The hotnot syndrome: Myth‐making in South African school textbooks

Cultural myths are important for the maintenance of political control in a hierarchial multi‐ethnic society. History is often manipulated by the ruling elite at the expense of other segments of the society. South Africa is no exception. The maintenance of these myths is supported by the educational system from a very young age. Disenfranchised people are usually at the bottom of the social ladder and have so little input into the myth‐making process that they reject their aboriginal heritage. The study offered here of South African history textbooks written from the beginning of the First World War to the 1980's shows that they are a reflection of the controlling elite's perception of history which is not consistent with current archaeological and anthropological studies by reputable scholars. The exposure of these myths now permits an acceptance by the descendants of the aboriginal inhabitants of the Cape of their indigenous cultural heritage.     

The influence of dual‐identity development on the psychosocial functioning of African‐American gay and bisexual men

To examine the influence of racial‐ethnic and sexual identity development on the psychosocial functioning of African‐American gay and bisexual men (AAGBM), 174 AAGBM completed questionnaire packets designed to assess their levels of racial‐ethnic and sexual identity development, self‐esteem, social support, male gender role stress, HIV prevention self‐efficacy, psychological distress, and life satisfaction. The results indicate that AAGBM who possess more positive (i.e., integrated) seif‐identification as being African American and gay reported higher levels of self‐esteem, HIV prevention self‐efficacy, stronger social support networks, greater levels of life satisfaction, and lower levels of male gender role and psychological distress than their counterparts who reported less positive (i.e., less well integrated) African‐American and gay identity development. Although higher levels of racial‐ethnic identity development were associated with greater levels of life satisfaction, sexual identity development was not.     

Risky sexual behavior in low‐income African American women: The impact of sexual health variables

In a sample of 163 low‐income African American women, we used logistic regression analyses to test for associations between (a) 5 operationalized constructs theorized in the Sexual Health Model to impact one's overall sexual health (barriers to healthy sexuality, sexual anatomy and functioning, positive sexuality, sexual health care, and cultural identity) and (b) several measures of risky sexual behavior (consistent condom use, multiple concurrent partnerships, and overall sexual risk). No significant relationship was found between acculturation and risky sexual behaviors. Having sexual difficulties was positively associated with overall sexual risk and multiple concurrent partnerships. Favorable attitudes toward condoms were positively associated with consistent condom use. Desiring or intending pregnancy was positively associated with inconsistent condom use and overall sexual risk behavior. This is only the second study linking sexual difficulties and risky sexual behavior. The exact nature of this correlational relationship needs to be studied and replicated in different and more heterogeneous populations.     

The making of ‘real men’

This article considers the legacy of Enlightenment and Empire in settler society as a conflict of cultural values,at once a problem of justice and identity. Aotearoa/New Zealand is an exemplary case: the failure of the court system to fully acknowledge that settlement was founded on negotiation with indigenous people threatens to return this society, in constitutional and social terms, to a state of nature. I consider the problem raised by the claims to justice of indigenous Maori through the viewpoint of a major historian, and white New Zealander or Pakeha, J. G. A. Pocock. The progressivism of enlightenment history still evident in his thinking undergirds a view of Maori history as a primitive dreamtime. This misconception belies the refusal of Pakeha to acknowledge the extent to which their own view of history is a product of enlightenment myth-making. The negative British view of Maori in the nineteenth century shows the continuity of racial stereotypes since Captain Cook's encounter. Today, the judicial failure to countenance different cultural values reorients questions of justice. The state of nature returns as the absence of a constitutional framework for negotiating specifically cultural differences. The abstract universalism of liberal justice – Pakeha think justice cannot be culturally inflected – is part of the problem, and fuels Maori grievances. Yet Pakeha are increasingly turning to Maori insignia to establish a sense of national identity. Historical justice and questions of national identity remain inseparable in settler societies. The failure to consider settlement in terms of competing cultural values, evident in the problem of history, creates the conditions for an uncivil society. In this context I question the grounds for regarding acts of indigenous violence as unjustified.     

Good enough decision‐making? Improving decision‐making in adult protection

This paper examines decision‐making in adult protection based on arrangements operating in a local authority social services department and discussion generated in a specialist training intervention. The paper seeks to identify ways in which approaches to decision‐making can be made both more effective and more user centred. The need for good information for efficient and effective decision‐making is highlighted, along with the need for user involvement for the production of positive and valued outcomes. The paper looks at how user centred arrangements can be put into practice and discusses the potential for advocacy, outlining possible approaches for adult protection casework. With local authority social services departments struggling to implement No Secrets (2000), with adult protection a key social care competence and with the implementation of PCP and similar approaches a priority (Valuing People, 2001), it is important to improve decision‐making in adult protection in ways that are not only time and resource efficient, but place service users and their advocates at the centre of related processes.     

Introduction: Challenges to the homogenization of “African American”

African American sociologists are beginning to confront the use of African American/Black as a homogeneous sociological category. In doing so they are laying the ground for improvements in social scientific research in general. One aspect of that improvement involves the use of people of African descent as subjects for theoretical statements about humanity at large rather than merely about other African descendent populations. Another aspect involves confronting the extensive segregation within the discipline around the research done by African American scholars. This introduction discusses the implications of these issues for African American scholars and for the discipline as a whole.     

The race for equality?: Slavery,freedom and the African‐American community from the colonial period to the present

William Cheek and Aimee Lee Cheek, John Mercer Längsten and the Fight for Black Freedom, 1829–65 (Urbana and Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1997). Pp 478. $21.95. ISBN 0 252 06591 3

Kimberly S. Hanger, Bounded Lives. Bounded Places: Free Black Society in Colonial New Orleans. 1769–1803 (Durham, NC and London: Duke University Press, 1997). Pp.xiii + 248. £47.50 (hardback); £15.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 8223 1906 3 and 1898 9

Darlene Clark Hine, Hine Sight: Black Women and the Re‐Construction of American History (1994; Reprint, Bloomington and Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Press, 1997). Pp.xxxv + 290. £12.50. ISBN 0253 211247     

The U‐turn phenomenon among South American‐Japanese descendants: From emigrants to migrants

About a decade has passed since the problem of foreign migrant workers became serious in Japan. The Japanese government has been reluctant to formalize the introduction of migrant workers in the unskilled job sectors, yet, with the revision of the Immigration Control Law in 1990, has decided to formalize the status of residence of South American‐Japanese descendants, or Nikkeijin. This article focuses on the issue of the Nikkeijin in Japan. The article details the current position of the Nikkeijin and reviews their impact on Japanese society as well as on their home countries. The article further discusses the possibility of Nikkeijin settlement in Japan in the context of the government's attempts to preserve the notion of lineage as the basis for Japanese nationality.     

The interface between transport policy‐making and science: A ‘two‐person’ model

The paper attempts to build a qualitative ‘two‐person’ model which encapsulates the complex relationship between transport policy‐making and science, by personifying the relationship as a dialogue between ‘the politician’ and ‘the scientist’. The approach is illustrated by making references to the methods and results of the research project OPTIMA, which has attempted to find optimal urban transport policies in a number of European cities. Whilst finding much usefulness in the model, the paper recognizes its limitations and makes recommendations of a number of extensions that could be made.     

The making of ‘the elderly’: Constructing the subject of care

The provision and arrangement of care for elderly people is one of the main challenges for the future of European welfare states. In both political and public discourses elderly people feature as the subjects who are associated with particular needs, wishes and desires and for whom care needs to be guaranteed and organised. Underlying the cultural construction of the care regime and culture is an ideal type model of the elderly person. This paper analyses the discursive construction of elderly people in the discourses on care in Austria. An understanding of how elderly people as subjects, their wishes and needs and their position within society are constructed enables us to analyse, question and challenge the current dominant care arrangements and its cultural embeddings. The paper demonstrates the processes of silencing, categorisation and passivation of elderly people and it is argued that the socio-discursive processes lead to a particular image of the elderly person which consequently serves as the basis on which the care regime is built.     

An analysis of dyadic dominance in family decision‐making among older adults

Growth of the population aged sixty‐five and over is a significant trend in the sociodemographic structure of society. As a result, this age group is receiving increased attention from governmental and business decision‐makers. Little is known, however, about intra‐family decision‐making among members of this group. This paper presents an analysis of the determinants of husband and wife dominance in family decision‐making. The data indicate that dominance by the wife in decision‐making is related to the wife's positive self‐concept concerning the ability to make decisions as well as a “rub‐off” effect on the wife by the husband's self‐concept. Work history of the husband, in turn, contributes to his self‐concept. There were, however, no significant relationships between educational levels of either spouse and decision‐making dominance.     

How epoch making are high technologies? The case of biotechnology

This paper is a commentary on the current tendency among sociologists to embrace the notion that high technologies will be revolutionary or epoch making. The implicit neo-Schumpeterian logic of these claims is detailed, and a preliminary framework for empirical examination is developed for the case of biotechnology. Available evidence suggests that biotechnology, because it will be applied primarily in declining sectors of the economy and is mainly a substitution technology, is unlikely to be an epoch-making technical form. The implications of these observations for sociological reasoning about new technologies and technological change are discussed.     

Sense‐making in Taiwan's tea art ritual

This paper analyzes Taiwan's contemporary public tea gatherings from the perspective of “sense-scape,” the cultural world of sensory experiences. Performing elegance by way of tea brewing, bodily gestures and movements, costumes, utensil arrangements, and spatial design represents what is innovative about Taiwan's tea art culture, often referred to as “literati tea.” As the fragrance and flavors of tea, light and shadows, sounds and music, visual presentations of utensils, and space, as well as the general atmosphere of these events are captured by the senses and organized by the emotions, they inform us about who we are and who the other is. Despite its Japanese cultural infusion and Chinese cultural legacy, which have always complicated claims of a truly Taiwanese origin, Taiwan's tea art has been eagerly adopted by mainland Chinese tea communities since the late 2000s. That a local practice and invented tradition strongly identified with Taiwan has been embraced as “traditional” cultural practice in contemporary China presents a paradox that deserves our attention.     

The Myth of Research‐based Practice: The Critical Case of Educational Inquiry

Educational research in Britain has been subject to substantial government intervention in recent years. The rationale for this has been the demands made by a model of evidence‐based policymaking and practice that carries implications for other fields of social research as well. In this paper, the growing influence of this model is sketched, and it is argued that it relies on some very questionable assumptions about what research can offer policymakers and practitioners. It is concluded that the consequences of enforcing this model are likely to be negative for both sides, but especially for research.