The minimal covering set in large tournaments

We prove that in almost all large tournaments, the minimal covering set is the entire set of alternatives. That is, as the number of alternatives gets large, the probability that the minimal covering set of a uniformly chosen random tournament is the entire set of alternatives goes to one. In contrast, it follows from a result of (Fisher and Reeves, Linear Algebra Appl 217:83–85, 1995) that the bipartisan set contains about half of the alternatives in almost all large tournaments.     

Loitering: reassembling time in the city-of-the-global-south

One of the most powerfully visible ways in which public space in inner city Johannesburg is ordered is through the material presence of apparently idle young men – a context profoundly linked to the precarious position of young and immigrant men in the post-apartheid economy. For the most part, these young men are regarded with disdain, the objects of fear and anxiety. In the following discussion, based on two years of field research with a group of unemployed young men (between the ages of 15 and 30 years old) who attend a weekly bible study and soup kitchen at a church in the inner city, I demonstrate ways in which these young men structure their daily lives in response to the over-abundance of time. I consider how the act of loitering in public space serves to reassemble the relationship between time and value at the peripheries of the urban economy, extracting value from the apparently idle activity of waiting in the present, but uncoupled from a sense of control over the past and future.     

中国的左撇子

正今天晚上轮到我主持英语角了,一共来了48个学生。和学生聊天的过程中,我提到美国总统奥巴马是左撇子。我说我在谷歌上看到一些文章,有10%的美国人是左撇子,但是来中国3个月了,还没见过一个左撇子呢。我问学生:中国有左撇子吗?有4个学生自称左撇子,大约占了在场人数的8%,这个比例和美国的大致相符。左撇子的学生说,他们写字还是用右手的,因为老师鼓励他们这么做。4个学生中有3个吃饭时用右手拿筷子,他们的父母更愿意让他们用右手,而且他们从很小起就养成习惯了。(后来我听说,中国周代有一本讲礼仪的书,规定用右手吃饭是正统,于是这个传统沿袭了几千年)。     

Announcement

Social Indicators Research -     

Quality of Life in Jasper,Alberta

This paper describes and explains citizen beliefs andattitudes about the quality of life in Jasper, Albertain the summer of 1997. We report on 447 surveyrespondents' satisfaction with a wide variety ofaspects of their community and their lives, the bestand worst things about living in Jasper, and thethings they would change first to improve the qualityof their lives. There was not much enthusiasm foruse-fees or the value received from tax dollars.Fifteen new indices of satisfaction with fundamentalaspects of people's lives were created. Happiness,life satisfaction and overall satisfaction with thequality of life were explained from a limited set of14 variables, providing comparisons with results fromseven other surveys taken over nearly 20 years.Finally, we used a simple linear model to account for63% of the variance in life satisfaction scores, 44%of the variance in satisfaction with the quality oflife scores and 37% of the variance in happinessscores.     

What Did Stiglitz,Sen and Fitoussi Get Right and What Did They Get Wrong?

The aim of this critical assessment of the Stiglitz, Sen and Fitoussi Report was to provoke discussion and improvements in future developments of quality of life research undertaken by official statistical agencies. I would like to thank Jochen Jesinghaus and Andrea Saltelli for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of the paper.     

Predictors of Return Rate Discrimination in Slot Machine Play

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which accurate estimates of payback percentages and volatility combined with prior learning, enabled players to successfully discriminate between multi-line/multi-credit slot machines that provided differing rates of reinforcement. The aim was to determine if the capacity to discriminate structural characteristics of gaming machines influenced player choices in selecting ‘favourite’ slot machines. Slot machine gambling history, gambling beliefs and knowledge, impulsivity, illusions of control, and problem solving style were assessed in a sample of 48 first year undergraduate psychology students. Participants were subsequently exposed to a choice paradigm where they could freely select to play either of two concurrently presented PC-simulated slot machines programmed to randomly differ in expected player return rates (payback percentage) and win frequency (volatility). Results suggest that prior learning and cognitions (particularly gambler’s fallacy) but not payback, were major contributors to the ability of a player to discriminate volatility between slot machines. Participants displayed a general tendency to discriminate payback, but counter-intuitively placed more bets on the slot machine with lower payback percentage rates.     

Integrating Social Work Perspectives and Models with Concepts,Methods and Skills with Other Professions’ Specialized Approaches

In this article, the authors encourage social work practitioners to identify with and adopt distinctive social work perspectives and practice models rather than solely embrace models or approaches developed by and for other professions. We do so because these perspectives are most responsive to our professions’ mission of social justice and social purpose of paying equal attention to people and their environments. For heuristic purposes, we present and illustrate the ecological perspective and life modeled approach. Since no social work model or approach can take into account every type of life stressor, event and condition, we demonstrate how we can borrow and integrate specialized concepts, methods and techniques from other profession’s approaches. The authors identify five characteristics which borrowed content should meet in order to integrate well with social work models. Accordingly, concepts, methods and skills from a few approaches have particular relevance for social work direct practice: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy; Motivational Interviewing; Narrative Therapy and Solution-Focused Practice. Moreover, the authors present and illustrate the process of borrowing and integrating concepts, methods and skills from other professions to deepen social work practice.