Self-perception of Gambling Problems among Adolescents Identified as At-risk or Problem Gamblers

The relative influence of perceived familial addictive behaviors and personal gambling behaviors on adolescents' self-perceptions of gambling problems was examined. Students from five high schools in Connecticut (N = 3,886) were surveyed. Of those between the ages of 14 and 17 who scored two or more on the South Oaks Gambling Screen--Revised for Adolescents (n = 532; 72% male; 43% Caucasian), 14.3% reported having a current or past problem with gambling. Wagering larger amounts in a single day, gambling on a daily basis, and perceived presence of a family member with a gambling problem were associated with increased odds of self-perception of a gambling problem. Thus, adolescents who may be less likely to be identified for prevention efforts (due to lack of engagement in high stakes gambling or the real/perceived absence of a problematic gambler in the home) appear less likely to perceive a gambling problem. To advance prevention and treatment strategies, the apparent discrepancy between adolescents' self-perceptions and objective reports of problem gambling behaviors warrants further investigation.     

A career exploration programme for learners with special educational needs

Learners with disabilities lag far behind their peers without disabilities in achievement, graduation rates, post-school education and employment outcomes [4]. Against the current state of education affairs in South Africa, where curriculum models for learners with special educational needs (LSEN) are still under revision, therapists and teachers are finding it difficult to prepare these learners for appropriate employment after school. Even where systems in education are established, persons with learning disabilities face more challenges to enter employment [5]. This article reports on a unique career exploration programme for grade 11 learners at a school for learners with special educational needs in Gauteng, South Africa. It is a collaborative strategy between the learners, their parents, a teacher and the occupational therapists at the school. Two case studies are described to indicate the success of the program.     

Thriving Under Uncertainty: The Effect of Achievement Goal Orientation on Job Insecurity and Flourishing

Social Indicators Research - Flourishing, a construct encompassing optimal human functioning, is an indicator of well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine the direct and indirect effects...     

Risk attitudes and digit ratio (2D:4D): Evidence from prospect theory

Journal of Risk and Uncertainty - Prenatal androgens have organizational effects on brain and endocrine system development, which may have a partial impact on economic decisions. Numerous studies...     

RACE AND EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES: EVIDENCE FROM NBA COACHES

We study the impact of management diversity on employment outcomes using data on NBA head coaches that includes information on the race of each coach and his supervisor. We find that a supervisor is more likely to hire a coach of his own race. We also find that black coaches are less likely to be rehired to a second job within three years than their white counterparts, and that a head coach's race affects the quality of the opportunities he is offered. These findings are stronger for first-time coaches than experienced coaches, suggesting that observable information on performance mitigates bias. (JEL J0, J4, J7)     

A history of the mid-south sociological association

Abstract

Prior to his death in 2018, Marc Matre, Archivist and the longest serving Secretary-Treasurer of the Mid-South Sociological Association (MSSA), submitted a paper to the journal on the history of the MSSA. Reviewers wanted revisions that Marc was unable to complete because of his infirmity, and his last professional wish was that the journal and members of the association finish the work he had started. The following is that revision. It is the combined work of many who contributed to the project as noted in the acknowledgments. Biographical information about Marc follows the list of the principal founders of the association.     

Juggling Between Parental and School Expectations: The Development of Domain‐Specific Acculturation Orientations in Early Adolescence

We examined how perceived acculturation expectations from parents and school, and ethnic discrimination predicted early adolescents’ heritage and mainstream acculturation orientations at home (private domain) and in school (public domain) one year later. We surveyed 263 early adolescents of immigrant background in Germany (M_age = 10.44 years, 60% female). Multigroup path analyses revealed that perceived acculturation expectations and ethnic discrimination were more strongly related to adolescents’ private than public acculturation orientations. Parental heritage expectations were the strongest predictor of adolescents’ acculturation orientations. Boys were more susceptible than girls to ethnic discrimination and acculturation expectations in school, which affected their private and public acculturation orientations. Results highlight the importance of integrating domain‐specific and gendered experiences when analyzing adolescents’ acculturative development.     

Time‐change models for asymmetric processes

Many records in environmental sciences exhibit asymmetric trajectories. The physical mechanisms behind these records may lead for example to sample paths with different characteristics at high and low levels (up–down asymmetries) or in the ascending and descending phases leading to time irreversibility (front–back asymmetries). Such features are important for many applications, and there is a need for simple and tractable models that can reproduce them. In this paper, we explore original time‐change models where the clock is a stochastic process that depends on the observed trajectory. The ergodicity of the proposed model is established under general conditions, and this result is used to develop nonparametric estimation procedures based on the joint distribution of the process and its derivative. The methodology is illustrated on meteorological and oceanographic data sets. We show that, combined with a marginal transformation, the proposed methodology is able to reproduce important characteristics of the data set such as marginal distributions, up‐crossing intensity, and up–down and front–back asymmetries.