‘It's kind of saving them a job isn't it?’ The consumption work of household recycling

Consumers play an integral role in societal divisions of labour. Rather than simply consume, they frequently perform labour. Incorporating consumers into the division of labour poses a challenge to this foundational and enduring concept, given its traditional focus on the technical division of tasks/skills within a labour process. Yet, insofar as completion of a circuit of production, distribution, exchange and consumption is predicated on consumers undertaking work in order to/after they consume, analysis of the division of labour would be incomplete without their inclusion. This paper uses the case of household recycling to demonstrate the importance of ‘consumption work’ for the organization of the waste management industry in England. By sorting their waste, consumers initiate a new economic process, providing feedstock (such as metals, plastics and paper) which in turn creates jobs/profits within the recycling, processing and manufacturing industries. Consumers also reconfigure public and private sector responsibilities when they sort their recyclable materials from general household waste, revealing the interdependency of consumption work with labour conducted under different socio‐economic relations and across differing socio‐economic domains. This paper makes the case for a renewed conception of division of labour to account for transformations and interconnections between work of different forms within contemporary society.     

Measuring and framing support for universal basic income

We execute an original survey experiment to examine the extent and determinants of support for a nascent policy issue, universal basic income (UBI), in the American public. We explore the effects of how UBI is framed (either in the context of values or the context of policy), finding three key results. First, UBI is primarily a Democratic and liberal policy. Second, negative arguments against UBI move support for UBI more than positive arguments. Third, and surprisingly, respondents are equally affected by both policy-driven and value-driven arguments about UBI. In conclusion, an increase in messaging about UBI is likely to widen existing partisan differences in UBI support. These differences are unlikely to be won over by policy or values arguments.     

The Culture of High-Risk Alcohol Use Among Club and Intramural Athletes

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the drinking patterns of club and intramural college athletes and compare their alcohol consumption, perceived norms around the excessive use of alcohol, experience of negative consequences, and employment of protective strategies with those of campus varsity athletes. Participants: A total of 442 undergraduate students attending a private, suburban institution in the Northeast participated in the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment-II Web survey in spring 2011. Thirty-five students identified themselves as varsity athletes, 76 identified as club sport athletes, and 196 students identified themselves as intramural athletes. Methods: Survey responses were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The Pearson's correlation coefficient and test for independence were applied to identify significant relationships between athlete status and identified variables related to alcohol use. Results: Results indicated that there were significant correlations between athlete status and all variables, to varying degrees. Conclusions: These findings have implications for campus health promotion professionals and athletics program coordinators seeking to address high-risk alcohol use among college athletes.     

Flourishing,Substance Use,and Engagement in Students Entering College: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the health topics students received information about, how students obtained health-related information, and perceived believability of those sources. Participants and Methods: Students (N = 1202) were surveyed using the National College Health Assessment (NCHA) of the American College Health Association. Results: Nearly half (46%) of the sample reported not receiving any information, whereas only 0.5% received information on all health topics. The Internet was the most common source of health-related information, but, conversely, was perceived as the least believable source. Health center medical staff and university health educators were perceived to be the most believable sources. Conclusions: Future practice at the university setting should focus on delivering health information through believable messengers utilizing the most commonly reported sources of information. This may have implications towards how students shape their health-related social cognitions and subsequent behaviors.     

The State of Sleep Among College Students at a Large Public University

Abstract

Objective: Data about college student sleep were collected and used to develop an education campaign to improve sleep. Participants: On-campus residents at a large state university were surveyed on 4 occasions, October 2005 to April 2007. Sample size was 675 to 1,823 students. Fall 2005 mean age = 18.5 years, SD = 1.03 (range 18–30) years. Initial survey included 935 males and 1,859 females (2005–2006). Matched pairs data (2006–2007) included 91 males and 107 females. Twenty-six males and 22 females participated in interviews. Methods: A survey administered online included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, along with an 8-question in-person interview. Results: Poor sleep interacted with academics and mental health, and an education campaign positively affected student sleep. Conclusions: Teaching students how to effectively manage sleep can improve their well-being. Sleep may also be a gateway topic for health care professionals to address sensitive health issues such as depression.     

The Development of Impulse Control and Sensation‐Seeking in Adolescence: Independent or Interdependent Processes?

This study examines whether changes in impulse control and sensation‐seeking across adolescence and early adulthood reflect independent or interdependent developmental processes. Data are drawn from a national longitudinal study (N = 8,270; 49% female; 33% Black, 22% Hispanic, 45% non‐Black, non‐Hispanic). An autoregressive latent trajectory model is used to test whether development in one trait influences development in the other. Although levels of these traits are inversely correlated, we do not find evidence that change over time in either trait is influenced by the prior level of the other. This failure to reject the null hypothesis is consistent with the view that sensation‐seeking and impulse control are the products of distinct neuropsychological systems that develop independently of one another.     

Obesity and sex ratios in the U.S.

This paper studies how rising male incarceration and its impact on marriage markets has affected female incentives to gain weight. Exogenous variation in marriage market conditions is obtained from differential trends in male incarceration rates across markets defined by race, location and age. We provide evidence that marriage market conditions do in fact affect the incidence of obesity. In particular, we find that increases in male imprisonment that reduced the male–female sex-ratio explain about 18 % of the increase in the female obesity rate for African-Americans in the United States over the 1990s. Results are particularly large for those in the younger age group (ages 18–23).