The experience and meaning of same‐sex sexuality among heterosexually identified men and women: An analytic review

The components of sexual orientation, including but not limited to sexual desires, attractions, behaviors, and identities, are generally assumed to align in predictable ways. However, ample research from sociology and other social and behavioral science disciplines shows that for many people, these components do not align as expected. In this article, we focus on individuals who identify as heterosexual and experience same‐sex sexual desires, attractions, and/or behaviors. First, we briefly review the available quantitative data on the prevalence of such experiences and use data from one high‐quality national survey—the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG)—to show that self‐identified heterosexuals account for as much as one‐half of the same‐sex sexuality that is reported. Then, we turn to recent qualitative literature and draw attention to the contexts within which heterosexually identified men and women experience same‐sex sexuality, how they make sense of these experiences, and the interpretive strategies they use to reconcile their same‐sex sexuality with their heterosexual identities and their gendered presentations of self. Finally, we conclude by discussing the significance of this research and pointing to several paths forward for sociologists and other researchers.     

Sex differences in how heterosexuals think about lesbians and gay men: Evidence from survey context effects

Two experiments were embedded in a 1997 telephone survey of U.S. households to assess possible differences in how heterosexuals think about lesbians versus gay men. In each experiment, one half of the sample first responded to one or more attitude items about lesbians, followed by comparable items about gay men. The other half received the gay male item(s) first. Results are reported separately for White (N = 976) and Black (N = 479) heterosexuals. For White and Black men alike, self‐reported attitudes toward lesbians tended to be more favorable when they were assessed without reference to gay men (i.e., lesbian items presented first). White men's reactions to gay men tended to be less negative when assessed after the questions about lesbians were presented, but Black men's responses did not consistently show this pattern. For some items, women gave more favorable ratings of lesbians and less favorable ratings of gay men when the lesbian items were presented first. The findings suggest possible gender differences in the cognitive organization of heterosexuals ‘ attitudes toward lesbians and gay men.     

Between the state and global civil society: non‐official experts and their network in the Asia‐Pacific, 1925–45

This article stresses the need for a more rigorous scrutiny of the power structure in which an expert network produces its ‘expert knowledge’. It defines a pioneering multinational expert network in the Asia‐Pacific region in the interwar years as a prototype of an epistemic community, and examines how far it challenged the state‐centred and North Atlantic‐centred dominant structure of international politics, and became ‘global’. In this article I argue that this particular network largely reinforced the dominant structure. This meant that it remained inter‐national and colonial, and served the interests of the state/empire, neither becoming global nor advancing a universalist cause for the global civil society. The failure owes a lot to historical circumstances. Yet this case study also demonstrates that the structure in which the expert network produced specific knowledge is still dominant and that a constant scrutiny of the role of an expert network remains critical.     

Global Anti‐Money Laundering Standards and Developing Economies: The Regulation of Mobile Money

This article discusses the confluence of international initiatives to counter money laundering and terrorist finance with migrant remittances and the growing use of mobile telephone technology for more than making a call. The experiences of Kenya and the Philippines with mobile telephone‐based financial services are outlined as potential models consistent with the ‘risk‐based’ approach now promoted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), one objective being to encourage the implementation of regulation of m‐money services by recognising the development and social‐welfare opportunities offered by the technology in the context of a developing economy.     

Experiences of volunteering: A partnership between service users and a mental health service in the UK

The aim of the study was to investigate how people with serious mental illness perceived the experience of volunteering for the health care organisation in which they had received a service. The study took a qualitative approach and in phase one, eleven service user volunteers were purposefully sampled and interviewed. In depth interviews were analysed using grounded theory. This paper describes the findings from phase one, and highlights the following themes to represent the volunteering experience: 1) rehearsing for a new direction; 2) treading carefully at first; 3) discovering my new self; and, 4) using my experience and extending relationships. These themes further support a tentative theoretical framework that considers supported volunteering to enhance recovery because it fosters positive risk taking and gives individuals a valued identity that integrates their mental health experience. In phase two, this framework will be tested with service users in more diverse volunteer positions. The findings of my study suggest that mental health services are in a unique position to build partnerships with service users to support their recovery and journeys toward employment by providing opportunities for volunteering.     

Nurses' working tasks and MSDs back symptoms: results from a national survey

Healthcare workers, namely registered nurses (RN), are frequently exposed to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) risk factors. Identifying the symptoms of these disorders is one of the first epidemiological steps to managing them. This study aims to identify WRMSDs prevalence symptoms in Portuguese RN. During 8 months (2010-2011) the National Public Health School and the Portuguese Registered Nurses Board made a call to all RN to answer an online WRMSDs questionnaire. Respondents (n=2140) are mostly females (77.4%) and work mainly in hospitals (n=1396) and in primary healthcare centers (n=421). Results show high symptoms prevalence (last 12 months) in the lower back (60.6%), the upper back (44.5%), and the neck (48.6%). Nurses' activity, especially patient hygiene in bed, is a strong contributor (p>0.05) to pain in the upper back (OR=1.39 [1.09-1.80]) and lower back (OR=1.4 [1.08-1.84]). Patient holdup without mechanical support has the highest relationship (p>0.05) between work tasks and symptoms in the last 12 months in the upper back (OR=1.50 [1.19-1.90]). Prevalence rates of WRMSDs symptoms in Portuguese nurses are no different from other studies with Swedish, Italian and Greek nurses. Maybe changes in healthcare systems didn't change the way care is delivered and we must rethink how to prevent nurses WRMSDs.     

Habits and orders of everyday life: commensal adjustment in Anglo‐French couples

This paper examines processes of habit reshuffling and change in different contexts of household formation, looking specifically at habits regarding eating and commensality. It is based on a study of 14 couples, each with one English and one French partner, half of whom live in France, half in England. We examine the interplay between partners, their determination to eat together as a couple, and the various ‘orders’ associated with their commensal pact (diets, routines, extra‐marital commensality), both when they start as couples and as parents of young children. We draw on the specificity of cross‐national couple experience to cast light on processes of adjustment – to one another, and to the new country of residence for the migrant partner. In particular, we explore the potential of notions of ‘split’ and ‘solid’ ‘patrimonies of incorporated habits’, ‘re‐shuffling’ of habits and dispositions, and ‘habit memory’, to characterize the dynamics of habits at play in each of the orders under scrutiny. Overall, the paper contributes to the analysis of habit as the ‘stuff’ of orders of everyday life.     

Stakeholders’ partnership approach to infrastructure provision and management in developing world cities: lessons from the Sustainable Ibadan project

In recent decades unprecedented urbanization has constituted a huge challenge to urban infrastructure development and management in most developing countries. Meanwhile, the appropriateness of conventional urban planning approaches to the improvement of urban environmental conditions in the face of deteriorating urban environment have often been questioned. It became inevitable to search for new approaches particularly in the context of low-income urban communities. International organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS) have subsequently initiated strategies to evolve a participatory approach to the development and management of the urban environment. One of such strategies is the Sustainable City Programme (SCP) which aims to provide municipal authorities and city stakeholders in the public, private and community sectors with an enhanced capacity for environmental planning and management. The programme is being implemented in several cities in parts of the developing world, including Ibadan – the Sustainable Ibadan Project (SIP) – in Nigeria. This paper examines the partnership approach to urban environmental infrastructure improvement, development and management as represented by the SIP. The relevance of the participatory partnership approach of the SIP for cities in parts of developing regions is examined. The paper implicitly stresses that bottom-up participatory stakeholder partnership is a strategy capable of enlisting the financial, material resources and expertise of various sectors of the urban community towards the improvement of urban environmental infrastructure. The paper presents preliminary findings of a study. Although traditional appraisal techniques were not employed, nonetheless, the paper presents a discussion of the processes and dynamics of the SIP on the basis of which some useful lessons may be drawn.     

The relative frequency of offensive and defensive gun uses: results from a national survey

Some controversy exists about the relative frequency of criminal and self-defense gun use in the United States. Using data from a national random-digit-dial telephone survey of over 1,900 adults conducted in 1996, we find that criminal gun use is far more common than self-defense gun use. This result is consistent with findings from other private surveys and the National Crime Victimization Surveys. In this survey, all reported cases of criminal gun use and many cases of self-defense gun use appear to be socially undesirable. There are many instances of gun use, often for intimidation, that are not reported to the police and may not appear in official crime statistics.     

The characteristics and management of elder abuse: evidence and lessons from a UK case study

Despite older people representing a significant majority of victims of abuse in the UK and Europe, evidence about its characteristics and management is limited. This article reports on an analysis of adult protection referrals for older people over an eight year period in two English local authorities. It extends understanding of the characteristics of elder abuse and identifies lessons for its effective management. Findings suggest that older people are at particular risk of multiple and physical abuse. Those living alone are especially vulnerable to financial abuse and those living in a care home to multiple abuse. The most common sites of abuse were the person's own home or a care home. Just two fifths of abuse referrals were confirmed, with the vast majority involving multi-agency consultation and most resulting in ongoing monitoring. Findings also suggest that risk is a product of the intersection of dependency and setting and that information about user and carer need—especially the nature of disability—could enhance the quality of adult protection data and safeguarding responses. The study underscores the need for adult protection legislation and of committing professional resources to the prevention, identification, assessment and management of elder abuse across Europe.     

Dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practice in the social services: a UK survey

A cross sectional UK-wide survey assessed current levels of dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practice in social care and social work agencies. A structured questionnaire was e-mailed to 357 agencies of which 155 (43.4%) completed and returned it. Although the results show that evidence-based practice in this area is still in its early stages, most respondents reported a good knowledge of evidence-based practice as well as the view that professional decisions should be informed by-but not only-research evidence. The lack of time, resources, information, and training are identified as the main barriers to be overcome for an effective implementation of evidence-based practice in the social services.     

Quality indicator survey versus traditional survey in New York State: a comparison of results from annual nursing home surveys

Despite the passage of OBRA’87 for nursing home reform, concerns about care in facilities continue. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid developed new regulations and the Traditional Survey (TS) process for annual nursing home survey. The survey is conducted by state regional offices to determine facility compliance with federal regulations. Despite the regulations and new survey process, the TS inconsistently identified problems. A computerized process called the Quality Indicator Survey (QIS) was subsequently developed. This study was designed to compare results from TS and QIS on overall deficiencies, select quality indicators, high-severity deficiencies, and severity differences of seven quality indicators in New York State over a 6-year period from 2010 through 2015. Results of t-tests determined a significant difference in the overall mean number of deficiencies (p < .001), and on four indicators: choices (p < .001), nursing staff (p < .001), dental (p < .001), and dignity (p < .05). Facilities using the TS showed a higher mean number of harm level or higher deficiencies (p < .001). Chi-square tests for severity levels showed significantly more higher severity deficiencies on two quality indicators: nutrition (p < 0.001) and hydration (p < 0.05). Thus, the QIS produced a greater mean number of deficiencies, while TS produced more higher severity deficiencies in New York State.     

Male bisexuality and condom use at last sexual encounter: results from a national survey

Relatively little is known about condom use among bisexual men as separate and distinct from exclusively homosexual and heterosexual men. Most previous research on bisexual men has relied on non-probabilistic, high risk samples with limited generalizability. We examined the relationship between male behavioral bisexuality and condom use in the 2002 cycle of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Bisexually-active men positively differed from heterosexually- and homosexually-active men on every indicator of confounding risk. However, bisexually-active men did not report using condoms less often than other men during their last sexual encounters with males and females. Indeed, with female partners, bisexually-active men reported higher rates of condom use than other men. These relationships remained when all sociodemographic and confounding risk factors were held constant. Our results suggest that caution must be used when making assumptions about condom use in the general population of bisexual men from non-probabilistic samples.     

Semi‐legal family life: Pakistani couples in the borderlands of Denmark and Sweden

In 2002, the Danish government introduced new legislation on family reunification to restrict the transnational arranged marriages that were occurring among some immigrant groups. Since then, thousands of people have emigrated from Denmark to Sweden where, as citizens of the European Union, they are entitled to family reunification. In this article, I introduce the concept of semi‐legality to describe the situation whereby Pakistani transnational couples commute on a regular basis between their legal residences in Sweden and their places of work or networks of friends and family in Denmark. The married couples subjected to this mobile lifestyle are always in a process of becoming illegal, which is the consequence of ‘overstaying’ in Denmark or ‘understaying’ in Sweden. Besides its legal aspects, a semi‐legal status also has significant moral implications that not only restructure marriage patterns and family life among Pakistani immigrants but also have long‐lasting effects on the relationship between minorities and majorities in Denmark.     

The neurodevelopmental outcome in infants who have sustained a subdural haemorrhage from non‐accidental head injury

Subdural haemorrhage (SDH) in infants arises most commonly from non‐accidental head injury (NAHI) from shaking. Patients present with a varied severity of illness and a variety of symptoms and signs. Data on long‐term outcome of the survivors are not widely reported. The aim of this paper is to describe the physical and educational outcomes of children <2 years diagnosed with non‐accidental head injury and formulate guidelines on follow‐up. Data on 65 children <2 years with non‐accidental head injury and subdural haemorrhage diagnosed on CT/MRI/postmortem were extracted from the hospital and community notes and education reports. The Kings Outcome Scale for Childhood Head Injury (KOSCHI) was used. Sixteen children died (24.6%), 13 within 6 weeks and three 5 years after the injury. Of the 45 children followed up (follow‐up time 21.7–103 months), 25 had a good outcome, six were moderately disabled and 11 were severely disabled, while three were in persistent vegetative state. Problems identi?ed included cerebral palsy—16, ongoing seizures—5, visual problems—11, speech and language problems—17 and behavioural problems—13. Of the 29 children of school age on whom data were available, 12 children had a statement of educational needs. In conclusion, young children who survive non‐accidental head injury can have signi?cant physical, cognitive and behavioural problems. Regular follow‐up by a multidisciplinary team, which includes a community paediatrician, therapists, school health personnel and ophthalmologic services, until the child is established in school may facilitate early identi?cation of emerging problems and optimize management. Care must be taken not to discharge children with good outcomes, as behavioural and cognitive problems can emerge with time. Only a prospective study will help outline the subtle problems that can emerge with time in children with a so‐called good outcome. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Managing Money in Marriage: Multilevel and Cross‐National Effects of the Breadwinner Role

We examine whether institutionalized practices and beliefs regarding breadwinning roles are associated with the choice of more or less equal money management strategies in marriage. Using cross‐national data from 21 country contexts in the International Social Survey Programme and multilevel modeling, we find that in contexts of shared breadwinning, there is a greater likelihood of shared management of money, controlling for the relative income contribution of each spouse. We also find some evidence that the effect of spouses’ relative income contributions diminishes in contexts of shared breadwinning. Our analysis comparing women’s and men’s money management is consistent with previous research indicating that women’s management may be more work than power.     

Criminality and violence in intra‐ and extra‐familial child sex abusers in a 2‐year cohort of convicted perpetrators

Men convicted of sexual abuse against children are an important but understudied population. In this study, based upon lifetime police records, of the criminality of convicted child sex abusers, we undertake the first British comparative analysis of the criminality of intra‐ and extra‐familial abusers. In a cohort of 374 convicted male child sex abusers, 50% had convictions for ‘sex only’ crimes; 26% for ‘sex and other’ offences; and 24% for ‘sex, other and violent’ crimes. There were three ‘relationship‐to‐victim’ subgroups: ‘biological relatives’, consisting of fathers and other biological relatives (18%); ‘non‐biological relatives’ — cohabitees or stepfathers (10%); and 72% who were ‘extra‐familial’ offenders, having no family relationship to the child. This atypical pattern of abusers indicates a filtering process, in which intra‐familial abusers are less likely to be prosecuted than extra‐familial offenders. The main findings were: (i) biological relatives were more often ‘sex only’ offenders, but averaged more sexual offences than the other groups; (ii) non‐biological abusers has more ‘other’ criminal and convictions for violence, and were more similar to the extra‐familial offenders than biologically related abusers; (iii) extra‐familial abusers consisted of more ‘other’ criminal and violent offenders than the non‐biological abusers; (iv) non‐biological offenders, however, had a pattern of criminality more like the extra‐familial group than the other intra‐familial abusers. The violent men, often with long histories of both sexual and non‐sexual offending, pose particular problems for the criminal justice and child protection services. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.