Social Movement Rhetoric and the Social Psychology of Collective Action: A Case Study of Anti-Abortion Mobilization

This paper seeks to contribute toward anintegrated approach to social movement mobilization. Itdoes so through considering how a social psychologicalaccount of the determination of collective behavior (self-categorization theory) may be applied tothe mobilization rhetoric of social movements. Morespecifically it argues that as people may definethemselves and act in terms of social categy usefully conceive of social movement rhetoricas being organized so as to construct social categorydefinitions which allow the activists preferred courseof action to be taken on by others. Our theoretical argument is illustrated throughthe detailed analysis of category construction incontemporary U.K. anti-abortion argumentation.     

Meta‐analysis of QTc interval – pooling data from heterogeneous trials

A diverse range of non‐cardiovascular drugs are associated with QT interval prolongation, which may be associated with a potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmia known as torsade de pointes. QT interval has been assessed for two recent submissions at GlaxoSmithKline. Meta‐analyses of ECG data from several clinical pharmacology studies were conducted for the two submissions. A general fixed effects meta‐analysis approach using summaries of the individual studies was used to calculate a pooled estimate and 90% confidence interval for the difference between each active dose and placebo following both single and repeat dosing separately. The meta‐analysis approach described provided a pragmatic solution to pooling complex and varied studies, and is a good way of addressing regulatory questions on QTc prolongation. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Refocusing Children's Services Towards Prevention: Lessons from the Literature

Increasingly, western developed countries are committed to improving prevention and early intervention strategies that address risks in all areas of children's lives. This article considers the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of such refocusing activity. Five sets of strategies for refocusing are described: developing and using local evidence; designing, implementing and evaluating new services (alongside de‐commissioning); fiscal control; mainstreaming reforms and ensuring sustainability; and structural reorganisation. Five benefits of such reforms are outlined: improved outcomes; better inter‐agency working; greater efficiency; improved practice and outputs; and enhanced user and staff satisfaction. The article notes ways of mitigating the risks of refocusing and the need for practical methods that connect strategies and overcome obstacles in order to achieve the identified benefits.     

The Delicate Scientist Practitioner

This article offers an alternative understanding of the ‘scientist‐practitioner’ in clinical practice. The ‘dodo bird’ hypothesis or ‘common factors’ findings suggest that the specific technique of a particular treatment protocol, whether supported or not by empirical validation, are not as important as feedback to the clinician as to whether this particular treatment is working or not. A new philosophy of science and cognition suggests that ‘know‐how’ and ‘withness‐knowledge’ is of more importance than any ‘know‐that’ or ‘aboutness’ knowledge. Two hundred years ago Goethe suggested a method of science that was more focused on performativity than representationalism, which is being discovered again by postmodern science and philosophy. This model of science, combined with Levinas' call for an ethics first approach, can provide an alternative to the move towards treatment manuals.     

Emotions,affects and the production of social life

While many aspects of social life possess an emotional component, sociology needs to explore explicitly the part emotions play in producing the social world and human history. This paper turns away from individualistic and anthropocentric emphases upon the experience of feelings and emotions, attending instead to an exploration of flows of ‘affect’ (meaning simply a capacity to affect or be affected) between bodies, things, social institutions and abstractions. It establishes a materialist sociology of affects that acknowledges emotions as a part, but only a part, of a more generalized affective flow that produces bodies and the social world. From this perspective, emotions are not a peculiarly remarkable outcome of the confluence of biology and culture, but part of a continuum of affectivity that links human bodies to their physical and social environment. This enhances sociological understanding of the part emotions play in shaping actions and capacities in many settings of sociological concern.     

Problematizing ‘Relevance’ in the Business School: The Case of Leadership Studies

In recent years, the discourse of ‘relevance’ has risen to prominence in the university‐based business school. At the heart of this discourse is the suggestion that management researchers should align their research practices more closely with the needs of practitioners in external organizations. One important but under‐researched strand of this debate focuses on the way in which ‘relevance’ is pursued by business scholars via forms of practitioner engagement such as management consulting, corporate presentations, executive education and personal coaching. Drawing on extensive semi‐structured interviews, this paper explores the motivations, rewards and tensions experienced by leadership scholars in the process of engaging with practitioners. This study suggests that the pursuit of ‘relevance’ may come into conflict with norms of scholarly conduct, which in turn gives rise to a series of trade‐offs and compromises. Ultimately, the authors argue that the prevailing discourse of relevance provides an alibi for scholars to orient themselves towards practitioners in ways that contravene their academic identity and research ethos (whether post‐positivist, interpretivist or critical).     

European cosmopolitanism and civil society

The discussion of European cosmopolitanism and civil society has failed to take questions of culture seriously enough. While remaining sympathetic to liberal forms of cosmopolitanism, this article considers the view that such proposals fail to make space for the ‘Other’. In the context of histories of nationalist violence, masculinism and consumerism this article discusses the charge that ideas of European civilization need to be reconsidered. In the final part of the article, I discuss the view that cultural feminism and certain versions of multiculturalism have much to contribute towards the European project. However, at this point, I seek to distance myself from essentialist arguments in respect of identity. A generative European cosmopolitanism would do well to take questions of cultural domination seriously without reducing the complexity of modern identities.