Dual effects of ‘losses disguised as wins’ and near-misses in a slot machine game

Individually, both near-misses and losses disguised as wins (LDWs) have been seen to exert pro-motivational effects on gambling. However, it is not clear whether both structural characteristics are effective within the same game. Participants (n = 40) played a slot machine simulation. The simulation delivered near-misses, wins and ‘full-misses’. Half the participants also received LDWs that occurred independently of the outcomes on the payline. Valence and motivation ratings were collected after each round. Results showed that the LDW group reported increased valence ratings compared to the no-LDW group. Within the LDW group, trials with LDWs also resulted in increased enjoyment compared to trials without LDWs. We distinguished near-misses falling either side of the payline. Near-misses before the payline (NMB) were rated as more motivational than near-misses after the payline (NMA), whereas NMAs were rated as more aversive than NMBs. These differences between the two near-miss types were exacerbated by LDWs. Results demonstrate LDWs increase the trial-by-trial enjoyment of non-win outcomes. The motivational and hedonic effects of near-misses differed for events either side of the payline, and these differences were exaggerated by the presence of LDWs. Thus, near-misses can retain their effectiveness in complex forms of gambling that also deliver LDWs.     

Founding the New‘Family Studies’

By developing the concept of Multidimensional Developmental Pathways, the potential social policy consequences of such theorising are explored. In moving towards conceptualising the actual needs of people and the unity of their lives we can consciously (rather than unconsciously) contribute proposals for rebuilding social policy. With a view to generating further interest in alternative theoretical approaches to the analysis of ‘family life’, three theorems are then proposed. These three theorems constitute the first step in founding the New‘Family Studies’.     

Participatory ergonomic intervention for prevention of low back pain: assembly line redesign case

This paper gives an overview of a participatory ergonomic intervention aimed at reducing low back pain cases in the dispatch department of a catalogue and e-commerce retail company. Based on the findings of the ergonomic analysis and design committee, the company's own employees redesigned the assembly line's layout. As a result of these changes two job tasks that involved manual material handling of boxes, identified by the revised NIOSH equation as posing an increased risk for lifting-related low back pain, were totally eliminated, and the employees responsible for moving boxes from the end of the assembly line to pallets on the ground were given more control over their jobs, and these jobs were also enriched with a new, less heavy task. These results demonstrate that participatory ergonomic interventions are a viable and effective strategy to reduce the exposure to work-related physical and psychosocial risk factors for low back pain.     

‘Family ideology’: identification and exploration

The issue of ‘family ideology’ has been systematically ignored by a majority of ‘family¹ scholars whilst it has been taken for granted by a minority. The following study arises from the author's attempts to explore the issue of alternative theoretical approaches to the analysis of family life’.² Increasing numbers of contemporary researchers concur in recognising the diversity of ‘family forms’ and the inappropriateness of speaking of ‘The Family’.³ Despite these recognitions many researchers find themselves re-adopting the term ‘The Family’ in their discussions and especially in the titles of their work. For example. Segal clearly recognises that the ‘traditional family model’ no longer reflects the reality of our lives (1983, 11) and yet the title of her book is What is to he done about THE FAMILY? (emphasis added). One reason for the re-importation of the idea of ‘The Family’ may be found in the rather limited nature of previous conceptualisations of ‘family ideology’. With the exception of Barrett (1980), recognitions of ‘family ideology’ tend to be conceptualised in terms of sets of partisan beliefs supporting a particular ‘family form’. Thus the concept of ‘The Family’ is rarely regarded as being problematic in itself, rather attention is paid to the presumed virtues or deficiencies of the particular form of ‘The Family’ which is assumed to be prevalent. Notwithstanding the recognition of ‘family diversity’ or the inappropriateness of the term ‘The Family’, nearly all discussion becomes a straightforward attack upon, or defence of. ‘The Family’.⁴ Only very rarely does analysis avoid this trap and question whether ‘The Family’ really exists to be attacked or defended; thus Collier et al. have asked ‘Is there a Family?’ (1982) and the present author has asked ‘Do we really know what “The Family” is?’(Bernardes, 1948a). The objective here is to identify and explore a specific conceptualisation of ‘family ideology’. The aim is to avoid engaging in attacks upon, or defences of, ‘The Family’ but rather to address the ideological context of such debates themselves, especially in respect of the assumed existence of ‘The Family’. It is hoped that this approach will stimulate a much more critical examination of ‘family ideology’ and the concept of ‘The Family’. More generally, the attempt to conceptualise ‘family ideology’ in this much broader sense is seen as a pre-requisite for the development of an alternative theoretical approach to the analysis of ‘family life’.     

Multidimensional developmental pathways: a proposal to facilitate the conceptualisation of ‘Family Diversity’

This analysis takes Elder's work on the life-course as a starting point. Two proposals are made: (1) That the sociological use of the concept of ‘the family’ should be restricted to indicate only the occurrence of everyday usage; (2) That the notion of the ‘family life-course’ be replaced by the notion of individual life-courses coinciding upon developmental pathways. In this way the idea of a central type of ‘the family’ is made redundant and we are required, instead, to discover when and why participants refer to a particular developmental pathway as being ‘a family’. This approach not only facilitates the conceptualisation ‘family diversity’ but also compels researchers to engage the rich complexity of everyday life.     

‘Doing things with words’: Sociology and ‘Family Policy’ debates

In examining ‘family policy’, previous work on ‘family ideology’ is developed to demonstrate that ‘traditional family sociology’ has been ‘doing things with words’. In this area sociology, far from being innocuous, has had real impact upon society and may well have been oppressive and deeply reactionary.     

Whose ‘family’? A note on ‘The changing sociological construct of the family’

It is encouraging to read ethnographic research that addresses the way actors understand their own ‘family lives’ which also includes some debate about the way sociologists use the term ‘the family’     

Pulmonary function and exercise capacity in metal industry workers

This article intends to evaluate the lung function and capacity to exercise and correlate both of them in metal industry workers.     

Minor psychiatric disorders among nursing workers--is there an association with current or former night work?

We aimed at analyzing whether Minor Psychiatric Disorders (MPD) is associated to night work either currently or in the past. A cross-sectional study was conducted at three public hospitals in Brazil, with female nursing workers. Data collection (N=1,134) was based on a comprehensive questionnaire that included the self-reported questionnaire (SRQ-20) for screening of MPD. Former night workers were subdivided into three groups according to their reasons for leaving night work: (i) directly related to work, (ii) related to better reconcile with studies or another job, and (iii) related to health, sleep, fatigue or stress. Binomial logistic regression was performed, with adjustment for potential confounders. A dose response gradient was observed between current night work and MPD (OR=1.5; 95% CI: 1.1-2.2 and OR=2.1; 95%CI: 1.5-3.1 for those who worked up to five nights and six or more nights per 2-week span, respectively). Potential detrimental effects of night work were confirmed. The association between working at night and MPD was not restricted to current night workers as workers who left night work for health/fatigue/sleep/strain also showed higher chances of reporting MPD (OR=1.8;95%CI:1.14-2.90). Results contribute to the scientific debate on the impact of night work on health and wellbeing.     

In search of ‘The Family’– analysis of the 1981 United Kingdom Census: a research note

This article reviews previous estimates of the frequency of ‘normal families’ ¹ 1 For a detailed discussion of why terms related to ‘family’ are set within quotation marks, see Bemardes (1981, 1985a, 1985b, 1986). Briefly, the intention is to bracket off such terms to indicate that they are part of everyday usage and are not, in themselves, analytic categories appropriate to the sociological enterprise.
in the UK and USA. Using evidence from the 1981 UK Census it is found that ‘normal families’ account for a very small percentage of all ‘families’ in England and Wales. No single central type of ‘family’ exists and there is therefore an urgent need to develop theoretical approaches which address this issue.