More Powerful Forces? Women,Nonviolence, and Mobilization

In this survey of studies of women's nonviolent mobilization, I scrutinize “more powerful forces,” the mobilizing forces of marginalized social actors that add to and make possible the development of broad‐based people power. The study of people power has yet to extensively consider the contribution of marginalized social actors. Specifically, I ask: (i) What do women contribute to the development of nonviolent protest power and (ii) What can we learn about mobilizing power, the power of people to protest nonviolently and gain the franchise they seek, when we expand our analytical lens to incorporate women's roles? How do we account for the gendered but often unseen actions taken by marginalized social actors? My focus on women in nonviolent mobilization stems directly from my research on gendered invisibility with an empirical focus on women's gendered socialization. Here, I review how gendered social structures shape women's power of participation and success in nonviolent mobilization.     

Nursebots to the rescue? Immigration,automation, and care

Abstract

This paper explores the rising cost of care services in affluent countries, with a particular focus on nursing. It suggests that competitive pressures lead to forms of ‘over-commodification’ that can both lower the quality of care and lead to deterioration of the work environment. While immigration and automation can help reduce costs, they can also pose threats to care quality. Care providers and care recipients need to collaborate in efforts to set and enforce high quality standards.     

Is It Abuse,Alienation, and/or Estrangement?

Abstract

Allegations of family violence, child abuse, and alienation often occur in the same contested child custody case. Custody eval-uators often are poorly trained in forensic assessment of allegations of domestic violence and allegations of alienation. The authors of this article suggest language that is designed to differentiate between cases in which the term alienation is appropriate, as in non-abuse cases, and when it is best to use other language such as estrangement sabotaging, and counter productive protective parenting in cases where there is abuse. This article describes a decision tree that is designed to assist evaluators in identifying the causes of multiple allegations of maltreatment and abuse.     

Does Motherhood Affect Productivity, Relative Performance, and Earnings?

The Ladies Professional Golf Association provides a unique setting to examine productivity differences between women with children and women without children. In this paper, productivity is directly observed (e.g., the player’s golf score), unlike most studies that use wage as a proxy for productivity. Therefore, discrimination cannot be a source of observed differences in productivity between mothers and nonmothers, since the earnings of players are strictly determined by relative performance. Using panel data on women professional golfers, I find that motherhood lowers productivity. The productivity of women who eventually become mothers increases in the years before giving birth and then declines thereafter. The results support the human-capital explanation and Becker’s effort hypothesis of the family gap. One further finding is that marriage increases productivity.

Disability,pain and love in Jewish cosmology?

Individuals with disabilities face numerous barriers that limit their inclusion within the Jewish community (Trieschmann 2001 Trieschmann, R. B. 2001. “Spirituality and Energy Medicine.” Journal of Rehabilitation 67 (1): 26–32.[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). While many Jewish communities have progressed and moved towards an attitude of ‘acceptance’ and ‘tolerance’ for people with disabilities out of religious obligation, it is often a practice without the spiritual ethical governing force and guiding principles of respect, equality, and human rights (Shatz and Wolowelsky 2004 Shatz, D., and J. B. Wolowelsky. 2004. Mind, Body, and Judaism: The Interaction of Jewish Law with Psychology and Biology. Ktav Publishing House: Yeshiva University Press. [Google Scholar]). People with disabilities are stereotyped as dependent, draining, incompetent, pitiful, victims, freaks, angels, embarrassments, innocent, pathetic, and asexual social burdens (Nario-Redmond 2010 Nario-Redmond, M. R. 2010. “Cultural Stereotypes of Disabled and Non-Disabled Men and Women: Consensus for Global Category Representations and Diagnostic Domains.” British Journal of Social Psychology 49: 471–488.10.1348/014466609X468411 [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). What is lacking is the consideration of people with disabilities as human beings. This injustice is most evident, painful, and damaging at an individual and communal level when it comes to Jewish singles and their pursuit of intimate relationships. A central Jewish value, right, and goal, one that is strongly promoted in Israeli society, is that of committed intimate relationships. However, this value does not apply to people with disabilities     

Language,discourse, and class: What's next for sociolinguistics?

Drawing from the various theoretical constructs and analyses of class in sociology, economics, cultural studies, and sociolinguistics, I discuss a number of issues regarding class and possible future research avenues for sociolinguists. These include addressing and exploring how to move beyond the static categorical groupings of class membership, including those of researchers themselves in their work on class, appraising the relevance and utility of the concept of overdetermination (Althusser, 1977; Resnick & Wolff, 1987) in examining the enactments of class, discursive self‐positionings in different domains and scales, the need to re‐examine the construct of intersectionality, and problematizing the notion of identity politics as it relates to class.     

A Global-Middle-Class House?1 Cultural Capital,Taste, and Kitsch

Abstract

In this article, I show how the category of the migrant house, as has been recently discussed in much scholarship, can be expanded to include another subcategory—the global-middle-class house. Recently, the migrant house has generated much research in migration studies and in disciplines of the built environment. Consequently, it has been examined through various perspectives, including home and belonging, materiality in the home, and the transnational home. It has not been examined, however, through the concepts of cultural capital, taste and kitsch, as developed by Bourdieu and others. This article applies these concepts in the exploration of the migrant house through a case study of one house and its transformation from old to new in suburban Melbourne. The article shows how the concepts of cultural capital, taste and kitsch can be utilized to expand the category of the migrant house to include the global-middle-class house. Following a theoretical discussion, the article analyses the old family house, the decision to demolish, the construction process and the redevelopment of a new house, together with an analysis of material objects in the new house and around it. The article argues that this is a specific kind of a migrant house, a global-middle-class house, because it combines popular global taste with objects taken from the ancestral past of its migrant residents.     

What's better than the pill,vasectomy, celibacy and rhythm?

A report of a new technique of male contraception involves the use of heat which lowers the sperm count. Early reports of lowered sperm counts in men wearing jockstraps or increased sperm counts in men whose testicles have been cooled several degrees have led to the experimentation in the male rat of the effects of heat and ultrasound on the sperm count and the ability to fertilize the female. 250 male rats were divided into 5 groups: 1) control, 2) a 60 degree C water circulating testicle cup with 15 minutes exposure, 3) exposure to radiant energy for 15 minutes and raising scrotal temperatures to 60 degrees C, 4) exposure to microwaves of varying powers, and 5) exposure to ultrasound of 1 w/cm to 2 w/cm for 1 minute. Group 2 results indicated that libido was uninhibited, testosterone levels undisturbed a nd organ sizes unaffected by the hot-water treatment. It took 30-35 days for any pregnancies to occur after a single treatment. In group 3, results were substantially the same except that it took 60-75 days for any pregnancies to occur. In group 4, a 20% exposure to radiation for 5 minutes impaired fertility for 65-80 days, while those exposed to 20% for 15 minutes were still infertile at the end of the 10-month study. In these cases libido was also unimpaired. Animals in group 5, exposed to 1 w/cm for 1 minute had impaired fertility for 150-210 days although testicular temperature rose to only 38 degrees C. When exposure to ultr asound was doubled, fertility was impaired throughout the study. In all cases where fertility was restored, resulting offspring appeared normal and were themselves capable of reproducing normal-appearing offspring. Ultrasound was considered the most promising heat source. In all cases the germinal epithelium function is arrested. Future research should be directed to making the ultrasound technique more finely tuned to a contraceptive function.     

Who lives and dies on death row? Race, ethnicity, and post-sentence outcomes in Texas

A substantial body of research has explored the extent to which the race of offenders and victims influences who receives a death sentence for capital crimes. Little is known about how race and ethnicity might pattern death-row outcomes. Drawing upon evidence from male offenders sentenced to death in Texas during the years 1974 through 2009, we extend recent research by examining whether the race and ethnicity of offenders and victims and a number of offender, victim, and crime attributes influence the likelihood of executions and sentence relief (whereby prisoners leave death row). Cox regression analyses are used in conjunction with a multiple-imputation method for handling a modest amount of missing data. The results show that cases involving minorities—with black or Latino offenders or victims—have lower hazards of execution than cases in which both offenders and victims are white. Victim and offender race and ethnicity have little to no independent effect upon the hazard of sentence relief.     

Restructuring for Whom? Race,Class, Gender,and the Ideology of Invisibility

This paper examines how changes resulting from economic restructuring affect views of racial inequality across different race, class, and gender groups. First reviewing some of the consequences of restructuring for different race, class, and gender groups, the paper also reviews research documenting the different views of racial inequality held by dominant and subordinate groups. The paper concludes by examining how race-blind ideologies affect discussions of race and multiculturalism and suggests that race-blind thinking has thwarted teaching about structural racism.     

Appetite for Destruction? China,Ecologically Unequal Exchange,and Forest Loss

We test the hypothesis from the theory of ecologically unequal exchange that agricultural exports to China are related to increased forest loss in low- and middle-income nations exporting to it. We do so by analyzing data for 75 low- and middle-income nations using ordinary least squares regression. We find support for our hypothesis that flows of agricultural exports from low- and middle-income nations to China are related to increased forest loss in exporting nations. We also find that a country's total agricultural exports, proximity of forest to infrastructure, and protected areas tend to increase forest loss.     

European Cohesion? Globalization,Autonomization, and the Dynamics of EU Integration

Globalization is frequently assumed to be responsible for creating the economic environment in which a much greater degree of European Union (EU) economic integration is deemed necessary. In contrast, this paper argues that globalization, in conjunction with neo-liberal growth, has led to autonomization as well as integration. The term autonomization designates both that economic governance is increasingly delegated to autonomous regions, and that neo-liberal economic policies tend to fragment and divide in their pursuit of growth. The paper investigates the tension between the role in which globalization has cast the region, and the region as a central player in the EU's cohesion strategy. Cohesion policy-measures to combat underdevelopment and backwardness-plays a key role in integration and growth strategies. It is argued that cohesion has become detached from its redistributive origins and incorporated in a discourse of competitiveness and growth. The region has emerged as both the site upon which the global acts upon the EU, and the level at which the EU has determined that the processes of globalization can best be accommodated. It is suggested that the tension between cohesion and autonomization introduced by globalization is a central dynamic at work in the contemporary EU.     

Who needs Cantonese,who speaks? Whispers across mountains,delta, and waterfronts

This essay digs into the ‘dirtiness’ of cultural studies to prioritize praxis, or as the way my mountain folks collect summer lotus: putting our feet in the muddy water, and finding ways to get the stems underneath the smooth leaves. Using Cantoneseness as a case to locate such ‘dirtiness’, I draw on personal/familial histories as well as research projects to tell how conjunctures of Cantoneseness are politically and unevenly lived. This complex journey travels roughly from my childhood in the Yuebei mountains of northern Guangdong through my teenage and early adult years in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) to my current location as a temporary resident in the East Pacific port of Vancouver. I selectively emphasize and speak on three different locations: first, the rural inland Cantonese location of Yuebei mountains – the borderland and hinterland experiences of my family and myself living what the mountains would offer and how these have changed; second, the industrial superior Cantonese location of PRD in Shenzhen and Guangzhou – my personal experiences and identities as a migrant youth, combined with a case study including interviews with migrant peasant-workers and their children; and third, the western transnational Cantonese location of East Pacific waterfronts in Vancouver and Richmond – my personal engagement with social activism as an ethnicized, international student, combined with a narrative study including interviews with social activists with different Cantoneseness and migration routes. While this mix of whispers speaks in its own way towards using cultural studies with more seriously (global) space-sensitive and (social justice) praxis-sensitive approaches, the primary focus is more modestly on my autobiographical accounts and research efforts as a specific case: to show some strategic locations of ‘Cantonescape’ on the one hand, and to invite wider conversations around cultural-spatial politics on the other.     

How Does Religion Influence Marriage? Christian,Jewish, Mormon,and Muslim Perspectives

Abstract

Seventy-six highly religious Christian, Jewish, Mormon, and Muslim married mothers and fathers were interviewed regarding how and why three dimensions of religion (i.e., faith community, religious practices, and spiritual beliefs) influence marriage in both beneficial and challenging ways. Through qualitative data analysis the author identified eight emergent themes that link religion and marriage: (1) the influence of clergy, (2) the mixed blessing of faith community service and involvement, (3) the importance of prayer, (4) the connecting influence of family ritual, (5) practicing marital fidelity, (6) pro-marriage/anti-divorce beliefs, (7) homogamy of religious beliefs, and (8) faith in God as a marital support. Qualitative data are presented in connection with each theme, and clinical implications are offered.     

Agency,reflexivity and risk: cosmopolitan,neurotic or prudential citizen?

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the turn to risk within sociology and to survey the relationship between structure and agency as conceived by popular strands of risk theorizing. To this end, we appraise the risk society, culture of fear and governmentality perspectives and we consider the different imaginings of the citizen constructed by each of these approaches. The paper goes on to explore what each of these visions of citizenship implies for understandings of the structure/agency dynamic as it pertains to the question of reflexivity. In order to transcend uni‐dimensional notions of citizenship and to reinvigorate sociological debates about risk, we call for conceptual analyses that are contextually rooted. Exampling the importance of knowledge contests around contemporary security threats and warnings of the deleterious effects of pre‐emptive modes of regulation that derive from the ‘risk turn’ within social science, we argue for a more nuanced embrace of reflexivity within risk theorising in order to facilitate a more dynamic critique of the images of citizenship that such theorizing promotes.     

Forbidden Fruit? A Longitudinal Study of Christianity,Sex, and Marriage

Does religion still play a role in explorations of romance and sexuality among adolescents and young adults in a secular society such as Norway? Does it influence the type of living arrangements chosen? A population-based sample (n = 2,454) was followed longitudinally from their midteens to their late 20s using survey and register data. Christian involvement in teenage years was associated with subsequent less “precoital” exploration, less masturbation, delayed sexual intercourse, and a smaller number of sex partners. However, there were no associations with prevalence of same-sex experiences. Christians also postponed initiating romantic relationships and chose marriage over cohabitation. Associations were reduced after controlling for confounding factors but remained significant. Some associations (for example, the form of residential union chosen) were present only in the most “active” Christians. In other areas, such as “precoital explorations” and the age at which intercourse is initiated, Christian norms seem to play a role in much broader segments of the population. The findings indicate that Christianity may continue to influence young Norwegians’ experiences of sexuality and cohabitation more than has been expected.