Cross-national comparison of internal migration: issues and measures

Summary. Our objectives are to identify the issues that researchers encounter when measuring internal migration in different countries and to propose key indicators that analysts can use to compare internal migration at the 'national' level. We establish the benefits to be gained by a rigorous approach to cross-national comparisons of internal migration and discuss issues that affect such comparisons. We then distinguish four dimensions of internal migration on which countries can be compared and, for each dimension, identify a series of summary measures. We illustrate the issues and measures proposed by comparing migration in Australia and Great Britain.     

Perceived parental approval of drinking and its impact on problem drinking behaviors among first-year college students

There is a paucity of research investigating the impact that parents may have on college drinking. In this study, the authors investigated the relationship between students' perceptions of parent approval of drinking and problem drinking occurrence. They conducted a Web-based survey of 265 first-year students living on campus during their second semester. The authors used logistic regression to examine the relationship between students' perceptions of their mothers' and fathers' attitudes toward their drinking, their mothers' and fathers' drinking habits, and problem drinking since they had begun college. Sixty-nine percent of respondents reported experiencing at least 1 drinking problem. Over one third of students perceived that their parents would approve of them drinking occasionally. Students perceiving more parental approval for their drinking were more likely to report at least 1 drinking problem. Student perceptions of parental approval of drinking warrant further investigation as a potentially mutable correlate of problem drinking.     

Defining Volunteering for Community Campaigns: An Exploration of Race,Self Perceptions,and Campaign Practices

A substantial percentage of volunteer needs are met by a relatively small percentage of individuals. Community volunteer organizations may address these shortages by recruiting volunteers using media campaigns. However, problems occur when perceptions of volunteering differ between volunteers and the organization, with race emerging as a key factor in shaping these perceptions. This article addresses such a gap in perceptions by using focus group data to consider the extent to which African American male volunteers' perceptions and actions align with those of a major US volunteer organization. Our results provide insights on how groups can more successfully reach out to potential volunteers by recognizing and overcoming perceptual and actual differences regarding volunteerism.     

A dose-response analysis of skin cancer from inorganic arsenic in drinking water

A study of the prevalence of skin cancer among 40,421 persons consuming arsenic-contaminated drinking water in Taiwan was used for a cancer dose-response assessment of ingested arsenic. The numbers of persons at risk over three dose intervals and four exposure durations were estimated from the data in order to apply the method of maximum likelihood to a multistage-Weibull time/dose-response model. A constant exposure level since birth for each of the exposure categories was assumed. It was found that the cumulative hazard increases as a power of three in age, and is linear or quadratic (with a linear coefficient) in dose. Observations from a smaller epidemiologic survey in Mexico were similar to what would be predicted from the model of the Taiwan data. Assuming that the skin cancer risk from ingested arsenic in the American population would also be similar to the Taiwan population, an American male would have a lifetime risk of developing skin cancer of 1.3 x 10(-3) (3.0 x 10(-3] if exposed to 1 microgram/kg/day for a 76-year lifespan (median lifespan in the U.S.).     

Sequential entry in many-to-one matching markets

We study sequential bargaining in many-to-one matching markets. We show that there is an advantage to entering late in the market, and that the last agent to enter the market will receive his or her best partner in a stable matching, extending the results of Blum and Rothblum (J Econ Theory 103(2):429–443, 2002) and Cechlárová (Randomized matching mechanism revisited. Mimeo, Safarik University, 2002) for the marriage model. We also discuss the relation between sequential bargaining and a possible alternative formulation based on the NTU Shapley value. We thank Peter Biró and Utku ünver for their advice on the related literature. We also thank an anonymous referee for comments.     

A New Look at Family Migration and Women’s Employment Status

Family migration has a negative impact on women’s employment status. Using longitudinal data from the British Household Panel Survey (3,617 women; 22,354 women/wave observations) we consider two neglected issues. First, instead of relying on the distance moved to distinguish employment‐related migrations, we use information on the reason for moving, allowing us to separate employment‐related moves, stimulated by the man or the woman, from other moves. Second, we consider selection effects and the role of state dependence in relation to women’s employment status prior to moving. Moving for the sake of the man’s job has a significant negative effect on subsequent employment status for previously employed women. Women who were not employed previously benefited only slightly from family migration.