Who uses emoticons? Data from 86 702 Facebook users

Emoticons are graphical representations of emotions used in virtual communication. We explored patterns of emoticon use in a sample of 86 702 Facebook users (aged 16 to 60, 59% women).We analyzed the total number and type of emoticons posted to public Facebook feeds as a function of a user's gender, age and Big Five personality characteristics. In our sample, 90% of Facebook users employed emoticons. The most popular 15 emoticons represented 99.6% of all emoticons posted. Our results further showed that the frequency of emoticon usagewas predicted mainly by age and gender, explaining 16% of the variance, whereas user's personality scores explained b2%. These findings suggest that emoticon usage may assist in profiling user's demographic, but not necessarily psychological traits

A struggle in the peripheries: a few remarks on devolution in the UK

A struggle in the peripheries: a few remarks on devolution in the UK The paper looks at the major issues underlying devolution in the United Kingdom, i.e. a process whereby the historically diverse areas and regions constituting the seemingly uniform state have been slowly striving for independence, along with the formation of local, regional and even national identities. Hinging on the idea of ‘multicultural citizenship’, the paper seeks to analyse the ongoing public discourse centered on the gradual transfer of centralized London-based power to local and regional bodies across the UK. This discourse forms the pivotal background of devolution, overtly pointing to the idea of the so-called ‘new opening’ of the entire British political scene, clearly promoting the notion of strengthening the position of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and English regions as increasingly autonomous geographical and cultural areas as part of a weakening monolith by the name of the United Kingdom. Resting almost entirely on historic tensions between British identity and Scottish identity, it is made clear that the Scottish public debate has basically neglected the issues of the assimilation of its cultural minorities with the ‘post-devolution’ reality. The devolution discourse stems from the rancorous debates and polemics which have taken place throughout the three hundred years of the Scottish and English Union, covering several social and political contexts, including the growing demands voiced by the SNP. Indeed, it has a major impact on the formation of Scots’ national distinctiveness alongside Scotland’s gradual emergence as a separate part of the British Isles.   Walka na peryferiach: kilka uwag na temat procesu dewolucji w Wielkiej Brytanii Artykuł omawia główne zagadnienia leżące u podstaw procesu dewolucyjnego w Zjednoczonym Królestwie, tj. stopniowego uniezależniania się historycznych krain – regionów współtworzących to pozornie jednolite państwo, oraz tworzenie się w tym procesie tożsamości lokalnych, regionalnych, a nawet narodowych. Bazując na pojęciu „obywatelstwa wielokulturowego”, dokonano analizy podjętego w tym państwie ożywionego dyskursu publicznego w kwestiach związanych ze stopniowym przekazywaniem władzy skupionej centralnie – w Londynie – instytucjom lokalnym i regionalnym. Dyskurs ten stanowi istotne zaplecze procesu dewolucji, wyraźnie wskazując na ideę tzw. „nowego otwarcia” całej brytyjskiej sceny politycznej, jednoznacznie promując umacnianie pozycji Szkocji, Walii i Irlandii Północnej oraz angielskich regionów jako niezależnych obszarów geograficzno-kulturowych w ramach słabnącego monolitu państwowego Zjednoczonego Królestwa. Dyskurs dewolucyjny ma swe źródła w burzliwych debatach i polemikach toczących się w ciągu trzystu lat istnienia unii angielsko-szkockiej. Obejmuje wiele środowisk społecznych i politycznych, w tym rosnącą w siłę Szkocką Partię Narodową (SNP) i ma istotny wpływ na kształtowanie się poczucia narodowej odrębności Szkotów oraz stopniowego umacniania pozycji tego „regionu – obszaru – kraju” na Wyspach Brytyjskich. Artykuł przybliża istotę dążeń odśrodkowych na przykładzie Szkocji, której coraz bardziej wyraziste dążenia niepodległościowe – ich apogeum jest zaplanowane na wrzesień referendum niepodległościowe – oznaczać będą istotne zmiany konstytucyjne, stanowiąc poważne wyzwanie dla spójności całego Zjednoczonego Królestwa. W ten sposób uwidacznia się istotny z punktu widzenia spójności kulturowej problem przyszłości tego państwa w obliczu możliwych dalszych zmian terytorialnych

The 1977 USSR Constitution: A Document of Social, National and International Consolidation

Among the new features of the 1977 Soviet Constitution are provisions that strengthen the role of the Communist Party, redefine the powers of the Union Republics, and announce the foreign policy of the U.S.S.R. The author demonstrates that these principal features represent a consolidation of the U.S.S.R.\u27s power as a multinational party-state of world stature. Yet, this consolidation is a response to the centrifugal forces of social differentiation, non-Russian nationalism, and foreign Communist dissension, which threaten the ideal of Communist uniformity at home and abroad

Predatory journals recruit fake editor

An investigation finds that dozens of academic titles offered ‘Dr Fraud’ — a sham, unqualified scientist — a place on their editorial board. Katarzyna Pisanski and colleagues report

Assortative mating for human height: A meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES: The study of assortative mating for height has a rich history in human biology. Although the positive correlation between the stature of spouses has often been noted in western populations, recent papers suggest that mating patterns for stature are not universal. The objective of this paper was to review the published evidence to examine the strength of and universality in assortative mating for height. METHODS: We conducted an extensive literature review and meta-analysis. We started with published reviews but also searched through secondary databases. Our search led to 154 correlations of height between partners. We classified the populations as western and non-western based on geography. These correlations were then analyzed via meta-analytic techniques. RESULTS: 148 of the correlations for partner heights were positive and the overall analysis indicates moderate positive assortative mating (r = .23). Although assortative mating was slightly stronger in countries that can be described as western compared to non-western, this difference was not statistically significant. We found no evidence for a change in assortative mating for height over time. There was substantial residual heterogeneity in effect sizes and this heterogeneity was most pronounced in western countries. CONCLUSIONS: Positive assortative mating for height exists in human populations, but is modest in magnitude suggesting that height is not a major factor in mate choice. Future research is necessary to understand the underlying causes of the large amount of heterogeneity observed in the degree of assortative mating across human populations, which may stem from a combination of methodological and ecological differences

Individual differences in cortisol stress response predict increases in voice pitch during exam stress

Despite a long history of empirical research, the potential vocal markers of stress remain unclear. Previous studies examining speech under stress most consistently report an increase in voice pitch (the acoustic correlate of fundamental frequency, F0), however numerous studies have failed to replicate this finding. In the present study we tested the prediction that these inconsistencies are tied to variation in the severity of the stress response, wherein voice changes may be observed predominantly among individuals who show a cortisol stress response (i.e., an increase in free cortisol levels) above a critical threshold. Voice recordings and saliva samples were collected from university psychology students at baseline and again immediately prior to an oral examination. Voice recordings included both read and spontaneous speech, from which we measured mean, minimum, maximum, and the standard deviation in F0. We observed an increase in mean and minimum F0 under stress in both read and spontaneous speech, whereas maximum F0 and its standard deviation showed no systematic changes under stress. Our results confirmed that free cortisol levels increased by an average of 74% (ranging from 0 to 270%) under stress. Critically, increases in cortisol concentrations significantly predicted increases in mean F0 under stress for both speech types, but did not predict variation in F0 at baseline. On average, stress induced increases in voice pitch occurred only when free cortisol levels more than doubled their baseline concentrations. Our results suggest that researchers examining speech under stress should control for individual differences in the magnitude of the stress response

Exprese emoci u futbalistu po vstrelenem golu – metodologicke aspekty vyzkumu

Piotr Sorokowsk

Turystyka jako szansa i zagrożenie dla rozwoju plemion pierwotnych – na przykładzie populacji Yali z Nowej Gwinei

Na przykładzie plemienia Yali zamieszkującego wyżynne regiony centralnej Papui, w pracy tej zaprezentowano, jak turystyka może wpływać na rozwój populacji żyjących w izolacji od współczesnej cywilizacji. W artykule opisano w jaki sposób Yali kontaktują się z turystami i jak powstający w regionie i stawiający „pierwsze kroki” przemysł turystyczny wpływa na życie tego plemienia. Opisano zarówno pozytywne jak i negatywne aspekty tej styczności, w tym min., wpływ turystyki na rozwój ekonomiczny i zamożność opisywanej populacji, zmiany kulturowe, które wśród niej zachodzą, a także wpływ turystyki na środowisko naturalne w tamtym regionie.Piotr Sorokowsk