Ambivalent Spaces—The Emergence of a New Gay Male Norm Situated Between Notions of the Commercial and the Political in the Swedish Gay Press, 1969–1986

Within sexual geographies, sexual struggles over urban public spaces are frequently explored. Less common is research on sexual struggles within sexually shared spaces and gay spaces. The aim of the article is to examine discursive struggles of meanings of gay male identity enacted in discussions of commodification/capitalism, disclosure, and space in Swedish gay press during 1969–1986. We trace the ambivalent feelings or the emergence of a new gay male norm situated between commercialism and non-commercialism within the Swedish gay press back to the 1970s. In the article we show how a monosexualization process was taking place in both the Swedish gay press as well as within sexual spaces. We explore rhetorical struggles between two competing discursive meanings of (ideal homonormative) male homosexuality, gay culture, and space: one wider (inclusive) and one narrower (exclusive).     

铁斯克和他的时代

记述了哈萨克阿勒班部落苏丹铁斯克的一生和当时的历史情况 ,反映了 19世纪下半叶 ,俄中两国在中亚地区的对峙和中亚各部落与他们之间的关系     

Limits of the effectiveness of intercultural education and the conceptualisation of school knowledge

I argue in this paper that the hidden and official curriculum of Slovenian public elementary schools work together to develop an ethnocentric and Eurocentric frame of mind when judging other cultures. This presents an obstacle for the professed promotion of intercultural learning and valuation, and fosters the social marginalisation of ethnic minorities. The arguments for this claim can be found in: (1) the existing dichotomy of ‘pluralistic’ and ‘nationalistic’ objectives of education, which can be traced to the core documents of the Slovenian public elementary school (a nine‐year school); (2) the prevalence of ‘national’ objectives over ‘pluralistic’ ones, which is only further strengthened by the operationalisation of objectives and learning topics; and (3) the matching of the contents of selected school subjects, which place pluralistic, intercultural objectives high on their agenda, and school practice—this matching can be seen in the emphasis on ‘national’ objectives, accompanied by the strengthening of ethno‐ and Eurocentric judgements.

V?lanku branim tezo, da sta skriti in uradni kurikul v slovenski javni elementarni ?oli do neke mere enotna pri oblikovanju etnocentri?nega in evropocentri?nega miselnega okvira za presojanje drugih kultur, kar ovira deklarirano interkulturno u?enje in vrednotenje in ohranja dru?beno marginalizacijo etni?nih manj?in. To naredim tako, da prika?em: (1) dihotomijo edukacijskih ciljev med pluralisti?nimi in «narodnimi» cilji, ki jih je mogo?e slediti od dokumentov, ki postavljajo temelje slovenske javne elementarne ?ole (devetletke); (2) da prika?em premo? «narodnih», ki se z operativizacijo ciljev in u?nih vsebin krepi in (3) da prika?em enotnost med u?nimi vsebinami izbranih u?nih predmetov, ki pluralisti?ne, interkulturne cilje postavljajo v ospredje, ter med ?olsko prakso—enotnost se ka?e ravno v poudarjanju «narodnih» ciljev, skupaj s krepitvijo etno‐ in evropocentri?nega presojanja.     

Barriers and facilitators to adherence to group exercise in institutionalized older people living with dementia: a systematic review

Objectives

Research suggests targeted exercise is important for people living with dementia, especially those living in residential care. The aim of this review was to collect and synthesize evidence on the known barriers and facilitators to adherence to group exercise of institutionalized older people living with dementia.

Methods

We searched all available electronic databases. Additionally, we searched trial registries (clinicaltrial.gov, and WHO ICTRP) for ongoing studies. We searched for and included papers from January 1990 until September 2017 in any language. We included randomized, non-randomized trials. Studies were not eligible if participants were either healthy older people or people suffering from dementia but not living in an institution. Studies were also excluded if they were not focused on barriers and facilitators to adherence to group exercise.

Results

Using narrative analysis, we identified the following themes for barriers: bio-medical reasons and mental wellbeing and physical ability, relationships dynamics, and socioeconomic reasons. The facilitators were grouped under the following thematic frames: bio-medical benefits and benefits related to physical ability, feelings and emotions and confidence improvements, therapist and group relationships dynamics and activity related reasons.

Conclusions

We conclude that institutionalized older people living with dementia, even those who are physically frail, incontinent and/or have mild dementia can demonstrate certain level of exercise adherence, and therefore can respond positively to exercise programs. Tailored, individually-adjusted and supported physical activity, led by a knowledgeable, engaging and well communicating therapist/facilitator improves the adherence to group exercise interventions of institutionalized older people living with dementia.

     

Sexual Preferences and Partnerships of Transgender Persons Mid- or Post-Transition

The process of gender transition has varying effects on various aspects of sexuality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of transitioning on transgender persons’ sexual preferences and partnerships. Data were collected through an anonymous online survey. Questions focused on timing of gender transition in relation to change in sexual preference. Transgender individuals have a variety of sexual partners, predominantly cisgender, and may change sexual preference when they transition. Transitioning can be associated with having no primary sexual partner, despite past sexual partnerships. Length of time between identifying as transgender and starting the transition might be associated with changing sexual partner preference, particularly in transgender women. The emerging trends of sexual partnerships and changing sexual preferences related to the transition in this study warrant further investigation. These data provide more understanding of the relationship between transitioning and sexual preferences and partnerships.     

Frailty models and copulas: similarities and differences

Copulas and frailty models are important tools to model bivariate survival data. Equivalence between Archimedean copula models and shared frailty models, e.g. between the Clayton-Oakes copula model and the shared gamma frailty model, has often been claimed in the literature. In this note we show that, in both the models, there is indeed a well-known equivalence between the copula functions; the modeling of the marginal survival functions, however, is quite different. The latter fact leads to different joint survival functions.     

Social assistance assessments of couple households: A vignette study on applicants’ ethnicity and gendered family roles

Social work professionals’ assessments of social assistance (SA) eligibility for a heterosexual couple with a baby are examined. Professionals (n = 899) spread over 43 social service offices in 19 Swedish municipalities assessed a vignette. According to the vignette, one of the parents abstained from paid work to take parental leave, which caused the couple's need for SA. Two vignette dimensions were varied: the couple's ethnicity (Swedish/Arabic) and gendered family roles (mother/father going on parental leave). Data were analysed using multilevel logistic regression modelling. The results show that the combination of the couple's gendered family roles and ethnicity seems to have bearing on the assessments. Professionals were most prone to grant SA to couples with Swedish names where the mother went from work to parental leave. The lowest granting rate was found in assessments of couples with the same gender setting and Arabic names.