Social Science posts
- October 26, 2010
- 12:32 AM
- 490 views
The medium is the joke
by Hadas Shema in Information Culture
In their paper "The medium is the joke: Online humor about and by networked computers" by Shifman and Blondheim (2010, pay-walled) the authors sampled 170 texts from "humor hubs" (that is, well-known humor sites), plus 80 videos from YouTube, ending up with 250 humorous items in their sample.Manufactors, monopoly and the Microsoft menace In the absence of real alternative to Microsoft (though a friend once threatened me with installation of Linux) users make jokes which the authors interpret ac........ Read more »
Shifman, L., & Blondheim, M. (2010) The medium is the joke: Online humor about and by networked computers. New media . info:/10.1177/1461444810365311
- October 25, 2010
- 07:23 PM
- 1,091 views
Providing bilingual education since 1689
by Ingrid Piller in Language on the Move
I’ve been teaching about bilingualism for more than a decade and when I speak about bilingual education and dual-immersion programs I draw on examples from Canada and the USA. These are the examples that fill the literature and the textbooks. … Continue reading →... Read more »
Meier, G. (2010) Two-way immersion education in Germany: bridging the linguistic gap. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 13(4), 419-437. DOI: 10.1080/13670050903418793
Sugimoto, Yoshio. (2010) An Introduction to Japanese Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. info:/
- October 25, 2010
- 02:29 PM
- 478 views
What matters to people with persistent pain?
by Adiemusfree in Healthskills: Skills for Healthy Living
I’ve read many written expectations of people coming for pain management – and without a doubt, the majority of people want to get on with life, go back to doing what they enjoy, and feel better in themselves. The only problem with that? Most of them preface their goals with ‘reduce my pain so I … Read more... Read more »
Turk, D., Dworkin, R., Revicki, D., Harding, G., Burke, L., Cella, D., Cleeland, C., Cowan, P., Farrar, J., & Hertz, S. (2008) Identifying important outcome domains for chronic pain clinical trials: An IMMPACT survey of people with pain. Pain, 137(2), 276-285. DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2007.09.002
- October 25, 2010
- 12:50 PM
- 1,880 views
Anatomy of a Superstition: When Your Eye "Jumps"
by Krystal D'Costa in Anthropology in Practice
The eye sees all, and can possibly warn
of danger in Trinidadian folklore.
Credit: Wikipedia
Trinidadians have a rich collection of superstitions, many of which found their way to the island via colonialism. These beliefs reflect the ways ideas and explanations have been blended here—and elsewhere—in the face of globalization. There is one, however, that I have grown up with that seems unique to Trinidadians. It concerns an involuntary eye spasm known colloquially as when your eye "ju........ Read more »
Kowal L, Davies R, & Kiely PM. (1998) Facial muscle spasms: an Australian study. Australian and New Zealand journal of ophthalmology, 26(2), 123-8. PMID: 9630292
Matthews, B. (1945) West Indian Beliefs and Superstitions. The American Catholic Sociological Review, 6(3), 139. DOI: 10.2307/3707527
Robb-Nicholson C. (2010) By the way, doctor. From time to time, my eyelids twitch. What causes this, and is there anything I can do about it?. Harvard women's health watch, 17(9), 8. PMID: 20597142
Roberts, H. (1927) Louisiana Superstitions. The Journal of American Folklore, 40(156), 144. DOI: 10.2307/534893
- October 25, 2010
- 11:12 AM
- 622 views
How does an anthropological perspective contribute to our understanding of birth control? Part I
by Kate Clancy in Context & Variation
This is a heavily revised version of a series I wrote for my LEE Blog on biological anthropology and hormonal contraception. This post deals with contraindications for hormonal contraceptives.... Read more »
Arabi, A., Nabulsi, M., Maalouf, J., Chouchair, M., Khaliffe, H., Vieth, R., & Elhajjfuleihan, G. (2004) Bone mineral density by age, gender, pubertal stages, and socioeconomic status in healthy Lebanese children and adolescents. Bone, 35(5), 1169-1179. DOI: 10.1016/j.bone.2004.06.015
Brunner Huber, L., & Hogue, C. (2005) The Association Between Body Weight, Unintended Pregnancy Resulting in a Livebirth, and Contraception at the Time of Conception. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 9(4), 413-420. DOI: 10.1007/s10995-005-0015-5
Burkman RT, Fisher AC, Wan GJ, Barnowski CE, & LaGuardia KD. (2009) Association between efficacy and body weight or body mass index for two low-dose oral contraceptives. Contraception, 79(6), 424-427.
Cromer BA, Lazebnik R, Rome E, Stager M, Bonny A, Ziegler J, & Debanne SM. (2005) Double-blinded randomized controlled trial of estrogen supplementation in adolescent girls who receive depot medroxyprogesterone acetate for contraception. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 192(1), 42-7. PMID: 15672001
Hou YL, Wu XP, Luo XH, Zhang H, Cao XZ, Jiang YB, & Liao EY. (2007) Differences in age-related bone mass of proximal femur between Chinese women and different ethnic women in the United States. Journal of bone and mineral metabolism, 25(4), 243-52. PMID: 17593495
Morin-Papunen L, Martikainen H, McCarthy MI, Franks S, Sovio U, Hartikainen AL, Ruokonen A, Leinonen M, Laitinen J, Järvelin MR.... (2008) Comparison of metabolic and inflammatory outcomes in women who used oral contraceptives and the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device in a general population. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 199(5), 5290-2147483647. PMID: 18533124
Prior JC, Kirkland SA, Joseph L, Kreiger N, Murray TM, Hanley DA, Adachi JD, Vigna YM, Berger C, Blondeau L.... (2001) Oral contraceptive use and bone mineral density in premenopausal women: cross-sectional, population-based data from the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal , 165(8), 1023-9. PMID: 11699697
- October 25, 2010
- 04:21 AM
- 639 views
Racial Differences in the Concept of Beauty
by Psychothalamus in Psychothalamus
Are average composite faces the most attractive faces or are highly attractive faces markedly different from average faces? Rhee & Lee (2010) agrees with Perrett & Yoshikawa (1994) that the most attractive face is actually the average of attractive faces and that an average face; while attractive, is not the most attractive.They also argue that previous concepts of beauty such as the divine proportion (golden ratio) are not a good measure of beauty across different races and should not b........ Read more »
Rhee SC, & Lee SH. (2010) Attractive Composite Faces of Different Races. Aesthetic plastic surgery. PMID: 20953953
Perrett DI, May KA, & Yoshikawa S. (1994) Facial shape and judgements of female attractiveness. Nature, 368(6468), 239-42. PMID: 8145822
- October 25, 2010
- 02:07 AM
- 440 views
The Bobo Doll Experiment
by John Wayland in The Darwin Tribune
Social psychology is a fascinating area of psychological research.One of the many famous pieces of research to come out in the history of social psychology is the Bobo Doll Experiment, conducted by Albert Bandura. Essentially, Philips (2007) states that Bandura showed children images of either an actor attacking a clown, or not. After watching the film, the children were then allowed to play in a room full of toys. Philips (2007) states that those children who had watched the film would go on to........ Read more »
Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. (1963) Imitation of film-mediated aggressive models. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 66(1), 3-11. DOI: 10.1037/h0048687
Bandura, A. (2009) Social Cognitive Theory Goes Global. The Psychologist, 22(6), 504-506. info:/
PHILLIPS, H. (2007) Mind-altering media. The New Scientist, 194(2600), 33-37. DOI: 10.1016/S0262-4079(07)61000-8
- October 23, 2010
- 07:40 AM
- 1,357 views
when in doubt, shout? maybe, but not so fast.
by Greg Fish in weird things
Ed Yong has a summary of a study which tries to show that proselytizing and overzealous support for an idea or an opinion comes from a lack of confidence in it, or basically, the most adamant proselytizers devote so much time and effort to proselytizing because they’re trying to convince themselves and create a bandwagon [...]... Read more »
Gal, D., & Rucker, D. (2010) When in Doubt, Shout!: Paradoxical Influences of Doubt on Proselytizing. Psychological Science. DOI: 10.1177/0956797610385953
- October 23, 2010
- 05:22 AM
- 906 views
Domain-General Regions and Domain-Specific Networks
by Wintz in A Replicated Typo 2.0
The notion of a domain-specific, language acquisition device is something that still divides linguists. Yet, in an ongoing debate spanning at least several decades, there is still no evidence, at least to my knowledge, for the existence of a Universal Grammar. Although, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the problem was solved many years ago, especially . . . → Read More: Domain-General Regions and Domain-Specific Networks... Read more »
Deacon, T. (2010) Colloquium Paper: A role for relaxed selection in the evolution of the language capacity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(Supplement_2), 9000-9006. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0914624107
Christiansen, M., & Chater, N. (2008) Language as shaped by the brain. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 31(05). DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X08004998
- October 22, 2010
- 12:36 PM
- 692 views
Population, Part 2: Why 21st-Century Nations Want People to Have MORE Children
by David Berreby in Mind Matters
A central tenet of the population-panic school is that throughout the world, as Chris Hedges wrote last year in his usual Jeremiah-meets-angry-beehive style, we are heading for "an age of extinction and desolation" because "population growth is exploding." This is false: Environmental desolation may indeed be around the corner, but population growth is not the reason.
In fact, population growth rates are in free fall. They have been dropping for nearly 50 years. Thanks to improvements........ Read more »
Baochang, G., Feng, W., Zhigang, G., & Erli, Z. (2007) China's Local and National Fertility Policies at the End of the Twentieth Century. Population and Development Review, 33(1), 129-148. DOI: 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2007.00161.x
- October 22, 2010
- 04:35 AM
- 1,012 views
To adapt or to transform? The choice is yours.
by Jan Husdal in husdal.com
Many businesses believe themselves to be nested in a stable environment and are confounded when things suddenly change, and the world today no longer is the same world it was yesterday. While adaptation may work temporarily, transformation and building a resiliency capacity is what works best in the long run. What is it about resilience that is so important, and most importantly, why?... Read more »
Lengnick-Hall, C. (2005) Adaptive Fit Versus Robust Transformation: How Organizations Respond to Environmental Change. Journal of Management, 31(5), 738-757. DOI: 10.1177/0149206305279367
- October 21, 2010
- 04:49 PM
- 443 views
Gamblers Rewarded by Near Misses
by Darcy Cowan in Skepticon
Earlier this year a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience looked at the brains of compulsive gamblers and concluded that when the the gamblers suffered “near-miss” losses their brains reacted as if they had won. Another study published slightly later in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behaviour also looked at the brains [...]... Read more »
Chase, H., & Clark, L. (2010) Gambling Severity Predicts Midbrain Response to Near-Miss Outcomes. Journal of Neuroscience, 30(18), 6180-6187. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5758-09.2010
Habib, R. . (2010) Neurobehavioral evidence for the “near-miss” effect in pathological gamblers. JOURNAL OF THE EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR, 93(3), 313-328. info:/10.1901/jeab.2010.93-313
- October 21, 2010
- 08:00 AM
- 1,698 views
Wait, stop – we have an Avatar tree too!
by Bluegrass Blue Crab in Southern Fried Science
Remember how that Na'avi needed their tree of souls? Well, it might not be as obvious to us, but we depend on our forests too.
Dependence on natural resources is often relegated to a characteristic of the rural poor, a reason for development aid to swoop in and provide other economic opportunities. However, a recent article [...]... Read more »
Guo, Z., Zhang, L., & Li, Y. (2010) Increased Dependence of Humans on Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity. PLoS ONE, 5(10). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013113
- October 21, 2010
- 05:30 AM
- 291 views
Hosting the 2012 London Olympics may damage rather than regenerate local communities and businesses
by SAGE Insight in SAGE Insight
Visibilities and Invisibilities in urban development: Small business communities and the London Olympics 2012 From Urban Studies The coming of the London 2012 Olympic Games has been presented as a unique opportunity for the regeneration of east London. This article considers the potential repercussions of regeneration. It warns that the process of clearance of the [...]... Read more »
Raco, M., & Tunney, E. (2010) Visibilities and Invisibilities in Urban Development: Small Business Communities and the London Olympics 2012. Urban Studies, 47(10), 2069-2091. DOI: 10.1177/0042098009357351
- October 20, 2010
- 10:14 PM
- 477 views
The Ig-Nobel Prize for Economics: Should companies promote people at random?
by Brad Walters in Cortical Hemming and Hawing
This year, the nobel prize for economics was awarded to/shared by Peter A. Diamond of MIT, Dale T. Mortensen of Northwestern University, and Christopher A. Pissarides of the London School of Economics. These three economists were honored for their work relating to government policies and employment and economic growth during recessions. Among some of the many contributions in these areas are the finding that greater unemployment benefits can lead to longer periods of u........ Read more »
Pluchino, A., Rapisarda, A., & Garofalo, C. (2010) The Peter principle revisited: A computational study. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 389(3), 467-472. DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2009.09.045
- October 20, 2010
- 06:01 PM
- 1,016 views
German Autos at risk? Perhaps not.
by Jan Husdal in husdal.com
An empirical analysis of supply chain risk management in the German automotive industry shows that the group using reactive supply chain risk management seems to do better in terms of disruptions resilience or the reduction of the bullwhip effect, whereas the group pursuing preventive supply chain risk management seems to do better as to flexibility or safety stocks. [ ... ]... Read more »
Thun, J., & Hoenig, D. (2009) An empirical analysis of supply chain risk management in the German automotive industry. International Journal of Production Economics. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2009.10.010
- October 20, 2010
- 05:30 AM
- 439 views
The rehabilitation aim of probation officers at odds with UK Government punishment agenda
by SAGE Insight in SAGE Insight
Attitudes and beliefs of trainee probation officers: A ‘new breed’? From Probation Journal In recent years the UK Government has been placing less emphasis on the idea of probation as a form of rehabilitation, instead re-framing it as ‘punishment in the community,’ with a focus on protecting the public. It has promoted the idea that [...]... Read more »
Deering, J. (2010) Attitudes and beliefs of trainee probation officers: A 'new breed'?. Probation Journal, 57(1), 9-26. DOI: 10.1177/0264550509354671
- October 19, 2010
- 05:18 PM
- 830 views
Referential labelling in Diana Monkeys
by Hannah Little in A Replicated Typo 2.0
Ok, so I was going to write an essay for my Origins of Language module on this but then got distracted by syntax (again) so I thought I’d put my thoughts in a blog post just so they don’t go to waste.
Diana monkeys, like vervet monkeys, use alarm calls to communicate the presence of a predator . . . → Read More: Referential labelling in Diana Monkeys... Read more »
Zuberbuhler, K. (2000) Interspecies semantic communication in two forest primates. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 267(1444), 713-718. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2000.1061
- October 19, 2010
- 04:19 PM
- 693 views
Migrant identity and politicization
by Kris-Stella in Coffee Shop Philosophy
What is the relationship between national identity and politicization? In an era of widespread concerns over terrorism and the integration of minorities in Western societies, this is a relevant question. If one's identification with the new home country increases, what is the consequence for levels and types of political activity? Bernd Simon and Olga Grabow have published some interesting new research on the topic. Looking at Russian migrants in Germany (replicating a design that has previously........ Read more »
Simon, B., & Grabow, O. (2010) The Politicization of Migrants: Further Evidence that Politicized Collective Identity is a Dual Identity. Political Psychology, 31(5), 717-738. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9221.2010.00782.x
- October 19, 2010
- 05:33 AM
- 473 views
The role of media discourse framing attitudes towards the use of embryonic stem cells
by SAGE Insight in SAGE Insight
Beliefs about science and news frames in audience evaluations of embryonic and adult stem cell research From Science Communication There has been great global attention to the recent announcement that US doctors have begun the first official trial of using human embryonic stem cells in patients after getting the green light from regulators. The shift [...]... Read more »
Stewart, C., Dickerson, D., & Hotchkiss, R. (2008) Beliefs About Science and News Frames in Audience Evaluations of Embryonic and Adult Stem Cell Research. Science Communication, 30(4), 427-452. DOI: 10.1177/1075547008326931
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