Quality of Parent–Child Relationship, Family Conflict, Peer Pressure, and Drinking Behaviors of Adolescents in an Asian Context: The Case of Singapore

Analyzing data from a probability sample representative of secondary school students in Singapore (N = 1,599), this study examined the independent impact between the quality of mother–child relationship, the quality of father–child relationship and family conflict on the frequency of drinking and drunkenness, and whether each dyadic parent–child relationship quality and family conflict moderate the effect of direct peer pressure on the frequency of drinking and drunkenness among Singaporean adolescents. A series of ordered logit analyses revealed the following results: The quality of father–child relationship had no main effect on either drinking behavior, yet had a moderating effect on the association between direct peer pressure and drunkenness, with the stronger effect of direct peer pressure for adolescents on good terms with their fathers than for those on poor terms with their fathers. Family conflict had a main effect on drunkenness and a moderating effect on the association between direct peer pressure and the frequency of drinking, with the stronger effect of direct peer pressure on the frequency of drinking for adolescents experiencing high family conflict than those experiencing low family conflict. The importance of the father–child relationship quality and family conflict for adolescents’ well-being in Singapore as an Asian context was discussed.     

Generalized modulus-ratio tests for analysis of factorial designs with zero degrees of freedom for error

A method of statistical analysis of single replicate and fractional factorial designs requiring no estimate of error variance is given. By comparison of the relative magnitudes of independent effect .estimates, effects corresponding to relatively large effect estimates may be asserted to be nonzero. The procedure maintains a prespecified experimentwise error rate for a general class of modulus-ratio statistics.     

ALL INDUSTRIES ARE CULTURAL

While the conceptual categories of cultural industries and cultural consumption have been useful tools that have yielded valuable insights in a number of studies, they, nevertheless, pose certain problems. This text argues how their usage, in fact, obstructs certain research possibilities. Highlighting the ‘cultural’ character of certain specific industries and forms of consumption can also limit, if not impede altogether, the possibilities of analyzing other industries and forms of consumption from a cultural perspective. Doing away with such categories may open new possibilities for analysis and research. The main focus of this text is the category of ‘cultural industries’ though it also refers in passing to the complementary category of ‘cultural consumption.’     

The Moran coefficient for non-normal data

This paper summarizes findings that extend statistical distribution properties of the Moran coefficient index measuring spatial autocorrelation to non-normal random variables. Pitman–Koopmans theorem results are extended for the mean and the variance of this index. This summary includes a corollary to this theorem, as well as a new theorem (with its proof) and two conjectures implied by it. The first of these statements is supported by asymptotic heuristics; the second is supported by simulation experiment results. Mixture random variables that include heteroscedasticity or overdispersion also are explored. In addition, a simple asymptotic variance for the Moran coefficient is presented, assessed, and found to be very precise for sample sizes as small as 25–100. The principal conclusion is that independence and sample size are the most relevant properties for Pitman–Koopmans theorem results to be extended to non-normal random variables. The independent and identically distributed property reduces the necessary sample size for this extension, as do the properties of symmetry and normal approximation.     

The Face-to-Face Light Detection Paradigm: A New Methodology for Investigating Visuospatial Attention Across Different Face Regions in Live Face-to-Face Communication Settings

We introduce a novel paradigm for studying the cognitive processes used by listeners within interactive settings. This paradigm places the talker and the listener in the same physical space, creating opportunities for investigations of attention and comprehension processes taking place during interactive discourse situations. An experiment was conducted to compare results from previous research using videotaped stimuli to those obtained within the live face-to-face task paradigm. A headworn apparatus is used to briefly display LEDs on the talker's face in four locations as the talker communicates with the participant. In addition to the primary task of comprehending speeches, participants make a secondary task light detection response. In the present experiment, the talker gave non-emotionally-expressive speeches that were used in past research with videotaped stimuli. Signal detection analysis was employed to determine which areas of the face received the greatest focus of attention. Results replicate previous findings using videotaped methods.     

Does Premarital Cohabitation Predict Subsequent Marital Stability and Marital Quality? A Meta‐Analysis

Cohabitation with a romantic partner has become common in recent decades. This meta‐analysis examined the link between premarital cohabitation and marital stability ( k = 16) and marital quality ( k = 12). Cohabitation had a significant negative association with both marital stability and marital quality. The negative predictive effect on marital stability, however, did not remain when only cohabitation with the eventual marital partner was analyzed, suggesting that these cohabitors may attach more long‐term meaning to living together. Moderator analyses demonstrated that effects of cohabitation have remained consistent over time, despite the fact that cohabitation has become more normative.     

Religion and Comparative Political Sociology

In the last decade, religious politics seemed to sweep the world. Calls have been issued for religion to regain its rightful place in the study of politics. We contend that the influence of religion on politics is hardly novel and that religious beliefs and organizations have had a profound effect on polities both in the developed democracies and in developing societies. Drawing widely on the comparative sociology of politics, we trace the role of religion in the generation of political attitudes and preferences, in the process of democratization, in the formation of interest organizations and confessional parties, and consider the contemporary debate concerning religious violence. We will demonstrate the importance of religion in inspiring political behavior, including both electoral and non-electoral politics, and in the shaping of political institutions and the regulatory framework surrounding the religious sphere. Our survey indicates that neither arguments concerning the secularization of polity and society nor for the recent return of religious fervor to politics is persuasive. Religion is, and has been, fundamental to modern politics.