsory School Education Among Young People in South Africa: Findings From a National Representative Survey

We examined the association of orphanhood and completion of compulsory school education among young people in South Africa. In South Africa, school attendance is compulsory through grade 9, which should be completed before age 16. However, family and social factors such as orphanhood and poverty can hinder educational attainment. Participants were 10,452 16–24‐year‐olds who completed a South African national representative household survey. Overall, 23% had not completed compulsory school levels. In univariate analyses, school completion was lower among those who had experienced orphanhood during school‐age years, males, and those who reported household poverty. In multivariate analyses controlling for household poverty, females who had experienced maternal or paternal orphanhood were less likely to have completed school; orphanhood was not independently associated with males' school completion. Findings highlight the need for evidence‐informed policies to address the education and social welfare needs of orphans and vulnerable youth, particularly females, in South Africa.     

Moving Beyond Statistical Validity in Economics

Social Indicators Research -     

A Randomization Test-Based Method for Risk Assessment in Neurotoxicology

A current trend in risk assessment for systemic toxicity (noncancer) endpoints is to utilize the observable range of the dose-effect curve in order to estimate the likelihood of obtaining effects at lower concentrations. Methods to accomplish this endeavor are typically based on variability in either the effects of fixed doses (benchmark approaches), or on variability in the doses producing a fixed effect (probabilistic or tolerance-distribution approaches). The latter method may be particularly desirable because it can be used to determine variability in the effect of an agent in a population, which is an important goal of risk assessment. This method of analysis, however, has typically been accomplished using dose-effect data from individual subjects, which can be impractical in toxicology. A new method is therefore presented that can use traditional groups-design data to generate a set of dose-effect functions. Population tolerances for a specific effect can then be estimated from these model dose-effect functions. It is based on the randomization test, which assesses the generality of a data set by comparing it to a data set constructed from randomized combinations of single point estimates. The present article describes an iterative line-fitting program that generates such a data set and then uses it to provide risk assessments for two pesticides, triadimefon and carbaryl. The effects of these pesticides were studied on the locomotor activity of laboratory rats, a common neurobehavioral end point. Triadimefon produced dose-dependent increases in activity, while carbaryl produced dose-dependent decreases in activity. Risk figures derived from the empirical distribution of individual dose-effect functions were compared to those from the iterative line-fitting program. The results indicate that the method generates comparable risk figures, although potential limitations are also described.     

Youth-Driven HIV Prevention Programmes in South Africa: Social Capital,Empowerment and Conscientisation

Abstract

The community-level attributes of two youth HIV prevention initiatives in a single community are examined using the concepts of social capital, empowerment and critical consciousness. The school-based peer education programme and youth-initiated public clinic ‘add-on’ facility for the treatment of adolescent sexually transmitted diseases had differing experiences in terms of implementation, community acceptance, sustainability and achieving their goals. By examining the role of conscientization, networks for accessing resources and power, and community acceptability of adolescent HIV prevention, this paper describes the differing experiences of these two programmes. The paper indicates the need for true adolescent agency in challenging the social constructions of adolescent HIV risk at the social and community levels.     

Transitions from Temporary to Permanent Work in Canada: Who Makes the Transition and Why?

The focus of this paper is on a microeconomic analysis of the annual transition rate from temporary to permanent work of individual workers in Canada for the period 1999–2004. Given that a large proportion of temporary employment is involuntary, an understanding of the factors associated with the transition to permanent work may inform public policy. Factors associated with the transition, namely, human capital, household structures and labour market segmentation are analyzed using data from the Statistics Canada’s Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) for the period 1999–2004, limited to paid workers aged 20–64 years, excluding students. Among the key factors associated with the transitions are younger age and low unemployment rates. The analysis adds to the Canadian and international literature on transitions from temporary to permanent work.

From Casual Work to Economic Security: The Case of British Columbia

Analysis of casual work in British Columbia is an important issue given that the increase in casual work has been greater in this province than in other provinces in Canada and given that the labour market has been substantially deregulated since 2001. In this paper, we analyse how individuals’ casual employment status affects their economic security based on a specially designed survey undertaken by the authors. We follow the ILO’s classification of the dimensions of economic security but, based on our findings, add a further dimension—Time security—As being of particular importance to casual workers. On the basis of these results, we analyse the policy interventions that might be necessary to increase the economic security of casual workers, policies which we suggest can best be conceptualized as providing a “security quilt”.

The 'Problem' of Science in China

The overall ‘problem’ in early accounts of science and/or medicine in China seemed to center upon whether or not China possessed or could acquire modern Western science. However, in the twenty-first century there is now little debate over whether or not China has science. Yet, questions and concerns about science in China linger. The ‘problem’ of science in China has moved away from a paradigm focused on possession or capability, to that of the correct or ethical application of Chinese science and technology. In this essay, I will argue that the shifting of the so-called problem of Chinese science reflects larger Western concerns about the definition and control of science itself, the rise of China as an international power, and the ability to 'compete' in a global market predicated on the creation and application of new science and technologies.