A Review of Nonfamilial Intergenerational Programs on Changing Age Stereotypes and Well-Being in East Asia

This paper examines whether nonfamilial intergeneration programs reduce age stereotyping and increase the well-being of both youth and older adults in five East Asian communities. We used the systematic review method and screened 2,261 abstracts, selecting 14 publications for full review. Studies reported positive attitudinal changes among young and old participants. The intergeneration programs generally covered one of two themes: art activities or cultural heritage. Three best practices that can enhance intervention effectiveness were pre-intervention training, maintaining the intensity of the intervention on a weekly base, and pair-wise matching between the two stakeholders. More studies are recommended to test intergenerational programs with randomized designs and a wider age range of young participants. Culturally specific intergenerational contact theory is also in need of development, particularly “status concern” between the young and old generation.     

Life Satisfaction of Older Adults in Hong Kong: The Role of Social Support from Grandchildren

This study explores the relationship between the life satisfaction of older adults and the social support from grandchildren in Hong Kong. Two hundred and fifteen older people (from the ages of 64 to 101, mean age 79.3), whose youngest grandchild was aged 12 or older, were recruited from elderly service agencies to participate in the study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted by trained interviewers using a standardized questionnaire, which included the Life Satisfaction Scale for Chinese, the Lubben Social Network Scale, the Chinese Tradition Scale, grandchildren social support measures, self-rated health, self-rated financial adequacy, and demographic variables. Hierarchical regression showed that the life satisfaction of older adults benefitted significantly from the social support from grandchildren (R ² change = .05, F _change = 7.15, p < .001); while controlling demographic characteristics, general social support, attitude towards Chinese tradition, self-rated health, and self-rated financial adequacy. The total explained variance was 51%. Emotional support and appraisal support from grandchildren were identified as significant contributing factors. The policy and practice implications for active aging policies are discussed in a Chinese context.     

“同世活宝”后青春女

你一个人睡,身边空出一个人的位置,床的另一半很久以来都是没有温度的缺口。 梦总是要做的,梦里的圆规以你为中心,以欢爱镜头为半径画圆,网罗进来一堆不相干的男人。公司里的男上司,十几年前的小学男同学,不相干的路人甲,贝克汉姆、陈冠希……人无巨细无一漏网,宁可荒唐地圈进来一群,也不错过最不可思议的一个。     

The rationalization process of online game cheating behaviors

Online deviant behaviors have been prevalent since the Internet became ubiquitous, but research in this field is relatively scarce. The present study investigates a unique deviant behavior in online video gaming communities – game cheating – to further understand the scope of online deviant social behaviors. This paper aims to uncover how game players actively create and negotiate new meanings of game cheating in online games. Six focus groups were conducted to explore the rationalization process for engaging in game cheating among players of different online video games. It was discovered that elements of intentionality, utility, core gaming goals, evolving gaming norm, and social ties to gaming communities serve as important rationalizing process to justify game cheating behaviors. Through the discovery of these mental schemas for online game cheating, the paper discusses how online deviant behaviors are connected with social life online and form a unique online culture.     

Evaluating the effectiveness of four Hong Kong antismoking cartoon posters with humor and threat elements

Although cartoons are widely used in health communication, their effectiveness has seldom been tested. In this study, the effects of four humor–threat antismoking cartoon posters are evaluated in a sample of 12- to 15-year-olds (n = 183) in Hong Kong. The five-group comparison (including the control group) revealed that these posters did not increase antismoking attitudes in the sample but did decrease antismoking behavioral intentions. The better liked, more humorous, and more frightening posters did not produce increased antismoking attitudes or behavioral intentions. These findings warrant the development of theories to clarify the role of humor in health communication. Although cartoons are well liked by adolescents, practitioners must be aware of the possible negative effects of humor in cartoon-based messages.     

Nonspeculative Bubbles in Experimental Asset Markets: Lack of Common Knowledge of Rationality vs. Actual Irrationality

We report the results of an experiment designed to study the role of speculation in the formation of bubbles and crashes in laboratory asset markets. In a setting in which speculation is not possible, bubbles and crashes are observed. The results suggest that the departures from fundamental values are not caused by the lack of common knowledge of rationality leading to speculation, but rather by behavior that itself exhibits elements of irrationality. Much of the trading activity that accompanies bubble formation, in markets where speculation is possible, is due to the fact that there is no other activity available for participants in the experiment.     

Implementing media literacy training for social work programs at HBCUs: A literary analysis of barriers and opportunities

ABSTRACT

The image of the social work profession in the media is problematic for many reasons. Social work and its practitioners are often depicted as incompetent, ineffective, and unnecessary. Despite the necessity of the services provided to the public by social workers, public opinion of the profession remains low. To reverse the current trend, social work programs, particularly those at historically Black colleges and universities, can begin to provide media literacy training and media awareness within the curriculum to assist future social workers in stemming the tide of negative coverage and portrayals of the profession in the media. Using the media diffusion of information theory as an overview, this literary analysis provides a historical view of the profession and highlights current trends in social work practice, education, and media training.     

Bodywork and bodily capital among youth using fitness gyms

In this article, we explore what had become a predominant focus on the body and on shaping and refining the body through frequent, intensive workout and strict, controlled diets among a group of young people engaged in strength training in fitness gyms in Denmark. Theoretically and analytically, we draw inspiration from French sociologist Loïc Wacquant’s ethnographic study of professional boxers in Chicago around 1990. First, we use the concept of bodywork to explore and understand the meaning of the young people’s exercise and diet practices. We argue that the young people’s bodywork can be understood as the building up of bodily capital. Second, we aim to explore the social implications of this bodywork. We explore how and in what ways the young people’s bodily capital can be converted into other resources, or forms of capital, that are essentially social: social relations and sense of connectedness; knowledge, expertise and future plans; and recognition, self-worth and identity.     

Don't Let Your Disease Define You

Vivian Stephenson directed information technology systems at numerous companies, including Target Corporation, as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, and Williams-Sonoma, as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Information Officer. In 1994, Vivian was a recipient of the “Oscar” of information technology—the Smithsonian Institution and Computerworld Award—for developing the Planned Store Inventory System at Mervyn's Corporation. Vivian is a former chair of the Board of Trustees at Mills College, from which she received a Doctor of Humane Letters Honorary Degree in 2005 for her “ethical and compassionate leadership” and for serving as “an inspired, unwavering advocate for women and the power of education to transform women's lives and society as a whole.” Vivian survived two different types of breast cancer, diagnosed in 1980 and 1996. In 2009, she was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer.