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Copyright of Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Studies in Population is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines the effects of women’s educational attainment on the timing of parenthood across successive generations of women in Ghana. Given the more enhanced career opportunities in recent years, we argue that the opportunity cost of parenthood may be higher for contemporary educated women, and as such, they are expected to delay parenthood for longer periods than their counterparts in the past. Using data from the 1998 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, we found that while higher maternal education associates with delayed parenthood, significant cohort differences were noticeable. Consistent with our expectations, the effect of higher educational attainment was substantially greater among younger women, indicating a longer transition to parenthood. Implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Public Policy is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents a study of earnings implications of person years lost life expectancy among Canada's aboriginal peoples. Overall, Canada has one of the world's highest national life expectancies. This benefit is not shared by Canada's aboriginal population, however, which has a life expectancy approximately seven years less than the general population. The aboriginal population also differs in that it has a higher fertility rate and higher mortality rates among infants and young adults. One of the consequences of the mortality differential is that the number of person years of lost life (PYLL) expectancy is large for the aboriginal community in comparison to the general population. While several studies have focused on the causes of differential mortality, this study examines some of the socio-economic consequences of differences in PYLL. Examining wage labor income, for example, determines that the PYLL differential translates into an expected wage and salary loss of approximately $1.56 billion.

Recently, Gottfredson and Hirschi proposed a general theory of crime. Central to the theory is the assumption that most criminal behavior is impulsive and reflects a lack of self-control. Thus criminals are seen as risk takers who are less restrained than noncriminals from illegal activities. In a secondary analysis of data from a roadside traffic survey, this study attempts to test Gottfredson and Hirschi's theory by examining the relationship between self-control and driving under the influence of alcohol. Using several indicators of self-control the results support the existence of a relationship for both men and women between low self-control and driving under the influence of alcohol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the earnings of foreign-born and native-born men in an attempt to evaluate whether the decline in the quality of Canadian immigrants is related to changes in the country-of-origin mix and the class (type) mix of immigrants. Based on a human capital interpretation, 'higher quality' immigrants are defined as immigrants who have smaller on-entry earnings differentials and have earnings that grow at a faster rate (relative to native-born Canadians). The analysis consists of two parts. The first part is based on individual data on earnings and socio-economic characteristics collected in the 1971 and 1986 Canadian Censuses. Earnings equations are estimated for 16 country-of-origin immigrant groups. These regressions are then used to construct a cohort-specific measure of immigrant quality based on the earnings differential between foreign-born and native-born Canadians. In the second part of the analysis, additional regression equations are estimated, pertaining to the period 1968 to 1985, that relate these Census-based measures of immigrant quality to the country-of-origin and class mix of immigrants. In this analysis, unpublished data, supplied by the Department of Employment and Immigration, describing the distribution of immigrants across the three main immigrant classes is used. Overall, the analysis confirms that there has been a sharp secular decline in the quality of Canadian immigrants and suggests that it is related to changes in both the country-of-origin and class mix of immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A number of researchers have argued that crude rates of crime and delinquency are a function of a population's age pyramid. That is, given constant age-specific rates, the overall or crude rate will fluctuate in concert with the proportion of individuals in age groups with differing age-specific rates. Richard Easterlin, however, has suggested that it is unreasonable to expect age-specific rates to remain constant in the face of fluctuating population distributions. Specifically, it is suggested that many social phenomena, such as crime rates, will fluctuate according to the relative size of the age cohort considered. This hypothesis is tested using official delinquency statistics from the Province of Ontario, Canada, for the years 1952-81. The data suggest that Easterlin's hypothesis is, in fact, a credible one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The blocked mobility or relative disadvantage thesis posits that because of relative disadvantages experienced by immigrants in the labour market in the host society, many will turn to self-employment as an alternative to wage-labour. Part of the difficulty with previous research in this area is the failure to distinguish between self-employment in professional and non-professional occupations. On the basis of the 1986 Canadian census data, our findings show that the blocked mobility thesis is supported in the case of immigrants with high educational credentials obtained from home countries, who have a higher likelihood of turning to self-employment in none professional occupations, compared to those with similar education levels among either the native-born or immigrants with Canadian education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, self-employment was perceived as a mechanism whereby immigrants could circumvent discriminatory practices in wage labor. More recent research by Borjas in the United States, however, suggests that this view is incorrect. Immigrants, particularly members of visible minorities, are disadvantaged in both the wage labor and the self-employed markets. This pattern has not been replicated in Canada, however; after controlling for several socioeconomic attributes, it is found that foreign-born, self-employed visible minority-group members are not at a disadvantage in relation to the majority population. Foreign-born visible minority group members earn less, however, in the wage labor force. In contrast, it was found that there is no statistically significant difference between native-born visible minority group members and others in the wage labor force, and that native-born, self-employed minority-group members may earn more than others in that market segment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines some of the central concerns expressed by residents over the presence of penal institutions within their community, and looks at some of the factors which may influence the type and intensity of those concerns. Using existing survey data collected in the lower Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada, four generic factors of perceived impact are identified: concern for family safety; concern for general quality of life; concern for value of neighbourhood, and concern for neigh-bourhood instability. Three hypotheses are then examined, relating these four concerns to the respondents' history of victimization, physical proximity to the institutions, and current position in family life cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Sociology is the property of Canadian Journal of Sociology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives: Social change and the aging process are racially bifurcated in the United States, where Black and White populations have long lived in divergent social worlds. This study examines the cohort patterns and life-course trajectories of Black and White homicide involvement over the past four decades. Data and Methods: The study uses data from the Supplemental Homicide Reports and Age-Period-Cohort-Interaction (APC-I) models to analyze race-specific trends of (alleged) homicide offending and victimization between 1976 and 2018 in the U.S. Results: Results reveal similar patterns in the age, period, and cohort effects on Black and White homicide involvement. However, while the shapes of these trajectories are comparable, the volatility in cohort effects on homicide is much more accentuated for Black cohorts than White cohorts. We also find racial differences for cohorts born after 1990, with a downward cohort pattern among the White group but a flat cohort trend among the Black group. Conclusions: Findings suggest that Black cohorts' homicide involvement is more susceptible than White cohorts' to the influence of external social changes (e.g., economic downturn, the crack epidemic). In addition, an increasing racial gap between Black and White populations is found among the recent birth cohorts. Possible mechanisms are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study extends research on cohort effects and crime by considering how bifurcated population dynamics and institutional constraints explain variation in homicide rates across racial groups in the United States. Drawing upon the extensive research on racial residential segregation and institutional segmentation, we theorize how the criminogenic influences of cohort characteristics elucidated in prior work will be greater for Black cohorts than for White cohorts. We assess our hypothesis by estimating Age-Period-Cohort Characteristic models with data for the total population and separately for the Black and White populations over the 1975–2014 period. The results reveal persistent effects of relative cohort size and nonmarital births on Black cohort-specific homicide rates but null effects among the White population. These effects follow Black birth cohorts across the life course, leading to higher rates of both homicide arrest and homicide victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1990s, the United States experienced unprecedented correctional population growth and accommodated the increase by building new facilities. Worries about the negative effect of such facilities on property values were a primary concern and complicated the siting of facilities. The aim of this study was to examine whether establishing correctional group quarters in urban neighborhoods changed housing characteristics. Propensity score matching was used to estimate the effect of establishing a correctional group quarter between 1990–2000 on 2000 median property values, median rent, home ownership rates, and vacancy rates for 12,790 neighborhoods in 124 large U.S. cities. Housing outcomes in neighborhoods with correctional facility sitings did not differ from what would be expected if such establishments were not created. This finding held regardless of the correctional facility type. The concern of declining property values as a result of the introduction of correctional group quarters populations in neighborhoods is generally unwarranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using 20 actual work units with 79 respondents, this study explores the relationships among group demography, social integration of the group, and individual turnover. Results suggest that heterogeneity in group tenure is associated with lower levels of group social integration which, in turn, is negatively associated with individual turnover. Models of these effects using individual-level integration measures are not significant. Further, the results suggest that it is the more distant group members who are more likely to leave. Both individual-level and group-level age demography directly affect turnover and are not moderated by social integration. The findings suggest a process by which group demography affects outcomes and support the usefulness of organizational demography for understanding group and individual functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the 2011 National Household Survey, the present analysis seeks to provide a recent estimate of Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal earnings disparities for a sample of employees who work full-time, full-year. Wage gaps are estimated and decomposed at the mean for several Aboriginal identity groups as well as those living on- and off-reserves. Consistent with previous research, the results of the present analysis find earnings disparities are, in general, larger for Aboriginal Identity respondents (i.e. those who identify themselves as Aboriginal persons), as opposed to those who report having Aboriginal ancestry, but who do not identify as Aboriginal persons. Among Aboriginal identity groups living off-reserve (First Nations, Métis and Inuit), First Nations experience the largest earnings inequality, followed by Inuit males and Métis. Aboriginal identity respondents living on-reserve experience by far the largest earnings disadvantage of all the groups considered in the analysis. The study concludes by discussing the implications of the findings for future research, with an emphasis on the importance of addressing the potential role of discrimination in labour markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most subfields of research in political science are today at an intellectual plateau well short of general theory. Many have been at that plateau since about 1980. Several reasons might account for this situation, including the challenge of constructing general theory. I argue, however, that some of our must common educational and research practices also retard theoretical progress. I describe those practices and their unfortunate consequences, but also explicate a series of research strategies that would help advance our theoretical work. As a foundation for the preceding arguments, I characterize the theory-building ambitions of the discipline, our progress toward general theory, and how advances toward such theory can be mapped for any science. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The anonymous author of the Laws of Henry I (Leges Henrici Primi) seems to undercut the value of the laws and courts of early-twelfth-century England by making a number of pessimistic comments about the capacity of formal legal proceedings to render justice. At a few points in this treatise, probably completed shortly after 1108, he also voices a preference for friendly agreement. Noting that similar predilections were widespread in medieval Europe, many recent scholars have seized on one of the author's remarks that explicitly compares these two approaches to conflict resolution by proclaiming: Pactum enim legem uincit et amor iudicium, which is translated by L. J. Downer, the work's most recent editor, as, “For an agreement supersedes law and amicable settlement a court judgment.” Ever since Stephen White and Michael Clanchy used this Latin sentence as, respectively, a title and an opening epigram in influential essays written over 25 years ago, it has become a scholarly commonplace, epitomizing what is now often seen as a deep-seated medieval preference for settling disputes through informal compromise. Most scholars that refer to this aphorism, however, use it merely as an illustrative device, without exploring this provocative assertion's meaning in its original textual setting. When considered in light of the Leges Henrici Primi (henceforth: LHP) as a whole and this work's wider context, this statement proves more revealing of complex contemporary attitudes about agreements, conflict resolution, and law than the frequent reference to what is taken to be a categorical declaration of the superiority of friendly concord might suggest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to see if there are differences in the social relationships that older African Americans, older whites, and older Mexican Americans form with the people where they worship. Data from two large surveys are pooled to see if race differences emerge in eleven different measures of church-based social relationships. These measures assess social relationships with rank- and-file church members as well as social relationships with members of the clergy. The findings reveal that older African Americans tend to have more well-developed social relationships in the church than either older whites or older Mexican Americans. This is true with respect to relationships with fellow church members as well as relationships with the clergy. In contrast, relatively few differences emerged between older Americans of European descent and older Mexican Americans. However, when differences emerged in the data, older whites tend to score higher on the support measures than older Mexican Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using census data, we compare the economic status of blacks and whites in two neighbouring countries - the USA and Canada - examining the effects of international migration of people of colour upon systems of racial hierarchy. At first impression, the racial income gap is markedly smaller in Canada than in the USA. However, this is largely due to the relative sizes of first-, second- and third-plus-generation immigrants in each country. Once this is taken into account, we find that racial income and wage gaps are quite similar in the two countries, raising the puzzle of why nations with such divergent institutional histories produce similar levels of racial inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is premised on the hypothesis that ethnic specific socio-cultural practices such as dietary taboos and food avoidances on mothers and infants, as well as perceptions of disease aetiology and treatment patterns may be salient to understanding infant mortality differentials in Ghana. To inform policy, the paper explores if there are significant ethnic differences in infant survival, and whether such differences reflect socio-economic disparities or intrinsic factors. Using data from the 1998 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, there was evidence of significant ethnic differences in infant survival at the bivariate level. Using Asante mothers as reference, the risk of death was significantly higher among children whose mothers were Mole-Dagbani, Grussi, Gruma, Dagarti, Fanti and Other Akan. In the multivariate models, however, the higher mortality risks associated with these children significantly attenuated after controlling for the socio-economic and bio-demographic factors except for the Fanti. The findings are discussed with reference to the characteristics and cultural theoretical paradigms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the role of immigrants' country of origin, country of destination and combinations thereof (settings or communities) in the likelihood of immigrants being self-employed. I pooled census data from three classic immigrant countries (Australia, Canada and the United States) and labor-force surveys from 14 countries in the European Union for a cross-national data set. Using multilevel techniques, I find that (1) immigrants from non-Christian countries of origin have higher odds of self-employment, (2) higher levels of unemployment among natives increase the odds of self-employment, and (3) self-employment is more frequent among immigrant communities that are small, highly educated and have a longer settlement history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews some of the recent political rhetoric and public opinion on the controversial subject of youth crime and how to deal with it, particularly the Young Offenders Act of 1984 and the new Youth Criminal Justice Act of 2002, from a social constructionist perspective. Recent controversy over youth crime and justice is nothing new, reflecting differing views about the causes of crime and the appropriate ways of responding to it as specific manifestations of more fundamental and conflicting ideological assumptions regarding views of human nature, the degree of individual responsibility for behavior, and the fundamental values of society. The debates surrounding the new Youth Criminal Justice Act continue to reflect these ideological conflicts. Generally, there is a substantial gap between much of the rhetoric and the reality of youth crime and justice. Youth crime and justice in Canada is certainly an important issue that requires serious attention, but it is hardly the crisis that some would have us believe. Much depends upon how the new Youth Criminal Justice Act is actually implemented. A failure to alter the usual political rhetoric surrounding youth crime and justice obscures the reality in this area and will contribute to an on-going cycle of controversy that does little to advance efforts of effective crime prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite the interest that social scientists have displayed in the rising rate of incarceration, little attention has been devoted to understanding its consequences for local areas. This is an important omission because prison construction has become a component of state and local economic development schemes. Indeed, there is a widespread belief that prison construction provides significant economic benefits to local areas. We analyze data on all existing and new prisons in the United States since 1960 and examine the impact of these prisons on the pace of growth (as measured by public, private, and total employment growth) in U.S. counties from 1969 to 1994. To our knowledge, our study is the first comprehensive and longitudinal assessment of the impact of prison construction on local areas. We find no evidence that prison expansion has stimulated economic growth. In fact, we provide evidence that prison construction has impeded economic growth in rural counties that have been growing at a slow pace. Despite sharp ideological and intellectual differences, the critics and the advocates of the prison construction boom share the assumption that prisons can contribute to local growth, especially in hard-pressed local areas. This belief flies in the face of mounting evidence that state and local initiatives rarely have a significant impact on growth; this belief is also contradicted by our analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-reported delinquency scales have been widely adopted by researchers seeking to measure delinquency. Establishing the validity of these scales is critical because if valid measures are not created, findings about the correlates of delinquency will be of limited use in testing theory and formulating public policy. In this article, the authors use data from the first wave of the National Youth Survey to examine the measurement properties of a commonly used delinquency scale. The authors use the Rasch measurement model to test whether the scale meets the requirements of fundamental measurement and whether consistent measurement has occurred across subgroups including gender, age, race, and place of residence. Our results indicate that the original response category options are inadequate and differential item functioning exists across various subgroups. Methodological implications and directions for future research are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forecasts the levels of crime in Canada for 2000-2041. Demographic change and crime rates in the country; Forecasts on crime and victimization rate; Age distribution of offender for different types of crime; Conclusion.

As a result of the dramatic increase in the prison population, correctional institutions have become the fastest growing public space in the United States (Zukin, 1995). Criminal justice practitioners and scholars continue to debate the utility of sentencing policies that have produced the demand for new prisons. Perhaps, though, the most unexpected result is the extent to which new correctional institutions are perceived as a means of reviving economically failing communities. As traditional “smokestack chasing” strategies of economic development have become less promising, community leaders are turning to new strategies. One strategy that appears to hold promise is the recruitment of new correctional facilities. Particularly in rural communities that have suffered staggering losses in agriculture, mining, and other natural resource industries, prisons are rapidly becoming a popular alternative to more traditional means of economic development. Today, it is not uncommon for announcements of plans to construct new prisons to set off intense bidding wars as economically troubled towns vie with one another to be chosen as the prison site (Pagel, 1988; Fitchen, 1991; Meddis and Sharp, 1994; Hernandez, 1996). This article presents a single case study of the economic impact of a correctional facility on its host community, a rural town in the Midwest. The study can advance the understanding of what happens when communities turn to prisons as an economic development strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the division of Christians based on the aspects of favorite theologians and denominations whereas the fragmentation of Corinthians is around the Christian preachers. The article also discusses the disunity among Christians and the challenges encountered by the churches with the changes in values.

The article presents a study on the cohort analysis of illegal behavior in demographic and theoretical variables. Concern with aggregate patterns of deviant and illegal behavior has characterized criminology from its inception. The existence of a nonlinear relationship between age and illegal behavior is well-established in the literature on illegal behavior, but there appears to be no consensus on the reason for that relationship. Illegal behavior may reach a maximum rate at different ages for different offenses: around age 15 or 16 for many property crimes; earlier for some violent offenses, and later, perhaps around age 15 or 16 for illegal drug use and some victimless or consensual offenses. First, in all ten of the equations, substitution of delinquent bonding for age resulted in a statistically significant coefficient for delinquent bonding, and in 9 of the 10 equations, inclusion of both age and delinquent bonding in the combined analysis resulted in the elimination of age from the combined equation.

In this article we apply age-standardization methods to the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and the National Crime Survey (NCS) to determine whether the drop in the nation c Crime Rate from 1980 to 1988 (the Reagan period) is due to changes in the age structure of the population. Our major findings are that the age-adjusted Crime Index increases 7% in the UCR but declines 7% in the NCS. This contrasts to a 4% drop in the crude UCR index rate and 17% drop in the crude NCS index rate. Overall, the age adjustment explains the entire drop (100%+) in the reported or crude index rate in the UCR and about 60% of the drop in the NCS. When examined over a longer period -1976 to 1988 -the UCR shows rates that, fluctuate but tend to rise overall whereas the NCS shows fairly stable or slightly declining rates. The crime-fighting stance of the Reagan years which emphasized stricter enforcement and greater sanction threat (aimed mainly at street crime and drug trafficking) dramatically increased rates of imprisonment. But no discernible reduction in crime rates occurred, suggesting that no law enforcement strategy can be confidently recommended as a remedy to the nation's crime problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]