The national in everyday life: A critical engagement with Michael Billig's thesis of Banal Nationalism

This paper is designed to provide a critical engagement with Michael Billig's seminal thesis of Banal Nationalism (1995), perhaps the most influential study of everyday forms of nationhood. With an increasing number now focusing on the (re) production, dissemination and negotiation of the national through routine texts and practices (cf Foster, 2002 ; Edensor, 2002 ; Madianou, 2005 ; Brubaker et al ., 2006 ; Bratsis, 2006 ) and others employing the concept of banality in relation to non-national ( Gorringe, 2006 ) and post-national identities ( Aksoy and Robins, 2002 ; Szerszynski and Urry, 2002 ; Beck, 2006 ; Cram, 2001 ), it would seem like an opportune moment to assess Billig's contribution and also the limits of his approach.     

A critical evaluation of the cardiac toxicity of citalopram: part 1

In August 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a safety announcement that the antidepressant drug citalopram (Celexa(?)) should not be used at dosages greater than 40 mg per day (or greater than 20 mg per day for patients 60 and older) because it can cause abnormal changes in the electrical activity of the heart. This warning was based on the results of a "thorough QT/QTc study" of citalopram and on post-marketing reports of QT prolongation and torsade de pointes in some patients taking the drug. The statistically significant results from the "thorough QT/QTc study" were small in magnitude, and their clinical significance is questionable. Additional electrocardiogram analyses from other studies do not confirm these findings. Nearly 600 cases of citalopram overdoses have been described. Although citalopram overdose is not entirely "cardiac safe," only a proportion of patients develop QTc prolongation without serious cardiac sequelae and no deaths. Three studies comparing citalopram overdoses to other antidepressant overdoses do not demonstrate clinically meaningful differences in cardiotoxic effects.     

A critical evaluation of the cardiac toxicity of citalopram: part 2

In August 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a drug safety communication that the antidepressant drug citalopram (Celexa?) should not be used at dosages greater than 40 mg per day (or greater than 20 mg per day for patients 60 and older) because higher doses have been associated with abnormal heart rhythms. Clinical studies using citalopram in patients with cardiac disease and in older patients do not confirm such a risk. The major metabolite of citalopram is demethylcitalopram, which is subsequently metabolized to the minor metabolite didemethylcitalopram (DDCT). High DDCT concentrations have been associated with QT interval prolongation in beagle dogs. Therapeutic drug monitoring study data suggest that routine or even high oral doses of citalopram are unlikely to result in cardiotoxic concentrations of the DDCT metabolite. Based on evidence taken from a wide variety of studies, the citalopram dose limitations described in the safety announcement do not have strong clinical justification.     

A critical evaluation of competing representations of the relationship between formal and informal work

Analysing the extensive literature on informal work reveals multiple, often contradictory, views regarding its relationship with formal work. The aim of this paper is to evaluate critically these competing claims. Evaluating in turn the predominant views of informal work as a residue, by-product, complement and/or alternative to formal work, reveals that universal generalizations are not possible and that all of these articulations only apply in specific contexts. However, rather than simply conclude that these contrasting readings of the relationship between informal and formal work are therefore context-bound generalizations, two features common to all these perspectives are identified that necessitate a more fundamental rethinking of the relationship between formal and informal work. These relate to the way in which all firstly, simplistically attribute one form of work with positive features (e.g. modernization, virtue and progress) and the other with negative attributes (e.g. tradition, backwardness, exploitation) and, secondly, delineate formal and informal work as discrete and separate entities. The paper concludes by setting out a research agenda to not only highlight the political values underpinning each of these representations but also achieve a fuller and finer-grained understanding of the relations between informal and formal work.     

Transnational migration and the commodification of eldercare in urban Ghana

ABSTRACT

Over the past 20 years, organizations to provide commercial nursing services, mainly to the sick and debilitated elderly, have sprung up in Accra, Ghana. This article assesses the degree to which transnational migration has generated social changes in ageing at the level of everyday practices. It argues that a range of social actors differently involved in transnational migration has created and sustained a market for home nursing agencies in Ghana through diverse processes involving the imagination of care work abroad, complex negotiations between the elderly at home and their anxious children abroad, increased financial resources among the middle class and the evaluations of western eldercare services by return and current migrants. These dynamics illustrate the complexity of the role of transnational migration in generating social change and highlight the significance of the needs of local families and the role of the imagination in shaping social remittances from abroad.     

English and discourses of commodification among tourism workers in the Himalayas

In this article, I investigate commodification discourses and ideologies of English from the perspective of Nepali tourism workers. Drawing data from interviews with porters and trekking guides in Nepal, I argue that English is not seen as merely a transactional means to convey meaning; it works in combination with the traditional form of labor and care in the local economy, establishing itself as a powerful tool to establish closer interpersonal relationships, enhance such interpersonal relationships for economic gains and commodify local identities and cultures in the tourism market. The interview and ethnographic details show that language learners are agentive and capable of making sense of their actions by positioning themselves variously in terms of ethnicity, economic class and job category. These workers think that tourists' linguistic and financial resources are the empowering tools that enable them to travel to locations that they want. They also want to empower themselves with English skills and translocal imaginaries to travel and see the world beyond their immediate reach. Repertoires in English are considered as instruments to mediate their imaginaries and the foreign worlds they want to be part of.     

The weakest link and the commodification of subjectivity by the means of play

Abstract

This article considers the process of commodification (the extension of the realm of money, the spread of typically capitalist mechanisms like competition and consumption) as a cultural means of the reproduction of subjectivity. The particular aim is to highlight the psychic processes that are tempted by commodification. Thus, at the background of this essay, there is a psychoanalytical notion of the self that has been developed in an examination of subjectivity and play, a notion based especially on the thinking of D.W. Winnicott and Jessica Benjamin. These analysts see an ambivalent self‐destructiveness of the self reformulated in relation to the ‘potential space’ of play. In relation to this analysis, the influence of advanced capitalism on the self is discussed in some of its more competitive scenes of consumptions. The quiz show The Weakest Link, for example, is considered as a pale, commodified form of play. It is argued that the main seduction of the show is the dwindled and distorted potential space offered by its ultimate, destructive, and in the last analysis sado‐masochistic logic of exchange. In addition to The Weakest Link, a couple of relevant thematisations of commodified culture by contemporary Finnish literature are brought out. Moreover, the commodification of subjectivity by the means of play is loosely related to some general characterisations concerning the prevailing cultural situation (see Jameson 1999 and Rifkin, 2000).     

Knowledge brokering in public health: A critical analysis of the results of a qualitative evaluation

Empirical data on the processes underlying knowledge brokering (KB) interventions, including their determining factors and effects, remain scarce. Furthermore, these interventions are rarely built on explicit theoretical foundations, making their critical analysis difficult, even a posteriori. For these reasons, it appeared relevant to revisit the results of a qualitative evaluation undertaken in the province of Quebec in parallel with a Canada-wide randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating various KB strategies in public health. This paper looks critically at the theoretical foundations of the KB interventions in light of two conceptual models: (1) the dissemination model underlying the KB interventions used in the Canadian trial and (2) a systemic KB model developed later. This critical analysis sheds light on the processes involved in KB interventions and the factors influencing their implementation and effects. The conclusions of the critical analysis are consistent with the systemic model, in which interpersonal contact is an essential condition for effective KB interventions. This analysis may advance knowledge in the field by enhancing our understanding of the role of knowledge brokers as essential mediators in KB processes and outcomes.     

Globalization, the new economy, and the commodification of language and identity

The globalized new economy is bound up with transformations of language and identity in many different ways (cf., e.g. Bauman 1997; Castells 2000; Giddens 1990). These include emerging tensions between State-based and corporate identities and language practices, between local, national and supra-national identities and language practices, and between hybridity and uniformity. Ethnolinguistic minorities provide a particularly revealing window into these processes. In this paper, I explore ways in which the globalized new economy has resulted in the commodification of language and identity, sometimes separately, sometimes together. The paper is based on recent ethnographic, sociolinguistic research in francophone areas of Canada.     

Restructuring Human Services in Canada: commodification of disability

The human service system in Canada has undergone significant changes as a result of the dismantling of provisions that were once in place to ensure access to services by society's more vulnerable citizens. This paper draws on a cross-Canada examination of services to adults with developmental disabilities to report on the response of service providers in this time of turbulence. Qualitative analysis provides insight into the ways in which services have responded to shrinking budgets. Without leadership and lacking a social policy framework from senior levels of governments, the changing face of human services has been accompanied by the arrival of a new market-orientated service provider group that has deepened the commodification of disability. The examination concludes with the introduction of an approach to support which resists the trend toward commodification and re-establishes the social good, allowing the individual with a disability the right to participate more fully in community life alongside other members of society.     

Application of theory-based evaluation for the critical analysis of national biofuel policy: A case study in Malaysia

Theory-based evaluation (TBE) is an effectiveness assessment technique that critically analyses the theory underlying an intervention. Whilst its use has been widely reported in the area of social programmes, it is less applied in the field of energy and climate change policy evaluations. This paper reports a recent study that has evaluated the effectiveness of the national biofuel policy (NBP) for the transport sector in Malaysia by adapting a TBE approach. Three evaluation criteria were derived from the official goals of the NBP, those are (i) improve sustainability and environmental friendliness, (ii) reduce fossil fuel dependency, and (iii) enhance stakeholders’ welfare. The policy theory underlying the NBP has been reconstructed through critical examination of the policy and regulatory documents followed by a rigorous appraisal of the causal link within the policy theory through the application of scientific knowledge. This study has identified several weaknesses in the policy framework that may engender the policy to be ineffective. Experiences with the use of a TBE approach for policy evaluations are also shared in this report.     

Styling the worker: Gender and the commodification of language in the globalized service economy

This paper discusses some sociolinguistic characteristics of the speech style prescribed to workers for interacting with customers in service contexts, focusing in particular on the linguistic and vocal 'styling' prescribed for operators in telephone call centres in the U.K. Attention is drawn to the similarities between the preferred style of speech and what is popularly thought of as 'women's language'. The intensive regulation of service workers' speech and the valorization of 'feminine' communication styles are analysed in relation to changes occurring as a consequence of economic globalization.     

Celebrating the 21st anniversary of empowerment evaluation with our critical friends

This special topic edition of E&PP presents the insights of luminaries in the field who have helped shape empowerment evaluation with their critiques, concerns, and congratulations. We celebrate their contributions to empowerment evaluation. This special topic edition of E&PP presents their comments about an evaluation approach that, according to president Stewart Donaldson, has “gone viral” across the globe (Donaldson, 2015).To set the stage for these critical friends’ comments, additional context for their discussion is provided. In addition, this special topic edition concludes with a brief comment on their thoughts.     

The commodification of leisure: The case of the model airplane hobby and industry

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of capitalist production on a leisure activity. It demonstrates that as commodities produced for exchange become the predominant objects used in a leisure activity, the leisure activity itself is reshaped. A case study of the model airplane hobby and industry illuminates this process. The history of the hobby is one of gradual control loss by hobbyists and control gain by capital.I would like to thank Drs. Dale Dannefer and Michael Yarrow, and the editors and reviewers ofQualitative Sociology for their comments on earlier versions of this paper; and Dr. Ava Baron, who was most helpful in this research from beginning to end. I would also like to thank the following for their cooperation in this research: Maurice and Dave Gherman, Robert Reder, William Winter, Walter Caddel, Walter Armatys, Douglas Pratt, John Dewey, John Worth, Richard Kidd, Edward Packard, the numerous other people in the industry who responded to my inquiries and survey; The New York Public Library, The Free Library of Philadelphia, and Hobby Publications, Inc.     

The aura of tattoos: The commodification of tradition in Buscalan village,the Philippines

The present study focuses on the ongoing shift in the meaning and importance of traditional Kalinga tattoos that is happening in Buscalan village in the Philippines. The starting point for the analysis is the conception of disintegration of “the aura”, as defined by Walter Benjamin, resulting from their disembedding from time and space that is caused by technological reproducibility of the artworks. The study shows that the basis of the aura of Buscalan tattoos is their relation to a successful headhunt. At present, tattoos in Buscalan are standing on the edge, because the high popularity of the last tattoo artist who tattooed the head-hunters leads to commodification of traditional tattoos and an increase in tourism in the particular area. The study describes a two-way process of disintegration and preservation of the aura of Buscalan tattoos: on the one hand, the tradition of tattooing headhunters has disappeared, but on the other hand, the aura of tattoos is preserved thanks to audiovisual means and sharing on social networking sites. The “here and now” of the place and its tattoos is being transferred into the hyper-reality where Buscalan tattoos are gaining a new dimension     

A critical review on current practices of the monitoring and evaluation in the preparation of strategic urban plans within the Egyptian context

Worldwide, strategic urban planning is found in very different contexts and planning schemes, where it is always a tool strongly linked to enhancing urban management. Under the umbrella of strategic urban planning different approaches can be perceived, in which within these broad shared characteristics there are significant variations. A key component in the strategic urban planning process is the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) element and these differences can be seen in the way that M&E is approached. Egypt is currently on the track to reform its planning system shifting from the conventional master plans towards strategic urban plans (SUPs). This paper reflects on the current practices of M&E the preparation of SUPs within the Egyptian context. It sheds light on the strengths and weaknesses of the employed techniques and concludes with some recommendations to improve the process of M&E, which builds upon the strengths in the employed techniques.     

Window on the world. From modest rights to commodification in Canada's welfare state

This paper examines the rise and decline of Canada's welfare state from 1945 to the end of the century. The years to the mid-1960s were marked by the introduction of an array of social programmes that produced a system inferior to that of the major western European countries, but distinctly superior to that of the United States. These developments gave 'modest social rights' to Canada's residents, whilst not fundamentally challenging the market base of the society. The years since 1971 have been marked by retreat, influenced by three considerations: the world oil crisis of 1973, which imported significant inflation to Canada and resulted in large government deficits; the threat of separatism in Quebec, which resulted in a massive devolution of authority from the central government to the provinces; and the Free Trade Agreement with the United States (reflecting a more general rise in neo-conservatism), which further integrated the economies and societies of the two countries. The impact of these changes has been to increasingly commodify social benefits within a market context, so that Esping-Andersen's 1989 classification of Canada as a 'liberal' welfare state has undoubtedly proved accurate, though a decade later than he identified. The paper explores benefits for children and the right to food as case illustrations of these fundamental changes.