Anti‐semitism and the Jewish community of Newcastle‐upon‐Tyne

After briefly outlining the historical development of the Jewish community in Newcastle‐upon‐Tyne, this article examines the extent to which anti‐Semitism was a major concern in the life of modern North‐East Jewry. The focus of this discussion is on the 1930s and 1940s, a period when anti‐Semitism assumed greater significance. What this artcle revals is that on Tyneside, even though the fear of anti‐Semitism gave rise to active responses from within the local Jewish community, anti‐Semitism remained small scale. The experience of Newcastle's Jewish community should caution us against overstating the prevalence of anti‐Semitism in British society.     

Ethnic,gender, and length‐of‐residency influences on sexual knowledge and attitudes

We examined potential differences in sexual knowledge and attitudes between 702 Canadian undergraduates of Asian (n = 356) and European (n = 346) ancestry. We also examined potential influences of length of residency in Canada on these variables among Asians, and the role of gender both across and within ethnic groups. The primary purpose was to examine whether length of exposure to North American sexual values influences sexual knowledge or attitudes among Asians living in Canada. Results revealed that compared to Europeans, Asians held more conservative sexual attitudes and demonstrated significantly less sexual knowledge. Recent Asian immigrants were significantly more likely than Canadian‐born or long‐term Canadian residents to hold conservative sexual attitudes on a number of sexuality items. Among Asians and Non‐Asians, males reported more negative attitudes toward homosexuals than did females; females held more conservative sexual attitudes toward uncommitted sexual relations than did males. The findings provide partial support for a cultural explanation of the frequently reported finding that, compared with North Americans, Asians are more restricted in their expression of sexuality.     

Disability and the anti‐obesity offensive

This paper expands a discussion begun by a fat activist in the UK disability literature to argue that fatness is a disability issue. Some ways in which fat people are oppressed by the same ideological practices and values that oppress (other) disabled people are explored. Fatness has typically been excluded from consideration by disability scholars and in this lacuna an equivalence is drawn between attitudes to fatness and psychological distress within disability studies. In conclusion, it urges discussion on theoretical perspectives of disability that embrace fatness and sees this as a prerequisite to developing strategies that enhance both disability and fat rights.     

Gambling and the family: From the stress‐coping‐support Perspective 1

Abstract

Aims: To apply the stress‐coping‐support perspective to the study of the effects of problem gambling in the family. Specifically, to examine the ways in which family members cope and the nature and sources of support they receive. To compare coping strategies of family members of gamblers with those of individuals living with other addictive behaviour in the family. Design: Cross‐sectional interview and questionnaire study of close relatives of problem gamblers. Participants: Sixteen close family members of gamblers from separate families, mainly parents and partners. Data: Semi‐structured interview; adapted version of the Coping Questionnaire (CQ). Findings: Data from the CQ and qualitative analysis of interview data suggested considerable use of ‘engaged’ (specifically controlling) ways of attempting to cope with such problems, comparable to the use of such strategies by relatives of people with alcohol or drug problems, but little use of ‘tolerant‐accepting’ and ‘withdrawal’ ways. Interview data on the support received (or not) by family members confirmed previous research showing that relatives of people with addiction problems often feel unsupported, but particularly appreciate positive emotional and practical support for themselves and their problem gambling relatives. Conclusions: The stress‐coping‐support perspective, previously applied to families with alcohol and drug problems, also offers an appropriate framework for understanding problem gambling and the family.     

Homo colossus and the technological turn‐around

Unceasing technological advance is culturally defined as advantageous, but sociologists need to see it in ecological terms. Duncan's P.O.E.T notation heightens contrast between Ogburn's view of technology as a new environment and Park's attention to technologically extended people. Technologically colossal humans more rapidly exhaust carrying capacity—the maximum load an environment can sustain without undergoing degradation. Load has two dimensions (population, and per capita impacts). Until the industrial revolution reversed the effect, technology enlarged carrying capacity. Now technology enlarges per capita impacts and resource appetites. Homo colossus—man equipped with voracious technology—has reverted to hunting and gathering ("exploration and development") and his machines have become his ecological competitors. The number of people a finite world can support indefinitely is thus decreasing instead of increasing.     

General symbolic definitions and subjective well‐being

In recent years evidence has suggested that demographic factors such as income and status have only a modest relationship to subjective well‐being. As a result, much attention has been paid to internal rather than external factors. Discrepancy perceptions approaches, particularly multiple discrepancy theory, link internal subjective factors with external conditions in explaining subjective well‐being. This study suggests that discrepancy perceptions are only one way people differ in defining reality, and that symbolic interaction theory provides a broader and better framework with which to examine subjective well‐being. Specifically, using the General Social Survey, this study tests whether differing general symbolic definitions have an independent influence on subjective well‐being. Results indicate that general symbolic definitions influence subjective well‐being, and this influence does not depend on their conditioning discrepancy perceptions or demographic life conditions.     

The sexuality scale: An instrument to measure sexual‐esteem,sexual‐depression,and sexual‐preoccupation

This article describes the development of the Sexuality Scale, an instrument designed to measure three aspects of human sexuality: sexual‐esteem, defined as positive regard for and confidence in the capacity to experience one's sexuality in a satisfying and enjoyable way; sexual‐depression, defined as the experience of feelings of depression regarding one's sex life; and sexual‐preoccupation, defined as the tendency to think about sex to an excessive degree. The procedure involved (a) item construction, selection and subsequent validation through item analysis; and (b) a factor analysis of the items on the Sexuality Scale and the establishment of factorial validity. The results indicated that the three subscales were psychometrically sound, that males reported more sexual‐preoccupation than did females, and that the three subscales have unique intercorrelation patterns. The exploratory nature of these findings are discussed.     

Hip‐hop cultures and political agency in Brazil and South Africa

It is assumed in the article that the contemporary urban condition is marked by an increased pluralistic intensity in cities. Coupled to this shift in the nature of the urban context, one can also observe a proliferation of sites of political engagement and agency, some of which are formally tied to the various institutional forums of the state, and many that are defined by their insistence to stand apart from the state, asserting autonomy and clamouring for a self‐defined terms of recognition and agency. This article draws attention to the significance of one category of urban actors – hip‐hoppers – that can be said to occupy a ‘marginal’ location in relation to the state, but one uniquely relevant to the marginalised existence of most poor black youth in cities of the global South, particularly Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town. The article demonstrates that hip‐hop cultures offer a powerful framework of interpretation and response for poor black youth who are systemically caught at the receiving end of extremely violent and exploitative urban forces. The basis of hip‐hop's power is its complex aesthetical sensibility that fuses affective registers, such as rage, passion, lust, critique, pleasure and desire, which, in turn, translates into political identities, and sometimes agency (i.e. positionality), for its participants. In the final instance, the article tries to link conclusions about the potential of hip‐hop cultural politics to larger themes in urban studies, such as participation, public space, citizenship and security.     

Engaging with Listening,Silence and Noise: Peering‐into the Analytical/Continental Divide

In this paper I offer, by way of a circuitous route, a journey examining ‘how we know we know’. This examination is significant as it again rehearses the division between ‘Analytical’ and ‘Continental’ knowing. A division in valuing knowing that, when tested in the circumstances of a performance of John Cage's ‘4 minutes and 33 seconds’ and an engagement with Diego Velázquez's painting Las Meninas, exposes the role of the audience in their engagement with any object or event.     

Button‐pressers versus picture‐makers: The social reconstruction of amateur photography in the late 19th century U.S.

Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method, New Mexico University Press, 1986, By John, Collier, Jr. and Malcom Collier

Snapshot Versions of Life, Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1987, By Richard Chalfen

Six‐Guns and Society: A Structural Study of the Western, University of California Press, 1975, By Will Wright, St. Lawrence University

Bitter Melon: Stories from the Last Rural Chinese Town in America, University of Washington Press, 1987, By Jeff Gillenkirk and James Motlow

Committing Photography ‐ Yes and No, But Mostly Yes. A Review Essay of Committing Photography, by Su Braden, Pluto Press, 1983

Sociology in a Changing World, by William Kornblum, Holt, Reinehart, and Winston, 1987     

Palimpsest African urbanity: connecting pre‐colonial and post‐apartheid urban narratives in Durban

Durban, a city situated on the east coast of South Africa in the province of KwaZulu‐Natal, has always been marked by layered, imbricative and intricate meanings. Through narrative slices, this paper considers the interwoven relationships between identity and urbanity and presents Durban as a palimpsest space. The paper illustrates the co‐constituting nature of pre‐colonial Durban's form and society, highlighting the manner in which the context of contact left an impression on identity, urbanity and cultural memory. It thereafter suggests that contemporary attempts, through arts and culture, to contour the city in a more inclusive manner, have a long embedded precedent and history.     

Grasping the Nettle: Integrating Learning and Practice Revisited and Re‐imagined

This paper reports on findings from a practice audit and literature review into Integration of Learning for Practice, conducted in Scotland between November 2003 and February 2004. Findings from the practice audit suggest that although the integration of learning is one of the key aspirations of social work education, and there are many different approaches currently in use which attempt to enhance learning integration, students, practitioners, service users and social work lecturers all agree that more needs to be done in this area. The review of literature indicates some ways in which this might be taken forward. The paper concludes that for integration of learning for practice to succeed, we need a re‐imagining of the traditional boundaries between field and classroom, and practice teacher and social work academic.     

Female crack users and their sexual relationships: The role of sex‐for‐crack exchanges

This study challenges the image of female crack users as exchangers, or women who exchange sex for crack. Between June 1997 and February 1999, quantitative interviews were conducted with 150 active female crack users, one half of whom also completed a qualitative interview. Data analysis involved contingency analysis, bivariate logistic regression analysis, and the constant comparison method. Exchangers (n = 65) were younger, and were more likely to have been homeless and to be single than were nonexchangers (n = 85). Exchangers also were more likely to report infidelity and less likely to communicate with their most recent steady partner about the partner's relationship expectations. Sexual behaviors differed by partner type among the exchangers and nonexchangers. These findings provide a comprehensive picture of female crack users. Additionally, the findings indicate the importance of designing interventions that capture the complexities of the women's sexual relationships.     

Non‐erotic thoughts: Content and relation to sexual functioning and sexual satisfaction

We examined the possible range of content of non‐erotic thoughts experienced during typical sexual activities with a partner. Undergraduate men (n = 47) and women (n = 50) were administered a measure of non‐erotic thought content, frequency, and anxiety, along with measures of sexual attitude, satisfaction, and functioning. Men were more likely to report performance‐related thoughts, and women were more likely to report thoughts about body image. However, men and women were equally likely to report thoughts about the external consequences of the activity (e.g., pregnancy, being caught) and the emotional consequences of the activity (e.g., morality, implications of the activity for the relationship). Women reported that their thoughts occurred more frequently and caused more anxiety. Greater thought frequency and greater anxiety over thoughts were associated with poorer sexual functioning for both men and women. For women, greater frequency of and anxiety evoked by thoughts was associated with lower sexual satisfaction. These data provide modest support for cognitive‐behavioral models of sexual dysfunction and indicate the importance of both examining a broad range of non‐erotic thought content and taking gender into account when applying these models to understanding and treating sexual difficulties.     

Putting the Post‐Human in the Loop: Future Combat Systems and Post‐Disciplinary Training

The US Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) is a large‐scale procurement program that will introduce a number of “manned” and “unmanned” platforms, all of which will be completely interconnected into one layered network. Hailed as revolutionary, all of the FCS platforms, in addition to being networked, will include on‐board or embedded training systems. This article contends that the integration of embedded training systems into the US Army’s Future Combat Systems exemplifies a form of Deleuzean post‐disciplinary control that is endemic to contemporary discourses of strategic virtuosity.     

Philosophy as juris‐fiction: Jean‐Luc Nancy and the “philosophy of right”

This article proposes that the “philosophy of right” deserves deconstruction at the juncture of philosophy and the politics of the state. It maintains the thesis that Jean‐Luc Nancy is correct to regard the “philosophy of right” as an unfounded, situationist exercise of “juris‐fictioning”, the activity of juridically reading cases as if they were accidents as such that befall the law. It argues that philosophy’s inability to provide rationale that justify its own juris‐fictioning renders it vulnerable to influence by political requirements and even confers a vestige of legitimacy on them. This influence reinforces the “theologicopolitics” that support the state and is in turn informed by the values of the “juridico‐commerical” model of contemporary “market democracy”. Therefore, on the one hand, philosophy is open to influence by non‐philosophical criteria that endow its notion of rationality with unfounded presuppositions; on the other hand, however, the politics of the state is given an artificial legitimacy through philosophy’s inability to provide foundations for juridical rationality.     

Phenomenology and Integral Pheno‐Practice of Embodied Well‐Be(com)ing in Organisations

Aiming for developing a comprehensive understanding this paper investigates the multidimensional phenomenon of well‐being in organizations as an embodied and integral process from a phenomenological perspective. In particular, the paper will show how the advanced phenomenology of Merleau‐Ponty (1962 Merleau‐Ponty, M. 1962. Phenomenology of perception, London: Routledge.  [Google Scholar], 1964 Merleau‐Ponty, M. 1964. The visible and the invisible, Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.  [Google Scholar]) can help to render an extended understanding of the ‘incorporated’ dimensions of well‐being. Phenomenologically organizations will be understood as situated in an embodied life‐world in which well‐being takes place. Based on this phenomenological understanding, the article proposes an integral pheno‐practice of well‐being, by which the interior and exterior dimension as well as individual and collective spheres of well‐being and its interconnected processes are integrated. For overcoming a dualistic orientation, then a processual turn is suggested, allowing a decentred perspective of well‐be(com)ing as an emerging and inter‐relational event and accomplishment. In addition to some practical effects and implications by concluding some perspectives of further research of an integral well‐be(com)ing are discussed.