Is Poker a Game of Skill or Chance? A Quasi-Experimental Study

Due to intensive marketing and the rapid growth of online gambling, poker currently enjoys great popularity among large sections of the population. Although poker is legally a game of chance in most countries, some (particularly operators of private poker web sites) argue that it should be regarded as a game of skill or sport because the outcome of the game primarily depends on individual aptitude and skill. The available findings indicate that skill plays a meaningful role; however, serious methodological weaknesses and the absence of reliable information regarding the relative importance of chance and skill considerably limit the validity of extant research. Adopting a quasi-experimental approach, the present study examined the extent to which the influence of poker playing skill was more important than card distribution. Three average players and three experts sat down at a six-player table and played 60 computer-based hands of the poker variant “Texas Hold’em” for money. In each hand, one of the average players and one expert received (a) better-than-average cards (winner’s box), (b) average cards (neutral box) and (c) worse-than-average cards (loser’s box). The standardized manipulation of the card distribution controlled the factor of chance to determine differences in performance between the average and expert groups. Overall, 150 individuals participated in a “fixed-limit” game variant, and 150 individuals participated in a “no-limit” game variant. ANOVA results showed that experts did not outperform average players in terms of final cash balance. Rather, card distribution was the decisive factor for successful poker playing. However, expert players were better able to minimize losses when confronted with disadvantageous conditions (i.e., worse-than-average cards). No significant differences were observed between the game variants. Furthermore, supplementary analyses confirm differential game-related actions dependent on the card distribution, player status, and game variant. In conclusion, the study findings indicate that poker should be regarded as a game of chance, at least under certain basic conditions, and suggest new directions for further research.     

Does Attitudinal Consensus Lead to Neighborhood Collaboration? An Exploratory Analysis of an Urban Community

This article examines whether high levels of attitudinal consensus on community needs and civic responsibilities among a community's residents are associated with effective collaborative efforts among that community's neighborhood associations. Drawing upon both quantitative and qualitative data from an evaluation of an umbrella organization in an urban community, the authors found only a weak connection between attitudinal consensus, which was strong to moderate on most issues, and effective neighborhood association collaboration. The authors conclude that attitudinal consensus may be a necessary first step toward building effective collaboration but is far from sufficient to foster meaningful and stable partnerships. The authors explore the reasons for the lack of effective collaboration, offer suggestions for addressing barriers to collaboration, and discuss the implications of the findings for community building initiatives that aim to build social capital, particularly across “difference,” in distressed and diverse urban communities.     

ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION AND WOMEN'S STATUS IN THE LABOR MARKET:

This study examines the effects of economic globalization on occupational sex segregation and occupational inequality. A theory of global economic restructuring and its impact on the quality of women's work suggests that national integration into the world economy significantly expands opportunities for women in the workplace but does not remove barriers to women's advancement or ameliorate the predominance of low-paying, menial jobs held by women. Two measures of gender occupational differentiation are employed as dependent variables in cross-sectional OLS regression analyses of fifty-six countries using data from 1970–1990. Results indicate that global economic forces reduce occupational sex segregation and inequality. However, these effects are determined by a country's world system position and region. The analyses illustrate that global economic restructuring is a gendered process that transforms and builds upon existing gender inequalities. Therefore, the inclusion of global structural characteristics into comparative research on occupational sex differentiation is essential.     

Age at first marriage in Malawi: a Bayesian multilevel analysis using a discrete time-to-event model

Summary.  The paper presents a hierarchical discrete time survival model for the analysis of the 2000 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey data to assess the determinants of transition to marriage among women in Malawi. The model explicitly accounts for the unobserved heterogeneity by using family and community random effects with cross-level correlation structure. A nonparametric technique is used to model the base-line discrete hazard dynamically. Parameters of the model are computed by using a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. The results show that rising age at marriage is a combination of birth cohort and education effects, depends considerably on the family and to some extent on the community in which a woman resides and the correlation between family and community random effects is negative. These results confirm a downward trend in teenage marriage and that raising women's education levels in sub-Saharan Africa has the beneficial effect of increasing age at marriage, and by implication reducing total fertility rates. The negative correlation between family and community random effects has policy implications in that targeting communities with an intervention to increase age at first marriage may not necessarily yield reduced fertility levels in individual families. A campaign that is geared towards individual families would achieve the desired goals. Overall, the findings point to the need for the Government in Malawi to enact public policies which are geared at vastly improving women's education at higher levels. The variation in marriage rates over families poses problems in delivering the policy, since particular policies must be devised for specific groups of families to accomplish the required social and health objectives.     

An Interview with Joyce Edward: Exemplary Clinician, Advocate, and Scholar

Over the years, noteworthy social workers have been interviewed for the Clinical Social Work Journal. This article features an interview with Joyce Edward who is recognized for her many extraordinary contributions to clinical social work. Joyce has co-written or co-edited three exceptional books for the social work clinician, she has been an esteemed teacher and a vocal activist for quality mental health care. In this interview Joyce reflects on family influences, her work as a social caseworker, the psychoanalytic luminaries with whom she trained, her concerns about the clinical education of today's social work students, and finally, her perspective on managed mental health care.     

Cyclic Evaluation of Transitivity of Reciprocal Relations

A general framework for studying the transitivity of reciprocal relations is presented. The key feature is the cyclic evaluation of transitivity: triangles (i.e. any three points) are visited in a cyclic manner. An upper bound function acting upon the ordered weights encountered provides an upper bound for the ‘sum minus 1’ of these weights. Commutative quasi-copulas allow to translate a general definition of fuzzy transitivity (when applied to reciprocal relations) elegantly into the framework of cycle-transitivity. Similarly, a general notion of stochastic transitivity corresponds to a particular class of upper bound functions. Ample attention is given to self-dual upper bound functions.     

Biomechanical aspects of dynamic stability

Walking is a fundamental motor skill that significantly affects the level of independence in older adults. The amount of variability present in a walking pattern reflects the quality of neuromuscular control. It is well established that a large proportion of falls in older people occurs when walking. The prevention of falls is vital for minimizing disability, preventing injury, and impeding the development of frailty and subsequent deterioration in quality of life. The present literature review focuses on dynamic stability. In dynamic stability, both the base of support and the center of mass are in motion, and effective balance function is required. In general, older adults are expected to have different movement patterns from younger adults, expressed by differences in limb kinematics and kinetics. A better understanding of the biomechanical variables involved can help anticipate and prevent potential falls.     

Licensing Marriage and Family Counselors: A Model Act

The author presents a model bill for the licensing of marriage and family counselors and describes some of the historical context in which it developed within the Conciliation Court movement. The model bill is similar to the one proposed by the American Association of Marriage and Family Counselors. Editor.