In 1974 an article appeared in Science magazine with the dry-sounding title “Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases” by a pair of psychologists who were not well known outside their discipline of decision theory. In it Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman introduced the world to Prospect Theory, which mapped out how humans actually behave when faced with decisions about gains and losses, in contrast to how economists assumed that people behave. Prospect Theory turned Economics on its head by demonstrating through a series of ingenious experiments that people are much more concerned with losses than they are with gains, and that framing a choice from one perspective or the other will result in decisions that are exactly the opposite of each other, even if the outcomes are monetarily the same. Prospect Theory led cognitive psychology in a new direction that began to uncover other human biases in thinking that are probably not learned but are part of our brain’s wiring.

Thinking fast and slow.

This 1966 paperback edition of a publication which first appeared in 1963 has by now been widely reviewed as a worthy contribution to the sociological study of deviant behavior. Its current appearance as a paperback is a testimonial both to the quality of the work and to the prominence of deviant behavior in this generation. In general the author places deviance in perspective, identifies types of deviant behavior, considers the role of rule makers and enforcers, and some of the problems in studying deviance. In addition, he develops a sequential model of deviance relying on the concept of career, a concept originally developed in studies of occupations. In his study of a particular kind of deviance, the use of marihuana, the author posits and tests systematically an hypothesis about the genesis of marihuana use for pleasure. The hypothesis traces the sequence of changes in individual attitude

Outsiders Studies in the Sociology of Deviance.

Objective The goal of this review was to determine the direction of associations between SES and health behaviors during the period of adolescence. Method We searched the PsychInfo and Pubmed databases for studies that measured the association between SES and cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, marijuana use, diet, and physical activity in adolescents between 10- and 21-years old. Results Associations between SES and health behaviors conformed to two patterns. First, low SES was associated with poorer diets, less physical activity, and greater cigarette smoking. Second, there was no clear pattern of associations between SES and alcohol consumption or marijuana use. Conclusion Results from this review indicate that, although some associations between SES and health behaviors exist during adolescence, the associations are not as robust as those in adulthood. Efforts to curb poor diet, inactivity, and smoking behaviors should target low SES adolescents, whereas efforts to curb teen drinking and marijuana use may be useful across the SES spectrum.

Socioeconomic status and health behaviors in adolescence: a review of the literature.

Synthetic cathinones have recently emerged and grown to be popular drugs of abuse. Their dramatic increase has resulted in part from sensationalized media attention as well as widespread availability on the Internet. They are often considered “legal highs” and sold as “bath salts” or “plant food” and labeled “not for human consumption” to circumvent drug abuse legislation. Cathinone is a naturally occurring beta-ketone amphetamine analogue found in the leaves of the Catha edulis plant. Synthetic cathinones are derivatives of this compound. Those that are being used as drugs of abuse include butylone, dimethylcathinone, ethcathinone, ethylone, 3- and 4-fluoromethcathinone, mephedrone, methedrone, methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), methylone, and pyrovalerone. Synthetic cathinones are phenylalkylamines derivatives, and are often termed “bk-amphetamines” for the beta-ketone moiety. They may possess both amphetamine-like properties and the ability to modulate serotonin, causing distinct psychoactive effects. Desired effects reported by users of synthetic cathinones include increased energy, empathy, openness, and increased libido. Cardiac, psychiatric, and neurological signs and symptoms are the most common adverse effects reported in synthetic cathinone users who require medical care. Deaths associated with use of these compounds have been reported. Exposure to and use of synthetic cathinones are becoming increasingly popular despite a lack of scientific research and understanding of the potential harms of these substances. The clinical similarities to amphetamines and MDMA specifically are predictable based on the chemical structure of this class of agents. More work is necessary to understand the mechanisms of action, toxicokinetics, toxicodynamics, metabolism, clinical and psychological effects as well as the potential for addiction and withdrawal of these agents.

/pdf/the-toxicology-of-bath-salts-a-review-of-synthetic-6s9xutfrqm.pdf

The Toxicology of Bath Salts: A Review of Synthetic Cathinones

Understanding Celebrity is a thorough introduction to the process of creating and sustaining celebrity as a market commodity. Turner successfully separates his work from previous evaluations of celebrity by clarifying the differences between types of celebrity and thoroughly identifying distinct areas of production. In a split from the central paradigms surrounding the study of celebrity, that is, the “celebrity culture,” Turner instead offers a clear evaluation of the agents of production, with the intent to highlight their contribution to the construction and consumption of celebrity. The chapters are divided into three sections. In Part One “Introduction,” Turner looks at the field of celebrity study, describes the rise of celebrity, and provides a clear account of the function of celebrity in current society. Providing a substantial review of the work on the construction of celebrity and fame, he focuses on the social functions of celebrity and on the culture of the media industry itself. Critical of the so-called globalization of celebrity production, Turner argues that the power of a few dozen transnational corporations contribute greatly to the construction and subsequent consumption of the range of celebrity figures. And, although not overtly critical of the nature of such corporations, Turner segues into a careful and concise set of assertions concerning the control of the media image and the production of celebrity in Part Two. Part Two “Production” contains a summary of the celebrity as commodity and logically follows in Turner’s theory of the phenomenon. In this section, Turner provides a concise description of those involved in the celebrity industry, from agent to publicist. The description of the impact of public relations and news media is detailed and understandable, not an easy task given the multiple issues involved in creating and maintaining celebrity in today’s market. This text is strongest in Part Three “Consumption,” which identifies the ways celebrity is consumed and provides a clear exploration of how and why we are so fascinated with celebrities, particularly those with whom we identify with on a personal level, that is, those we feel we know through information about their personal lives. Turner argues that it is even more powerful when the consumer identifies with similar traits or circumstances in the celebrity’s life or person. In the example of Diana, Princess of Wales, Turner offers a view of the celebrity as authentically loved and mourned. Turner argues that Princess Diana was valued for her position, but also for her ability to be seen as real, vulnerable, and “one of us.” Turner successfully places the celebrity in the world of social meaning and influence in today’s often fragmented society. He explains that celebrity is, in part, about making parasocial, or imagined, connections with celebrity, but it is also about making personal connections based on perceived similarities. The connection to celebrity is not only between the consumer and the image, but across consumers as well; the celebrity forges a common bond across members of a social group who share common consumption. Finally, Understanding Celebrity offers a succinct evaluation of the historical changes within the media industry as they apply to celebrity, and Turner’s discussion of fame for fame’s sake is appropriate, given the popularity of current reality television, where “real people” are famous merely because they are on a television program. The downside of Understanding Celebrity is its less than enthusiastic discussion of celebrity in the first two sections, with rather dry examples of celebrity used to illuminate points about consumerism, the process of production, and the general market. The third section is the most valuable and stimu-

Understanding CelebrityUnderstanding Celebrity, by TurnerGraeme. London, UK; Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2004. 148 pp. $115.00 cloth. ISBN: 0-7619-4167-3. $36.95 paper. ISBN: 0-7619-4168-1.

Illegal Leisureoffers a unique insight into the role drug use now plays in British youth culture. With half this generation having tried an illicit drug and up to a quarter using drugs regularly, this study explains why, despite parental angst, universal programs and a determined war on drugs, all efforts to ban illegal leisure have failed.

Illegal leisure : the normalization of adolescent recreational drug use

Against the backdrop of a long-standing British ‘binge and brawl’ pattern of alcohol-based weekend leisure and concomitant recurrent anxieties in the media surrounding youth and young adults at play, this article considers the cultural distinctions of contemporary British leisure and the evidence for a ‘new’ culture of intoxication. Four key changes are identified which together, the authors argue, suggest significant change is underway in respect of patterns of alcohol consumption in the UK. Presenting empirical data for the first time, the article considers how one might assess the evidence for a new culture of intoxication which embraces both legal and illicit drugs and which encompasses a broad social spectrum of young people. The study concludes that the pursuit of altered states of intoxication must be positioned in late modern society as behaviour which is a vehicle for consumer and criminal justice discourses, both encouraged by economic deregulation and constrained by legislative change, indicative of the ambiguities at the heart of British alcohol policy.

‘Binge’ drinking, British alcohol policy and the new culture of intoxication

Women's illicit drug use has been increasing rapidly in the 1990s in the UK and elsewhere in the developed world. Lifetime prevalence rates show that gender is no longer a significant predictor of, or protector from, illicit drug use. The concentration on lifetime prevalence in the academic debate, however, has been to the detriment of the wider cultural context of drug-related attitudes and behavior in drug-using groups and wider society. This paper considers the socio-cultural context of gender and drug use, and reasserts the central importance of gender to our understanding of drugs cultures. Drug use is not just mediated by gender, but, far more significantly, drug use and the associated leisure, music and style cultures within which drug use is located are themselves ways of accomplishing a gendered identity. Building on Messerschmidt's concept of crime as structured action, the author suggests that gender does not just influence “doing drugs”–drug use itself can be seen as a way of “doing gender.”

“Doing Gender”—“Doing Drugs”: Conceptualizing the Gendering of Drugs Cultures:

In the UK, mephedrone and other so-called ‘legal high’ derivatives have recently been classified as Class B, Schedule I under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Since then, alternative products have been advertised on a number of websites. In order to obtain an immediate snapshot of the situation, 24 products were purchased online from 18 UK-based websites over a period of 6 weeks following the ban in April 2010. Qualitative analyses were carried out by gas chromatography ion trap mass spectrometry using electron- and chemical ionization modes, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and comparison with reference standards. Overall, the purchased products consisted of single cathinones or cathinone mixtures including mephedrone, butylone, 4-methyl-N-ethylcathinone, flephedrone (4-fluoromethcathinone) and MDPV (3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone), respectively. Benzocaine, caffeine, lidocaine, and procaine were also detected. The emphasis was placed on ‘Energy 1’ (NRG1), a product advertised as a legal replacement for mephedrone-type derivatives usually claiming to contain naphyrone (naphthylpyrovalerone, O-2482). It was found that 70% of NRG-1 and NRG-2 products appeared to contain a mixture of cathinones banned in April 2010 and rebranded as ‘new’ legal highs, rather than legal chemicals such as naphyrone as claimed by the retailers. Only one out of 13 NRG-1 samples appeared to show analytical data consistent with naphyrone. These findings also suggest that both consumers and online sellers (unlike manufacturers and wholesalers) are, most likely unknowingly, confronted with the risk of criminalization and potential harm. Copyright c � 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

/pdf/analyses-of-second-generation-legal-highs-in-the-uk-initial-500kzb29qj.pdf

Analyses of second-generation 'legal highs' in the UK: initial findings.

A comprehensive interdisciplinary exploration of dance drug use in Britain. The authors look at all aspects of drug use, including the contexts in which they are used, effects on health and attitudes to drug use. They also present important policy recommendations.

Fiona Measham

Papers

Illegal leisure : the normalization of adolescent recreational drug use

‘Binge’ drinking, British alcohol policy and the new culture of intoxication

“Doing Gender”—“Doing Drugs”: Conceptualizing the Gendering of Drugs Cultures:

Analyses of second-generation 'legal highs' in the UK: initial findings.

Dancing on Drugs: Risk, Health and Hedonism in the British Club scene