Mesede and the Limits of Reciprocity in Fieldwork at Kamusi,Western Province,Papua New Guinea

This paper outlines some of the ways I and my research were defined by Bamu speakers living at Kamusi, the headquarters of the Wawoi Guavi logging concession in the Western Province of PNG. These definitions often involved stories about Mesede and other great Bamu ancestors. The stories about Mesede outlined Bamu experiences of colonial and post-colonial development and suggested that Mesede had the power to transform the Bamu's current poverty and marginalisation. The possibility that Mesede could institute a new epoch of development was linked to the Bamu's ability to maintain inalienable ties with Mesede despite his removal overseas. Mesede's story also required me to acknowledge, and productively respond to, past appropriations by Australians, and others, of Mesede. His history placed me in a project of im/possible reciprocity that should have involved me in returning Mesede to his rightful place.     

Assessing the effectiveness of a responsible gambling behavioural feedback tool for reducing the gambling expenditure of at-risk players

The current study assessed the utility of a responsible gambling (RG) tool that provides players with behavioural feedback about their gambling. Data was obtained from 779 people (n = 694 male; n = 85 female) who gambled online with Svenska Spel (the Swedish gambling operator) and who opted to receive behavioural feedback via an RG tool (Playscan). Importantly, data was also obtained from a matched sample of 779 players who did not opt to receive behavioural feedback. Feedback took the form of a colour-coded risk rating (Green = no issues, Yellow = at-risk, Red = problematic), which was determined by a proprietary algorithm. Additionally, gambling expenditure data (amounts deposited and wagered) was gathered for the week in which players enrolled to use the RG tool, the subsequent week and 24 weeks later (this data was also gathered for the matched sample). Results showed that Yellow (i.e. at-risk) players who used the tool significantly reduced the amounts of money deposited and wagered compared to players who did not use the tool – an effect observed the week following enrolment as well as 24 weeks later. Thus, informing at-risk players who have opted to receive feedback about their gambling appears to have a positive impact on subsequent expenditures.     

Is gambling industry-funded research necessarily a conflict of interest? A reply to Cassidy (2014)

This article addresses the issue of industry-funded research and specifically responds to the critique that such research necessarily involves a conflict of interests. It also offers four areas that need attention in order to improve transparency in gambling-related research.     

Nations,national identity and prestige

Prestige is a concept or factor that receives relatively little sustained attention in the specialist academic work on nations, national identity and nationalism. It is, however, an implicit influence in much of this literature. Evidence, perspectives and insights, suggesting that prestige is a vital element in the psychological constitution of nations, emerge from a diverse range of sources.     

Assessing the validity of a single-item HIV risk stage-of-change measure

This study examined the validity of a single-item measure of HIV risk stage of change that HIV prevention contractors were required to collect by the California State Office of AIDS. The single-item measure was compared to the more conventional University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA). Participants were members of Los Angeles County-defined behavioral risk groups recruited from a mobile HIV testing program (N = 123). The study found low correspondence between participants' stage of change on the single-item and the URICA, suggesting that they do not assess the same construct, and that the single item may not provide a valid measure. The current data suggests that the single-item measure should be revised or abandoned in favor of more conventional stage-of-change measures.     

Leaving the parental home in Australia over the generations: Evidence from the Household,Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (Hilda) Survey

The decision to remain in or leave the parental home represents the first housing career choice of young people. In this paper, we examine the parental home leaving outcomes for Australian birth cohorts in the twentieth century using recall questions contained in the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. The findings from survival analysis and hazard function modelling is that a continuous, gradual reduction in the age of first leaving the parental home in Australia is evident up to the 1947–51 birth cohort, followed by stability and then a rise in age of first leaving home for the most recent birth cohorts. Birth cohort effects remain significant even after other measured determinants of parental home leaving are taken into account. The paper confirms the strong roles that education, family background and ethnicity have on parental home leaving outcomes.     

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF REGULATION IN MARKETS WITH NAÏVE CONSUMERS

In a model of a competitive industry selling base goods and add‐ons, we investigate the conditions under which citizen‐consumers will support policies that eliminate behavioral inefficiencies induced by naïve consumers. Unregulated competitive markets have two effects: they produce deadweight losses, and they redistribute income away from biased consumers. Both unbiased and naïve consumers believe that they benefit from this redistribution (the naïve consumers are wrong), so support for efficiency‐improving regulation is limited. Extending our model to consumers with partial sophistication about their naïveté, we predict patterns of regulation consistent with the form and timing of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009.     

Managing the Peace: Exorcising Colonial Ghosts

Public Organization Review -