Comparison of telephone RDD and online panel survey modes on CPGI scores and co-morbidities

The purpose of this study was to compare the influence of two survey modes – telephone random digit dialling (RDD) and stratified sampling of an online panel – on Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI) scores and co-morbidities. An identical gambling survey was administered to 4000 South Koreans selected via random dialling of cell phone numbers and to 4330 South Korean members of an online panel. The online panelists were found to have significantly higher levels of tobacco use, drug or alcohol problems and mental health problems, higher employment status and lower happiness levels. However, even when controlling for these variables, CPGI scores for the online panel were significantly higher than those for the telephone interview. This appears to be due to higher levels of pathology among online panelists combined with potentially more valid self-reports due to enhanced anonymity.     

Black political mobilisation and the struggle for equality

One of the most interesting aspects of recent debates in Britain about issues of race and ethnicity is that increasing attention is being given to the political dimension. Within both academic and social discourses there is growing awareness that we need to examine the role of politics in shaping public debate about key aspects of contemporary racial relations in British society.     

A mixed method approach to developing a multidimensional scale for gambling fallacy in the Korean context

This article offers an understanding of and reduces gaps in the existing literature regarding cognitive distortion (e.g. gambling fallacy) and problem gambling behaviour. The primary objective of this study is to develop a valid gambling fallacy scale for the South Korean population using qualitative and quantitative methods to thoroughly understand the underlying structure of erroneous beliefs towards gambling among recreational and problem gamblers. The study interviewed eight casino supervisors and dealers and conducted online (n = 1419 gamblers) and onsite surveys (n = 400 gamblers) in South Korea. The proposed scale satisfies reliability and numerous types of validity that provide evidence on the three distinctive underlying structures of gambling fallacy (i.e. a system to win, superstitions, and follow and blame) among the Korean population. This study carries substantial theoretical and practical implications that further assure its usability as a platform for developing scales in various cultural settings.     

New frontiers in demography and social psychology

The topics of demography are those of human fate: birth, illness, marriage, occupation, and death. The methods of demography therefore relate global rates to major events, submerging the individual decision. The social psychologist observes the regularities of people's behavior in different social conditions and builds models from individual decisions. Since he looks at patterns independent of the event, the kind of event does not matter, and he tends to concentrate on trivial events which are amenable to research.To the degree that man has obtained control over his environment, he is able to look at demographic events as less than fate. Social conditions have also given more control to the individual over many events over which he had no control previously, such as choice of a marriage partner or an occupational career. Thus, the classical methods of demography are frequently insufficient to deal with demographic data, and abrupt changes may occur because of vagaries of individual decisions. The more the demographic trends can be affected by individual decisions, the more the methods of social psychology become useful in understanding changes in population composition.The possibilities of micro-demography, of building up demographic trends from individual decisions, become stronger as more individual control can be exerted over the events. Such disparate events as control of infectious disease, air pollution, birth control, civil rights, and changes in the educational system and occupational structure have given individuals more control over different demographic variables, made the study of individual decisions with demographic consequences important, and led to joint efforts by demographers and social psychologists.     

Beyond the racist/hooligan couplet: race, social theory and football culture

This paper draws on recent research to explore the changing cultures of racism in English football. Starting from a critical analysis of key themes in the literature on football it seeks to show that existing analytical frameworks need to be reworked if they are going to adequately account for the complex forms through which racism is expressed in contemporary football cultures. In the course of this analysis we question some of the ways in which the issue of racism in football is collapsed into broader accounts of 'hooliganism' and other forms of violence among football fans. From this starting point the paper draws on some elements of our empirical research in order to outline an alternative way of framing the issues of racism and multicultrralism in football.     

Labour and racism: trade unions and the selection of parliamentary candidates

The issue of the representation of minorities in political institutions has become central in recent debates about the political sociology of race in British society. This paper uses a case study of a selection process for a prospective parliamentary candidate for the Labour Party to explore the dynamics of recent developments. It explores the following questions: What impact have minority activists had on processes of candidate selection? How have political parties responded to demands for the selection of more black candidates?