A research note on Keyfitz's ‘The demographics of unfunded pensions’

Keyfitz (1985), The demographics of unfunded pensions, discusses the performance of pay-as-you-go old age insurance plans under different financial structures. One arrangement is to pay a fixed pension to retirees and collect the necessary contributions from the working population. Another is to fix the contribution per worker and distribute whatever monies are collected to the retirees. Unfortunately, equity problems arise in a pay-as-you-go plan when the population is not stable. Generally, large cohorts will receive greater rates of return than small cohorts when the pension is fixed, while small cohorts will receive greater rates of return when the contribution is fixed. Social security analysts in the U.S. have been concerned with minimizing inequities in cohort rates of return. In considering the US population in 1980, Keyfitz shows that disparities in cohort rates of return are less under a fixed contribution scheme than under a fixed pension scheme. This research note points out that Keyfitz's finding is limited to the specific situation in 1980. When analyzing in a broader framework the mechanics of unfunded pensions and their interaction with nonstable populations, the reverse is true: fixing the pension yields less disparity in cohort rates of return than fixing the contribution.Keyfitz (1985) a déjà discuté dans cette revue des résultats d'un système de répartition pour le financement des pensions de retraite sous diverses conditions financières. Une solution consiste à payer une pension fixée aux retraités et à collecter les fonds nécessaires auprès de la population active. Une autre solution est de fixer la contribution par actif et de distribuer ce qui a été ainsi collecté aux retraités. Malheureusement des problèmes d'équité surviennent dans ces systèmes de répartition lorsque la population n'est pas stable. Généralement, les cohortes nombreuses bénéficieront de plus forts taux de rendement que des cohortes moins nombreuses lorsque la pension est fixée, tandis que l'inverse se produit lorsque la contribution par actif est fixée. Aux Etats-Unis les analystes des systèmes de sécurité sociale ont cherché à minimiser les inégalités dans les taux de rendement. Lorsque Keyfitz considérait la population des Etats-Unis en 1980, il avait montré que les disparités dans les taux de rendement des cohortes étaient moindres sous la condition d'une contribution par actif fixée que sous celle d'une pension par retraité fixée. Cette note the recherche indique que le résultat obtenu par Keyfitz est propre à la situation spécifique de l'année 1980. Lorsque l'on analyse d'un point de vue général le fonctionnement des pensions de retraite et leurs interactions avec des populations non-stables, l'inverse est vérifié : le fait de fixer la pension conduit à moins de disparités dans les taux de rendement des cohortes que le fait de fixer la contribution des actifs.

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This research was undertaken when the author was completing her dissertation at the Graduate Group in Demography at the University of California, Berkeley. The author now operates Lapkoff Demographic Research, a private research consulting firm.     

Deepwater Horizon oil spill exposure and child health: a longitudinal analysis

Population and Environment - The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DHOS) created widespread concern about threats to health among residents of the Louisiana Gulf Coast. This study uses data from the...     

Self Psychology and Male Child Sexual Abuse: Healing Relational Betrayal

The prevalence of male child sexual abuse (MCSA) is higher than initially thought with up to 26 % of men in community samples reporting sexual abuse in childhood, and up to 36 % of men in clinical samples reporting childhood sexual abuse. Disclosure of MCSA is complex because of men’s difficulties in viewing themselves as victims, especially of sexual violence. This difficulty is exacerbated by societal attitudes that sexual abuse rarely occurs with boys, and is further complicated with the taboo of victimization by same sex perpetrators. Too often, the response to disclosure is disbelief and minimization. For these reasons disclosure is often delayed or withheld thus prolonging the abuse. The negative effects of child sexual abuse are well documented and far reaching with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, addictions, sexual dysfunction and impaired interpersonal relations as common presenting issues in therapy. Treatment is indicated for significant numbers of male survivors. This paper identifies aspects of interpersonal relational difficulties commonly experienced by male sexual abuse survivors, and describes self psychology as guiding a clinical approach to address these interpersonal difficulties. The application of self psychology with male sexual abuse survivors is traced and discussed through the use of a clinical case study with Adam.     

Cyberbullying on Online Gaming Platforms for Children and Youth

Cyberbullying has been recognized as a serious social concern. Considering the varied contexts of online engagement by children and youth is increasingly necessary to adequately understand their experiences and the impact of their participation. An online context which requires further attention is gaming platforms, which are especially popular among boys. Methods: Using a theoretical approach of social dominance, this paper analyzed secondary data drawn from a mixed methods study of cyberbullying to investigate the prevalence and experience of gaming among a quantitative survey sample (n?=?670) of 4th, 7th, and 10th grade students, as well as the experience and impact of gaming on a qualitative interview sub-sample (n?=?57). Gaming prevalence rates are provided. Boys were significantly more likely to engage in internet gaming (though the effect size was small); χ² (1, n?=?669)?=?10.11, p?=?0.001, phi?=??0.123, 95% CI (?0.207, ?0.047). Qualitative content analysis (QCA) identified four themes: (1) aggression (exceeding what was required to achieve game objectives) characterized gaming culture and pervaded gaming platforms; (2) anonymity contributed to the culture of aggression; (3) participants often did not consider aggression cyberbullying, but rather just a part of the culture of gaming platforms; and (4) participants’ responses to aggressive behaviors. Certain behaviors on gaming platforms may not be appropriately recognized as cyberbullying. Implications for social work practice with children and youth are provided.     

Serial Joy and Serial Sorrow: The Experience of the Paraprofessional Serials Manager

Abstract

Paraprofessionals play a major role in the management of serials operations in libraries. Nine paraprofessional serials managers responded to an inquiry on the SERIALST online discussion list in which they shared their impressions on several issues relating to their role, status, motivation, and general perceptions about their work. For many years, there has been an ongoing debate relating to the role of paraprofessionals in libraries. Many library paraprofessionals have advanced their careers in the field of serials and have become managers of high-level operations. This Balance Point column explores the experiences of some of these paraprofessional serials managers.     

Automatic locally adaptive smoothing for tree-based set estimation

Tree-based methods similar to CART have recently been utilized for problems in which the main goal is to estimate some set of interest. It is often the case that the boundary of the true set is smooth in some sense, however tree-based estimates will not be smooth, as they will be a union of ‘boxes’. We propose a general methodology for smoothing such sets that allows for varying levels of smoothness on the boundary automatically. The method is similar to the idea underlying support vector machines, which is applying a computationally simple technique to data after a non-linear mapping to produce smooth estimates in the original space. In particular, we consider the problem of level-set estimation for regression functions and the dyadic tree-based method of Willett and Nowak [Minimax optimal level-set estimation, IEEE Trans. Image Process. 16 (2007), pp. 2965–2979].     

Plans—Their preparation and implementation

This article outlines the methodology developed in the adoption of long range planning at Reed International. Whilst the author rightly draws attention to the fact that the methodology described may not be applicable, or preferable, for all businesses it can give valuable lessons. Particularly, since Reed International is a highly diversified multi-national group of companies whose activities range from pulp and paper to publishing and building products, the difficulties of ensuring that plans are logically coherent, informative and examine the relative range of alternatives, is a complex and difficult task. Therefore, the paper provides a highly relevant and detailed insight into the planning methodology adopted by a company whose activities are wide ranging both in terms of product mix and geographical location. The author stresses the importance of planning as a process which includes the necessary structural underpinning but which concentrates essentially on the integration of concepts and ideas which may help the future performance of the company. Finally, the author also examines the important but often forgotten element of planning, the elements of control necessary to ensure effective implementation.     

FAMILY SYSTEMS THERAPY AFTER OPERATIONS DESERT STORM WITH EUROPEAN-THEATER VETERANS

We describe a quasi-experimental trial of time-limited family therapy with veterans and families of veterans who served in Europe, outside the war zone, during Operation Desert Storm (ODS). Family systems therapy was provided both to individuals and conjointly to couples or families during the acute postwar readjustment period. The intervention adapted strategies from structural, strategic, intergenerational, and behavioral family therapies in a brief-treatment protocol for systemic stressor resolution. Veterans given family system therapy were able to resume functional levels of psychosocial adjustment and reduce the risk of long-term (Chronic or delayed) psychosocial impairment. Based on these preliminary findings, controlled evaluation of family systems therapy appears warranted for indi-