Pharmacological treatments of pathological gambling

Medication treatment studies have demonstrated short-term efficacy of various SRIs, opioid antagonists, and mood stabilizers in sub-samples of adult treatment seeking pathological gamblers. Pathological gambling is frequently comorbid with bipolar spectrum disorders, substance abuse/dependence, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and comorbidity may influence treatment response in pathological gambling. This review focuses on recent research examining the treatment of pathological gambling and highlights methodological challenges for future studies.     

The road to Q-infinity

For those of us who live in the more industrialized areas of the world—particularly in the United States—it is difficult to appreciate the unique character of the industrial and social evolution in which we are participating... Out of this experience it is not surprising that we have come to regard continual growth and increase as being the normal order of things.An understanding of these processes is essential if we are to appreciate the significance of energy resources in determining what is possible and what is impossible in human affairs.     

The lives and voices of highly sexual women

American women who experience very strong and frequent sexual desire have often been either ignored or stigmatized. This exploratory study of 44 highly sexual women ages 20 to 82, which used a convenience sample and a semi-structured in-depth interview method, allowed participants to describe their lives and how their sexuality has affected them. Highly sexual women reported that their lives have been strongly affected by their sexuality. First, the participants internally sensed demand for sexual excitement and satisfaction is too intense to be ignored. For some it was a major organizing principle of their time and energy. Second, their lives are lived in a society that often defines highly sexual women in pejorative ways. Women reported experiencing struggles and challenges in almost every area of their lives because of their sexuality, including feelings about themselves and their relationships with partners, female friends, and acquaintances.     

Do We Trust the Data? On the Validity and Reliability of Cross‐National Environmental Surveys

Objective. This article provides evidence on the validity and reliability of cross-national environmental surveys, an aspect that has not found much attention so far. Methods. Validity can be checked in examining whether cross-national differences in environmental attitudes are in accordance with theoretical hypotheses. For example, a study can claim some validity if concern about inadequate sanitation is strongly negatively correlated with the actual extent of access to sanitation in a country. Results. Several validity checks were undertaken for the Gallup, Gallup, and Dunlap (1993) survey, all of which tend to support its validity. Next, the reliability of cross-national environmental surveys was checked. Both Pearson and Spearman rank correlations were run for similar questions from differing studies. Most correlations were low and statistically insignificant, however, thus putting some doubt on the reliability of cross-national environmental surveys, at least with respect to the questions examined. Conclusions. The findings support the validity of cross-national environmental surveys, but not their reliability. Future surveys should be designed such that validity and reliability checks become easier to undertake.     

Trails of involvement: Evidence for local games

Game theory seeks solutions that would eliminate the need to actually play games and hence cannot explain why some games are played out, often with skills that are widely admired and emulated. This paper makes the conditions required to play (rather than solve) a game its starting point and focuses on the local skills that underlie the ensuing involvement. Data from tournament chess reveals that highly-skilled players are the best at sustaining involvement, yet also the best at terminating the game when the outcome becomes apparent, suggesting that involvement should stand alongside rationality as divergent ideals in social action. This bifurcation in skill can produce cooperation in the midst of conflict, or vice versa, and hence send local actions in the opposite direction of stated global goals.     

Exclusion From School: A First Step in Exclusion From Society?

SUMMARY. In recent years increasing concerns have been expressed about the behaviour of young people in Britain and responses to it. Within schools this has focused on the nature and incidence of violent and disruptive behaviour displayed by children and levels of exclusion. Perceptions that ‘too many children’ are excluded from school have prompted inquiries by the government, professional teaching associations and independent researchers and generated considerable media interest. This paper analyses existing evidence and identifies remaining gaps in knowledge concerning exclusion from school. In conclusion the authors argue that an adequate understanding of exclusion from school can only be achieved by locating it within the wider debate concerning social control and civic exclusion.