Televised Violence and Paranoid Perception: The View from Great Britain

American viewers who have seen large quantities of violent materialhave a greater tendency to answer questions about the real work)in ways which make it seem closer to the nature of the worlddepicted on television than do viewers who have only seen smallamounts of television. Interpretation of the implications ofthese findings has been vigorously developed, probably far beyondthe certainty which can be attached to the rigor of the empiricalresults. If the effects of heavy violence consumption are asstrong as alleged, they should be discernible when sought againin a similar culture, and with similar methods. An attempt toreplicate the American results among British viewers suggeststhat the paranoid effect is absent from their viewing experience.It may not have been convincingly demonstrated hitherto in Americaeither.     

Letter From the Editors

ABSTRACT

In this article we explore older persons’ definitions of and explanations for elder abuse in the Netherlands by means of interviews with older persons. A qualitative study was conducted based on semistructured interviews with 35 older persons who had no experience with abuse. Our findings show that older persons participating in our study define elder abuse foremost as physical violence that is performed intentionally. The study participants explain elder abuse as a result of the dependency and vulnerability of older persons, of changing norms and values, and of changes in the position of older persons in society, which result in disrespect toward older persons and a lack of social control and responsibility. The older persons’ explanations for the occurrence of abuse mainly focus on societal changes; older persons seem to regard elder abuse primarily as a societal problem. This understanding of, and explanation for, elder abuse may influence their detection and reporting behavior, as they may tend to acknowledge only severe cases of intentional physical violence that leave clear and therefore physically detectable evidence.     

The Continuation of Intimate Partner Violence From Adolescence to Young Adulthood

Little attention has been paid to whether violence in adolescent romantic relationships is associated with relationship violence later in young adulthood. This study examined the continuation of intimate partner violence (IPV) from adolescence to young adulthood. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, results from negative binomial models and propensity score models showed that being victimized by relationship partners in adolescence was significantly associated with both perpetration and victimization in romantic relationships in young adulthood. Women reported higher levels of perpetration and lower levels of victimization than men did. Those who were living together (married or cohabiting) reported higher levels of victimization and perpetration than those who were dating. Further, such associations existed beyond the effects of parent–child violence and general aggression tendencies, suggesting the continuation of relationship‐specific violence. Finally, these patterns persisted after controlling for participants' age, race and ethnicity, parental education, and family structure.     

Minority environmental activism in Britain: From brixton to the lake district

Historically, the British environmental movement has been devoid of minority participation, but this is changing very slowly, with the emergence of ethnic minority environmental groups and multiracial environmental alliances. These groups have argued that ethnic minorities have little or no access to public funds earmarked for countryside and wildlife preservation issues. They argue that white environmental organizations do not pay attention to the needs of inner-city minority residents and minority access to the countryside. Increased access, community improvement and beautification projects, environmental education, youth training, community garden projects, and issues of environmental racism are all foci of ethnic minority environmental movements. While some white environmentalists have been supportive of them, others have been uncomfortable with them or even hostile to their existence.     

From Migrants to Citizens: Muslims in Britain 1950s-1990s

The British Muslim community has played a major role in the public and political discourses of the state. This article charts the experiences of Muslims in Britain. From the mid-century establishment of the community through to the late 1990s this essay explores the politicisation and identity politics of this minority group. Through the case studies of the Rushdie affair and the Honeyford affair, this article seeks to contextualise and chart the development of British Islam and its continuing journey into the public sphere.     

Inside Rebellion: The Politics of Insurgent Violence

The public demonstrations by Thailand's Red Shirts in early 2010 have been explained as a labour-based movement resisting Bangkok's entrenched elite, or as a mob mobilized by the deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in order to destabilize the current government. This profile looks into the protests' origins and nature. It argues that there are elements of truth to both explanations, but also that the protestors adopted powerful forms of symbolism of poverty and victimhood to draw attention to their needs, and to delegitimize the force used against them. This symbolism allowed both Thaksin and the protestors to gain political ground.     

Elder Abuse and Neglect vs. Parricide: A Letter From Russia

In Russia, elder abuse is rarely discussed in the professional literature and the media. However, it is posited that parricide can be considered a form of elder abuse in Russia, as the line between elder abuse and parricide can be vague. Instances of parricide can appear trivial, hardly realized as such by victims and the social environment. Borderline cases can include involving older people in binge drinking, denying them help, and manipulating them to commit suicide. The perpetrators are often nonpsychotic, although sometimes exhibiting abnormal personality traits. Anger toward the victim can be absent on the part of the perpetrator, with their actions often driven by economic desires. A concluding point is that for better prevention of parricide and, therefore, elder abuse, it should not be considered only an unusual horrific crime committed by the mentally ill.     

The Recurrence of Violence

This article examines the recurrence of violence in the contemporary world based on the premise that states can use their monopoly of violence not only for preserving the life of their citizens but also for the sake of terror and annihilation. This ambiguous nature of the use of violence derives from the fact that the legal order of the state is a function of concrete acts of bloodshed and killing. The state bases the law on violence because authorities fear the psychological attraction that bloodshed has on the human imagination. The contagious character of violence, however, is not based on man's innate potential for aggression. Rather, it depends on the nature of the reciprocity of social relations. Violent conflict often feeds on negative social communication such as hatred and desire for vengeance. Yet, faced with the inevitable recurrence of violence humans have the capacity to act on the spiral of vengeance. One possible way to pacify violence is to transform the destructive, negative reciprocity of retaliation into the creative, positive reciprocity of active non-violence.     

The Emotional Dance of Attachment

Conceptualized as an emotional dance between the child and the primary caregiver, this article summarizes the primary principles of attachment theory as they pertain to clinical practice. The development of the attachment relationship goes smoothly in a secure attachment because the caregiver and child are effectively attuned to one another’s needs. Insecure attachment, on the other hand, occurs when the emotional dance goes awry leaving both the caregiver and the child with an emotional void. The article summarizes current treatment models geared specifically toward helping parent–child dyads resolve attachment problems.     

Coexistence not Reconciliation: From Communal Violence to Non-Violence in North Maluku,Eastern Indonesia

Cultural approaches to reconciliation, those based on ‘traditional’ practices for peacemaking, have attracted the attention of scholars looking at post-conflict regions in Indonesia. Numerous observers have pointed to the revitalisation of the Tobelo adat notion of hibualamo in the province of North Maluku as a successful example of this approach. This paper disputes those conclusions and explores local strategies for peacebuilding and reactions to these strategies in post-conflict North Halmahera. I compare grassroots understandings of ‘reconciliation’ with those of the local elite behind this revitalisation effort. I also debate the concept of reconciliation as it has been applied to the region. Applying the concept of reconciliation, with its connotations of a positive peace, to the post-conflict situation in North Maluku is more of an idealistic view of the potentialities for peace than an actual reflection of reality. I suggest it is more appropriate to describe the situation as one of coexistence or negative peace.     

Letter From a Dead Mother to a Ghost Child

The author reflects on recurring issues to do with maternity and mental/emotional health throughout the generations of her family. Drawing on the ”dead mother” complex as theorized by André Green, she analyzes the legacy left to her by the mothers in her family.     

Dance Drama The Border Town

THE large-scale dance drama The Border Town performed by the Hunan Provincial Troupe attracted a large audience with its natural human touch, strong local flavour and elegant literature, provoking reverie from the people. The Border Town dance drama was adapted from the novel of the same name by Shen Congwen, an influential writer on Chinese modern literature. The Border Town, written in 1934, was his masterpiece, which gives a delicate account of the young love between the orphan girl Cuicui (who was adopted by an old ferryman), and the young