A Meta-analytical Synthesis and Examination of Pathological and Problem Gambling Rates and Associated Moderators Among College Students, 1987–2016

The problem of gambling addiction is especially noteworthy among college students, many of whom have the resources, proximity, free time, and desire to become involved in the myriad options of gambling now available. Although limited attention has been paid specifically to college student gambling in the body of literature, there have been three published meta-analyses estimating the prevalence of probable pathological gambling among college students. The research presented is the largest and most comprehensive, presenting an up-to-date proportion of those students worldwide exhibiting gambling pathology as assessed by the South Oaks Gambling Screen, and is the first to include estimates of sub-clinical problem gambling. A thorough literature review and coding procedure resulted in 124 independent data estimates retrieved from 72 studies conducted between 1987 and the present, surveying 41,989 university students worldwide. The estimated proportion of probable pathological gamblers among students was computed at 6.13%, while the rate of problem gambling was computed at 10.23%. Statistical significance was found in the influence of the percentage of non-white students on pathological gambling rates. The implications of this and other moderator analyses such as age and year of studies, as well as recommendations for future practice in dealing with college students and gambling disorder on campus are outlined and described in detail. Suggestions and rationales for future avenues of research in the area are also described.     

The Impacts of Sexual Arousal and Its Suppression on Executive Functioning

Suppression of certain types of reflexive emotional responses is thought to temporarily deplete executive functions (EF), as evidenced by poorer performance on measures of EF, but does not deplete other, lower-order cognitive processes. This study examined whether similar decrements in performance on EF tests would occur following suppression of sexual arousal. A sample of 44 male college students underwent baseline cognitive assessment (EF and lower-order cognitive processes), followed by experimental manipulation consisting of exposure to sexually explicit audiovisual stimuli. Sexual arousal was monitored using penile plethysmography. In this study, 21 participants were assigned to a suppression condition and were instructed to suppress sexual arousal during the video, while 23 were assigned to an arousal condition and were instructed to allow themselves to become aroused. Following experimental manipulation, cognition was reassessed. Unexpectedly, results showed EF decrements in the arousal group but not in the suppression group. As expected, only EF was affected by experimental manipulation, with no group differences in lower-order cognitive processes. Thus, the findings suggest that sexual arousal is associated with temporary decrements in EF performance, at least among young, primarily White, male college students. The results contribute to understanding why sexually charged situations are sometimes associated with poor decisions or unsafe/reckless sexual practices.     

The Role of Risk Perception in Flu Vaccine Behavior among African‐American and White Adults in the United States

Seasonal flu vaccination rates are low for U.S. adults, with significant disparities between African and white Americans. Risk perception is a significant predictor of vaccine behavior but the research on this construct has been flawed. This study addressed critical research questions to understand the differences between African and white Americans in the role of risk perception in flu vaccine behavior: (1) What is the dimensionality of risk perception and does it differ between the two races?  (2) Were risk perceptions of white and African‐American populations different and how were sociodemographic characteristics related to risk for each group? (3) What is the relation between risk perception and flu vaccine behaviors for African Americans and whites? The sample, drawn from GfK's Knowledge Panel, consisted of 838 whites and 819 African Americans. The survey instrument was developed from qualitative research. Measures of risk perception included cognitive and emotional measures of disease risk and risk of side effects from the vaccine. The online survey was conducted in March 2015. Results showed the importance of risk perception in the vaccine decision‐making process for both racial groups. As expected, those who got the vaccine reported higher disease risk than those who did not. Separate cognitive and emotional factors did not materialize in this study but strong evidence was found to support the importance of considering disease risk as well as risk of the vaccine. There were significant racial differences in the way risk perception predicted behavior.     

Exploration of the impact of organisational context on a workplace safety and health intervention

ABSTRACT

The Safety and Health Improvement Program (SHIP) was designed to increase workers’ safety and health using supervisor/leadership training. SHIP was implemented and evaluated in a cluster randomized controlled trial with 20 supervisors and 292 construction crew members representing a high-risk industry. The intervention had three components: (1) computer-based training to teach supervisors ways to better support worker safety and work-life challenges; (2) supervisor behavioural self-monitoring to facilitate transfer of training to practice; and (3) team-based discussions with supervisors and work crew members to identify challenges and opportunities for improvement with 30, 60, and 90 day follow-up check-in meetings. Main effects for the intervention on perceptions of family supportive supervisor behaviors, team effectiveness, and work-life effectiveness were not found, suggesting that the pre-intervention context could help explain the lack of intervention effects. We found that the intervention was more beneficial for work crew members who had poorer pre-intervention perceptions of their supervisor (lower leader-member exchange) and lower perceived team cohesion, suggesting the important impact of the organisational context on intervention effects. We argue that perhaps these work crews were more ready for change and improvements in functioning than were the crews that were already functioning well.     

Effects of acute androstenedione supplementation on testosterone levels in older men

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of acute androstenedione supplementation on hormone levels in older men at rest and during exercise. Men (n?=?11) between the ages of 58 and 69 were divided into an experimental (n?=?6; 62.33?±?2.57 y) and control (n?=?5; 60.2?±?1.02 y) groups. Each participant received an oral 300?mg dose of either androstenedione (experimental) or a cellulose placebo (control) for 7 d. Pre- and post-supplementation participants completed two separate, 20-min strength tasks consisting of leg extension and leg curls at different percentages of their 10-RM. Researchers collected blood samples pre-, during, and post-exercise. Blood samples were analyzed for testosterone, androstenedione, and estradiol levels. The researchers found a significant difference between pre- (4.36?±?56?ng/mL) and post- (5.51?±?0.35?ng/mL) testosterone levels, as well as pre- (0.88?±?0.20) and post- (7.46?±?1.25) androstenedione levels, but no significant differences between pre- and post-estradiol levels for either group. It appears that short-term androstenedione supplementation augmented acute testosterone responses to resistance exercise in older men. However, further study of this supplement is needed to determine any potential it may have in mitigating andropause.     

我国开放型经济发展战略的理论思考

我国改革开放20年来取得的经济成就从实践上证明我们选择的对外开放道路是正确的。在目前的国内和国际形势下,我国对外开放中应当注意以下几个问题:1继续发展对外贸易以获取比较利益;2努力提高劳动生产力水平,创造更多的国际价值;3鼓励生产力要素流动,促进要素的优化配置;4积极参与国际分工,增强我国的比较优势;5加强信息管理,提高外贸经济效益;6加强对外融资的宏观调控,防止发生金融危机;7为建立平等互利的世界经济新秩序而奋斗。     

中国现代性问题

:中国五四拒绝了以“天人合一”为主题的传统话语。而五四以来的现代的话语是从它者引进的 ,主要有三种 :其一 ,西方非马克思主义 ,主要指西方近代思想 ,基本话语是“个体” ;其二 ,马克思主义 ,基本话语是“社会” ;其三 ,新儒家 ,基本话语是“心性”。这三种话语实际上敞开了三条生活之道 ,提供了三种思想原则。但它们都必须借助于西方的话语的帮助 ,这表明中国的现代思想实际上位于中国传统思想与西方思想的边界。中国现代性的建立 ,必须使中国现代思想走出此边界 ,获得自由并建立自身的根据     

经济全球化与国际经济法学

经济全球化趋势对国际经济法的发展产生了一系列的影响。21世纪国际经济法发展中的主要矛盾,将仍然是南北国家之间新旧两种国际经济秩序的斗争,但在经济全球化时期,这种矛盾和斗争具有新的内涵和表现形式。中国的国际经济法研究应从国情实际出发,围绕经济发展趋势和国际经济法发展中的主要矛盾,以经济全球化与国家的经济主权原则的关系等重大问题为研究任务,同时要注意运用正确的研究方法。     

广告人物符号传播功能及运用趋势探讨

要 :从传播功能看 ,人物符号是广告中最具形象性吸引力的传播符号 ;是最具情趣和人性化的传播语言。它还具有替代、解释、补充、强调等影响认知的独特性质 ,具有跨文化、国际性传播等方面的优势 ;它较之语言符号更具真实性和可信度 ,是广告中最具说服力的传播语言。在未来网络传播时代的广告中 ,人物符号将不断地与新的传播语言符号结合 ,在叠加状态中发展 ;在应用范围、程度等方面都将会有进一步的发展     

Competition for Infants' Attention: The Interactive Influence of Attentional State and Stimulus Characteristics

The interactive effects of stimulus characteristics and attentional state on infants' distraction latency were studied. As 7‐month‐old infants explored initial stimuli that were composed of either a single nonmoving component or multiple moving components, one of several types of distractors was presented in the periphery. Infants' distraction latencies (the amount of time they took to turn from the initial stimulus to the distractor) varied as a function of the interaction between the infants' attentional state at distractor onset and the characteristics of the stimuli. Variations in the visual characteristics of the distractor stimulus (solid rectangle vs. checkerboard) had a larger effect on distraction latency when infants were in a focused attentional state than when they were in a casual attentional state. Similarly, variations in the auditory characteristic of the distractor stimulus (1 intermittent tone vs. 2 alternating tones) had a larger effect when infants were engaged in a focused attentional state toward the multicomponent toys. Thus, infants' distractibility in this context reflects an interaction between the infants' attentional state and the competition between external stimuli for their attentional focus.