The Clouds That Float By

AS I walk toward the autumn of my life, I begin to realize that everything in the world seems to have moved in a cycle, like the four seasons that continue to change and renew outside my window. But I am still seated in front of my window, observing the floating clouds at the ends of the earth. Some of them float from the future, some from the past. They join at the head and the tail of the universe; it is hard to tell the dragon's head from the dragon's tail. Things are always like this—the beginnings and the endings are sometimes interchangeable; the things that you think have gone by, have gone far away or completely vanished will suddenly appear before you like old acquaintances. Perhaps it might be the second generation accompanied by the shadows of the first.     

Stand By Your Woman?

THE idiom Zao Kang Zhi Qi is a quote from the History of the Later Han Dynasty, Annals of Song Hong: "Friends in need should not to be forgotten; nor should a wife who has shared her husband's hardships be cast off."     

Golden Peacocks By the Ruili River

The Dai nationality, with a population of 1,025,128, mainly reside in Xishuangbanna Dai Nationality Autonomous Prefecture, Dehong Dai and Jingpo Nationalities Autonomous Prefecture, and 30 counties and cities such as Gengma and Menglian in Yunnan Province.The Dai nationality has its own written language. The 1,000-year Dai documents, including Buddhist Scriptures on Pattra and the famous Dai calendar, prove that the Dai nationality has long cultural history. The Dai narrative poem, Zhaoshutun and Nanmunuona (a legend about a prince and a peacock princess) and the medical classic entitled Traditional Dai Medicine, are important to the precious Chinese cultural heritage. The Dais celebrate the Water-sprinkling Festival every April.The Dais tend to settle along rivers. The ever-green Dai area has a subtropical climate with thick forests. The plentiful rainfall and the fertile soil are favorable to farming.Xishuangbanna Prefecture, dubbed as the "Kingdom of plants" and "Kingdom of animals", has a variety of     

At the Crossroads of Three Worlds (1943)* By Frederick/Bedřich Fried,New York

Israel and the USSR—An Exercise in Palm‐Reading. Arthur Jay Klinghoffer, with Judith Apter. Israel and the Soviet Union: Alienation or Reconciliation? Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1985. 303pp. Index.

Finding a New World. Victor Ripp, From Moscow to Main Street: Among the Russian Emigrés. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1984. 247pp.

The Jewish Contribution to Soviet Culture. Jack Miller (ed.). Jews in Soviet Culture. New Brunswick (US) and London (UK): Transaction Books for the Institute of Jewish Affairs, 1984. viii + 331 pp. Tables. Name Index. $24.95; £18.00.

Reassessing a Difficult Relationship. Howard Aster, Peter J. Potichnyj. Jewish‐Ukrainian Relations. Two Solitudes. Oakville, Ontario, Canada: Mosaic Press, 1983. 72pp. No price indicated.

Dissent—No Isolated Phenomenon. Ludmilla Alexeyeva. Soviet Dissent: Contemporary Movements for National, Religious, and Human Rights. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 1985. xxii + 552pp. Index. £32.95, $35.00.     

‘By her unnatural and despicable conduct’: motherhood and concubinage in the Watchman and Jamaica Free Press, 1830–1833

ABSTRACT

From the spring of 1830, the Kingston-based newspaper, Watchman and Jamaica Free Press, published a series of articles discussing the prevalence of interracial concubinage throughout the island of Jamaica. While many discussed concubines as the victims of white men’s lust, equally discussed was the role that mothers had in the continuation of this practice and the degradation of their children. Amid the movement for the abolition of slavery, respectable members of the free community of colour discussed concubines who engaged in interracial sex as unfit mothers and a hindrance to the social progress of the larger community of colour.     

A Review of: “Exploring Black Sexuality. By Robert Staples.”

Higgins, Trussell, Moore, and Davidson (2010) expand our understanding of sexual satisfaction by showing that first vaginal sex is more likely to be psychologically than physically satisfying and by revealing differences between women and men and similarities between African Americans and Whites. Their analyses highlight the need for further theory-building, explicating the dynamics of change over time, integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches, and articulating implications for public policy. These are crucial steps toward developing a social science of sexual satisfaction. More research that focuses on positive aspects of sexuality, such as satisfaction, should be encouraged.     

The Science of Orgasm Has Finally Come: A Review of: “The Science of Orgasm. By Barry R. Komisaruk,Carlos Beyer-Flores,and Beverly Whipple.”

This research sought to examine psychologically mediated effects of differential penis size. To investigate this issue, we asked male and female undergraduates (N = 284) to read erotic passages that differed only in the length of the penis that was ascribed to the male protagonist—3 in. long (small), 5 in. long (medium), 8 in. long (large), or no mention made of penis size (control condition). Arousal and attributional responses to these portrayals were then assessed. In addition, subjects' erotophobia‐erotophilia (their disposition to respond to erotic stimuli with negative to positive emotions) and their level of prior sexual experience were assessed. Results showed that the erotic passages were significantly arousing and that the manipulation of perceptions of penis size was highly effective. Despite the effectiveness of the manipulation, however, subjects did not report differential arousal or (for the most part) attributional responses to depictions of small, medium, or large penises. Correlational analyses revealed that erotophilic (versus erotophobic) persons may be more aroused by depictions of a large penis, and more sexually experienced males seemed to be more aroused by depictions of medium than by small or large penises. In all cases, however, the observed correlations were modest. Overall, the findings suggest that, for most individuals, penis size may be as unimportant on a psychological level as it appears to be on a physical level.     

Teaching Note—“By Any Means Necessary!” Infusing Socioeconomic Justice Content Into Quantitative Research Course Work

ABSTRACT

Existing research suggests a majority of faculty include social justice content in research courses but not through the use of existing quantitative data for in-class activities that foster mastery of data analysis and interpretation and curiosity about social justice–related topics. By modeling data-driven dialogue and the deconstruction of quantitative meaning making related to social justice in and around social work practice topics, we can prepare our students to be agents of change in their social work careers and possibly engage our students in an often difficult course. Specifically, I provide examples for how discussions about socioeconomic justice can be infused in teaching about univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistical analyses from the perspectives of critical consumption and the production of research.     

Soziologische Theorie,Handlungstheorie, Methoden,Familiensoziologie, Sozialstrukturanalyse,Raumsoziologie, Stadtsoziologie,Gedächtnissoziologie,Religionssoziologie

Literaturbesprechungen

Soziologische Theorie, Handlungstheorie, Methoden, Familiensoziologie, Sozialstrukturanalyse, Raumsoziologie, Stadtsoziologie, Ged?chtnissoziologie, Religionssoziologie