‘A person with some sort of learning disability’: the aetiological narrative and public construction of Susan Boyle

Susan Boyle’s audition for the television talent competition Britain’s Got Talent attracted global attention and widespread media discourse. In this article, I would like to examine this discourse to consider how Boyle’s success troubles conventional constructions of both learning disability and celebrity.

I extend Ciara Evans’s recognition that learning disability is invisible to reflect on the media responses to Boyle’s impairment. This reflection notes that even within Boyle’s own discourse, she is loosely positioned as having ‘some sort of learning disability’.

Detailed attention is given to the aetiological account of the ‘brain damage’ Boyle ‘suffered’ at birth. The analysis will consider the correlation with scientific discourse, trauma theory and the imposed biography to suggest that the construction of Boyle as both contained and unpredictable is already implicit in the aetiological narrative.     

Why Dora Left: Freud and the Master Discourse

The question of why Dora left her treatment before it was brought to a satisfactory end and the equally important question of why Freud chose to publish this problematic and fragmentary story have both been dealt with at great length by Freud’s successors. Dora has been read by analysts, literary critics, and not least by feminists.

The aim of this paper is to point out the position Freud took toward his patient. Dora stands out as the one case among Freud’s 5 great case stories that has a female protagonist, and reading the case it becomes clear that Freud stumbled because of an unresolved problem toward femininity, both Dora’s and his own. In Dora, it is argued, Freud took a new stance toward the object of his investigation, speaking from the position of the master. Freud presents himself as the one who knows, in great contrast to the position he takes when unraveling the dream. Here he is the humble scholar giving evidence of a great tolerance for not-knowing. These 2 positions run through Freud’s writings from “The Interpretation of Dreams” (1900b) to “Analysis Terminable and Interminable” (1937a). From the Dora case a line can be drawn to Freud’s metaphor of the bedrock of castration, the unsurpassable barrier to both analytical work and the theory of sex and gender.     

Effects of resistance training on liver structure and function of aged rats

The aging process may cause negative physiological changes. However, exercises as resistance training (RT) have been considered an important intervention to attenuate these changes. Additionally, liver plays an important role in blood glucose homeostasis in exercise.

Aim: This study aimed to analyze the effects of RT on the liver components of aged animals.

Methods: Male Wistar rats were divided into two groups: 24 months’ group (CONTROL); and group submitted to a progressive RT protocol for 16 weeks (EXERCISE). Both groups were sacrificed at 24 months.

Results: We observed a decrease in blood flow due to the practice of resistance exercises. Besides, our results showed that hepatic tissue plays an important role in glycemic homeostasis during RT. In addition, RT increased mitogen capacity of hepatocytes.

Conclusions: Our study showed many implications for the knowledge about the effects of strength training on old animals’ liver.     

“What Will My Friends Think?” Social Consequences for Danish Victims of Sexual Assaults in Peer Groups

Being exposed to sexual assaults has numerous psychological and social consequences, which may interfere with the adolescent’s still-ongoing development. This article focuses on social consequences for adolescents exposed to sexual assault by someone from their peer group.

Participants were 148 in number and 15–18 year olds (M = 16.34 years, 90.5% female) from Centre for Victims of Sexual Assault’s “Youth Programme.”

A mixed methods design combined extensive survey data collected from the 148 adolescents and five case stories. Almost half of the assaults (47.4%) were committed by someone from the victim’s social circle who was not a family member. Only 30.5% of these victims reported the assault to the police. Fear of social consequences was the main reason for not reporting. The majority of the participants described failure to thrive in school in the aftermath of the assault, for example, because the assailant attended the same school. Result furthermore showed how social relations can be complicated due to an assault and subsequent reactions, which can result in isolation for the victim and exclusion from their peer group.

Sexual assaults in peer groups have great impact on the victim’s well-being. Understanding and support from peers is of the utmost importance. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Effects of testosterone administration on liver structure and function in aging rats

Aging males have a decrease in testosterone levels, by which the testosterone treatment may influence in a negatively fashion the liver.

Aim: This study aimed to analyze the effects of aging with or without testosterone administration on the liver components of animals.

Methods: Wistar rats were divided into three groups: 20 months’ group (G20), 24 months’ group (G24), group treated with testosterone for 16 weeks (GT). All groups were sacrificed at 24 months except for G20 that was sacrificed at 20 months.

Results: Aging and testosterone treatment alters the body weight (BW), liver weight (LW) and relative liver weight. Besides, testosterone increased the mitogen capacity of hepatocytes. Nonetheless, we reinforce the negative effects of testosterone on old animals’ liver as chronic hepatic congestion and/or cholestasis. In addition, we observed that testosterone plays an important role on hepatic glycogen stores.

Conclusions: Our study showed many implications for the knowledge about the effects of aging with or without testosterone administration on old animals’ liver.     

Another economy: towards a cultural dialectics between energy and society

The looming oil crisis, pollution, and climate change have pushed governments, corporations, and individuals to think of new policies, new objects/products and new manners to market them – usually under the label of “green economy” (or the shifting towards a sustainable economy).

The changes that are on the way as a result of the envisaged “green revolution” need a broad vision that couples the economy of energetic techniques with the related socio-cultural economy that is induced by, and at the same time reciprocally influences, the mere technical transformations.

Based on previous analysis of theories of socio-technological change and putting at its center the concept of subjectivation in social sciences, this article proposes a theoretical understanding of cultural shifts and their relationship with changes in the practices of production, transfer and use of energy.

First part presents a schema of subjectivation in triangulation, that links the biological level with the material culture and with the representational realm of normativities in our society. It will be developed through the example of electric vehicle as metaphor of the energetic transition. Through this understanding, second part deals with the modeling of the three items as a processual energetic system by using the concepts of surplus and expenditure. Within this frame, we show how disruptions in one of the poles of this model influences the others and bring about changes in the entire Anthropo-Social level. Third part proposes possible types of emerging subjectivities and advances the idea of extending the realm of consciousness to the energetic transfers and their potentiality.     

The discretion and power of street-level bureaucrats: an example from Swedish municipal eldercare

This paper focuses on discretion in the frontline practice of social work with elderly people in Sweden. The aim is to describe and analyse how care managers in municipal eldercare use discretion and power in needs assessment and decision-making. Emanating from Lipsky's concept of discretion, we identify the conditions of decision-making, which along with the concepts of structural power and intentional power constitute the theoretical framework of our analysis. Eight care managers from four Swedish municipalities were observed and interviewed. The researchers carried out 38 observations and nine in-depth interviews. The analysis led to the identification of four techniques in the decision-making process of care managers: reject, execute, transform needs and control. The consequences of these practices are discussed at the end of the paper.

Denna artikel handlar om beslutsprocessen inom socialt arbete med äldre i Sverige. Syftet är att beskriva och analysera hur några biståndsbedömare inom kommunal äldreomsorg, som exempel på frontlinjebyråkrater, använder sitt handlingsutrymme och sin makt. Utifrån Lipsky's begrepp handlingsutrymme, beskriver vi de villkor för beslutsfattandet som tillsammans med begreppen strukturell och intentionell makt, utgör ramen för analysen av det empiriska materialet. Åtta biståndsbedömare, från fyra svenska kommuner, har observerats och intervjuats. Sammanlagt har 38 observationer och nio djupintervjuer genomförts. I analysen framträder fyra handlingssätt i biståndsbedömarnas beslutsprocess: avvisa, expediera, omvandla behov och kontrollera. Konsekvenserna av dessa handlingssätt diskuteras avslutningsvis i artikeln.

Handlingsutrymme

Strukturell Och Intentionell Makt

Frontlinjebyråkrater

Beslutsfattande

Äldreomsorg

Biståndsbedömare     

Book review

Wives and warriors. Women and the military in the United States and Canada L. Weinstein & C.C. White (Eds) Westport, Connecticut; London: Bergin & Garver, 1997. ISBN: 0-89789-491-X (hbk), 0-89789-526-6 (pbk)

Social skills for people with learning disabilities–A social capability approach Mark Burton & Carolyn Kagan (with Pat Clements) London: Chapman and Hall, 1995 ISBN: 0-412-43380-X (pbk)

Social Work with Children. The Educational Perspective

Jobs, Technology and People

Children in Difficulty: A Guide to Understanding and Helping

Step-parenting in the 1990s

Jobs and Economic Development Strategies and Practice

Caring to Work: accounts of working parents of disabled children

The WorWFamily Challenge. Rethinking Employment

No Place to Go. The Civil Commitment of Minors

Black Families in Corporate America     

Book reviews

Law, socialism and social emancipation

Books Reviewed: M. Los, Communist Ideology, Law and Crime. St. Martin's Press: New York. 1988.

Paul Q. HirstLaw, Socialism and Democracy. London: Allen and Unwin 1986.

Citoyens et citoyennes

Review of: C. Pateman (1988), The Sexual Contract, Stanford University Press.

H.M. Hernes (1987), Welfare State and Women Power, Norwegian University Press.

Franco Crespi (1989), Azione sociale e potere, Il Mulino     

Examining the effect of the computer-based educational package on quality of life and severity of hypogonadism symptoms in males

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the computer-based educational package on men’s QoL and the severity of their hypogonadism symptoms.

Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted on 80 male employees. The data collection tool included the ‘Aging Male Symptoms’ (AMS) and ‘Short Form-36’ (SF36) questionnaires. Four sessions were held for the intervention group over a period of 4 weeks. Two months after training, QoL and the severity of hypogonadism symptoms were measured in both the intervention and control groups. The data were analyzed with SPSS 22 software and statistical tests, such as χ², independent t-test, Fisher’s exact test, and paired t-tests.

Results: Significant statistical changes were observed in the intervention group before and 2 months after the training in the QoL score in the overall dimensions of physical–psychological health and all its domains except for three domains of emotional role, social function, and pain. Furthermore, the paired t-tests showed significant differences between 2 months before and after the training in all the domains and the overall hypogonadism score in the intervention group.

Conclusions: Based on our findings, the computer-based educational package has a positive effect on QoL and reduction of hypogonadism symptoms.     

Book reviews

Maurice Milliard and Simon Lee (eds.): The Politics of Social Policy in Europe. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 1997. 290 pp, ISBN 1-85898-367-3.

Jane Lewis (ed.): Lone Mothers in European Welfare Regimes: Shifting Policy Logics. London and Philadelphia, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1997. 214 pp., ISBN 1-85302 448-1 hbk; 1-85302 461-9 pbk.

Mlta Castle-Kanerova/ School of Policy Studies, Social Research & Politics, University of North London, UK

Saul Becker: Responding to Poverty. The Politics of Cash and Care. Social Policy in Britain Series. London, Longman, 1997. 223 pp., ISBN 0-582-24322X PPR.

Gunn Strand Hutchinson and Siv Oftedal: Modeller i sosialt arbeid: fra ulike retter til samme felt (Models in Social Work: From Different Roots to the Same Field). Tano-Aschehoug, Oslo, 1996. 265 pp., ISBN 82-518-3462-7, N.Kr. 268.00.

Michael Seltzer/ Faculty of Economics, Public Administration and Social Work, Oslo College, Norway

Malcolm Payne: Modern Social Work Theory (Second edition). Basingstoke, Macmillan, 1997. xiv+ 354 pp., ISBN 0-333-67654-8, £ 13.50.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference (Frost, 1916)

Martin Davies (ed.): The Blackwell Companion to Social Work. Oxford, Blackwell, 1997. 376 pp., ISBN 0-631-19876-8 (hbk), £50.00; 0-631-19877-6 (pbk), £14.99.

Steven Shardlow/ Director of Social Work Studies, Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield, UK

Malfrid Grude Flekkoy and Natalie Hevener Kaufman: The Participation Rights of the Child: Rights and Responsibilities in Family and Society. London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1997. 182 pp., ISBN 1-85302-490-2, £13.95.

Nigel Thomas/ Lecturer in Applied Social Studies, University of Wales Swansea

Adalbert Evers, Riita Haverinen, Kai Leischenring and Gerald Wistow (eds.): Developing Quality in Personal Social Services. Concepts, Cases and Comments. Aldershot, Ashgate, 1997. 312 pp., ISBN 1-84014-337-1.

John Harris/ Senior Lecturer in Applied Social Studies, University of Warwick, UK

Crescy Cannan and Chris Warren (eds.): Social Action with Children and Families. A Community Development Approach to Child and Family Welfare. London, Routledge, 1997. 218 pp. ISBN 0-415-13151-0.

Bert Jones/ North East Wales Institute of HE, Wrexham, North Wales, UK.     

Attitudes and knowledge of social work students towards sexuality in later life

Background: Sexuality in later life may be compromised by restrictive attitudes, and lack of knowledge among professionals. This study examined social work students’ attitudes and knowledge towards sexuality and sexual expression in later life and investigated associated factors.

Method: Undergraduate social work students from Israel (n = 375) completed the Attitudes and Knowledge towards Older Adult’s Sexuality Scale and questionnaires regarding contacts and exposure to older adults, prior sexual education and sociodemographic.

Results: Attitudes and knowledge were correlated. First year students were the most conservative and demonstrated the least knowledge. No differences were found between men and women regarding attitude. However, men and married students had greater knowledge regarding older adults’ sexuality than women or non-married students did. Increased religious observance predicted more conservative attitudes. Age predicted more permissive attitudes and greater knowledge about sexuality in later life. A mediating process examined, suggested knowledge is a mediator variable between age and attitudes towards older adults’ sexuality.

Conclusion: As the population in Israel and in Western countries ages, it is important to examine the knowledge and attitudes of social work students regarding older adults’ sexuality and to develop educational and interventional programs aimed at increasing awareness, knowledge, and positive attitudes in this area.     

Toward 'good enough' services for inaptly served families and children: Barriers and opportunities

The present article draws attention to ways in which the goodness of fit between social services and their clients, both in the present and the past, determines the extent to which services are successful–in the sense that clients experience them as helpful and as furthering their well-being, and that there is objective evidence of improvement in their situation.

To provide an initial conceptual framework for exploration in this area, a number of terms are introduced and defined. These include ‘inapt service”, ‘inaptly served families’, and ‘good enough services’.

It is contended that biases that promote inaptness, in the areas of policy, organization, practice, and research and evaluation, have contributed to the proliferation and perpetuation of inapt services. As a basis for further reflection and for efforts to transform ‘inapt’ service systems into ones that are ‘good enough’, twelve such biases are discussed.

Finally, premises and directions for action that promote such transformative efforts are suggested.     

Books reviews

Peter M. Blau and Marshall W. Meyer, Bureaucracy in Modern Society (3rd. ed). New York, Random House, 1987.

Gareth Morgan, Images of Organization, Beverly Hills, Sage Publications, 1986.

Malvyn Dubrovsky (ed.) Technological Change and Workers’ Movements. Explorations in the World Economy: Publications of the Fernand Braudel Center. Vol.4: Beverly Hills, Sage Publications, 1985.

Helmut Klages, Gerhard Franz, and Willi Herbert, Sozialpsychologie der Wohlfahrtgesellschaft. Zur Dynamik von Wertorientirungen, Einstellungen und Ansprüchen (Social Psychology of the Welfare State. On Dynamics of Value Orientations, Attitudes and Claims). Frankfurt ‐ New York, Campus Verlag, 1987.

Gunter Endruweit, Eduard Gauler, Wolfgang H.Stähle, and Bernhard Wilpert, eds. Handbuch der Arbeitbeziehungen. Deutschland‐Oesterreich‐Schweiz. (Handbook of Work Relations: FRG, Austria and Switzerland). Berlin ‐ New York, Walter de Gruyter, 1985.

Gerhard Lenski and Jean Lenski, Human Societies. An Introduction to Macrosociology, 5th ed., New York, McGraw‐Hill, 1987.

Stephen K.Sanderson, Macrosociology. An Introduction to Human Societies. New York, Harper and Row, 1988.

Wojciech Gasparski and Tadeusz Pszczolowski, eds. Praxiological Studies. Polish Contributions to the Science of Efficient Action. Warsaw‐Dordrecht, PWN and D.Reidel, 1983.

James S. Coleman, Individual Interests and Collective Action. Selected Essays. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1986.

Darreil Steffensmeier, The Fence: In the Shadow of Two Worlds. Totowa, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 1986, pp. 295.

Max Kaase (ed.) Politische Wissenschaft und Politische Ordnung. Analysen zu Theorie und Empirie demokratischer Regierungsweise. Festschrift zum 65. Geburstag von Rudolf Wildenmann. Opladen, Westdeutscher Verlag, 1986.

Volker Meja, Dieter Misgeld, and Nico Stehr eds. Modern German Sociology. New York, Columbia University Press, 1987.

Feliks Gross, Ideologies, Goals and Values, Greenwood Press, 1985.     

Book reviews

The Political Sociology of Florian Znaniecki and Contemporary Politics (in Polish), Olgierd Sochacki (Ed.) Wydawnictwo Gdanskie, The Scientific Society of Gdansk, 1996

Why Read. Internal Space and the Social Function of Literature: An Investigation with. Psychoanalysts and Psychology Students, Graziella Pagliano (Ed.) Bonanno Editore, 1994

Voix Littéraires de Femmes

Cuadernos sobre Vico, Nos 5–6, José M. Sevilla et al. 1995–96

Studi in memoria di Ernesto Grassi Proceedings of the International Conference in Memory of Ernesto Grassi (Ischia, 4–6 October 1993), Emilio Hidalgo‐Serna and Massimo Marassi (Eds), Napoli, La Città del Sole, 1996

Naples Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Fiosofici, La Gittà del Sole, Napoli, 1996

Family, Women and Employment in Central‐Eastern Europe, Barbara Lobodzinska (Ed.) Greenwood Press, 1995     

Book reviews

Nathan Glazer Ethnic Dilemmas Harvard, Harvard University Press. 1985

Giddens, Anthony The Constitution of Society, Berkeley, University of California, 1985, pp.XXXVII, 402. Notes, glossary, diagrams, bibliographic notes and index.

Jeremy Rifkin Declaration of a Heretic. Boston. London, Melbourne and Henley, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1985, pp.X,140.

Ted Benton The Rise and Fall of Structural Marxism: Althusser and his Influence, New York, St.Martin's Press, 1984, pp. VII,259.

Raymond L. Garthoff Détente and Confrontation Washington, The Brookings Institution, 1985, pp.XVI,1126.

Joseph J. Collins The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. A Study in the Use of Force in Soviet Foreign Policy, Massachusetts/Toronto, D.C. Heath and Company/Lexington, 1986, pp. XV, 195.

Jan Shipps Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition, Chicago, University of Illinois Press, 1985, pp.211.

Robert Jay Lifton Home from the War: Vietnam Veterans: Neither Victims nor Executioners, New York, Basic Books, 1985, pp.478     

Architecture and Urban Development of Art Nouveau—Metropolis riga

Riga, the capital city of Latvia is a world heritage site since 1997. Its rich architectural heritage consists of buildings in a variety of styles, built in different periods from the Middle Ages up to the present day. Unlike many other cities, Riga has a very clearly perceptible, precise urban structure.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Riga experienced a real construction boom, which coincided with the development of Art Nouveau. Buildings of this style represent nearly one-third of the whole inventory of the city centre. Riga is a real Art Nouveau metropolis.

Formal variety of Art Nouveau in Riga comprises Eclectic Decorative trend, co called Perpendicular Art Nouveau and National Romanticism. Primarily local architects were active in Riga, most of them being graduates of the Riga Polytechnical Institute.

Functionalism or Modern Movement prevailed during Latvia's first period of independence. A new urban zone consisting of prefabricated panel blocks encircling the city's historical centre is the main consequence of the period of the soviet occupation. A new period in the development of architecture and urban development of Riga started after 1990, when country reclaimed its independence and a free market economy re-emerged.     

From childhood to young adulthood: the importance of self-esteem during childhood for occupational achievements among young men and women

This study investigates the impact of self-esteem during childhood on men’s and women’s occupational prestige in young adulthood. By combining first-hand information from parents in the Swedish Level-of-Living surveys (LNU) 2000 and their children in the Child-LNU in 2000 and the follow-up study in LNU-2010, we are able to assess how self-esteem during adolescence is related to occupational prestige in adulthood. Multivariate analyses were used to determine whether associations between self-esteem (global and domain-specific) in childhood (aged 10–18 years) and occupational prestige in young adulthood (aged 20–28) exist and, if so, what the magnitudes of these associations are for each respective gender.

For women, there is a positive association between confidence in mathematics and prestige, even when accounting for actual math grades. Global self-esteem is positively related to later occupational prestige as well. For men, self-esteem is unrelated to occupational prestige. Only actual performance in mathematics is important for men’s occupational achievements.

These results indicate the importance of taking gender differences into account when investigating how self-esteem is related to outcomes in young adulthood. A possible implication is the importance of focusing on the development of self-esteem among children, particularly girls, in school.     

Between memory and history A word about intercultural education

The author briefly describes the history of the intercultural approach at the Council of Europe, which is largely responsible for the promotion of this concept, as well as for the development of a network of thought and action throughout Europe.

The article stresses the fact that, contrary to what some researchers may lead us to believe, the intercultural concept has always included the aspects of interaction, of reciprocity, of dialogue and of solidarity. In addition, pedagogical and sociological practice, where thought and action are closely linked have influenced its development.

We can now state that there are more and more places where intercultural thought and action are being pursued. Movements promoting international education, global education, civic European education, Human Rights education, etc., have different backgrounds, but their current prospects are converging. The expression ‘Human Rights education’ is often used in a generic way. However, Human Rights education that wishes to transcend ethnocentric behaviour needs to be intercultural.