A Closer Look at a Relatively Neglected Mean

The self‐weighted mean (WS) – in which each value is weighted by itself – is presented in several contexts and illustrated. It is incorporated in a set of more familiar means. Intuitions concerning WS are explored.     

Hope,Material Resources,and Subjective Well-Being of 8- to 12-Year-Old Children in Israel

Few studies have examined the links among hope, material resources, and subjective well-being (SWB) of children from their own perspectives. The article examines lack of material resources as a risk factor, hope as a human strength, and a possible moderator regarding children's SWB. The study employed a nationally representative sample of 2,977 Jewish and Arab Israeli children (ages 8–12). As predicted, there was a significant positive relation between hope and SWB, and a negative relation between lack of material resources and SWB. Hope was found to moderate the relation between lack of material resources and SWB. Furthermore, for 10- and 12-year olds, differences were found regarding the strength of the relations of the variables, suggesting a possible developmental trend.     

Numbers defy the law of large numbers

As the number of independent tosses of a fair coin grows, the rates of heads and tails tend to equality. This is misinterpreted by many students as being true also for the absolute numbers of the two outcomes, which, conversely, depart unboundedly from each other in the process. Eradicating that misconception, as by coin‐tossing experiments, should be incorporated early on into learning the law of large numbers.     

An Alternative Approach for Expressing [Vdot]O2 Max Changes When Comparing Training Programs

The purpose of this study was to examine African American toddlers' cortisol response to acute physical play activity within a full-time subsidized day care environment. Saliva samples were taken from participants (N = 22, ages 26–45.5 months) before and after physical play and control play conditions at the same time of day. ActiheartTM monitors were used to estimate the intensity of the play conditions. Although heart rate and other indicators were significantly higher during physical play, no change in cortisol levels was seen pre- to postphysical play. Further research is needed to better understand the cortisol response observed.     

Consensus is Unfair

A coefficient of unfairness in the allocation of goods to people can be extended to measuring consensus among judges. The notion of relative variability underlies the formation of these measures.     

Redundancy in Canonical Analysis

Framed within the psychosocial context of the sport ethic and social-approval goal orientation, 10 female and 11 male current collegiate or former high school athletes participated in individual interviews about their hazing experiences. Data analysis resulted in seven lower order themes and two higher order themes. The higher order theme of the general aspects of hazing included types of, factors influencing, reasons for, and the effects of hazing. The higher order theme of hazing as deviant overconformity included rites of passage, hazing and the team, and the ambiguity of hazing. Results indicated that athletes reported engaging in risky, hazing behaviors and that both the values of sport as well as the desire to be accepted by teammates encouraged hazing.     

Weighted Means Through the Looking Glass

Each weighted mean of two values has a counterpart, equidistant from the arithmetic mean, obtained by exchanging roles between the weights or by inversing each weight. These elementary relations are apt for introductory courses.