A STATISTICAL MODEL FOR DUPLICATE TOURNAMENTS IN GAMES OF LUCK AND SKILL

Many games played between two contestants start with a random deal, which introduces luck from the deal. The concept of ‘duplication’, commonly employed in Bridge tournaments, can be used to nullify that luck in a tournament. This paper poses a model for the contest between any two players and analyses the model for a tournament which employs the duplication principle. Two example tournaments on a new game are analysed.     

Estimating the extent and degree of Gambling related problems in the Australian population: A national survey

A stratified random doorknock method was used to interview 2744 respondents in four state capitals in Australia. The interview was in 3 parts with the latter two only administered to regular, once per week or more often gamblers (N=290). The measures completed by this group included the South Oaks Gambling Screen and a range of psychological measures. A conservative interpretation of the results was that problem gamblers, defined in terms of a range of personal and interpersonal gambling-related costs, comprised 1.16% (±0.34%) of the Australian population. It was estimated that problem players losses may account for about one quarter of all expenditures on gambling.     

Biracial identity and social marginality

This comparative analysis of classic and recent literature explores the developmental and social implications of biracial identity in the U.S. Though specific attention was given to Black-White biracial persons, a broader analysis yielded some surprising insights into the nature and implications of the biracial personality and the accompanying differences in interpersonal styles and social relationships.Dr. Brown is in private practice.     

Knowledge of Acute Human Immnuodeficiency Virus Infection Among Gay and Bisexual Male College Students

Abstract

Objective: To examine human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in at-risk college men who have sex with men (MSM), focusing on knowledge about acute HIV infection (AHI). Participants and Methods: A one-time anonymous survey was administered to college students attending a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer conference in February 2012. This article reports on a study subsample of MSM. Results: A total of 100 MSM completed the survey. Participants had an average age of 20.4 years. Sixty-six percent reported condom use the last time they had sex. Only 46% had ever heard of symptoms related to AHI. Forty-two percent would likely seek medical care when showing acute symptoms in a setting consistent with AHI. Conclusion: Despite having multiple risk factors for HIV infection, many MSM college students are unaware of AHI. HIV prevention programs should target this population and include information about signs, symptoms, and diagnosis of AHI.     

Teaching social policy to social work atudents: a critical reflection

Local and international evidence suggests that professional social work education often fails to effectively prepare graduates to implement social policy objectives within their everyday practice. This paper critically analyses the development of social policy subjects within one particular Australian social work course. Particular attention is drawn to subject objectives, content, reading material, teaching methods and assessment. Some suggestions are made for new educational initiatives that could potentially lead to more effective social policy practice.     

A moral vision: human dignity in the eyes of the founders of sociology

The case argued in this paper is not that the concerns of the founders of sociology are uniformly and in every particular still our own (Runciman, 2008), but that the concepts and methods used to address just one of their concerns were both ground breaking and of enduring value (Shilling and Mellor, 2001, 2011, for example, make a similar claim). Such a concern focused on the kind of morality grounded in a capitalist social order and, by implication, how it might be theorized. This generated in the process the uniquely sociological operationalization of what had seemed hitherto a philosophical concept: human dignity, along with the freedom and autonomy that attend it. Certainly, the priorities differed in each of the contributions to this endeavour but, in coming at the problem from different standpoints, the concept of dignity came to appear more rounded, more substantive and more relevant to the human condition in all its historical specificity. Quite crucially, there is also in these sources from the classical period of sociology an intimation of method: both the way in which human dignity is to be ‘perceived’ within an inter‐personal dialectic at a micro‐level and, at a macro‐level, how we can discern that dignity transcends artificial confinement by any one aspect of life (be it economic, political or cultural).¹     

“Romancing with a Wealth or Detail” Narratives or Ernest Jones's 1906 Trial for Indecent Assault

In March 1906 Dr. (Alfred) Ernest Jones was put on trial for indecently assaulting two young “mentally defective” girls at a special school in South East London. Jones claimed it was “the most disagreeable experience in [his] life.” A detailed reconstruction of the trial, drawn from contemporaneous records, reveals significant flaws in Jones's autobiographical account. Reading those records in the light of early psychoanalytic theory and recent British “political” texts on child sexual abuse—from “Cleveland,” “Orkney,” and “Jason Dabbs” through to “Lost in Care”—helps illuminate the dominant medicolegal ideologies that informed Jones's trial. Adapting Leo Strauss's concept of persecution reveals how details of the children's allegations were occluded from the trial reports. A jigsaw reconstruction of these silences offers a restitutive narrative of the children's persecuted speech.     

The impact of rest breaks upon accident risk,fatigue and performance: A review

This review's primary objective is to identify research examining the impact of rest breaks uponaccident risk in industrial settings. In the absence of much directly relevant research, the focus isbroadened to consider the impact of rest breaks upon performance and fatige, as well asepidemioogical evidence, in both transport and non-transport settings. Relevant studies are identifiedfrom a range of electronic sources. In general, regular rest breaks can be an effective means ofmaintaining performance, managing fatigue and controlling the accumulation of risk over prolongedtask perfonmance. While two-hourly breaks are common in many industrial settings, the scheduling ofadditional micro-breaks can be beneficial under at least some circumstances. While some evidencesupports allowing workers to take rest breaks that coincide with periods of heightened fatigue,workers sometims fail to take adequate breaks when they are needed. There is little hard evidenceconcerning the optimun length of rest breaks (other than for heavy physical work), or to support thecontention that increased rest-breaks can off-set the negative inpact of extending shift durations, or tosuggest that rest breaks counteract the neptive impacts of circadian variations in alertness, unless theyinvolve taking a nap or caffeine. The scarcity of epidemiological evidence in this area highlights theneed for more research.     

Race and Politics: Predicting Support for 2016 Presidential Primary Candidates among White Americans

Using a sample of up to 859 white Americans in the United States, we examine how racial resentment, perceptions of discrimination toward majority and minority populations, white identity salience, and American identity salience influence support for five candidates running for President in 2016. Using data from the American National Election Studies 2016 Pilot Study, we find that racial resentment influences support for both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, and white identity salience increases support for Trump and Clinton. Although policy issues, including the economy, health care, immigration, and terrorism, also shape attitudes toward political candidates, the effects of racial resentment and white identity salience persist. We conclude by arguing that America continues to be shaped by a white racial frame which views minorities as inferior and that this view is perpetuated through support for candidates who support white supremacy.