bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Capitalism, Democratic Capitalism, and the Pursuit of Antitrust Laws
Authors: Parakkal Raju , Bartz-Marvez Sherry
Published: February 2015

A major global policy development in the last few decades has been the adoption of national antitrust laws by many developing and transition countries. A primarily American creation, antitrust laws have now spread to nearly all corners of the world. This study undertakes a political economy approach to understanding the global adoption of antitrust laws. We focus on the causal connection between a democratic form of capitalism and antitrust adoption. We argue that the interaction of democracy with a pure form of capitalism results in a political economy characterized as “democratic capitalism.” On the basis of this understanding, we then develop a theoretically grounded conceptual model and offer multiple testable propositions. Our findings show that democratic capitalism, and not capitalism in its pure form, was instrumental in countries adopting national antitrust laws. We attribute this finding to the greater “transactional congruity” that exists between democratic capitalism and antitrust laws. We conclude by discussing the implications of this finding for future antitrust adoption.
Merger Control Procedures and Institutions: A Comparison of EU and U.S. Practice
Authors: Kovacic William E. , Mavroidis Petros C. , Neven Damien J.
Published: February 2015

The object of this article is to discuss and compare the role that different constituencies play in U.S. and EU procedures for merger control. We describe the main constituencies (both internal and external) involved in merger control in both jurisdictions and discuss how a typical merger case would be handled under these procedures. At each stage, we consider how the procedure unfolds, which parties are involved, and how they can affect the procedure. Our discussion reveals a very different ecology. EU and U.S. procedures differ in terms of their basic design and in terms of the procedures that are naturally associated with these alternative designs.
From Rockford to Joplin and Back Again: The Impact of Economics on Hospital Merger Enforcement
Authors: Capps Cory S.
Published: February 2015

After a string of failed attempts to block hospital mergers in the 1990s, federal prospective hospital merger enforcement essentially ceased for a decade. Then, in the late 2000s, outcomes in litigated hospital merger cases reversed dramatically, with the FTC prevailing in a number of significant efforts to block hospital mergers. This sharp reversal can be traced back to the development of economic models of hospital competition that, by design, closely match the structure of the industry. These new models provided the enforcement agencies with a more sound theoretical framework—willingness-to-pay analysis—upon which to base their cases and a set of empirical tools for evaluating competitive effects. In this article, I provide an overview of the willingness-to-pay framework and the comparatively new empirical tools, and I describe how both have affected hospital merger enforcement.
Competitive Effects Analyses of Hospital Mergers: Are We Keeping Pace with Dynamic Healthcare Markets?
Authors: Guerin-Calvert Margaret E.
Published: February 2015

The healthcare industry is undergoing significant realignment driven by economic, policy, demographic, and other factors. Merging parties and enforcement agencies desire frameworks that capture full merger effects including quality, benefits, and efficiencies and provide reliable competitive effects predictions grounded in market realities. Market structure measures alone have proven poor predictors of anticompetitive effects or enforcement activity. Competitive effects analysis must (and the current models do not) reflect the incentives, ability, and impact of insurers' responses to post-merger pricing with adjustments to incentives and network structure that can control provider market power without diminishing efficiencies. It is imperative to alter current models for these insurer incentives and the differentiated hospital reimbursement bids that result in lower costs of care delivery. More comprehensive analysis of merger benefits and impact of patient steering toward high value and cost effective care will enrich economic analysis of mergers and improve reliability of competitive effects predictions.
When the Price Isn't Right—Lundbeck and a Path to Analyze Competition in Drug Research and Development
Authors: Bernard Kent
Published: February 2015

The classic starting point in antitrust merger analysis is to view market definition and competition in terms of price, which was reaffirmed in the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines. But in some cases, such as FTC v. Lundbeck, price is not a determining factor. This article begins by looking at Lundbeck in enough detail to understand why the court rejected the FTC's price-driven market definition arguments. It then lays out a way to analyze potential competitive impact in such nonprice, patent-centric cases. To predict whether or not a transaction will lessen competition in research and development requires an understanding of the industry at issue and an appreciation for the facts (such as patent life) that motivate investment decisions.
Nonprice Competition in “Substitute” Drugs: The FTC's Blind Spot
Authors: Dolin Gregory
Published: February 2015

As the recent case of United States v. Lundbeck illustrates, the Federal Trade Commission's lack of knowledge in medical and pharmacological sciences affects its evaluation of transactions between medical and pharmaceutical companies that involve transfers of rights to manufacture or sell drugs, causing the agency to object to such transactions without solid basis for doing so. This article argues that in order to properly define a pharmaceutical market, one must not just consider the condition that competing drugs are meant to treat, but also take into account whether there are “off-label” drugs that are used to treat a relevant condition, whether drugs actually compete with each other on price or whether they are selected based on their side-effects (or lack thereof), mechanism of action, physician knowledge, and other noneconomic considerations, and finally whether the drugs in question enjoy any patent or nonpatent-based exclusivity that prevents generic manufacturers from entering the market.
Predicting Competitive Effects from Prescription Drug Mergers: How Standard Economic Analysis Can Go Wrong
Authors: Werden Gregory J.
Published: February 2015

Key insights on the unilateral competitive effects of mergers derive from economic models built on behavioral assumptions and mathematical regularity conditions ensuring that merger effects are determined by the premerger margin of competition between products combined. But the usual behavioral assumptions and regularity conditions might not hold for prescription drugs, and the usual insights might not apply. Analysis of a simple model based on the facts of FTC v. Lundbeck shows that weak competition between two therapeutic substitute drugs plausibly results in monopoly prices, so merging them has no effect on their prices.
Market Definition—Achieving an Integrated Analysis
Authors: Kahwaty Henry J. , Tyler Cleve B.
Published: February 2015

Economic analyses employed by economists to address market definition are often performed in conjunction with additional economic analyses focused on addressing other aspects of a merger. Analyses used to evaluate a merger should work together as an integrated unit, and any inconsistencies between them point to a flawed set of analyses. We review lessons from two litigated merger cases (one in Canada and one in the United States) in which the enforcement agencies adopted inconsistent positions with regard to market definition and other aspects of the case. In The Commissioner of Competition v. CCS Corp., results stemming from the competitive effects analyses were found by the Competition Tribunal in Canada to be inconsistent with the claimed geographic market. In In re Polypore International, Inc., the FTC staff sought divestiture of assets located outside the claimed geographic market, raising serious questions about the proposed geographic market, the proposed remedy, or both.
How Can Competition Agencies Use Behavioral Economics?
Authors: Stucke Maurice E.
Published: February 2015

Behavioral economics is both mainstream and timely. The financial crisis raised important issues of market failure, weak regulation, moral hazard, and our poor understanding of how key markets operate. One therefore expects lawyers and economists to bring the current economic thinking to competition agencies, some of which are already taking note. How should the competition agencies respond? This article examines how competition agencies can consider behavioral economics' implications on four levels: first as a gap filler, that is, to help explain “real world” evidence that neoclassical economic theory cannot explain; second, to assess critically the assumptions of specific policies, such as merger review and cartel prosecutions; third, to revisit fundamental questions, such as what is competition and what are the goals of competition law; and fourth, to assess how behavioral economics will affect the degree of convergence of competition law among the over 100 jurisdictions with competition laws today.
Network Organization and Systems Competition: A Marketing Analysis
Authors: Achrol Ravi S. , Gundlach Gregory T.
Published: February 2015

Network organization and systems competition challenge competition policy and antitrust law. Networks can be powerful engines of marketing and innovation, but they can also function in ways that raise competition questions and antitrust concerns. Drawing on the marketing literature, the authors explain the nature and competitive behavior of firms operating in and competing through networks. Key questions for understanding and analyzing marketing networks in competition policy and antitrust law are discussed. The article adds marketing insights to the growing dialogue on network forms of business organization and systems competition. It also demonstrates the benefits of including knowledge from marketing and related disciplines in competition policy and antitrust analysis.
The Influences of Strategic Management on Antitrust Discourse
Authors: Greene Hillary , Yao Dennis A.
Published: February 2015

This article examines how antitrust law and policy can benefit from ideas developed in the academic strategy field. Because accurate assessment and prediction of the effects of firm conduct depend in part on understanding individual firm capabilities, knowledge from the strategy field and other business fields complements the contributions from industrial organization economics (IO). These business fields also offer theoretical and empirical challenges to the IO paradigm, which dominates antitrust analysis. The article begins with a comparison between strategy and IO and then illustrates how the strategy field can contribute to antitrust merger analysis. The article then assesses the influence of the strategy field on antitrust law and scholarship based on a citation analysis, which reveals little evidence of influence. It concludes with an examination of the likely impediments to the diffusion of strategy field ideas into antitrust.
Acoustic emission characterization of failure modes of single-lap joints in glass/epoxy specimens
Authors: Mohamed Bak K , Kalaichelvan K , Jothilingam A , RajendraBoopathy S
Published: February 2015

The main objective of this study is to predict the joint strength and frequency ranges for failure modes on single-lap joints of glass fiber/epoxy specimens under tensile loading, without causing much damage to the lap joint specimen. To design structural components using composite materials, a deep understanding about the material behavior and its failure modes are necessary. To create a better understanding of the adhesive failure, unstable growth and failure process monitoring during mechanical loading is important. Parametric analysis and multistage approach appears to be an efficient tool to correlate the mechanical behavior of composite single-lap joints namely bonded joint, riveted joint, and hybrid joint with acoustic response. The dominant failure modes and their characteristic frequency ranges are assigned to the different acoustic emission (AE) signal levels on the basis of AE waveform in the time domain using fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis. FFT analysis is performed for the peak frequency ranges and the results are interpreted with respect to the amplitude and duration hit activity for each failure mode. The results obtained from AE parametric analysis are compared with FFT analysis results to find the peak frequency ranges for each failure mode. Scanning electron microscopy was used to categorize the defects in the post-test specimen, and AE data were correlated to the damage events.
Low-temperature co-fired Ni–Ti co-substituted barium ferrites
Authors: Li Jie , Zhang Huaiwu , Liu Yinong , Ma Guokun , Li Qiang
Published: February 2015

Divalent Ni2+ ion and tetravalent Ti4+ ion equiatomic co-substituted two trivalent Fe3+ ions of M-type barium ferrite in the form of Ba(NiTi)xFe12-2xO19 with x = 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3. The samples were prepared using solid state reaction route and added 2.5 wt% Bi2O3 to lower sintering temperature. The samples were sintered at 925℃ and 950℃ for 6 h. As the Ni–Ti molar content changed from 1.0 to 1.3, all XRD patterns showed the single phase of the M-type barium ferrite without other intermediate phase. The microstructures were analyzed with scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The saturation magnetization Ms (49.74–29.58 emu/g) and the coercivity Hc (426.44–329.63 Oe) decreased with increasing Ni–Ti composition x and indicated that a decrease of magnetic moment and anisotropy was achieved by substitution of Ni–Ti. These properties attribute to Ni and Ti occupancies at different sites in the barium ferrite crystalline structure.
Beyond Zeroes and Ones
Authors: Chaudoin Stephen , Peskowitz Zachary , Stanton Christopher
Published: February 2015

There is a tremendous amount of variation in conflict intensity both across and within civil conflicts. Some conflicts result in huge numbers of battle deaths, while others do not. Conflict intensity is also dynamic. Conflict intensity escalates, de-escalates, and persists. What explains this variation? We take one of the most prominent explanations for the onset and occurrence of civil conflict—variation in economic conditions—and apply it to the intensity and dynamics of civil conflict. Using an instrumental variables strategy and a rich set of empirical models, we find that the intensity of conflict is negatively related to per capita income. We also find that economic conditions affect conflict dynamics, as poorer countries are likely to experience longer and more intense spells of fighting after the onset of conflict.
Advancing understanding on industrial relations in multinational companies: Key research challenges and the INTREPID contribution
Authors: Gunnigle Patrick , Pulignano Valeria , Edwards Tony , Belizón María J , Navrbjerg Steen , Olsen Karen M , Susaeta Lourdes
Published: February 2015

This paper has three principal aims. It firstly provides some theoretical background on the key current research issues and challenges in regard to industrial relations in multinational companies. It then presents a concise review of scholarship to date on industrial relations in multinational companies using INTREPID ( Investigation of Transnationals’ Employment Practices: an International Database) data. Finally, the paper identifies some of the main industrial relations issues that remain to be addressed, in effect charting a form of research agenda for future work using the INTREPID data, with particular focus on the potential contribution from ‘late joiners’ to the INTREPID project.
Performance and reward practices of multinational corporations operating in Australia
Authors: Bartram Timothy , Boyle Brendan , Stanton Pauline , Sablok Gitika , Burgess John
Published: February 2015

This paper examines the performance management and reward practices of multinational corporations operating in Australia. Drawing on a representative sample of 211 multinational corporations, we examine the uptake and determinants of performance management and reward practices used by multinational corporations in Australia. We investigate the influence of established contextual and organisational factors on performance management and rewards and explore the use of such practices amongst managers relative to the largest occupational group. Our findings suggest that overall multinational corporations operating in Australia use a wide range of performance management and reward practices. Findings indicate that multinational corporations are higher users of such practices for managers relative to the largest occupational group. Logistic regression results demonstrate that multinational corporations with higher use of human resource-shared services and global human resource integration are more likely to use the measured performance management and reward practices for both the largest occupational group and managers, suggesting some level of global integration around human resource activities. There is also greater likelihood of the use of these practices where there is low union recognition for the purpose of collective bargaining for the largest occupational group. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Variation within the host country: How do complementary sub-national levels affect subsidiary discretion on vocational training policies within multinationals?
Authors: Dekocker Vickie
Published: February 2015

This paper adapts a cross-comparative case study analysis to investigate how complementary sub-national levels affect subsidiary discretion on vocational training policies in multinationals’ subsidiaries in Belgium. The paper addresses three levels: the regional government, the sector, and the web of inter-firm relations. Using case studies of four multinationals with three subsidiaries operating in Belgium, the paper concludes that a high level of subsidiary discretion is found when several sub-national policies are supportive of companies’ intended training policies. In other words, if only one level instigates training initiatives or if these initiatives do not fit with the multinationals’ training aims, no subsidiary discretion is observed. Furthermore, the paper shows that national surveys on employment practices in multinational companies would benefit from integrating these sub-national levels. Based on the effects of the sub-national levels on discretion, as found in our paper, we expect the sub-national levels to mediate or reinforce the home and host country effect.
Establishment of a model of acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity in different weekly-aged ICR mice
Authors: Taguchi K , Tokuno M , Yamasaki K , Kadowaki D , Seo H , Otagiri M
Published: February 2015

Acetaminophen (APAP), a widely used analgesic and antipyretic drug, has the potential to cause lethal hepatotoxicity. Mice are widely used for developing murine models of APAP-induced hepatotoxicity, and many researchers have used these models for APAP-related studies including the fields of biology, pharmacology and toxicology. Although drug-induced hepatotoxicity is dependent on a number of factors (species, gender and age), very few studies have investigated the effect of aging on APAP hepatotoxicity. In this study, we evaluated the effect of age on APAP-induced hepatotoxicity in different weekly-aged mice to establish a model of APAP-induced hepatotoxicity that is an accurate reflection of general experimental conditions. Male ICR mice 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks old were given APAP intraperitoneally, and mortality, hepatic damage and the plasma concentration of APAP metabolites were evaluated. It was found that younger male ICR mice were relatively resistant to hepatotoxicity induced by intraperitoneal APAP administration. In addition, the APAP-glucuronide concentration in plasma remained essentially the same among the differently-aged mice, while APAP-sulfate levels were dramatically decreased in an age-dependent manner. Thus, it is recommended that mice of the same ages be used in studies related to APAP-induced hepatotoxixity. These results provide evidence in support of not only the age-related changes in susceptibility to APAP-derived hepatotoxicity in mice but also in developing mouse models for APAP-related studies.
Kindergarten Black–White Test Score Gaps
Authors: Quinn David M.
Published: February 2015

Black–white test score gaps form in early childhood and widen over elementary school. Sociologists have debated the roles that socioeconomic status (SES) and school quality play in explaining these patterns. In this study, I replicate and extend past research using new nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Class of 2010–2011. I find black–white test score gaps at kindergarten entry in 2010 in reading ( SD = .32), math ( SD = .54), and working memory ( SD = .52 among children with valid scores). Math and reading gaps widened by approximately .06 standard deviations over kindergarten, but the working memory gap was constant. Multivariate regressions show that student SES explained the reading gap at school entry, but gap decompositions suggest that school quality differences were responsible for the widening of the reading gap over kindergarten. SES explained much of the math gap at school entry, but the widening of the math gap could not be explained by SES, school quality, or other hypotheses.
Beyond Stereotypes
Authors: Baldwin Lois , Omdal Stuart N. , Pereles Daphne
Published: February 2015

The term twice exceptional was coined to describe students who have a disability and who also have characteristics and traits associated with giftedness. These students may appear to be capable and bright but do not demonstrate that ability when asked to produce work in the classroom. Recognizing these students may be challenging, as the disability may overshadow the gift, the gift may mask the effect of the disability, or both remedial and advanced learning needs may go completely unnoticed. Strategies for serving twice-exceptional students include addressing the student’s strengths and interests; providing appropriate social and emotional support; offering adaptations for academic strengths and accommodations for learning needs; and creating a supportive, safe, problem-solving culture that values the success of every student. What do twice-exceptional learners “look like”? The students profiled in this article provide a glimpse into the variety of ways twice exceptionality can present in the classroom environment.
Social Pressures to Drink or Drink a Little More: The Nigerian Experience
Authors: Ibanga Akanidomo K. J. , Adetula Victor A. O. , Dagona Zubairu K.
Published: February 2015

I investigated the pressures experienced by different individuals to drink, or drink a little more than intended, by someone who drinks or drinks more than they do. 2099 Nigerian adults between the ages of 18 and 65 years were randomly sampled. Logistic regression was used to identify significant individual predictors of receiving pressure by sources of influence. Focus group discussions examined how these pressures are applied in various settings. Results indicated that male friends or acquaintances were the sources respondents reported influenced them the most to drink or drink more. Significant predictors of pressure varied by source but tended to include religion (five of six sources) and gender (three of six). Results showed that pressure to drink or drink a little more was seen to come more from males than from females. It raises the need to have a better knowledge of these factors, particularly as they may relate to heavy or problematic drinking, and their implications for prevention and treatment.
MDMA Use among a Group of Friends in Oslo, Norway, between Self-Development and Social Participation: Dilemmas of a Pharmaceutical Normalcy?
Authors: Hilden Per Kristian
Published: February 2015

This article presents a case of self-staged, therapeutic use of MDMA (Ecstasy) in a small group of friends in Norway. The analysis focuses on the ways in which legitimacy is built for the practice, and therefore attends to tropes, assumptions, and conceptual and practical conditions of possibility involved in the participants' reflections over their drug taking. Three dimensions of these reflections are emphasised: the significance attributed to the setting of drug use, the differential representations of the psychotropic effects of MDMA and LSD, and the pharmaco-therapeutic rationality with which their MDMA use was organized and conceived. The article argues that, amid “pharmaceutical normalcy” as cultural paradigm for how health and responsibility is conceived in late modern societies, a tension arises between sociable and self-developmental modalities of motivation for recreational drug use.
Consuming e: Ecstasy Use and Contemporary Social Life
Authors: Olsen Anna
Published: February 2015

Research and popular commentary on Ecstasy often frames users as rebellious youth reacting against mainstream society via hedonistic rave parties and reckless intoxication. Critical consideration of the complex social and economic foundations of Ecstasy use is lacking in much of this youth-based research. Growing evidence, for example, suggests that a wide range of people take Ecstasy in a variety of contexts. Through the lens of anthro-economic approaches to consumption this article suggests that although Ecstasy is an illicit drug popular among youth, the symbolic meanings surrounding its use are also connected to the every-day. Accounts of 12 Ecstasy users from Canberra, Australia show how their experiences of Ecstasy, and the value the drug gives to their social relations, are firmly situated within the aspirations and confines of late capitalist consumer society. Participants' narratives were associated with ideologies about vitality, leisure and the importance of being social and energetic without impinging on one's other social responsibilities. Their patterns of Ecstasy consumption were not only connected to subcultural tastes and desires but changing values of leisure and consumption in wider contemporary life.
The “Triangle That Moves the Mountain” and Thai Alcohol Policy Development: Four Case Studies
Authors: Thamarangsi Thaksaphon
Published: February 2015

The “Triangle that Moves the Mountain” is a conceptualized strategy initiated as a social tool for solving difficult social problems, by simultaneously strengthening capacity in three interrelated sectors: (1) creation of knowledge; (2) social movement; and (3) political involvement. The concept has been claimed as the basis of many successes in various Thai policy arenas.

This article describes the strategy implications of four alcohol policy development case studies. The first case is the establishment process for the Thai Health Promotion Foundation and its contribution to the alcohol policy area. The second and third cases are two phases in the development of alcohol promotion regulation. The last case reviews the movement against the approval of an alcohol company listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The case studies show that capacity strengthening in three sectors, based on this concept, benefited Thai alcohol policy development.
Events as Precipitators to Treatment: Important for Both Well-Integrated and Marginalized Alcohol and Drug Users of a Swedish Treatment System
Authors: Storbjörk Jessica
Published: February 2015

“Women and Men in Swedish Alcohol and Drug Treatment” studies how people with alcohol and drug problems come to treatment. The focus is on different alcohol- and drug-related life events in the year prior to treatment and whether or not these events contributed to treatment entry. The importance of these events is also studied in relation to level of marginalization. The representative cross-sectional sample includes 1865 clients (71% men) interviewed inperson when entering inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities. Most respondents reported events in the year prior to treatment and these were also perceived as contributors to treatment. Events related to significant others and health workers seem to be of greatest importance for treatment entry. These events happen to a lot of the problematic alcohol and drug users and are viewed as strong contributing factors by the respondents. More marginalized people and misusers with more severe addiction problems experience more events. A curvilinear relationship (somewhat U-shaped) was found between level of marginalization and events as contributors to treatment: the least marginalized people are most likely to report events as contributors, people in between are the least likely and the most marginalized people are likely to report events as contributors to treatment, given that they have experienced the event.
Developing a Data Resource to Support State Substance Abuse Prevention Planning: Approaches Used in Implementing CSAP's Strategic Prevention Framework
Authors: Flewelling Robert L. , Birckmayer Johanna , Boothroyd Renee
Published: February 2015

A number of data collection systems designed to monitor selected substance abuse behaviors and consequences are in place in the United States. Some of these systems provide only national-level data, while others provide data disaggregated by state and in some cases by sub-state units such as counties or communities. Less progress has been made in identifying a key set of epidemiologic indicators across the three major substance categories (i.e., alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs), and assembling them in a manner designed to effectively support substance abuse prevention planning at the state and local levels.

A recent federal initiative funded by the U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) seeks to accelerate progress in this area through its Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF). The framework is intended to stimulate the prudent use of available data, and the development of additional data resources, for: 1) identifying statewide priorities for substance abuse prevention, 2) informing resource allocation decisions, 3) monitoring state and local trends in substance abuse and related consequences, and 4) evaluating state and local prevention efforts. This article describes the underlying rationale and issues considered in developing the database, some of the challenges and limitations in applying the data to prevention planning processes, and current strategies employed by CSAP to guide states and communities in effectively using the data in their substance abuse prevention planning and monitoring efforts.
Using Statewide Youth Surveys to Evaluate Local Drug Use Policies and Interventions
Authors: Paschall Mallie J. , Flewellng Robert L. , Grube Joel W.
Published: February 2015

This article summarizes two studies that use statewide school-based youth surveys to evaluate local initiatives to reduce alcohol and other substance abuse. The Vermont New Directions evaluation was conducted to assess the effects of a community-based intervention in 23 Vermont communities to reduce youth substance use. Outcome data were obtained from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which is administered to students in grades 8 through 12 every other year in almost all school districts in the state. Based on a quasi-experimental design, results indicated significant declines in cigarette and marijuana use in intervention districts relative to comparison districts during the study period, and led to legislative action to continue funding the initiative. The Oregon Reducing Youth Access to Alcohol study is now being conducted in 36 Oregon communities (45 school districts) with a randomized controlled design to evaluate six combined environmental strategies to reduce underage drinking. The strategies include a reward and reminder program and minor decoy operations to reduce commercial alcohol availability, party patrol dispersal and minor in possession arrests to reduce social alcohol availability, traffic emphasis, and media advocacy to increase visibility of policy enforcement activities.
Monitoring of Alcohol Use and Attributable Harm from an International Perspective
Authors: Rehm Jürgen , Room Robin
Published: February 2015

Alcohol consumption was shown to cause about 4% of the global burden of disease in 2000; about the same size of burden as due to tobacco smoking. In addition, alcohol has been linked to considerable social harm. The high public health relevance of alcohol has triggered considerable efforts to reduce alcohol-attributable harm. As part of these efforts, monitoring systems have been planned and in part implemented to serve as means of early warning and to measure success or failure of different interventions. The present article gives an overview of systems currently in place or planned for monitoring alcohol use and related harm from a global perspective, and makes recommendations concerning optimal indicators.
The World Health Organization's Global Alcohol Database: Opportunities for Research and Support for Policy
Authors: Gliksman Louis , Rylett Margaret
Published: February 2015

Since its inception in 1997, the Global Alcohol Database (GAD) has undergone several iterations and brings together information on a number of topics across countries: alcohol and health situations; consequences of alcohol consumption; trends in alcohol use and related mortality; alcohol production; trade; health effects; and national alcohol control measures and policies. Efforts have been made to make this database compatible with the World Health Organization (WHO) International Guide for Monitoring Alcohol Consumption and Related Harm. A set of indicators was chosen that assesses the most important aspects of the alcohol situation in WHO Member States as they relate to public health. The indicators are grouped into seven broad categories: alcohol production and availability; levels of consumption; patterns of consumption; harms and consequences; economic aspects; alcohol control policies; and prevention, treatment and drinking guidelines. Contents of the GAD are available on the WHO's Global Information on Alcohol and Health Web site.
Monitoring Alcohol and Alcohol Related Problems in Sweden
Authors: Andréasson Sven , Nilsson Tony , Bränström Richard
Published: February 2015

The Swedish National Institute of Public Health is responsible for monitoring alcohol and alcohol related problems in Sweden. Four categories of indicators have been developed and are followed. 1) Determinants of drinking, e.g. availability; these include business hours in the retail monopoly stores, number of licensed premises, and business hours. 2) Consumption indicators include alcohol sales at the retail monopoly stores in all municipalities as well as sales at licensed premises and beer sales at grocery shops and other stores. Estimates of unrecorded consumption is based on survey data. 3) Harms data include alcohol related mortality and morbidity and alcohol related crime. 4) Two indicators of prevention activity in the communities are being developed: the first is an organizational index based on the number of staff employed by the municipality to work with alcohol and drug prevention, existence of a current municipal alcohol and drug policy, number of licensed premises per 10,000 inhabitants, enforcement activity and organized cooperation with other agencies in the community, e.g. the police, NGO's, and local businesses. The second is an activity index which is based on the number of prevention activities conducted in the communities.
Monitoring Alcohol and Drug Abuse Trends in South Africa (1996–2006): Reflections on Treatment Demand Trends
Authors: Parry Charles , Plüddemann Andreas , Bhana Arvin
Published: February 2015

This article describes the South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use project, describes selected trends in treatment demand related to alcohol and other drug (AOD) use for a 10 year period, and reflects on the utility and impact of this initiative on policy and practice. Data are collected using a standardized data collection form from over 70 specialist AOD treatment centers in six sentinel sites in South Africa every 6 months. Data are also collected from police forensic records and community surveys. Treatment demand linked to methamphetamine use has increased substantially in recent years in one site (Cape Town), but not in other sites. Treatment demand for heroin-related problems has increased over time in most sites, with changes in the population group profile of patients being noted. Over time the proportion of adolescents admitted to treatment centers has also increased significantly. The project has informed policy development at provincial and national levels, has guided local training and resource allocation decisions, and has allowed us to engage meaningfully in international forums. It has furthermore strengthened collaboration among researchers and stimulated new research initiatives. Dissemination activities have been intensive.
Improving Graduated Frequencies Alcohol Measures for Monitoring Consumption Patterns: Results from an Australian National Survey and a US Diary Validity Study
Authors: Greenfield Thomas K. , Kerr William C. , Bond Jason , Ye Yu , Stockwell Tim
Published: February 2015

We investigate several types of graduated frequency (GF) instruments for monitoring drinking patterns. Two studies with 12-month GF measures and daily data were used: (i) the Australian 2004 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) (n = 24,109 aged 12+; 22,546 with GF and over 8000 with yesterday data) and (ii) a US methodological study involving a 28-day daily diary plus GF summary measures drawn from the National Alcohol Survey (NAS) (n = 3,025 screened, 119 eligible study completers). The NDSHS involved (i) “drop and collect” self-completed forms with random sampling methods; the Measurement study (ii) screened 3+ drinkers by telephone and collected 28-day drinking diaries and pre- and post-diary 28-day GFs. We compared mean values for the GF quantity ranges from yesterday's drinks (study i) and 28-day diaries (study ii), also examining volume influence. Using “yesterday's” drinking, Australian results showed GF quantity range means close to arithmetic midpoints and volume effects only for the lowest two levels (1–2, and 3–4 drinks; p < .001). U.S. calibration results on the GF using 28-day diaries were similar, with a volume effect only at these low quantity levels (p < .001). Means for the highest quantity thresholds were 23.5 drinks for the 20+ (10 gram) drink level (Australia) and 15.5 drinks for the 12+ (14 g) drink level (US). In the US study, summary GF frequency and volume were highly consistent with diary-based counterparts. A conclusion is that algorithms for computing volume may be refined using validation data. We suggest measurement methods may be improved by taking better account of empirical drink ethanol content.
An Integrated Alcohol Control Policy: What, Why and How?
Authors: Ugland Trygve
Published: February 2015

In response to the calls for more integrated governmental actions across different policy sectors, this paper discusses what an integrated alcohol control policy is; why alcohol control policies should be integrated; and how alcohol control policy integration can be accomplished. The theoretical discussion is illustrated by empirical examples from Finnish and Swedish alcohol control policies in their encounter with the European Union (EU). The central argument of this paper is that the impact of international free trade commitments on domestic alcohol control policies will depend on how this policy sector is organized and operates. Alcohol control policies are more likely to survive in an international free trade context if they are tightly integrated around the health and social policy objectives they are intended to promote and protect. This implies that attempts should be made to achieve a clearer divorce of public health and social policy objectives related to alcohol on the one hand, and from trade and commercial objectives on the other.
Performing Cannabis in the Light of the Backpacker Discourse
Authors: Hellum Merete
Published: February 2015

The aim of this article is to discuss how we theoretically can understand the relationship between a specific intoxicating drug and a specific holiday discourse, in this case the relationship between the drug cannabis and the backpackers' discourse. Starting from the term performance, which is divided into different forms of performance—directed, identity-oriented, and nonconforming—I try to grasp the process of materialization: how matters or substances ascribe meaning. In this article I discuss how the backpacker discourse is historically formed by the 1960s/70s hippie discourse, and further, how the drug cannabis is a part of this picture. Cannabis is used as a marketing instrument when the backpackers' discourse is promoted. There is a link between an ideology described in the hippie discourse and different forms of performance, such as identity-oriented, where cannabis is referred to as “natural,” and intoxication as a happy, nonviolent alternative, connected to solidarity, and the nonconforming performance, which can be a performance showing shame in relation to travelling and illicit drug experiences, or a resistance performance which aligns with the official Swedish drug discourse in order to present Swedish backpackers positively.
“Yes, I Do but Not with You”: Qualitative Analyses of Sexual/romantic Overture-Related Aggression in Bars and Clubs
Authors: Graham Kathryn , Wells Samantha , Bernards Sharon , Dennison Susan
Published: February 2015

Assaultive and aggressive behaviors related to sexual overtures are common in commercial drinking establishments (bars, pubs, and clubs). In this article, we examined the thematic content of 251 incidents of verbal and physical aggression related to sexual/romantic overtures documented by researcher-observers in a study of Toronto bars and clubs. Aggression was examined as it emerged in the following stages of the social interaction process: (a) sexual/romantic overtures that began aggressively; (b) initiators of sexual/romantic overtures who became aggressive later in the social interaction process; (c) aggression by targets of overtures; and (d) aggression by third parties. From these thematic analyses we identify the distinctions between predatory and genuine overtures and explore the potential role of the effects of alcohol.

In these social overtures aggression occurred as part of the initial overture, during the interaction following the overture (i.e., aggression by the person who made the initial overture, by the target or third parties), and in response to rejection by the target. Targets of overtures responded aggressively to perceived inappropriate overtures; third parties played important aggressive and nonaggressive roles; and alcohol intoxication was identified as contributing to aggression in a number of ways. The theoretical significance and practical implications for prevention of the findings are discussed.
Process versus Outcome-Oriented Drinking: An Exploratory Study of Wine and Moderate Drinking Occasions among Young Adults in California
Authors: Antin Tamar M. J. , Paschall Mallie J. , Nygaard Peter
Published: February 2015

Wine is increasing in popularity among young adults in the United States. Previous research has shown that when young adults consume wine, they typically do so in moderation. This article reports on the findings of an exploratory, qualitative study conducted in 2006 that investigated factors associated with moderate wine drinking occasions among young adults. We conducted semistructured interviews with 15 young adults between the ages of 18–26 from Northern California university communities. Using a pattern-level analytic approach, interviews revealed two modes in which these young adults drink: outcome-oriented and process-oriented drinking. These two drinking outcomes were associated with different beverages, consumption patterns, drinking settings, sociability, and levels of maturity, as perceived by study participants. This article considers moderate drinking occasions among young adults in order to develop strategies to reduce harm associated with heavy consumption. Our pilot study offers insight into this perspective and provides a basis for future research.
Examining and Understanding the Joint Role of Caffeine and Alcohol in Facilitating Violent Offending and Victimization
Authors: Kuhns Joseph B. , Clodfelter Tammatha A. , Bersot Heather Y.
Published: February 2015

The study draws attention to the importance of considering and controlling for caffeine and the interactive effects between caffeine and alcohol when investigating aggressive and violent behavior. Various pathways between caffeine and alcohol consumption and aggression and violence are examined. Given recent changes in preferences and availability of caffeine and energy drinks among licit and illicit substance users, this study argues for the importance of focusing research attention on the role of caffeine, particularly when combined with alcohol, in facilitating violent outcomes. Evidence suggests that both caffeine and alcohol are linked to aggression and violence and that both substances should be considered within the context of our efforts to manage the negative consequences of drugs. Caffeine, via energy drink consumption, may contribute to violent offending and victimization in a variety of ways. Evidence suggests that caffeine/energy drink consumption is popular among a subculture of toxic jock users, may motivate and facilitate increased alcohol consumption particularly in late night-time economies, and can potentially contribute to disrupted decision-making. Recent increases in caffeinated-product availability, marketing, and consumption necessitate focused research and policy attention. Many of these products are consumed with alcohol and/or in late evening settings by individuals that are already at increased risk for violent offending and victimization.
Factors Associated with Treatment Compliance and its Effects on Retention among Participants in a Court-Mandated Treatment Program
Authors: Patra Jayadeep , Gliksman Louis , Fischer Benedikt , Newton-Taylor Brenda , Belenko Steven , Ferrari Michel , Kersta Stephanie , Rehm Jürgen
Published: February 2015

Drug treatment court (DTC) programs have been implemented and promoted in American as well as Canadian judicial systems as an effective tool for reducing criminal recidivism rates. An evaluation of the program in Toronto revealed that the drug court participants' substance abuse and criminal behaviors are reduced while they are under the drug courts' jurisdiction, and to some extent recidivism is reduced after participants leave the program. However, while we know from the literature that there are positive effects of the program, the characteristics of drug-dependent offenders who benefit the most from the DTC are less clear. The main purpose of this study was to understand where the prediction from literature, that compliance determines success in treatment, fails. Thus, study participants were divided into two groups: 1) those who might normally be expected to not comply yet who do in the long run (unexpected retention, UR); and 2) those who might normally be expected to comply, but who do not (unexpected expulsions, UE). Discriminant function analysis showed that participants considered UR were subject to conditions of social disadvantage yet quite motivated; whereas UE participants had no housing concern, no indication of family problems, but had additional criminal justice involvement at an early stage of the program. Implications for strengthening DTCs as well as suggestions for future research in the drug treatment and drug court fields are discussed.