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Abstract Rip currents are the number one hazard to bathers at surf beaches. They form as water trapped on the beach moves in a concentrated flow offshore. Miami Beach, Florida is a popular tourist destination and also one of the most deadly beaches in the United States regarding rip-related fatalities. In this study, surveys were used to quantify the public's recognition of rip currents based on factors that included their sociodemographic composition and behavioral characteristics. The responses were analyzed using regression models, which tended to indicate that education level, rip current literacy, and confidence in spotting a rip influenced the beachgoer's ability to recognize a rip current. However, the multivariate model showed a person's education is the only significant variable. A beachgoer's verbal understanding of rip currents does not relate to their visual recognition ability and vice versa. This survey has gathered valuable information that can be used by Miami Beach to create rip current awareness programs that target the most at-risk populations. Highlights • 60% of respondents could not identify the safest place to enter the water. • Visitors lack confidence in their ability to spot a rip current. • Only education level influences beachgoer's ability to recognize a rip current. • Rip current education and awareness are vital to beach safety campaigns. • The most at-risk populations should be targeted to mitigate the hazard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influential work of Tilly and Tarrow on social movement repertoire transitions--moving from older, local, and episodic tactics to newer, national, and sustained tactics--has contributed significantly to the development of social movements theory. This article expands Tilly and Tarrow's theoretical framework by drawing on examples from Nigeria and Kenya. First, we examine the causal factors contributing to repertoire transitions in these postcolonial African countries, highlighting the importance of colonial state formation and social networks in changing repertoires. Second, we consider how the gravity and effectiveness of women's nakedness, used by mothers as a collective action tactic to shame those targeted, persisted and maintained its significance across tactical repertoire transitions, despite colonial repression. We argue that the continuance of tactics across repertoire transitions lies in their ability to maintain symbolic resonance, which simultaneously restricts the transmission of tactics to other locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars and policy makers continue to debate whether information technology (IT,) facilitates economic growth and quality of life throughout the world. "Cyber optimists" argue that access to IT promotes development whereas "cyber pessimists" assert that such access simply exacerbates global inequality. Our quantitative analysis generally supports the former perspective, showing that access to IT increases economic expansion and decreases child mortality in the developing world. However, the increasing "digital divide" between rich and poor countries threatens the capacity of IT to contribute to development and may, in the long run, provide greater support to those who criticize development efforts based on information technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the mobilization of women in Latin America prior to and during the transition to democracy has been well-studied, the mobilization of women in sub-Saharan Africa during this transition has received little attention. Yet, the study of women's mobilization within an emerging democratic state of sub-Saharan Africa would provide insight into how women may renegotiate their position in relation to transforming political structures, and how they may work to redefine their own rights. This article analyzes the case of Ghana to examine the mobilization of women in sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, multivariate analyses of a survey of 621 women and in-depth interviews with thirty-three members of women's organizations are used to explore whether women's organizations are attempting to mobilize women to participate in the formal political process during the transition to democracy, and, if so, whether their efforts are successful. The results indicate that women's organizations view the electoral process as a means to mobilize women, that they have attempted to mobilize women to participate in elections, and that their mobilization efforts influenced the political behavior of women. Implications of these findings for our understanding of women's mobilization in sub-Saharan Africa in comparison to those in Latin America are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]