Eight states currently have bans on affirmative action, yet little research has focused on the characteristics of states that predict ban adoption. To begin filling this gap in the literature, I conduct discrete-time survival analysis on an aggregated data set of 47 states from 1995 to 2012 to investigate the extent to which various characteristics of a state predict its likelihood of adopting a statewide affirmative action ban. Results show that scarcity of access to state public flagship institutions and policy diffusion are associated with ban adoption. Aligning with the racial threat literature, the findings suggest that these bans are associated with concerns about the scarcity of access to selective higher education institutions (operationalized as state public flagships) for White students.

Measuring race and ethnicity for administrative data sets and then analyzing these data to understand racial/ethnic disparities present many logistical and theoretical challenges. In this chapter, we conduct a synthetic review of studies on how to effectively measure race/ethnicity for administrative data purposes and then utilize these measures in analyses. Recommendations based on this synthesis include combining the measure of Hispanic ethnicity with the broader racial/ethnic measure and allowing individuals to select more than one race/ethnicity. Data collection should rely on self-reports but could be supplemented using birth certificates or equivalent sources. Collecting data over time, especially for young people, will help identify multiracial and American Indian populations. For those with more complex racial/ethnic identities, including measures of country of origin, language, and recency of immigration can be helpful in addition to asking individuals which racial/ethnic identity they most identify with. Administrative data collection could also begin to incorporate phenotype measures to facilitate the calculation of disparities within race/ethnicity by skin tone. Those analyzing racial/ethnic disparities should understand how these measures are created and attempt to develop fieldwide terminology to describe racial/ethnic identities.

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This study was designed to compare the growth of Pakistani schoolchildren in the UK with the 1990 UK growth standards. Measurements of height, weight, and sitting height were performed on 785 Pakistani schoolchildren aged 5-14 years with the mean values for each age and sex being plotted on the UK growth standards. The results were expressed as SD scores relative to the 1990 reference data.The mean height for the boys was only 0.2 SD scores below the mean for the new growth standards with the mean height for the girls being 0.4 SD scores below the mean. The mean values for weight and body mass index were 0.3 and 0.5 SD scores less than the mean for boys and girls respectively. This study demonstrates that the growth of Pakistani schoolchildren in the UK is comparable to the 1990 UK growth standards with only minor diVerences. It is not safe to assume that short stature or low body weight in a Pakistani child is due to his or her ethnic background. (Arch Dis Child 1997;77:401-405) Keywords: growth; growth standards; Pakistani childrenThe 1990 UK reference charts are the most recent cross sectional growth standards for British children and were published in 1995.