Gambling attitudes and beliefs associated with problem gambling: the cohort effect of Baby Boomers

Recreational and problem gamblers alike hold beliefs about gambling that are dysfunctional. These dysfunctional beliefs have been theorized to play a role in problem gambling behaviour. The current study sought to examine the effects of gambling attitudes and beliefs on problem gambling behaviour across three cohorts. A sample of 308 participants consisted of 101 individuals from Generation X, 139 from the Baby Boom cohort and 68 from the Silent Generation. Hierarchical multiple regressions showed that for Baby Boomers, higher scores on scales measuring beliefs about luck and illusions of control were associated with higher scores on measures of problem gambling than for the Silent Generation. Generation X’s higher scores on luck scales were associated with higher scores in problem gambling than the Baby Boom cohort. Attitudes associated with problem gambling did not differ among cohorts. These results suggest that while cohorts may not differ in types or levels of distorted beliefs, they differ in how such distortions relate to problem gambling. Future research should focus on determining whether such cohort effects are indicative of differences within the development and maintenance of problem gambling itself.     

Factors Motivating Individuals to Take Precautionary Action for an Expected Earthquake in Istanbul

Istanbul is expected to experience an earthquake in the near future, but individuals show limited interest in preparing for it. This study aims to identify the factors associated with taking action to prepare for an earthquake and mitigate its effects at the individual level. A field survey was carried out in 2007 in two districts of Istanbul with different levels of earthquake risk. Within these districts, three socioeconomic levels were considered. A total of 1,123 people were interviewed face to face. Analysis indicated that the educational level of the respondents was the leading factor associated with taking at least three measures, followed by living in a higher earthquake risk area, having participated in rescue and solidarity activities in previous earthquakes, a higher level of knowledge about earthquakes, home ownership, a higher score for action‐stimulating attitudes, being younger, and a higher general safety score, in that order. The findings pointed to the role of knowledge about earthquakes and possible mitigation/preparedness measures, and thus the importance of developing effective awareness programs. Such programs should also consider the characteristics of different groups in the population. Motivated individuals, such as those who have participated in rescue and solidarity activities in previous earthquakes, could be involved in reaching other people.     

Ethics in context: essential flexibility in an international photo-elicitation project with children and young people

ABSTRACT

Existing literatures have discussed both ethical issues in visual research with young people, and the problems associated with applying ‘universal’ ethical guidelines across varied cultural contexts. There has been little consideration, however, of specific issues raised in projects where visual research is being conducted with young people simultaneously in multiple national contexts. This paper contributes to knowledge in this area. We reflect on our experiences of planning and conducting the International CYCLES project involving photo elicitation with young people in Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK. While some issues such as varying access to technology for taking and sharing photos and diverse cultural sensitivities around the use of photography were anticipated in advance, others were more unexpected. Balancing the need for methods to be appropriate, ethical and feasible within each setting with the desire for sufficient consistency across the project is challenging. We argue that an ‘ethics in context’ approach and an attitude of ‘methodological immaturity’ is critical in international visual research projects with young people.     

Knowledge,Beliefs, and Behaviors: Examining Human Papillomavirus–Related Gender Differences Among African American College Students

Abstract

Objective: Given recent approval for administration of a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to men, it is important to assess the HPV-related perspectives of men and women. The purpose of this study was to examine gender differences in HPV knowledge, beliefs, and vaccine acceptance among college students attending 3 historically black colleges/universities in the Southeast. Participants and Methods: A nonprobability sample of 575 students completed a self-report questionnaire. Results: Males were significantly less likely to have heard of HPV, scored lower in HPV knowledge, were less likely to perceive HPV health outcomes as severe and that there was a benefit to vaccinate, reported fewer cues for vaccine acceptance, and perceived more barriers to vaccination compared to females (all p < .05). Conclusions: The gender disparities demonstrated in this study highlight the need to increase HPV-related communication/education to include men and to extend HPV research to a broader segment of the college population.     

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: A Dissenting Opinion

This paper asks whether the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act achieves its goals of significantly expanding health insurance coverage, while reducing costs and increasing the quality of the care provided. An examination of the early results and current future projections suggests that while PPACA will increase the number of Americans with health insurance, it will fall significantly short of universal coverage. In addition, PPACA fails to control health care costs, and will likely result in higher costs for government, as well as many businesses, and individuals. The author concludes that PPACA is not the most effective vehicle for achieving US health care reform, and that a more market-oriented approach offers a better alternative.     

Guns,Money and Justice

In late 2005, Suzette Nicolas, then known publicly only as ‘Nicole’, alleged that on 1 November of that year she had been gang-raped by US Marines in Olongapo City in the Subic Bay area on the island of Luzon, site of one of two former large US military bases in the Philippines. Thus began what was to become an internationally notorious rape case, involving the US and Philippine governments, the US military, the Philippine judiciary and a broad feminist-led activist coalition. The case, played out against the backdrop of the US state's Asian front in the ‘War on Terror’, has become inextricably linked with the ongoing Philippine campaign against the US–Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement. This article looks at the case, its background, its symbolism and the current political debate on the ongoing connections between militarism, globalization, US imperialism and violence against women in the Philippines.     

Multimedia Compact Disc: Play Therapy Counseling Skills

Multimedia compact discs have become an important part of counseling education. Many educators recognize the value of compact discs in training and methods of instruction. The purpose of this study was to develop an instructional compact disc and to survey counseling students' perceptions of the compact disc. Participants included 71 counseling graduate students from two universities in the southern part of the United States. Students viewed the compact disc and completed a survey to assess their perceptions of the compact disc. Overall students' perceptions were positive and they believed that the compact disc was a helpful tool in learning counseling skills.     

Mutual Aid Group Work: Social Work Leading the Way to Recovery-Focused Mental Health Practice

The emphasis on recovery principles in mental health practice in Australia challenges the predominant medical model in mental health service delivery. This article describes a mental health-based, telephone-mediated, mutual aid support group for carers of people with severe mental illnesses. Data was collated from evaluations of these groups over a period of 7 years. Outcomes of the evaluation indicated that participants of these groups highly valued the supportive and collaborative nature of the mutual aid groups. The author emphasizes the potential of this approach and the promise of social group workers leading the way to recovery-focused mental health practice.     

The legacy of racism and Indigenous Australian identity within education

It may be argued that the emerging discourses focusing on the social, emotional, educational, and economic disadvantages identified for Australia’s First Peoples (when compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts) are becoming increasingly dissociated with an understanding of the interplay between historical and current trends in racism. Additionally, and if not somewhat related to this critique, it can be suggested that the very construction of research from a Western perspective of Indigenous identity (as opposed to identities) and ways of being are deeply entwined within the undertones of epistemological racism still prevalent today. It is the purpose of this article to move beyond the overreliance of outside-based understanding Western epistemologies, and to explore not only the complex nature of both racism and identity from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, but to also explore the role of education and research in perpetuating varying levels of racism and resistance to Indigenous identity(ies) from a contemporary insider-based standpoint. It is hoped this article will shed some light on the pervasive nature of racism directed at Indigenous Australians, and highlight the need for the continual acceptance, respect, and promotion of Indigenous voices and identities within the educational environment and beyond.     

Modeling nonlinear time series with local mixtures of generalized linear models

The authors consider a novel class of nonlinear time series models based on local mixtures of regressions of exponential family models, where the covariates include functions of lags of the dependent variable. They give conditions to guarantee consistency of the maximum likelihood estimator for correctly specified models, with stationary and nonstationary predictors. They show that consistency of the maximum likelihood estimator still holds under model misspecification. They also provide probabilistic results for the proposed model when the vector of predictors contains only lags of transformations of the modeled time series. They illustrate the consistency of the maximum likelihood estimator and the probabilistic properties via Monte Carlo simulations. Finally, they present an application using real data.