Does alcohol consumption reinforce mental problems in adolescence?

The main goal of this article is to provide empirical evidence that alcohol consumption reinforces the occurrence of mental illnesses even at early stages of life. We control probit estimations for unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity. We have drawn a sample of 73,024 individuals from the Spanish National Survey on Drug Use in the School Population (2000, 2002, 2004). Our results confirm our theoretical hypothesis that alcohol consumption has a negative influence on youth state of health, but the magnitude of this influence is lower once we controlled for unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity. Gender differences reveal that females are more likely to have been prescribed tranquilizers, and they are also more vulnerable to alcohol consumption than males are. As effective instruments to improve young people well-being, we suggest increasing the price of liquors and a greater parental control in how their children spend their available budget, and more important, in how they feel.     

Computing the probability of hash table/urn overflow

We analyze the probability of a random distribution of n balls into m urns of size b resulting in no overflows. This solves the computational problem associated with a classical combinatorial extreme-value distribution. The problem arose during the analysis of a technique, called perfect hashing, for organizing data in computer files. The results and techniques presented can be used to solve several problems in the analysis of hashing techniques     

Quantitative Risk Assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in French Cold-Smoked Salmon: II. Risk Characterization

A model for the assessment of exposure to Listeria monocytogenes from cold-smoked salmon consumption in France was presented in the first of this pair of articles (Pouillot et al ., 2007, Risk Analysis, 27:683–700). In the present study, the exposure model output was combined with an internationally accepted hazard characterization model, adapted to the French situation, to assess the risk of invasive listeriosis from cold-smoked salmon consumption in France in a second-order Monte Carlo simulation framework. The annual number of cases of invasive listeriosis due to cold-smoked salmon consumption in France is estimated to be 307, with a very large credible interval ([10; 12,453]), reflecting data uncertainty. This uncertainty is mainly associated with the dose-response model. Despite the significant uncertainty associated with the predictions, this model provides a scientific base for risk managers and food business operators to manage the risk linked to cold-smoked salmon contaminated with L. monocytogenes. Under the modeling assumptions, risk would be efficiently reduced through a decrease in the prevalence of L. monocytogenes or better control of the last steps of the cold chain (shorter and/or colder storage during the consumer step), whereas reduction of the initial contamination levels of the contaminated products and improvement in the first steps of the cold chain do not seem to be promising strategies. An attempt to apply the recent risk-based concept of FSO (food safety objective) on this example underlines the ambiguity in practical implementation of the risk management metrics and the need for further elaboration on these concepts.     

Childcare costs and the demand for children—evidence from a nationwide reform

Exploiting the exogenous variation in user fees caused by a Swedish childcare reform, we are able to identify the causal effect of childcare costs on fertility in a context in which childcare enrollment is almost universal, user fees are low, and labor force participation of mothers is very high. Anticipation of a reduction in childcare costs increased the number of first and higher-order births, but only seemed to affect the timing of second births. For families with many children we also find a marginally significant negative income effect on fertility.     

Three Historical Subcultures in Post-Soviet Russia

The teaching and public dissemination of Russian history in post-Soviet historiography has been shaped by a variety of approaches, including state-sponsored interpretations, views expressed in mass culture, and the work of academic historians.     

Sociology and the Mix Tape: A Metaphor of Creativity

Creative endeavors often resemble one another. This paper explores similarities between sociology and art based on the use of conventions and creativity. More specifically, by comparing the construction of musical mix tapes, the author draws parallels between creating sociology and mix tapes. Looking at the process of how a mix tape is created using other artists’ songs and music for a specified purpose illuminates sociology and our roles as sociologists in a new light that leaves open new possibilities.     

Liberalisierungspolitik

Political-economic classics of different schools agreed that capitalism inherently and inevitably leads to a decline of market principles. We analyze indicators of liberalization policies for 21 OECD-countries in five economic and social policy fields and demonstrate that western industrialized countries are subject of a convergent trend towards market-creating policies??in stark contrast to the theoretical expectations of several political economy authors. At the latest during the first half of the eighties, the western democracies entered a new phase of economic liberalization, which continues up to the present. A methodological implication of our findings suggests that the methods of causal analysis of convergent liberalization policies may not be the same as those who have been applied for the analysis of development and consolidation of the varieties of capitalism in the postwar era.