Internet Pornography and U.S. Women's Sexual Behavior: Results From a National Sample

Representative studies on Internet pornography exposure and women's sexual behavior are needed. National data were utilized to explore the association between 1,077 U.S. women's exposure to Internet pornography and number of sexual partners. Internet pornography exposure and number of sexual partners were positively correlated. This association remained after controlling for age, marital status, ethnicity, education, and religiosity. However, the association was moderated in theoretically predictable ways by women's confidence in media and perceived life dullness.     

The impact of load on lower body performance variables during the hang power clean

This study examined the impact of load on lower body performance variables during the hang power clean. Fourteen men performed the hang power clean at loads of 30%, 45%, 65%, and 80% 1RM. Peak force, velocity, power, force at peak power, velocity at peak power, and rate of force development were compared at each load. The greatest peak force occurred at 80% 1RM. Peak force at 30% 1RM was statistically lower than peak force at 45% (p = 0.022), 65% (p = 0.010), and 80% 1RM (p = 0.018). Force at peak power at 65% and 80% 1RM was statistically greater than force at peak power at 30% (p < 0.01) and 45% 1RM (p < 0.01). The greatest rate of force development occurred at 30% 1RM, but was not statistically different from the rate of force development at 45%, 65%, and 80% 1RM. The rate of force development at 65% 1RM was statistically greater than the rate of force development at 80% 1RM (p = 0.035). No other statistical differences existed in any variable existed. Changes in load affected the peak force, force at peak power, and rate of force development, but not the peak velocity, power, or velocity at peak power.     

Gender differences in reading motivation: does sex or gender identity provide a better account?

This study examined sex differences in reading skill and reading motivation, investigating whether these differences could be better accounted for by sex, or by gender identity. One hundred and eighty‐two primary school children (98 males) aged 8–11 completed a reading comprehension assessment, reading motivation questionnaire and a gender role questionnaire. While there were no sex differences in reading skill or extrinsic reading motivation, girls had significantly higher intrinsic reading motivation. However, responses to intrinsic motivation were better explained by gender identity than sex. In addition, a feminine identity was more closely associated with many different aspects of reading motivation than a masculine identity. Implications for our understanding of sex differences in reading are discussed.     

Cultural capital and the literary field

The literary field has been conceptualized in social scientific work as patterned in particular ways. Historically, popular reading has been linked with contested processes of social change. Tastes for reading have, following Bourdieu, been seen as embedded in continuing processes of distinction and the making of hierarchies. Research has demonstrated the ways in which these hierarchies might be reflective of gender as well as of class relationships. This article examines the findings of the Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion study in the light of these debates. The survey gathered data about the types of reading material used by a representative sample of the United Kingdom (UK) population, including their preferences for newspapers, magazines and books. The article reports on a number of possible relationships identified in the study about the location of reading as a social practice, drawing on the survey data and explanatory accounts of respondents' reading preferences drawn from focus groups and interviews. The regularity of participation in reading and ownership of books are outlined in relation to occupational class. Evidence relating to the reading of magazines and newspapers is then examined in the light of contemporary policy concerns. Patterns of taste in books are explored, examining preferences for ‘literary’ genres, gender, education and ethnicity. The article concludes by addressing the position of taste for, and knowledge of, specific works representing a range of positions within the literary field to complete the picture of cultural capital and the literary field in the contemporary UK.