Contributions of Longitudinal Data to Poverty Measurement in Australia*

Chronic poverty is of greater social consequence than transitory poverty but its measurement requires longitudinal data. This article uses six waves of data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey to explore the extent to which longitudinal data contribute to what is known about poverty from cross‐section data. We find an imperfect correspondence between people’s annual poverty status and chronic poverty status. Consequently, policies that aim to reduce chronic poverty using means‐tested benefits may be partially misdirected if beneficiaries are identified using annual income. Furthermore, some households experiencing chronic poverty may fall through the safety net.     

Perceptions of functional clothing by able-bodied people: the other side

Functional clothing was examined as a factor in social interactions between physically disabled and non-disabled people. In the present study, the perceptions of able-bodied college students were compared with the evaluations of students with physical disabilities from a previous study. Seven line drawings of clothing with functional features were rated on semantic differential scales in a self-administered questionnaire. The non-disabled students were more positive than the disabled students on all of the scales for five of the seven styles. The able-bodied subjects also tended to use more global constructs when perceiving the styles than did their disabled counterparts, who were more likely to distinguish function as a separate dimension. Sex differences were found, with a tendency for the females to be more positive than the males in their ratings of the styles. Implications of the data and suggestions for further research are discussed.     

Care labelling for upholstered furniture: consumers’expressed needs and preferences

The issue of care labelling for upholstered furniture has been debated by U.S. government officials and furniture manufacturers since 1974. While the Federal Trade Commission in 1982 voted not to include upholstered furniture in a move to extend coverage to products other than apparel, they did order a continuing investigation into this area. FTC officials solicited an opinion from industry representatives on the necessity of providing care labels for upholstered furniture at this time; however, they did not seek consumer input. An investigation into consumer preferences for care labelling on upholstered furniture was needed. This study was designed in two phases. Phase 1 consisted of a market survey to assess the availability of written care information on upholstered furniture at a local level. The second phase was a mail survey of consumers that collected data on expressed needs and preferences for upholstered furniture care labelling.