THE IMPLICATIONS OF CHOOSING "NO RACE" ON THE SALIENCE OF HISPANIC IDENTITY: How Racial and Ethnic Backgrounds Intersect among Hispanic Adolescents

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative sample of youth from 7th to 12th grades, we examined how racial and ethnic identification overlap among Hispanic adolescents. We evaluated the relative proximity between race and ethnic identifiers among Hispanics. Empirical analyses suggest that the racial identification of other students at school has a significant impact on the odds of choosing particular racial identifiers. Both Hispanic and non-Hispanic schoolmates' racial identification is related to the racial identification of Hispanic adolescents. We also find evidence that both ethnicity and race are distinct stratifiers among Hispanics. Overall, our findings support the notion that Hispanic may be a more meaningful "racial" identity than black, white, or other, but we also find that racial identification and ethnic background are still important and meaningful dividers among Hispanic youth.     

Misestimating Betting Behavior: The Role of Negative Asymmetries in Emotional Self Prediction

This paper addresses the role of negative asymmetries in emotional self-prediction by looking at the extent to which individuals misestimate their own betting behavior in sequential gambles. In a series of three experimental studies, we demonstrate that losses lead to higher than planned bets whereas bets are on average carried over after gains. Such asymmetric deviations from the plan emerge (1) when monetary and non-monetary incentives are used, and (2) when participants face fair and unfair gambles. The asymmetry is based on people’s inability to predict how much the negative emotions generated by a bad experience (e.g. the loss) will influence them to put more effort (e.g. bet more) than planned in an attempt to re-establish a homeostatic state in the prospect of a good experience (e.g. winning).     

Changes in risky gambling prevalence among a New Zealand population cohort

Evidence suggests that problem gambling is an unstable state where gamblers move into and out of risk over time. This article looks at longitudinal changes in risky gambling and the factors associated with an increased risk (measured by the Problem Gambling Severity Index [PGSI]) in the current New Zealand context, which has experienced a doubling of the electronic gaming machine (EGM) market over the last two decades. Respondents from a nationally representative baseline sample (n = 2672) were recontacted two years later to assess changes in gambling behaviours. Among the 901 respondents reached at follow-up, average gambling risk increased over time, and the prevalence of those who had at least some level of gambling risk (i.e. low-risk or greater) more than doubled (from 4.7% to 12.4%). The majority (80.2%) of those who were at risk at follow-up had not been at risk at baseline. Multivariate linear regression analyses show that the predictors of low to moderate increased risk include Pacific ethnicity; high neighbourhood deprivation status; baseline frequent, continuous gambler type; baseline PGSI status; and playing EGMs. These findings highlight the need to develop theories of gambling addiction trajectories and to identify the earliest point along the trajectory where public health interventions should occur.     

Olympic rankings based on objective weighting schemes

In this paper, we propose an objective principal components weighting scheme for all-time Winter Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals based solely on the number of medals won. Our results suggest that the approximately equal weights be assigned (or the total medal counts be used regardless of color) if all of the three medal types are retained for ranking purposes. When the proposed methodology is tested against five alternative weighting schemes that have been suggested in the literature using the results for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, we find a significant agreement in the country rankings. Furthermore, our implementation of principal components variable reduction strategy results in the identification of silver as the best representative medal count for parsimonious Winter Olympics rankings.KEYWORDS: Olympic rankings, principal components analysis, variable reduction strategy, medal counts, objective weighting schemeJEL Classifications: C18, C38, C43     

Toward a teacher solidarity lens: former teachers of color (re)envisioning educational research

Based on a two-year self-study by a group of early-career scholars of color, we explore and purposefully name our role, within the contemporary context of neoliberal reform, as educational researchers of color who are former K-12 teachers. We capture the insights that emerged from our self-study through a close reading of dominant neoliberal educational reform discourses, particularly through an examination of the writings of Michelle Rhee and Wendy Kopp. Along three dimensions of: (1) experience as teachers; (2) solidarity with teachers; and (3) analyses of racism in schooling, we characterize prominent discourses through which educators, researchers, and the public describe teachers and teaching. We name these discursive frames to make explicit the assumptions that are embedded in each and the intentional or inadvertent consequences of each. Finally, we propose a teacher solidarity lens through which we strive to approach our research and work with teachers.     

Stressful Life Events Across the Life Span and Insecure Attachment Following Combat Trauma

Attachment orientations are mostly considered to be stable interpersonal patterns. Still, a growing body of literature shows changes in attachment orientations following stressful and traumatic events. This study examined the implications of stressful life events (SLEs) throughout the life cycle in insecure attachment orientations (anxious attachment and avoidant attachment). The sample included 664 Israeli war veterans from the 1982 Lebanon War, of whom 363 suffered from acute combat stress reaction (CSR) on the battlefield, and 301 comprised a matched control group without antecedent CSR. The findings reveal a positive correlation between insecure attachment and both acute (CSR) and chronic (post-traumatic stress disorder) stress reactions. In addition, post-war SLEs were more powerful predictors of insecure attachment than other types of SLEs. Combat exposure, as well as pre-war SLEs in childhood and adulthood, made differential contributions to both types of insecure attachment orientations. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The Disappeared: images of the environment at Freetown's urban margins

‘The Disappeared’ is a small collection of images documenting the deforestation of the mountain range outside Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. Aesthetically these images are inspired by West African photographic practices and represent an alternative ethnography of the recent war's impact on this region. The article outlines the dynamics of deforestation in the region but argues that the traditional realist aesthetic of documentary photography is no longer a compelling way to represent this issue. Beginning with a West African (particularly Yoruba) notion of the ‘truth’ of the photographic image, ‘The Disappeared’ charts a different path for engaged visual ethnography and for intervening in the politics of visual representation.     

On the robustness of the extreme deviate test for a single multivariate outlier against heavy-tailed distributions

In this paper we assess the sensitivity of the multivariate extreme deviate test for a single multivariate outlier to non-normality in the form of heavy tails. We find that the empirical significance levels can be markedly affected by even modest departures from multivariate normality. The effects are particularly severe when the sample size is large relative to the dimension. Finally, by way of example we demonstrate that certain graphical techniques may prove useful in identifying the source of rejection for the multivariate extreme deviate test.     

The constantly changing face of chromatin

Many recent findings have altered our vision of chromatin and its role in the regulation of cellular functions. Our perspective concerning chromatin has changed to a much more complex, but also more dynamic, view of chromatin as an entity that is intimately involved in the regulation of a variety of cellular functions. In this review, we describe the various types of proteins that alter the structure and, therefore, the function of chromatin and discuss the possible role of chromatin in cell aging. The elucidation of the mechanisms that link chromatin to aging will be one of the most exciting and striking advancements in the coming years