Testing for heteroskedasticity in the tobit and probit models

Non-constant variance across observations (heteroskedasticity) results in the maximum likelihood estimators of tobit and probit model parameters being inconsistent. Some of the available tests for constant variance across observations (homoskedasticity) are discussed and examined in a small Monte Carlo experiment.     

High-risk drinking among college fraternity members: a national perspective

This survey, with its 85% response rate, provides an extensive profile of drinking behaviors and predictors of drinking among 3,406 members of one national college fraternity, distributed across 98 chapters in 32 states. Multiple indexes of alcohol consumption measured frequency, quantity, estimated blood alcohol concentration levels (BACs), and related problems. Among all members, 97% were drinkers, 86% binge drinkers, and 64% frequent binge drinkers. On the basis of self-reports concerning the 4 weeks preceding the time of survey, the authors found that members drank on an average of 10.5 days and consumed an average of 81 drinks. Drinkers had an average BAC of 0.10, reaching at least 0.08 on an average of 6 days. These fraternity members appear to be heavier drinkers than previously studied fraternity samples, perhaps because they were more representative and forthright. All 6 preselected demographic attributes of members and 2 chapter characteristics were significantly related to the drinking behaviors and levels of risk, identifying possible targets for preventive interventions.     

Determining Attainment of the Epas Foundation Program Objectives

Building on research related to social cognitive theory and its construct of self-efficacy, this article describes the development of the Foundation Practice Self-Efficacy scale. This measure is designed to assess graduate social work programs' attempts to achieve the educational policy objectives for foundation-year graduate study set by the Council on Social Work Education. Preliminary evidence regarding the reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change of this measure are presented. The authors discuss changes in MSW students' self-efficacy over the course of the foundation year.     

¡Hasta La Victoria!: Murals and Resistance in Santiago,Chile

The article considers in detail mural painting in Santiago, Chile. It examines the history of mural painting, from the early days of support for Salvador Allende's attempt to combat inequality and provide for the basic needs of all citizens, through the repression of the military dictatorship, to the reemergence of the phenomenon in the transition to democracy and up to the present day. It identitifes a range of themes in the contemporary murals: resistance to repression and misrepresentation, past and present; memorials to dead and disappeared people with varying degrees of fame; the situation of women (their roles in resistance and building the future, as well as their specific demands for an end to violence against women and for reproductive rights); and the struggle of the indigenous Mapuche people of Chile for recognition and justice. Analysis explores examples of murals on each of these themes from a number of areas throughout Santiago, with a particular focus on La Victoria, an area noted for solidarity in the face of state repression and the inequalities fostered by neoliberalism.     

Reported excellent health among men in same-sex and mixed-sex couples: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 1993-2010

Self-reported excellent health was examined across sexual orientation among male adult couples using 18 years of data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Men in same-sex couples were more likely to report being in excellent health (28.7%) than men in unmarried and married mixed-sex couples (20.4% and 23.2%). After adjusting for other demographic and health factors, men in same-sex couples remained more likely to report excellent health than men in unmarried mixed-sex couples, but not than men in married mixed-sex couples. Reporting only adverse health disparities provides a partial picture of sexual minority health, and discounts the role of resilience and other health promoting factors in these populations.     

The True Cost of Precautionary Chemicals Regulation

This article explores the possible social costs of introducing an overly precautionary regulatory regime for chemicals It begins by examining research by the UK Medical Research Council Institute for Environment and Health (MRC-IEH), which suggests that the resource implications of the proposals contained in the European Commission White Paper "Strategy for a Future Chemicals Policy" are unrealistic and even unrealizable. The article then focuses on contemporary debates pertaining to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and goes on to question whether a "right to know" is always necessarily a good thing, or whether in certain instances it can lead to a society that feels more sorry than safe. Finally, problems relating to the representation and inclusion of public values in decision-making processes are raised prior to concluding with a call for an ambitious orientation toward social change rather than a self-limiting obsession with safety.     

Planning and Integration of Welfare Services: An Australian Government Viewpoint

A rationale is given for the Australian Government's goals in the area of intensive social welfare development. The aims and functions of the Social Welfare Commission and the Australian Assistance Plan are described, as well as the place, in the integrated programme, of the Regional Councils for Social Development. It is anticipated that the Australian community will actively participate in the evolvement of these public programmes.