Gender and the Politics of Death: Female Representation,Political and Developmental Context,and Population Health in a Cross-National Panel

There is considerable speculation that female political empowerment could improve population health. Yet, evidence to date is limited, and explanations for why political empowerment would matter and the conditions under which this might be enhanced or muted are not well understood. In this article, we draw on theoretical work on the politics of representation to frame an investigation of whether increases in the percentage of females in a country’s parliament influence mortality rates. We further examine whether the relationship is conditioned by extent of democracy and economic and social development. Through multivariate longitudinal regression, we analyze four indicators of mortality in 155 countries spanning 1990 to 2014 with controls for initial country conditions, time-stable structural predispositions to higher mortality, and a number of time-varying potential confounders. Results indicate that a high level of female representation—30 % or greater in our models—has large negative associations with mortality, that these are particularly strong in lesser developed and weak democratic contexts, that high female political representation effectively offsets liabilities associated with low development, and that the relationships are robust to various operationalizations of social development. In the end, our research provides a particularly thorough accounting of the relationship between female political representation and population health, particularly by specifying the conditions under which female representation is most salient. In doing so, the research suggests important links between issues of female empowerment, political context, and developmental trajectories of countries more generally.     

Beyond ‘bikelash’: engaging with community opposition to cycle lanes

This article explores the phenomenon of ‘bikelash’, or organised community opposition to cycle lanes. Urban residents commonly cite bicycle lanes, a space on the road reserved for cyclists, as the infrastructure most likely to encourage them to cycle. Yet the introduction of cycle lanes is often controversial. This article explores the phenomenon of bikelash, asking: Why does it occur? And what are the best ways to respond to it? A critical review of the literature on ‘contested’ cycle lane projects is undertaken in order to explore how this phenomenon can best be conceptualised within a mobilities framework.     

The role of the gerontological social worker in assisted living

This qualitative study reports on thirteen assisted living (AL) administrators' perspectives of the role and the importance of the AL social worker in addressing the unmet needs of older adults as they move and transition into AL. Participant interviews were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Administrators described 5 AL social work roles: (a) decision-making and adjustment coordinator; (b) resident advocate; (c) mental health assessor and counselor; (d) family social worker; and (e) care planner. Implications include directly examining AL social workers' views, analyzing costs and benefits of employing AL social workers, and developing social work practicum sites within AL.     

Families in the Life Course: Interdependency of Roles,Role Configurations,and Pathways

Families are central in the unfolding life course. They have both internal and external dynamics that reflect and characterize the modern life span, and a life course perspective has particular utility for understanding the role and implications of families for individuals and society. The purpose of this paper is 3‐fold. First, we offer a family life course perspective that delineates core concepts of roles, role configurations, and pathways, specifies the links between them, and highlights the importance of linked lives and structural context. Second, we elaborate a latent class approach for modeling the multilayered dynamic interdependencies that characterize modern family life. Third, we provide an empirical example by considering the timing of childbearing, teen parenthood, and its place in the transition to adulthood using women's data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (N= 2,191). We conclude by discussing further avenues of family research that are enhanced with a life course approach and complementary latent structure methodology.     

Until work do us part: Labour migration and occupational stratification in non-cohabiting marriage

While recent decades have seen considerable research on cohabitation without marriage, the study of marriage without cohabitation has not fared as well. Prior work on the latter has emphasized the importance of occupational stratification, but ignored the social context around occupation, particularly regarding labour mobility and economic development. In this paper, we outline the significance of contemporary labour mobility and concomitant occupational stratification for the risk of non-cohabiting marriage, and use data from the IPUMS–International project to provide a cross-national accounting of non-cohabiting marriage. We focus on two issues: first, how does prevalence vary across countries, across time, and with respect to economic development? Second, how do the core dynamics of labour mobility—including migration, occupational status, and economic development—influence the probability of non-cohabiting marriage? Results indicate broad cross-national differences in prevalence, increasing risk over time, and a pattern of accumulating risk associated with multifaceted social disadvantage.     

After Morogoro: the continuing crisis in the African National Congress (of South Africa) in Zambia, 1969–1971

This article examines the Zambian dimension in the calling and aftermath of the Morogoro Conference of 1969. After the failure of the Wankie and Sipolilo campaigns, Chris Hani and six other members of MK produced a memorandum, which constituted a devastating attack on the ANC’s exile leadership. The authors of the memorandum were expelled and were unable to attend the conference, but their memorandum had a strong influence on its deliberations. The conference recommended their reinstatement, but this did not resolve the crisis in Lusaka, which had ‘tribal’ undertones, and was intensified by Zambian government pressure to remove MK from Lusaka and the country. The reinstatement of Hani and his comrades was followed by protests and defiance by about 30 members of a Transvaal group. Attempts to remove MK members from Lusaka to a bush camp resulted in further defiance and the expulsion of 30 members. There were further crises involving the movement of arms and an ill‐fated attempt by Flag Boshielo and three others to return to South Africa through Botswana. It was not until 1971 that stability was restored, though the position of the ANC in Lusaka remained at a low ebb until the inflow of new recruits following the Soweto Uprising in 1976.     

Evaluation of changes to family income supplement

The work described in this paper was commissioned by the DHSS policy branch responsible for family benefits. The problem is rather more specific than those addressed by the studies described in the paper by Holdaway and Partridge. It does however parallel at least one of the observations made there. The study started out with a relatively broad brief but was constrained by events to concentrate on one particular problem, namely forecasting the cost and caseload of Family Income Supplement.     

The Royal Statistical Society Speech Delivered at the 125th Anniversary Dinner

The Statistical Society of London was founded on March 15, 1834, with the Marquis of Lansdowne in the Chair. The Society began with 313 “original members”. The Royal Charter was granted in 1887 following its fiftieth anniversary. The number of fellows reached 1000 in 1924, 2000 in 1949, and promises to reach 3000 in the current year.

The Anniversary Dinner was held on March 17, 1959. The Prime Minister proposed the toast to the Royal Statistical Society and the President of the Society, Sir Harry Campion, responded. Other speakers at the dinner were Lord Piercy and Prof. A. Bradford Hill (Past Presidents of the Society), Sir Harold Gillett (Lord Mayor of London) and Sir Maurice Bowra (President of the British Academy).

Dr. Churchill Eisenhart, Vice-President of the ASA, represented the Association at the Anniversary Dinner. The Prime Minister's press release and the banquet program (from which this note was compiled) were transmitted to THE AMERICAN STATISTICIAN by Dr. Eisenhart.

A full account of the Dinner, with the report of the speeches, is to be published in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A (General), Part III (1959).     

The Role of the Gerontological Social Worker in Assisted Living

This qualitative study reports on thirteen assisted living (AL) administrators' perspectives of the role and the importance of the AL social worker in addressing the unmet needs of older adults as they move and transition into AL. Participant interviews were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Administrators described 5 AL social work roles: (a) decision-making and adjustment coordinator; (b) resident advocate; (c) mental health assessor and counselor; (d) family social worker; and (e) care planner. Implications include directly examining AL social workers' views, analyzing costs and benefits of employing AL social workers, and developing social work practicum sites within AL.     

Optimal design of a post office

A mathematical model which describes the postal operations is discussed in this paper. This paper is confined to the problems which arise within a post office in mail sorting and classifying operations.