The black bourgeoisie and reference group change: A content analysis ofEbony

Qualitative Sociology - This study is an analysis of the racial group identification pattern among the black bourgeoisie for the years 1950 through 1979. It is argued that the militant ideology of...     

Proper Perspective in American History

This article describes the instructional methods of four high school government teachers during their coverage of the 2008 presidential election. By analyzing the ways in which these teachers attempted to generate interest in the election and further their students’ conceptualization of politics, the author seeks to better understand political instruction at the secondary level. Overall, the author observed that the teachers were successful in capturing student interest in both politics and the election; however, the teachers often missed opportunities to foster this interest into a nuanced understanding of politics.     

Creating and Sustaining an Inter-Agency Training Pool

The following paper offers an account of the authors' experience of setting up an Inter-Agency Training Pool in Nottinghamshire. The purpose of this is to enable others in similar or parallel posts to learn from both the successes and mistakes of their venture, to avoid ‘re-inventing wheels’, and as a tool for discussion should they be considering using such a model in their work setting.     

Breadwinning and bread‐losing: Exploring opportunities to rework manhood

Manhood in the USA today is at a crossroads. There are more models of how to be a man than ever before. And yet, despite myriad changes to the structures of work and family, the breadwinner ideology, or the heterogendered ideal that husbands should be the sole or primary earners in their families, persists in US society. This ideology affects the structure of work and family, regardless of whether individual people agree with it. Here, we discuss the breadwinner ideology and the ways that this meaning system tethers employment to masculinity and vice versa. We examine strategies for decoupling manhood from work and family and suggest ways to facilitate the undoing of gender.     

Increased Urge to Gamble Following Near-Miss Outcomes May Drive Purchasing Behaviour in Scratch Card Gambling

Previous research into scratch card gambling has highlighted the effects of these games on players’ arousal and affective states. Specifically, near-miss outcomes in scratch cards (uncovering 2 of 3 needed jackpot symbols) have been associated with high levels of physiological and subjective arousal and negative emotional evaluations, including increased frustration. We sought to extend this research by examining whether near-misses prompted increases in gambling urge, and the subsequent purchasing of additional scratch cards. Participants played two scratch cards with varying outcomes with half of the sample experiencing a near-miss for the jackpot prize, and the other half experiencing a regular loss. Players rated their urge to continue gambling after each game outcome, and following the initial playing phase, were then able to use their winnings to purchase additional cards. Our results indicated that near-misses increased the urge to gamble significantly more than regular losses, and urge to gamble in the near-miss group was significantly correlated with purchasing at least one additional card. Although some players in the loss group purchased another card, there was no correlation between urge to gamble and purchasing in this group. Additionally, participants in the near-miss group who purchased additional cards reported higher levels of urge than those who did not purchase more cards. This was not true for the loss group: participants who experienced solely losing outcomes reported similar levels of urge regardless of whether or not they purchased more scratch cards. Despite near-misses’ objective status as monetary losses, the increased urge that follows near-miss outcomes may translate into further scratch card gambling for a subset of individuals .     

Unclaimed Prize Information Biases Perceptions of Winning in Scratch Card Gambling

Unclaimed prize information (i.e., the number of prizes still available to be won) is information commonly provided to scratch card gamblers. However, unless the number of tickets remaining to be purchased is also provided, this information is uninformative. Despite its lack of utility in assisting gamblers in choosing the most favourable type of scratch card to play, we hypothesized that unclaimed prize information would bias participants’ judgments within a scratch card gambling context. In Experiment 1 (N?=?201), we showed that participants are influenced by this information such that they felt more likely to win, were more excited to play, and preferred to hypothetically purchase more of the scratch card with the greatest number of unclaimed prizes. In Experiment 2 (N?=?201), we attempted to ameliorate this bias by providing participants with the number of tickets remaining to be purchased and equating the payback percentages of all three games. The bias, although attenuated, still persisted in these conditions. Finally, in Experiment 3 (N?=?200), we manipulated the hypothetical scratch cards such that games with the highest number of unclaimed prizes were the least favourable, and vice versa. As in Experiment 2, participants still favoured cards with greater numbers of unclaimed prizes. Possible mechanisms underlying this bias are discussed. In conclusion, across three experiments, we demonstrate that salient unclaimed prize information is capable of exerting a strong effect over judgments related to scratch card games.     

Social vulnerability and migration in the wake of disaster: the case of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

This study explores the relationship between place-based social vulnerability and post-disaster migration in the U.S. Gulf Coast region following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Using county-level data from the U.S. Census Bureau, we develop a regional index of social vulnerability and examine how its various dimensions are related to migration patterns in the wake of the storms. Our results show that places characterized by greater proportions of disadvantaged populations, housing damage, and, to a lesser degree, more densely built environments were significantly more likely to experience outmigration following the hurricanes. Our results also show that these relationships were not spatially random, but rather exhibited significant geographic clustering. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings for future research and public policy.     

Implementing a triangulation protocol in bereavement research: a methodological discussion

Triangulation is a comparative strategy for examining data that strengthens qualitative and multi-method research. Despite the benefits of triangulation noted in the research methods literature, few concrete models for operationalization of protocols exist. Lack of documentation of explicit triangulation procedures is especially true in the area of bereavement research. This article describes how an interdisciplinary research team implemented a triangulation protocol in a study of the needs of bereaved parents. Triangulation enabled the integration of diverse data sources, methods, and disciplinary perspectives. These processes yielded a more meaningful typology of bereaved parents' needs than would have otherwise been possible. Extending the use of triangulation will enhance multi-faceted understandings of bereavement.