Regional Economic Performance and Net Migration Rates in Russia, 1993–20021

Soviet legacies and uneven economic distress make post‐Soviet Russia an especially interesting case in which to assess the effects of economic performance on regional net migration rates. Random effects models of net regional migration in 77 Russian regions from 1993 to 2002 indicate that mean wages and unemployment levels have substantial and predictable effects. These effects have several dynamic aspects: changes in mean wages (but not changes in unemployment) exert effects independently of wage and unemployment levels, the effect of unemployment decreases over time, and the effect of wage levels appears to increase. Overall, the results suggest a tendency toward regional equilibrium with respect to employment following the initial shock of Soviet collapse and market reforms, but continuing disequilibrium with respect to wages.     

Can Registration-Based Sampling Improve the Accuracy of Midterm Election Forecasts?

We compare the predictive accuracy of preelection polls usingtwo types of sampling frames, random digit dialing (RDD) andregistration-based sampling (RBS). The latter involves stratifiedrandom sampling from voter registration lists. In order to assessthe accuracy with which RDD and RBS predict election outcomes,we collaborated with the Washington Post, Quinnipiac, and CBSNews polls, which conducted parallel RDD and RBS surveys inMaryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota prior tothe November 5, 2002, elections. The results suggest that inthe gubernatorial and congressional elections studied, RBS performedas well, if not better, than RDD, both in terms of forecastingaccuracy and cost.     

Alcohol- and drug-involved driving in the United States: methodology for the 2007 National Roadside Survey

This article describes the methodology used in the 2007 U.S. National Roadside Survey to estimate the prevalence of alcohol- and drug-impaired driving and alcohol- and drug-involved driving. This study involved randomly stopping drivers at 300 locations across the 48 continental U.S. states at sites selected through a stratified random sampling procedure. Data were collected during a 2-hr Friday daytime session at 60 locations and during 2-hr nighttime weekend periods at 240 locations. Both self-report and biological measures were taken. Biological measures included breath alcohol measurements from 9,413 respondents, oral fluid samples from 7,719 respondents, and blood samples from 3,276 respondents.     

Trait anger as a mediator of difficulties with emotion regulation and female-perpetrated psychological aggression

Recent research has demonstrated the devastating impact of female-perpetrated psychological aggression in intimate relationships broadly and dating relationships specifically. With the perpetration of psychological aggression in dating relationships occurring at shockingly high rates, prevention programming for dating violence should target this form of aggression. Toward this end, it is important to understand the antecedent conditions that increase one's risk for perpetrating psychological aggression. This study sought to examine two possible risk factors for perpetrating psychological aggression among female undergraduates (N = 145), namely, emotion regulation and trait anger. Findings showed that difficulties with emotion regulation and trait anger were associated with increased psychological aggression perpetration, and trait anger mediated the link between emotion regulation and psychological aggression. Implications of these findings for prevention programming and future research are discussed.     

The structural perspective on postsocialist inequality: Job loss in Russia

The paper seeks to develop a structural approach to understanding post-socialist patterns of inequality, in distinction to the individual and institutional frameworks that have dominated the literature on the topic. Variation in exposure to job loss (layoff) of Russian hired workers from 1985 to 2001 is examined using employment histories from the Survey of Stratification and Migration Dynamics. The analysis focuses on the role of structural position (firm characteristics such as sector, industry, and size) in shaping job loss risk, both independently of individual characteristics such as experience, gender, and human capital and in interaction with these personal traits.     

The effect of movie portrayals on audience attitudes about nontraditional families and sexual orientation

This study examined the impact of motion pictures about the family on viewers' attitudes about family life and sexual orientation. Viewers were randomly assigned to view either Father of the Bride II (control group) or Object of My Affection (treatment group). Viewers' attitudes toward nontraditionalism and homosexuality were assessed before and after viewing their respective film. Treatment and control groups significantly differed in their attitudes toward nontraditionalism, but did not significantly differ in their attitudes toward homosexuals after viewing their respective films. However, the treatment group experienced more favorable attitudes toward homosexuals than the control group after viewing the film. Gender differences were also observed. Men were less tolerant of homosexuals and held fewer nontraditional beliefs about the family than women. Implications and discussion follow.     

Erotic arguments and persuasive acts: discourses of desire and the rhetoric of female-to-male drag

This chapter analyzes the October 21, 2000 drag king performance by Mildred Gerestant, a.k.a. Dréd. Arguing that her act appropriates, embodies, and manipulates certain ideological discourses of desire and identity, the article studies the shape and force of Dréd's performative arguments and illuminates how a drag king act can not only tease and titillate the addressed audience (the actual people who watched the show) but also hail the invoked audience (the audience called upon, imagined, or made possible by the performance). Arguing that, as a rhetorical act, Dréd's performance offers a purposeful discourse about gender, race, and power, this chapter ultimately explores how a rhetorical analysis of FTM drag elucidates the complex relationship between the rhetor, performance, and audience. More specifically, it shows how a rhetor's performance of non-normative identity and engagement with discourses of desire has the potential to unmask the hegemonic effects of language and power and to unsuture the seemingly natural connections between sex and gender.     

Multimethod measurement of high-risk drinking locations: extending the portal survey method with follow-up telephone interviews

Portal survey techniques involve multimodal assessments (e.g., self-report, biologic, and observational) in high-risk drinking and drug-use settings. Our investigation expanded the portal survey methodology to include follow-up assessments of emerging adult women recruited at the border as they cross to and from Mexico south of San Diego, California. The feasibility of the follow-up procedure was established, and the limitations of the technique clarified. Follow-up participants and nonparticipants did not differ by age or reported victimization. Data indicated that 8% of women experience negative events on their return to the United States after a night of binge drinking. These experiences could only be captured in a follow-up survey, as they happened after participants left the border area.     

Nonmarital Childbearing in Russia: Second Demographic Transition or Pattern of Disadvantage?

Using retrospective union, birth, and education histories that span 1980–2003, this study investigates nonmarital childbearing in contemporary Russia. We employ a combination of methods to decompose fertility rates by union status and analyze the processes that lead to a nonmarital birth. We find that the increase in the percentage of nonmarital births was driven mainly by the growing proportion of women who cohabit before conception, not changing fertility behavior of cohabitors or changes in union behavior after conception. The relationship between education and nonmarital childbearing has remained stable: the least-educated women have the highest birth rates within cohabitation and as single mothers, primarily because of their lower probability of legitimating a nonmarital conception. These findings suggest that nonmarital childbearing Russia has more in common with the pattern of disadvantage in the United States than with the second demographic transition. We also find several aspects of nonmarital childbearing that neither of these perspectives anticipates.