Anti-Market Research: Piracy,New Media Metrics,and Commodity Communities

Over a decade after Napster’s introduction, file sharing programs still shoulder much of the blame for music and other media’s declining sales. Although labels and industry associations point their fingers at the harm digital piracy and file-sharing cause, they are less likely to admit the extent to which these anti-markets inform everyday decisions. File-sharing technologies create networks of users that serve as profitable data for ratings and metrics agencies. Using a case study of BigChampagne and its relationship to Napster, this article considers how the look, structure, and function of file-sharing software helped turn an economically threatening community into a commodity and how piracy’s disruptive potential is always in tension with processes of commodification.     

The oxygen-conserving potential of the diving response: A kinetic-based analysis

We investigated the oxygen-conserving potential of the human diving response by comparing trained breath-hold divers (BHDs) to non-divers (NDs) during simulated dynamic breath-holding (BH). Changes in haemodynamics [heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO)] and peripheral muscle oxygenation [oxyhaemoglobin ([HbO₂]), deoxyhaemoglobin ([HHb]), total haemoglobin ([tHb]), tissue saturation index (TSI)] and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO₂) were continuously recorded during simulated dynamic BH. BHDs showed a breaking point in HR kinetics at mid-BH immediately preceding a more pronounced drop in HR (?0.86 bpm.%^?1) while HR kinetics in NDs steadily decreased throughout BH (?0.47 bpm.%^?1). By contrast, SV remained unchanged during BH in both groups (all P > 0.05). Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) results (mean ± SD) expressed as percentage changes from the initial values showed a lower [HHb] increase for BHDs than for NDs at the cessation of BH (+24.0 ± 10.1 vs. +39.2 ± 9.6%, respectively; P < 0.05). As a result, BHDs showed a [tHb] drop that NDs did not at the end of BH (?7.3 ± 3.2 vs. ?3.0 ± 4.7%, respectively; P < 0.05). The most striking finding of the present study was that BHDs presented an increase in oxygen-conserving efficiency due to substantial shifts in both cardiac and peripheral haemodynamics during simulated BH. In addition, the kinetic-based approach we used provides further credence to the concept of an “oxygen-conserving breaking point” in the human diving response.     

Relationships between scores on Stanford-Binet IV and Wechsler preschool and primary scale of intelligence

A kindergarten class of 9 boys and 11 girls took the 1986 Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (Fourth Edition) and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence. Of 6 correlations of total scores and subtest pairs, only the correlation of total scores was statistically significant (p<.01).     

RESEARCH SECTION: The self‐esteem of pupils in schools for pupils with social,emotional and behavioural difficulties: myth and reality

The self‐esteem of pupils has long been regarded as a key variable affecting both pupils' learning and behaviour, although the relationship between the two may not be as strong as many in education have always assumed. In this article, Jeremy Swinson, an educational psychologist and honorary lecturer in educational psychology at Liverpool John Moores University, reports the findings from a study in two parts. Firstly, an examination was made of 35 Statements written by officers from seven different education authorities in the north‐west of England for pupils attending two independent schools that specialise in working with pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). It was found that, of the 35 Statements examined, 34 included self‐esteem as one area of special need. The second phase of the study examined the self‐esteem of 60 pupils in four specialist schools for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The results showed that the average scores for self‐esteem for both the primary and secondary sample were very similar to the scores obtained by previous researchers in mainstream schools. However, it was apparent that more pupils than expected appeared to have either very low or very high self‐esteem. In terms of locus of control, it was found that a large number of secondary pupils had a high score although this was not found to be the case for the primary pupils in the sample. Jeremy Swinson discusses these results and presents his analysis of their implications for teachers, educational psychologists and education officers.