Internet Paradox Revisited

Kraut et al. (1998) reported negative effects of using the Internet on social involvement and psychological well-being among new Internet users in 1995–96. We called the effects a "paradox" because participants used the Internet heavily for communication, which generally has positive effects. A 3-year follow-up of 208 of these respondents found that negative effects dissipated. We also report findings from a longitudinal survey in 1998–99 of 406 new computer and television purchasers. This sample generally experienced positive effects of using the Internet on communication, social involvement, and well-being. However, consistent with a "rich get richer" model, using the Internet predicted better outcomes for extraverts and those with more social support but worse outcomes for introverts and those with less support.     

Perspectives on Social Care Practice in Romania: Supporting the Development of Professional Learning and Practice

This paper examines the authors’ experiences of developingand delivering training for workers in social care servicesin Romania, through a European Union PHARE¹ funded project.The authors use their experiences to draw on the past and currentpractices of those social workers who were participants in thetraining and to explore their understanding of the emergingissues and themes for social work in Romania. There is alsoan exploration of the potential opportunities for the furtherdevelopment of professional social work learning and practicewithin Romania. The case is made that learning and developmentof social workers could be supported through the encouragementof participatory networks and ‘communities of practice’.     

Theory in the Bedroom: A Report from the Macquarie University AIDS and Heterosexuality Project

The political and social questions raised by AIDS/HIV are particularly complex ones, concerned as they are with changing the sexual practices of both the heterosexual and the homosexual population. In many ways these questions have tested the limits of orthodox policy-making processes. The Macquarie University ‘AIDS and Heterosexuality’ project is one of a small number of research projects which have attempted both to analyse critically existing AIDS policy assumptions and to provide alternative conceptual methods for understanding the processes of changing sexual practices. The Macquarie University project is particularly concerned with the way that women have been represented within mainstream policy: this paper describes this representation and presents some alternative suggestions for understanding the place of women in preventing transmission within the heterosexual population.     

Simple inference in multinomial and ordered logit

This paper provides some simple methods of interpreting the coefficients in multinomial logit and ordered logit models. These methods are summarized in Propositions concerning the magnitudes, signs, and patterns of partial derivatives of the outcome probabilities with respect to the exogenousvariables. The paper also provides an empirical example illustrating the use of these Propositions.     

The Association of Survey Setting and Mode with Self-Reported Health Risk Behaviors among High School Students

This study examined whether the prevalence of self-reportedhealth risk behaviors among high school students varied by surveysetting (school versus home) and mode of administration (paperand pencil versus computer). Students in grades 9 and 11 wereassigned randomly to one of four conditions—school paper-and-pencilinstrument (PAPI), school computer-assisted self-interview (CASI),home PAPI, and home CASI. During the spring of 2004, 4,506 studentscompleted identically worded questionnaires based on the YouthRisk Behavior Survey questionnaire. Logistic regression analysescontrolling for sex, grade, and race/ethnicity revealed thatsetting was associated significantly with the reporting of 30of the 55 risk behaviors examined, and mode was associated significantlywith the reporting of 7 of the 55 behaviors. For all behaviorswith a significant setting main effect, the odds of reportingthe behavior were greater among students who completed questionnairesat school than among students who completed questionnaires athome. For all behaviors with a significant mode main effect,PAPI mode students had lower odds of reporting the behaviorthan CASI mode students. Because social measurement researchassumes that higher prevalence estimates are more valid thanlower estimates, methodological factors shown to increase estimates,such as setting and mode, should be considered when planningsurveys.     

The cult of Champ Man: the culture and pleasures of Championship Manager/Football Manager gamers

This paper considers the popularity and social significance of the gaming series Championship Manager/Football Manager. Sport-related games continue to be one of the most popular forms of digital gaming, and the series has proved to be one of the most successful of all time. Drawing on 32 interviews with game players and developers of this series, this paper argues that this series has proved particularly popular due to its 'intertextual' links to the sport of football, which allows this game to be drawn on as a resource in conversations and social networks. In particular, this paper argues that aspects of gaming, such as performativity and control, extend and cross-cut with wider social formations. Hence, the author argues that it is crucial that considerations of digital games seek to locate these within wider social and cultural patterns.     

Characterizing Environmental Harm: Developments in an Approach to Strategic Risk Assessment and Risk Management

Environmental policymakers and regulators are often in the position of having to prioritize their actions across a diverse range of environmental pressures to secure environmental protection and improvements. Information on environmental issues to inform this type of strategic analysis can be disparate; it may be too voluminous or even absent. Data on a range of issues are rarely presented in a common format that allows easy analysis and comparison. Nevertheless, judgments are required on the significance of various environmental pressures and on the inherent uncertainties to inform strategic assessments such as “state of the environment” reports. How can decisionmakers go about this type of strategic and comparative risk analysis? In an attempt to provide practical tools for the analysis of environmental risks at a strategic level, the Environment Agency of England and Wales has conducted a program of developmental research on strategic risk assessment since 1996. The tools developed under this program use the concept of “environmental harm” as a common metric, viewed from technical, social, and economic perspectives, to analyze impacts from a range of environmental pressures. Critical to an informed debate on the relative importance of these perspectives is an understanding and analysis of the various characteristics of harm (spatial and temporal extent, reversibility, latency, etc.) and of the social response to actual or potential environmental harm from a range of hazards. Recent developments in our approach, described herein, allow a presentation of the analysis in a structured fashion so as to better inform risk‐management decisions.