Adolescent accounts of the UK National Lottery and scratchcards: an analysis using Q-sorts

The study examined adolescents' accounts of the UK National Lottery and scratchcards. Q-sorts were used to examine the views of 62 participants aged between 11 and 15 years of age. Findings identified four distinct accounts in relation to the National Lottery (Moral Opposition, Luck Seeking, Rationalist, & Uncertainty), and four distinct accounts in relation to scratchcards (Scepticism, Thrill-Seeking, Rationalist, & Libertarian). Some of the accounts identified described the UK National Lottery and scratchcards as bona fide forms of gambling. Reports indicated that adolescents were pessimistic about the chances of winning large sums of money, while other accounts demonstrated gambling misperceptions particularly in relation to their belief in luck and the laws of probability. It is argued that to fully understand why adolescents take part in these activities it is important to consider the diverse ways that adolescents represent these activities. These differing representations will have consequences for measures aimed at reducing, preventing, or treating adolescent problem gambling. The utility of Q-sorts as a technique for examining the views of problem and non-problem gamblers is also discussed.     

On tests for normality of experimental error in ridge regression

Considered are tests for normality of the errors in ridge regression. If an intercept is included in the model, it is shown that test statistics based on the empirical distribution function of the ridge residuals have the same limiting distribution as in the one-sample test for normality with estimated mean and variance. The result holds with weak assumptions on the behavior of the independent variables; asymptotic normality of the ridge estimator is not required.     

Manufacturing strategy

New market demands and new technology point to the need to include production as an integral part of corporate strategy. This paper first presents a method for defining the role of production during a constructive dialogue with parts of the firm. Development of a production strategy is seen as a parallel determination of strategies for (i) production technology, (ii) plant lay-out, (iii) production planning and control and (iv) organization. Finally, the paper discusses practical applications and results achieved in a number of Danish firms.     

466 AND ALL THAT

This paper describes a complex long-term citrus experiment conducted at Griffith, New South Wales, over a period of 35 years. The design has a number of interesting features. Information on certain interactions is spread over several strata of the analysis of variance and the addition of new treatment factors, in 1955 and 1971 raised difficult problems.     

网络传播者的道德教育研究

在虚拟的网络世界中,构建网络道德,很大程度上要依赖于网络传播者的道德和素质.本课题试图通过探讨网络传播者的思想道德素质状况,分析如何加强传播者的网络道德教育,提升其道德自律能力,从而促进网络道德体系和网络文明建设.     

A randomized test of a small-group interactive social norms intervention

Social norms interventions are a common approach to addressing the problem of college student drinking. An increasingly popular but not yet well-validated social-norms-based intervention consists of providing normative feedback to students in small groups. OBJECTIVE, PARTICIPANTS, AND METHODS: In this study, the authors used a randomized design to test an interactive form of small-group social norms correction with 502 first-year students during September and October 2001. Because the unit of random assignment was at the level of the classroom, the authors used hierarchical linear modeling to estimate variability. They investigated whether small-group interactive social norms correction could influence alcohol perceptions and behaviors above and beyond a noninteractive social norms education approach. RESULTS: Results indicate that the approach has a fairly substantial influence on student perceptions; however, the findings do not support an influence of interactive small-group social norms correction on measures of alcohol use behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Given these findings, the use of interactive small-group social norms approach to influence student misperceptions may be considered as a primer for population-level preventive interventions.