Census Classification Research Articles

Numbering the nationalities: ethnic minorities in Norwegian population censuses 1845-1930

Between 1845 and 1930 the relatively small minority groups in Norway - the Samis and Kvens - were counted in Norwegian censuses on the basis of 'objective' criteria settled by the State's Central Bureau of Statistics. The censuses data supplied a foundation for the repressive policy towards minorities. But in identifying alien nationalities within the Norwegian borders, the census classifications also contributed in shaping the boundaries between the Norwegians and 'the others'. Especially the construction of mixed categories reveals substantial changes in this period. In the last part of the nineteenth century, their categorization was based mostly on language, and the distinctions that were made between Norwegians and minorities were largely cultural. The more pronounced race rhetoric of the interwar period re-shaped the concepts of nationalities and brought about a much greater emphasis on purely genealogical factors.

“Татарская Проблема” во всероссийской переписи населения

SUMMARY: This article, written by a member of the Commission responsible for the composition of the list of nationalities for the recent Russian census, explores the “Tatar problem” that emerged during the process of census preparation and organization. The author gives a historical outline of the Russian censuses, particularly focusing on classification of ethnic groups. His main interest is to follow the historical life of the term “Tatar” in Russian censuses. Citing norms of the constitution that guarantee freedom of ethnic identification as well as scholarly and administrative practices of the past censuses, Sokolovsky argues in favor of the recent census classification, which provides space for such nationalities and ethnic groups as kriashen . This classification, which allegedly undermined the unity of the Tatar nation, was debated by mass media and authorities in Tatarstan. The author sees the interest of ethnocratic politicians behind the attempt to include kriashens and other ethnic groups into the Tatar nation and thus increase the numbers of the titular nationality population. Such an increase would legitimate the overrepresentation of ethnic Tatars in republican institutions.

Mortality rates and causes among U.S. physicians

Content/ Objectives: No recent national studies have been published on age at death and causes of death for U.S. physicians, and previous studies have had sampling limitations. Physician morbidity and mortality are of interest for several reasons, including the fact that physicians’ personal health habits may affect their patient counseling practices. Methods: Data in this report are from the National Occupational Mortality Surveillance database and are derived from deaths occurring in 28 states between 1984 and 1995. Occupation is coded according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census classification system, and cause of death is coded according to the ninth revision of the International Classification of Diseases. Results: Among both U.S. white and black men, physicians were, on average, older when they died, (73.0 years for white and 68.7 for black) than were lawyers (72.3 and 62.0), all examined professionals (70.9 and 65.3), and all men (70.3 and 63.6). The top ten causes of death for white male physicians were essentially the same as those of the general population, although they were more likely to die from cerebrovascular disease, accidents, and suicide, and less likely to die from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia/influenza, or liver disease than were other professional white men. Conclusions: These findings should help to erase the myth of the unhealthy doctor. At least for men, mortality outcomes suggest that physicians make healthy personal choices.

Race and Ethnicity and the Controversy Over the US Census

The article examines the relationship between the history of the census undercount and classification of race and ethnicity in the United States Census. The US decennial census was created to apportion seats in the House of Representatives among the states. The race classification derives from the provisions of the 1787 federal Constitution, which required that the census differentiate slave and free persons and exclude Indians not taxed for the purposes of Congressional apportionment. The current race and classification used by federal agencies is promulgated by the Office of Management and Budget as `Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Data on Race and Ethnicity'. The article traces the history of the categories, the development of methods for measuring census accuracy, particularly for measuring undercount, and the conceptualization of the differential undercount as a minority undercount. Finally it discusses potential implications of the recent changes in the classification to permit identification with more than one race category on the measurement of census accuracy.

Children of mixed parentage: data collection needs

In a review of Tizard and Phoenix's (1993) study, Sinclair drew attention to the paucity of official statistical information on children of mixed parentage, including the omission of a ‘mixed’ category in the 1991 Census classification. This article documents the limitations of that classification (which unsatisfactorily accommodated the needs of some 230 000 persons who identified their mixed origins in write‐in descriptions), examines the only official sources of information that can be used to estimate the number of children of mixed parentage, including the Samples of Anonymised Records and the Labour Force Survey statistics, and assesses the current policy needs for such information. Finally, the provision for people of ‘mixed’ ethnic/cultural background in the 2001 Census is discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Death Certificate-Based Study of Occupation and Mortality From Reproductive Cancers Among Women in 24 US States

We conducted a study of occupation and mortality from reproductive cancers among women, based on death certificates from 24 US states for the period 1984-1993. There were 9,523 cervical cancer deaths, 12,335 endometrial cancer deaths, and 25,212 ovarian cancer deaths. Usual occupation and industry, which were obtained from death certificates, were coded using the 1980 Bureau of Census classification system. Mortality odds ratios (MORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, using all non-cancer deaths as the referent disease category. In general, jobs involving professional or administrative occupations were related to increased risk of mortality from endometrial and ovarian cancer, while cervical cancer mortality was increased among women employed in manufacturing, service, farm work, and health care technician and aide occupations. Associations with some occupations involving exposure to chemicals and metals, such as the associations between cervical cancer and employment in printing, typesetting, and machine operating occupations, deserve further attention. Similarly, further investigations should be made into the excess of ovarian cancer observed in several occupations in health care, an industry that has numerous hazardous exposures, including radiation, chemotherapeutic drugs, and viruses. The study results reflect, in part, socioeconomic factors and reproductive patterns but may also indicate a possible etiologic role for occupational chemical exposures.

Asian American Panethnicity: Bridging Institutions and Identities. By Yen Le Espiritu. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992. 222 pp.

THE JOURNAL OF ASIAN STUDIES language(s) of the people one is studying, and Chapter 11 questions how factual the faces economists collect are. Chapters 1 and 2, written by the editors, present an overview of fieldwork from stare co finish: from how co finance fieldwork, co relations with bureaucrats, co post-fieldwork obligations and adjustments. The fundamental nature of these topics suggests how basic is much of the subject matter covered by this book. Chapter 3, by Stephen Devereux, considers two of his early fieldwork worries: the pragmatics of learning the local language (he worked among a polygamous polyglot (p . 47] population), and how to count households. He found it was often unclear what constituted a household . Chapter 4, by Wendy Olsen, discusses random sampling and the value of using native categories co construct stratified samples. She also considers the advantages and problems of repeated surveys, in her case, monthly household surveys. Chapter 5, by John Hoddinott, addresses problems of doing fieldwork under time constraints. Chapter 6, by Elizabeth Francis, imagines problems arising from how informants perceive fieldworkers and describes how and for what purposes she collected life histories-co reconstruct from personal stories a local history of economic change. Chapter 7, by Lucia da Corea and Davuluri Venkareshwarlu, focuses on methods for gathering data on economic mobility. Chapters 8 and 9, by Garry Christensen and Barbara Harriss, respectively, deal with problems of collecting sensitive material from informants about livestock and informal credit in the first instance, and about trade from traders in the second- good chapters, these. Chapter 10, by Shahrashoub Razavi, is concerned with the advantages and disadvantages of being an Iranian woman doing fieldwork in Iran-lots of advantages. As noted, in Chapter 11, Matthew Lockwood warns against thinking data represent facts. Data are the product of the interaction between informants and fieldworker and reflect their interpretations. Chapter 12, by Ken Wilson, focuses on ethical issues of fieldwork, and chapter 13, by Judith Heyer, concludes the book by comparing village-level fieldwork in Kenya and India. Taken together, this well-presented and integrated collection of articles offers the novice fieldworker a rich bagful of experience. That Asia, especially India, is the setting for many of the chapters is an added dimension . MATTISON MINES University of California, Santa Barbara Asian American Panethnicity: Bridging Institutions and Identities. By YEN LE ESPIRITU. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992. 222 pp. Yen Le Espiritu views panethnicicy-shifrs in levels of ethnic group identification from smaller and hitherto distinct groups co larger-level affiliations-as an emergent phenomenon among Asian Americans. Likening Asian American panethnic groups to those being forged by Native Americans and Latino Americans, she emphasizes the imposition of ethnicity (or in this case panethnicity) from the outside. She argues, however, that the panechnic concept may have originated in the minds of outsiders but ic has now become a resource for insiders. To make her case, she considers the Asian American movement, electoral politics, social service funding, conflicts over census classification, and organizational responses to anti-Asian violence. The author brings a good deal of personal enthusiasm and idealism to her inquiry, as the dedication and thanks in the preface indicate. A brief survey of che early history of Asians in the United States includes discussions of disidentificacion (the

Occupation and the Prevalence of Major Depression, Alcohol, and Drug Abuse in the United States

These data from the ECA research program clearly indicate considerable variation in prevalence among different occupational groups in the United States for major depression, alcohol abuse/dependence, and drug abuse/dependence. For example, the crude lifetime prevalences for depression ranged from 0.7 to 8.6 per 100; for alcohol it was 7.5 to 32.6, and for drugs it was 3.1 to 10.5. The results also indicate that some occupations are associated with much higher rates of ADM problems. By way of illustration, the 6-month crude prevalence of major depression for the total sample of employed persons 18-64 years of age was 2.9. Six of the occupational groups had prevalences which exceeded this rate. The overall 6-month prevalence of alcohol abuse/dependence was 5.8, and six occupational groups had prevalences in excess of this. Similarly, the overall 6-month prevalence was 2.6 for drug abuse/dependence, and five occupational groups had prevalences which exceeded this. Translated into terms of relative risk, it is clear that among the occupational groups some are at markedly increased risk of ADM disorders. For these comparisons, we used as the baseline group in logistic regression analyses, Job 1, composed of executive, administrative, and managerial occupations. This group is the first in the Census classification, had crude rates near the overall prevalence rates for depression, alcohol, and drugs, and is also one of the occupational categories with the highest prestige. Logistic regression analyses were done with and without controls for differences among occupational groups in gender, age, and educational level. As might be expected, adjustment in general narrowed differences in prevalence among occupational groups, and even on occasion, changed the rank order of groups slightly. However, in general, those groups with higher odds ratios based on crude rates also had higher adjusted odds ratios. Table 6 summarizes our findings, based on the adjusted odds ratios. In this table, we list occupational groups which had a relative risk of 30% or greater above baseline (Job 1), for both 6 month and lifetime prevalences, for each of the three ADM disorders. As can be seen, there is virtually no overlap between risk of depression, on the one hand, and risk of alcohol or drug abuse. The exceptions are Job 4 (sales) which ranked third for major depression and second for alcohol abuse in terms of 6-month prevalence, and Job 9 (farming, fishing, forestry), which had the [table: see text] highest lifetime risk for major depression and the second-highest 6-month risk for drug abuse/dependence.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Asian American panethnicity: bridging institutions and identities

Tables and Figures Preface 1. Ethnicity and Panethnicity 2. Coming Together: The Asian American Movement 3. Electoral Politics 4. The Politics of Social Service Funding 5. Census Classification: The Politics of Ethnic Enumeration 6. Reactive Solidarity: Anti-Asian Violence 7. Pan-Asian American Ethnicity: Retrospect and Prospect Notes References Interviews Index

Ethnicity, Community and the Census in Mauritius, 1830-1990

Ethnic census and racial classifications have many taxonomic and political problems particularly in Mauritius. The goal of capturing multicultural populations into ethnic and political groups is confounded by intermarriage between cultural groups linguistic and cultural assimilation and religious conversion. Using too general a category prevents a racial classification. The census in Mauritius had become politicized due to the British colonization with an attempt to identify self identified communities and then in the name of equality abandoning these distinctions. The history of ethnic mixing and census classification is delineated and the effects of constitutional communities are discussed. The census in 1830 adopted a classification system of European Free Black and Slave and amended in 1834 to Europeans Free Black and Apprentices (freed slaves). After Indian migration form 1834 the categories became unmixed Indian and General including Europeans and anyone of African origin. In 1891 the category Indo-Mauritian was included. By 1901 there was an attempt to classify according to anthropological distinctions: European (whites mixed and colored) African and Chinese within the General category. Other Indian was merged finally in 1944 with Indo-Mauritian because of the decline in the other Indian category. In 1952 the classification of name religion mother tongue birth place and nationality into an assigned population group became increasingly constrained. Physical appearance was not a measure for grouping. In 1962 the householder determined the population group identification. Religion particularly among Indians was a determining factor and among the Chinese there was a common ethnicity. A community based constitution required representation by community and defined the communities. However political changes in 1982 prompted removal of all community categories from the census of 1982 and the pattern continued for 1990. After 1944 there were increasingly greater community groupings by ethnic group particularly among the Chinese but in general the tendency was for an integrated urban society which was unaffected by the influences of segregation from the institutionalized communalism of the constitution.

The Classification of Social Class in Sociological Research

The problem of the classification of social class has long been a thorny one in sociological research. This is particularly so where there is any attempt to make empirical research reflect theoretical debates. In particular, the use of census classifications and social class scales has been fraught with difficulties. Is there, then, any sense, or indeed any circumstances, in which such classifications can be used as an indication of class in an empirical investigation? Indeed, how much difference does it make what scales are used? These problems are the central preoccupation of this paper. The discussion begins with a brief review of the theoretical approaches to the topic of class to be found in sociological theory. Then a number of commonly used occupational classifications are outlined. Finally, the results of a case study of school-leavers, and their occupational choices, are used to illustrate the use of four scales derived from different theoretical perspectives.

The status of transmission ofTrypanosoma cruziin an endemic area of Argentina prior to control attempts, 1985

A field survey of transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi was carried out in an area which had never been sprayed with insecticide. A population census, mapping and house classification, examination of insects in houses, and a human serological survey were performed. The entomological examination showed that 97% of the houses (433/445) were infested by Triatoma infestans and that 31% of the bugs examined were infected with T. cruzi. The level of infection, as well as the number of insects captured, had no apparent relationship with the type of house. Trypanosoma cruzi was found in 30% of the human population, and in 10% of children up to four years old. The rates of infection were significantly lower for inhabitants, especially children, living in 'urban' houses. The prevalence rate for the children did not correlate with the number of insects collected in the houses. The improvement of houses, outside the framework of an integrated control programme, had no obvious impact on the level of transmission. Nevertheless, the replacement of the original houses by houses with plastered walls and roofs of metal or cement resulted in a decrease in the prevalence of infection in children younger than four years of age. The community showed little confidence in sanitary precautions against Chagas' disease prior to the start of the survey.

Klassifikasies van ‘beroep’ as verklarende veranderlikes vir kerklike betrokkenheid / Classifications of ‘occupation’ as explanatory variables for religious commitment

Occupation is often neglected as a predictor variable in sociological research, mainly because the criteria for classification and grouping of categories are not always well defined or consistent: in some cases they depend on descriptions of jobs, in others on characteristics or status of the worker. In this article two systems of classification of occupations are investigated and compared. The one is the census classification that is generally used in questionnaire surveys and the other, which accounts for certain dimensions of personality, was developed by J.L. Holland. Four dependent variables, namely, frequency of church attendance, reasons for worship, commitment to church services, and the effect of religious education, were used to compare the two classification systems. The categories of occupations in both systems were scrutinized with the aid of CHAID to find combinations that offered optimal explanatory value of occupation with regard to each dependent variable. Subsequently the two occupational classifications were analysed in conjunction with seven other biographical variables. Provided that the ‘correct’ combinations of categories are identified both occupational classifications compare favourably with various biographical variables. In fact, the census classification proved to be the only biographical variable that showed statistically significant relationships with all the dependent variables. The results also suggest that Holland's personality-based classification system may be applied beneficially in sociological analysis.

Klassifikasies van ‘beroep’ as verklarende veranderlikes vir kerklike betrokkenheid

Classifications of ‘occupation’ as explanatory variables for religious commitment. Occupation is often neglected as a predictor variable in sociological research, mainly because the criteria for classification and grouping of categories are not always well defined or consistent: in some cases they depend on descriptions of jobs, in others on characteristics or status of the worker. In this article two systems of classification of occupations are investigated and compared. The one is the census classification that is generally used in questionnaire surveys and the other, which accounts for certain dimensions of personality, was developed by J.L. Holland. Four dependent variables, namely, frequency of church attendance, reasons for worship, commitment to church services, and the effect of religious education, were used to compare the two classification systems. The categories of occupations in both systems were scrutinized with the aid of CHAID to find combinations that offered optimal explanatory value of ...

The Meaning and Measurement of Ethnicity in Malaysia: An Analysis of Census Classifications

In Peninsular Malaysia, the conventional ethnic divisions are “Malay,” “Chinese,” “Indian,” and “Other.” At first glance, this classification seems to represent the popular conception of “race” (the everyday term) as well as the “official” definition. According to the Malaysian constitution, a Malay is a person who was born locally, habitually speaks Malay, follows Malay custom, and professes Islam (Mohammed Suffian bin Hashim 1976:291). The Chinese and Indian communities are supposed to consist of the descendants of immigrants from China and the Indian subcontinent. “Other” is a catchall category for the small number of Eurasians, Thais, Europeans, and other persons who do not fit into the three major categories.

A revised socioeconomic index of occupational status

Duncan's Socioeconomic Index (SEI), a widely used indicator of occupational ranking, is based on education and income data from the 1950 census. The major purpose of this paper is to offer a more contemporary version of this index. There are several reasons for doing so. Not only has the occupational classificatory scheme been altered, but the educational and economic characteristics of the American labor force and of specific occupational groups have changed since 1950. The two decades may also have seen a shift in the relations between the educational and economic attributes of an occupational grouping and its social standing or prestige. Second, the construction of the original SEI rested on the characteristics of the male labor force, rather than those of the total labor force. Third, in the process of updating the index, we illustrate how certain arbitrary decisions (dictated by data limitations) in the construction of the Duncan SEI served to vest the socioeconomic index with some artifactual properties. In the production of an updated version of the socioeconomic index, we use three approaches. First, we experiment with differing measures of the income and educational criteria. Second, we reconstruct the dependent variable, occupational standing, to provide a better approximation of the prestige measure used by Duncan (1961). Third, we consider the attributes of both the male and total labor forces in generating contemporary indexes of occupational status. We also compare the performance of the new socioeconomic indexes in models of occupational attainment against the performance of the original Duncan index and subsequent occupational prestige measures. The paper appends new socioeconomic indexes for detailed occupational titles based on the 1970 census classification of occupations.

Bureaucratic versus Craft Administration: The Relationship of Market Structure to the Construction Firm

I would like to thank Harrison White for a number of helpful comments. Robert Miles, John Kotter, and Paul Lawrence also provided useful criticisms and suggestions. ThreeASQ reviewers contributed a great deal to the clarity and exposition of the arguments in this paper. This paper examines subcontracting and characteristics of firms in the construction industry. It argues that subcontracting by general contractors can be explained by complexity, size, and market extent. Data are provided to substantiatethese claims and to disconfirm the hypothesis that subcontracting isa responseto seasonal variability, a major alternative explanation. Extensive subcontracting has implications for the nature of the construction firm. The paper then examines Stinchcombe's (1959) thesis that construction firms are managed through craft administration. It is argued that firm size, role in the production process, and census classification problems are better explanations for the administrative structure of construction firms. This raises questions about the validity of Sti nchcombe's thesis.

Estimates of Consumer Loss Due to Monopoly in the U.S. Food‐Manufacturing Industries: Comment

Parker and Connor display courage and effort in their attempt to estimate consumer losses due to monopoly. However, we seriously question their problem formulation, assumptions, methodology, empirical results, and policy recommendations. Parker and Connor use three independent methodologies and data sets to measure consumer loss due to monopoly. They conclude that extent of convergence of all three essentially independent estimates (p. 637) gives strength to their conclusion about the extent of such consumer loss. We believe that each of their approaches has serious flaws. Hence, we question the accuracy and validity of their estimates. The authors use a monopoly model to describe industries that should be considered oligopolistic. theory permits easy indentification and measurement of consumer loss. However, as Samuelson writes, when oligopolies collude, either tacitly or explicitly, richness of possible outcomes would exhaust a specialized book on the subject (p. 516). Parker and Connor, without citing evidence, assume that oligopolies in food manufacturing behave like monopolists. They assume away the real empirical problem. While their section on Monopoly Loss Theory and their figure 1 are useful for exposition, they are totally inadequate for oligopoly analysis. In categorizing food industries, the authors use standard census classifications but ignore their problems. Their classification can handle horizontal integration within industries, but it excludes vertical links between industries, horizontal integration across industries, and conglomeration which can involve both horizontal and vertical integration inside and outside food manufacturing. Thus, it seems that the industries analyzed by Parker and Connor do not represent independent bundles of economic activities, e.g., butter, cheese, canned milk, ice cream, and fluid milk. The Parker and Connor approach assumes that only intraindustry competition is relevant and interindustry effects are

Mexican Americans

Mexican Americans' rapid growth and com plexity compel awareness of this huge and often overlooked minority. Mexican Americans defy Census classification and color differentiation, departing sharply from the character istics of either European immigrants or black Americans. Such factors as settlement patterns, sharp discrimination and segregation, a historical lack of political opportunities, and depressed economic circumstances have made Mexican Americans one of the most distinctive groups in America today. Demographically, Mexican Americans are highly ur banized, young, disproportionately blue collar, and poor. Occupational gains are sluggish, with great sensitivity to changing economic conditions. Occupational mobility is so slow that it offers convincing evidence of a "dual labor market," trapping succeeding generations of Mexican Ameri cans. High immigration, poor education-particularly in Texas—language barriers, and divisive issues of bilingualism and biculturalism guarantee that many Mexican Americans will continue to experience poverty in the future. A hopeful sign for the future is the high level of political activity, both real and potential, now present in this community.

Occupational Characteristics and Classification Systems

Recent social research shows a renewed interest in detailed characteristics of jobs. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) and census classification systems as bases for measures of job features are reviewed. The article reports on a set of characteristics that have been estimated for detailed 1960 and 1970 census categories, including those generated by Temme and new indicators for routiniza tion and closeness of supervision in work. The report includes information on how the measures were generated, evidence on their validity as assessed against corresponding individual-level measures, and an assessment of the measurement slippage involved in moving between the different occupation classification systems.