The preeminent sacred symbol: Theorizing image of God outcomes

Images of God are the most consequential religious beliefs known to social science. Although sociologists have identified a wide and diverse range of outcomes of imagining different versions of God, more work is needed to show how these outcomes fit together within a multistep theoretical framework. To lay groundwork for such a theory, the present paper (a) briefly summarizes major theoretical perspectives on sources and outcomes of images of God, from psychology, social psychology, and sociology; (b) reviews a wide range of studies that identify specific outcomes of different images of God; and (c) recommends a new theoretical direction based on (a) and (b). Although this new direction will need to be developed in substantially greater detail in another context, the starting point for such work, suggested here, is that images of God function as humans' preeminent sacred symbols. This insight helps bridge an unnecessary chasm between Durkheim's theory of ritual and Stark's theory of gods.     

Distributed intervention: networked content moderation in anonymous mobile spaces

Given recent public focus on the use of digital tools to engage in discrimination and harassment, online platforms have come under increasing scrutiny to address online incivility. Many of these efforts have been critiqued for relying too heavily on technical tools or burdening individuals with the responsibility for reporting inappropriate actions. This research examines practices of digital bystander intervention on the anonymous localized mobile app Yik Yak. Through an analysis of the firsthand experiences of college students in the United States, this research identifies and investigates practices of networked intervention—that is, strategies of content moderation where success relies on collective action. Rooted in a general uncertainty and skepticism regarding reporting tools provided by the platform, findings suggest a preference for intervention practices that depend on distributed responsibility and networked activity. Taking inspiration from research on college bathroom graffiti—a parallel discursive environment—this paper employs the feminist theory of relational autonomy to explore the possibilities and limitations of networked intervention to cultivate individual and collective empowerment.     

Saturated main-effect designs for factorial experiments

The results of a computer search for saturated designs for 2ⁿ factorial experiments with n runs is reported, (where n = 2 mod 4). A complete search of the design space is avoided by focussing on designs constructed from cyclic generators. A method of searching quickly for the best generators is given. The resulting designs are as good as, and sometimes better than, designs obtained via search algorithms reported in the literature. The addition of a further factor having three levels is also considered. Here, too, a complete search is avoided by restricting attention to the most efficient part of the design space under p-efficiency.     

Review and Analysis of the Benefits,Purposes, and Motivations Associated with Community Gardening in the United States

Community gardens have been a part of modern American culture since the late 19th century. Participation in community gardening has ebbed and flowed in response to changing socioeconomic conditions, and thus the current economic recession has reheightened public interest. In a review of the scholarly literature from 1999 to 2010, rigorous quantitative research studies on the effects of community gardens are found to be sparse; however, a larger body of qualitative data is available. Eleven themes related to the purposes, benefits of, and motivations for participating in community gardens are identified. Community gardens can serve as an effective tool for community-based practitioners in carrying out their roles within the arenas of organizing, development, and change.     

Mixture designs for five components in orthogonal blocks

The methods developed by John and Draper et al. of partitioning the blends (runs) of four mixture components into two or more orthogonal blocks when fitting quadratic models are extended to mixtures of five components. The characteristics of Latin squares of side five are used to derive rules for reliably and quickly obtaining designs with specific properties. The designs also produce orthogonal blocks when higher order models are fitted.     

D-optimal mixture component-amount designs for quadratic and cubic models

When the total amount of a mixture of ingredients needs to be taken into account (in addition to the composition of its ingredients), an experimental design requires several levels of the amount. Designs for such situations are discussed, and D-optimal choices are made for fitting quadratic and cubic models, for various numbers of experimental units.     

Being evaluated: a practitioner's view

The impacts of evaluation exercises on people and services being evaluated are examined, including those that are unintended. Using the example of a parents' centre in central London, the paper asks whether evaluators are measuring the right things, whether the resulting ‘evidence’ is valid, and what effects an evaluation may have on the service. It seeks to identify the features of research and evaluation exercises that are most likely to justify the time spent on data collection by leading to improvements in services for children and families. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

GPU-accelerated Gibbs sampling: a case study of the Horseshoe Probit model

Statistics and Computing - Gibbs sampling is a widely used Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method for numerically approximating integrals of interest in Bayesian statistics and other mathematical...