THE SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY OF GENDER-SWITCHING IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS ON THE INTERNET

The virtual social worlds of the internet give people unparalleled control over the construction and presentation of their identities. Gender-switching is perhaps the most dramatic example of how people exercise this control. It occurs when people present a gender that is different from their biological sex. While gender-switching figures prominently in academic commentaries and popular writings about on-line social life, there is little systematic research on the phenomenon. On-line surveys of two stratified random samples (N's=233 and 202) of MOO users were conducted. The majority of participants (60 per cent) in social MOOs (popular text-based internet social venues) had never engaged in gender-switching, while the majority in role-playing MOOs were either gender-switching currently (40 per cent) or had done so in the past (16.7 per cent). More than half of those who currently gender-switched did so for less than 10 per cent of their time on-line. In spite of the freedom to use indeterminate or even plural gender identities, most participants who switched genders (78.7 per cent) did so within traditional binary conventions (male to female, female to male). The primary reason for gender-switching was the desire to play roles of people different from one's self. The primary barrier to gender-switching was the belief that it is dishonest and manipulative. Attitudes toward gender-switching and on-line participation were better predictors of gender-switching than personal background demographics or personality measures. The images of gender-switching that emerge from this first systematic study of the phenomenon are considerably more benign than that usually portrayed in the literature. Gender-switching appears to be practised by a minority of MOO users for a small percentage of their time on-line. Gender-switching within MOOs of all kinds might best be understood as an experimental behaviour rather than as an enduring expression of sexuality, personality, or gender politics.     

A cognitive-behavioral plus exercise intervention for older adults with chronic back pain: race/ethnicity effect?

This pilot study examined the feasibility and potential efficacy of a self-management program for seniors with chronic back pain and assessed for possible race/ethnicity differences in program impact. Sixty-nine seniors (24 African Americans, 25 Hispanics, and 20 non-Hispanic Whites) enrolled in the 8-wk community-based program. Efficacy outcomes included pain-related disability as measured by the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), pain intensity, pain self-efficacy, depressive symptoms, social activity, and functional status. Eighty percent of enrollees completed the program. Clinically important decreases in RMDQ scores were found for non-Hispanic White (adjusted change score = -3.53), African American (-3.89), and Hispanic (-8.45) participants. Improvements in all other outcomes were observed, but only for Hispanic participants. Results confirm that implementation of the protocol in urban senior centers is feasible, and the program shows potential efficacy. The race/ethnicity differences observed in the current study merit further investigation.     

Work, income, the economy, and married fathers as child-care providers

Previous research on fathers as child-care providers indicates a need to study the father’s role in child care in the context of different economic cycles. Using data from the 1988, 1991, and 1993 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we examine whether father’ availability and the couple’s economic resources are differentially related to child care by fathers over time. We focus on the differences between 1991—a recession year—and 1988 and 1993—two nonrecession years. Increased availability of fathers is significantly related to higher levels of fathers’ participation in child care in all three years. Relative economic resources between husbands and wives help explain care by fathers only during the recession year, whereas family income is important only in the nonrecession years. These results suggest that in the future, researchers should acknowledge fluctuations in the economy when studying husbands’ participation in traditional female tasks, as macroeconomic shifts appear to impact the likelihood of married fathers caring for their preschoolers during mothers’ working hours.     

On Moralism and Ethics: Associations to Henry Abelove’s “Freud,Male Homosexuality,and the Americans”

Henry Abelove (1986) writes that Freud was troubled by what he saw as moralistic leanings pervading the theory and practice of early American psychoanalysis. Drawing on Erikson’s (1976) distinction between moralism and ethics, my associations to Abelove’s still very timely paper explore the psychological “deals” we all tend to make between moralism and ethics. I begin with Freud’s less than progressive views of female homosexuality. I then focus on the way that what I have called normative unconscious processes enter contemporary theory and practice. I draw attention to a continued presence in our theories of a straight/gay binary (which, according to Abelove, Freud contested), and I give an example of the effects of an unconscious adherence to neoliberal cultural norms. I conclude with the suggestion that, although fraught, it is nonetheless crucial to think about what is “the good.”     

Minimizing Vulnerability: Selective Interdependencies After Welfare Reform

The issue of dependency permeates the American welfare discourse. Although most of the 50 low-income women we interviewed in our research echoed the distain of dependency found in the broader welfare discourse, they overwhelmingly described actively cultivating some forms of interdependence. For example, many of the women used state childcare vouchers to channel resources into their family networks while simultaneously adhering to an ethic of family care for children. They found this reliance on state resources and family to be desirable—and in fact a sign of “independence”—because it enhanced the economic security of their families while preserving the physical and emotional safety of their children. In contrast, the women tended to view reliance on men as undesirable—a form of “dependence”—because it did not enhance their perceptions of security. Thus while the women talked about becoming independent, in fact they cultivated selective interdependencies to minimize their economic, emotional and physical vulnerability. Independence for our respondents was not a lack of reliance on others but rather the ability to provide safety and security for themselves and their children. Our analysis may sheds some light on why welfare reform efforts aimed at increasing marriage rates have been less successful than those aimed at increasing employment rates.     

Innovation policy configuration – a comparative study of Russia and China

This paper presents a study of innovation policy configurations in two BRICS countries, Russia and China; the fastest growing and most innovative countries in recent years. Employing a three-dimensional framework which maps policy objectives, policy instruments and policy implementation, the research analyzes a database of 485 policy items issued between 1990 and 2013. Twenty-five innovation policy variables have been scrutinized vis-à-vis the three policy dimensions. The paper compares the experiences of Russia with China, across these three policy dimension areas, revealing the similarities and differences in innovation policy configurations. The research identifies how innovation management in both Russia and China has been shaped by contrasting histories, state institutions and economies. The paper offers an alternative perspective to the debate on the effective management of innovation, a debate currently dominated by the experiences of the USA, Japan and Western Europe.     

The Immigration Dilemma: The Role of Perceived Group Competition, Ethnic Prejudice, and National Identity

In this article, we discuss the role of perceived competition for resources in determining negative attitudes toward immigrants and immigration in North America. We first provide background information on immigration policies and levels of immigration to Canada and the United States. Following an overview of our theoretical perspective, we then describe the research we have conducted in Canada and the United States indicating that perceived zero-sum competition between groups, whether situationally induced or a function of chronic belief in zero-sum relations among groups, is strongly implicated in negative immigration attitudes. In addition, we describe our recent attempts to improve attitudes toward immigrants and immigration through the targeting of zero-sum beliefs and through manipulations of the inclusiveness of national identity.