Survey Research and Southern Politics: The Implications of Data Management

With an identical data base—the SRCICPS election studiesconducted over the 1952–1976 period—scholars arriveat conflicting conclusions about the future politics of theSouth. One problem is alternative regional definitions—thesurvey category Solid South (which includes the states of theformer Confederacy minus Tennessee) or the combined categoriesSolid South and Border South. Another problem is the choiceto analyze native whites, whites, or all election participants.Based on data presented here, these choices are not neutral;rather, they influence the research findings. If the intentis to build upon the aggregate data-based research of Key andothers, one should use the Solid South definition. Moreover,if the intent is to predict about the future politics of theSouth, one should analyze all election participants.     

The demography of Tristan da Cunha

Abstract The eruption of the volcano on Tristan da Cunha in 1961 and the subsequent arrival of the island population in the United Kingdom provided a unique opportunity for studying the health of this formerly isolated community. During their stay, while the facilities and services of modern medicine were made available to them, investigations of many facets of their general biology were made under the auspices of the Medical Research Council, co-ordinated by Dr. H. E. Lewis. Analysis of their demographic history was essential to understand many features of their disease pattern, and the results of this analysis are presented here. They are of interest in that they not only show some consistent trends in the common variables of demography, but also demonstrate biological principles, some perhaps for the first time in man, which may be fundamental in the process of colonization as a biological phenomenon, e.g. the initial difficulty of establishment of a population in a new area, the curious demographic structure that may emerge in its earliest years, the bottleneck effect of population-size reduction, the founder principle.     

Effect of family structure on life satisfaction: australian evidence

How do family arrangements affect subjective well-being? We investigate this issue using data pooled from the IsssA and HILDA, both large, representative national samples of Australia (pooled n=38 447). Our regression analysis of cross-sectional and panel data examines how large are the differences in life satisfaction according to marital status and cohabitation. We find that women and men in formal marriages experience higher levels of life satisfaction than do people in other family arrangements. Moreover, both multiple tests in the cross-section, and tests controlling for prior happiness in the panel analysis, suggest that this is a causal relationship. Aggregating up the levels of life satisfaction generated by different marriage and cohabitation arrangements across a lifetime, suggests that a life-long marriage is the most satisfying. Early divorce followed by an enduring second marriage is little worse (because little time is spent outside the married state). But divorce without remarriage, or long lasting cohabitation without formal marriage, reduce the lifetime sum of subjective well-being by 4–12% for both women and men.     

Public attitudes toward the use of psychiatric medications for children

Psychiatric medication use for children has increased dramatically over the past three decades. Despite substantial media attention to the issue, little is known about how the lay public feels about the use of psychiatric medications for children. Drawing on theories of medicalization, we describe and analyze Americans' attitudes towards the use of psychiatric medications generally and Prozac specifically for children described as having three types of behavioral problems. Using data from the 1998 General Social Survey's Pressing Issues in Health and Medical Care Module, we find that more Americans (57%) are willing to use psychiatric medications for children who have expressed suicidal statements than for "oppositional" behaviors (34.2%) or for hyperactivity (29.5%). Across the board, respondents are less willing to give Prozac than the general class of psychiatric medications. While socio-demographics do little to identify Americans with differing positions, the strongest and most consistent correlates of willingness to give psychiatric medications to children are trust in personal physicians, general attitudes towards psychiatric medications, and the respondent's expressed willingness to take psychiatric medications herself or himself.     

Ethics Creep: Governing Social Science Research in the Name of Ethics

This article presents an analysis of the Canadian ethics review process by a member of a Research Ethics Board. The author suggests that the new formal system for regulating the ethical conduct of scholarly research is experiencing a form of ethics creep. This is characterized by a dual process whereby the regulatory system is expanding outward to incorporate a host of new activities and institutions, while at the same time intensifying the regulation of activities deemed to fall within its ambit. These tendencies are demonstrated through an analysis of: 1) the scope of research ethics protocols, 2) the concept of harm employed by these boards, 3) the use of informed consent provisions, and 4) the presumption that research participants will remain anonymous. To accentuate the nature of this ethics creep, comparisons are made between the ways in which identical knowledge generation activities are governed within journalism and the academy. The conclusion suggests that one effect of the increasingly formalized research ethics structure is to rupture the relationship between following the rules and acting ethically. Some of the reasons for this creep are highlighted along with the risks that it poses for scholarship.     

Colleges respond to student binge drinking: reducing student demand or limiting access

Administrators at 68% of 4-year colleges nationwide (N = 747) responded to a survey concerning the types of programs and policies they used in response to students' heavy drinking. Most schools conducted targeted alcohol education and invested in institutional prevention efforts; half conducted social norms campaigns; a sizeable minority restricted alcohol on campus. Schools that focused on demand reduction were less likely to ban alcohol use. One in 3 schools received funding for these programs from governmental agencies, and 1 in 5 from the alcohol industry. Such schools were more likely to conduct targeted alcohol education and social norms programs and were less likely to restrict alcohol use on campus or at college events. Colleges may want to reconsider prevention initiatives that focus exclusively on demand or supply. They may also want to examine the extent to which funding is the driving force shaping the direction of their alcohol initiatives.     

A study of the relationship between protective behaviors and drinking consequences among undergraduate college students

The authors identified the number, type, and frequency of protective behaviors that undergraduate college students who consume alcohol use to prevent alcohol-related consequences. Their hypothesis was that students who engage in more types of protective behaviors with greater frequency would be less likely to experience alcohol-related consequences. Participants consisted of a randomly selected sample of 1,355 undergraduates aged 18 years and older at a large public university. Students completed a mailed questionnaire on alcohol and health behaviors in spring 2002. The findings (after adjustment for covariates) indicated that self-protective behaviors are inversely associated with alcohol-related problems for women but not for men. The influences of gender and racial and ethnic differences are considered in relation to prevention and intervention programs aimed at reducing alcohol-related consequences on college campuses.