What Is the Meaning of Meaningful Purpose in Children's Remembering? Istomina Revisited

In a classic study, Istomina (1977) found that preschool children remembered more items when remembering served a meaningful purpose then when it was for the purpose of reporting recall to an adult. Istomina's findings have not been replicated in several recent attempts; however, we argue that these attempts have not focused sufficiently on the purpose of remembering. We report a study in which we asked parents to present a set of pictures of 10 grocery items to their 4-year-old children (with the same order of items and number of presentations) in one of two conditions: Either, the remembering fit into a clear functional goal (making a sack lunch), or remembering was itself the goal (in a memory test). In the lunch condition, children were told that they were to remember the items so that they could get them from the "grocer" on the other side of the room in order to make a sack lunch. In the test condition, children were told to remember the items so that they could tell an adult what they were. Children remembered more items when the remembering served the goal of making lunch than when the purpose was simply remembering the items to tell someone else. We discuss the findings in the context of the other replications, some of which created fun activities to contrast with a test condition but often did not embed the remembering as a necessary way of reaching a meaningful goal. We also discuss the likelihood that across differing historical periods and cultural settings, the activities that are meaningful for young children are likely to vary.     

What Is Love?

"I'D like to ask what on earth love is, since people are ready to die for it" This well-known saying about love has been quoted throughout history.I've heard an old talented and romantic scholar of nearly 50 bragging about his series of irresponsible romances, narrowing his eyes as if he were intoxicated; I've     

What Is Valued in Gay and Lesbian Specific Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment?

Little is known about what gay and lesbian clients value about culturally specific alcohol and other drug treatment programs. This study involves a sample of clinical staff and former clients (N = 40) of four culturally specific alcohol and other drug treatment programs to clarify what is addressed and deemed valuable for the specific needs of gay and lesbian clients. Through the lens of the recovery capital conceptual framework, this qualitative research emphasizes resiliency and the supports necessary for long-term recovery. Results indicate three major themes that make this type of treatment valuable: (1) a separate treatment unit or facility, (2) a safe and supportive therapeutic milieu, and (3) specific tailored treatment approaches. Findings are discussed to include implications for ways to improve services for this all too often understudied population of potentially vulnerable individuals who can benefit from culturally sensitive care.     

The Eroticism of the Maternal: So What If Everything Is About the Mother?

The “erotic” bond between the mother and the infant is often idealized as the epitome of the preoedipal, prerepressive utopia in the blissful image of the naked and sacred mother-infant dyad. This article problematizes such a utopian image by identifying the core fantasy underlying that which is maternal. My discussion looks at the mother both as the object of erotic fantasy and the subject who is doing the fantasizing. This study brings together two seemingly disparate theoretical notions, Lacanian feminist psychoanalyst Luce Irigaray's argument about our culture's relationship with the mother and Japanese psychoanalyst Takeo Doi's study of amae. I argue that what Irigaray calls “desire of/for the mother” and what Doi attempted to explain using the everyday Japanese word, amae, a wish to “depend and presume upon another's love or bask in another's indulgence,” are both what is understood in the clinical psychoanalytic language as maternal erotic transference.     

Introduction: The Glass Coffin: What Age Is Desire?

To invite future contributions to the project taking shape in this special issue of Studies in Gender and Sexuality, I defer making the usual theoretical introductory comments on our topic, What Age is Desire? in preference for what might emerge among the articles as they read and are read, open to elaboration and close wounds, engender desire and spark controversy—as do barfly and passerby eyeing one another at the Glass Coffin.     

What Age Is Shame?

The author ponders the various meanings of growing older in the gay male community, focusing on the phenomenon of shame and its intergenerational origins.     

The Stability of Facial Attractiveness: Is It What You’ve Got or What You Do with It?

Physical attractiveness is suggested to be an indicator of biological quality and therefore should be stable. However, transient factors such as gaze direction and facial expression affect facial attractiveness, suggesting it is not. We compared the relative importance of variation between faces with variation within faces due to facial expressions. 128 participants viewed photographs of 14 men and 16 women displaying the six basic facial expressions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise) and a neutral expression. Each rater saw each model only once with a randomly chosen expression. The effect of expressions on attractiveness was similar in male and female faces, although several expressions were not significantly different from each other. Identity was 2.2 times as important as emotion in attractiveness for both male and female pictures, suggesting that attractiveness is stable. Since the hard tissues of the face are unchangeable, people may still be able to perceive facial structure whatever expression the face is displaying, and still make attractiveness judgements based on structural cues.     

What Do Movements Mean? The Value of Participant-Observation

Participant-observation can teach us much about the everyday meanings of doing social activism. I conceptualize these implicit meanings in relation to work in the sociology of culture, and social movement studies, and give examples from activists' everyday interaction. A participant-observer's forays into implicit meanings illuminate three dimensions of activists' experiences: the ways activists practice democratic citizenship in their groups, the ways they build group ties, and the ways they define the meaning of activism itself. By probing these implicit meanings, we can address questions that concern many social movement scholars. We increase our understanding of how movements grow, accomodate conflict, and build alliances, and we can specify which insights are useful in theories of contemporary or new social movements.     

What Is Different about the Profile of the Social Entrepreneur?

In recent years, the term social entrepreneur has become increasingly common in academic and business circles. Social entrepreneurs engage in a variety of activities, but always with the intention of solving social problems. Social entrepreneurs are not merely people who perform acts of charity; they have an evident desire to improve social well‐being and develop projects with long‐term vision. The creation of sustainable social value is a key characteristic that differentiates them from well‐meaning individuals who simply engage in charitable works. There are, however, significant gaps in our understanding of social entrepreneurs and few empirical studies on the subject. This present study attempts to identify the characteristics of more socially oriented entrepreneurs, using sociodemographic variables and the theory of universal values toward work. Analysis of a sample of approximately 400 people shows that more than half of entrepreneurial orientation can be explained through the possession of the values of self‐enhancement (with an inverse relationship in this case), self‐transcendence, and conservation. The theory of universal values has proved extraordinarily useful for studying the characteristics of social entrepreneurs.     

The Concept of Ecological Validity: What Are Its Limitations and Is It Bad to Be Invalid?

The concept of ecological validity has played an important role in research on perceptual development. The limitations of this concept are discussed and illustrated with examples from research on the development of intersensory perception. By itself the concept of ecological validity fails to provide objective criteria for experimental design, but together with more traditional bottom‐up methodological approaches it can be used in a convergent operations manner to enrich our understanding of perceptual development.     

What Is Sexual Pain? A Critique of DSM's Classification of Dyspareunia and Vaginismus

Abstract

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R) introduced the term “sexual pain disorder” to classify dyspareunia and vaginismus as sexual dysfunctions (American Psychiatric Association, 1987). However, the notion of sexual pain as well as the diagnostic criteria for dyspareunia and vaginismus are questionable both on theoretical and empirical grounds. Recent studies support the view that dyspareunia is better classified as a pain disorder and challenge the validity of the vaginal spasm criterion for vaginismus. Alternative conceptualizations of these conditions are presented.     

What Is Love without Mourning? Male Intimacies and Cultures of Loss

In this article, the author considers loss and mourning in relation to male homosexual love. He uses mourning as a framework through which to raise questions about the social and cultural status of gay male love in contemporary societies. He argues that loving within heteronormative cultures of intimacy creates forms of vulnerability for gay men and that this is often compounded at times of personal loss. He uses a psychoanalytic framework to consider the important role of culture in the mourning process and reflects on the ways that cultural forms, practices and representations provide the context through which mourning can be both facilitated and disabled. Recent examples from popular culture are used to consider the important role, and often significant absence, of symbolic frameworks through which gay men can enter into dialogues of mourning. In conclusion, the author argues that the social valuing of loss is intimately bound up with the social valuing of love.     

What is Negotiated in Negotiated Accountability? The Case of INGOs

This paper discusses the constructivist, negotiated perspective to INGO accountability. According to this perspective, INGO accountability is a process of mutual negotiations between different INGO stakeholders who hold different accountability demands. Acknowledging that this perspective provides a good starting point for a better understanding of INGO accountability, we comment on this conceptualization of INGO accountability. Through an analysis of accountability instruments and procedures, we examine closely how the demands of the INGO’s stakeholders are embedded in particular relationships of accountability which are sustained by particular accountability logics. From this analysis, we point out that, due to the differences that exist between these accountability logics, processes of negotiation are likely to be filled with complex tensions and trade-offs. Moreover, as some accountability logics are much clearer and more compelling than others, a constructivist perspective on INGO accountability does not automatically coincide with an understanding of INGO accountability in which primordial importance is given to the beneficiaries.     

What Is “Elder Abuse”? Voices From the Margin: The Views of Underrepresented Canadian Older Adults

We know relatively little about the definitions and perceptions of elder abuse held by marginalized groups of older adults in Canada. The current study used focus group methodology to explore perceptions of elder abuse among marginalized groups such as Aboriginal persons, immigrants, refugees, and lesbians. We found both similarities and differences in perceptions of elder abuse across groups. Groups identified traditional forms of elder abuse (i.e., physical, sexual, psychological/emotional, financial abuse, and neglect) as well as less frequently identified types of abuse such as disrespect and government or systemic abuse. Groups also discussed issues related to immigrant sponsorship arrangements and abuse in nursing homes.     

What are they hearing? The impact of perceptions of parental communication on youth

Work and family domains mutually influence one another in positive and negative ways. A fair amount of evidence supports the spillover effects between these two domains. In addition, research on crossover supports how one spouse may be influenced by another spouse's spillover. Much less evidence exists about how it affects other family members, especially children. This qualitative interpretive study explores emergent themes related to youth perceptions of how their parents' work–family spillover impacts them. Using crossover as a guiding framework, youth (N = 55) participated in a semistructured interview about their perceptions of their parents' communication regarding blending work and family and how it impacts those youth participants. The analysis of the transcribed interviews revealed several emergent themes related to youth awareness of and the impact of work–family integration issues as well as youth perceptions about their own futures. The results suggest the ways in which socialization occurs through a socially constructed view of work and family and the impact those constructions have on vocational decisions.