Have wars and violence declined?

For over 150 years liberal optimism has dominated theories of war and violence. It has been repeatedly argued that war and violence either are declining or will shortly decline. There have been exceptions, especially in Germany and more generally in the first half of the twentieth century, but there has been a recent revival of such optimism, especially in the work of Azar Gat, John Mueller, Joshua Goldstein, and Steven Pinker who all perceive a long-term decline in war and violence through history, speeding up in the post-1945 period. Critiquing Pinker’s statistics on war fatalities, I show that the overall pattern is not a decline in war, but substantial variation between periods and places. War has not declined and current trends are slightly in the opposite direction. The conventional view is that civil wars in the global South have largely replaced inter-state wars in the North, but this is misleading since there is major involvement in most civil wars by outside powers, including those of the North. There is more support for their view that homicide has declined in the long-term, at least in the North of the world (with the United States lagging somewhat). This is reinforced by technological improvements in long-distance weaponry and the two transformations have shifted war, especially in the North, from being “ferocious” to “callous” in character. This renders war less visible and less central to Northern culture, which has the deceptive appearance of being rather pacific. Viewed from the South the view has been bleaker both in the colonial period and today. Globally war and violence are not declining, but they are being transformed.     

Drag queens' use of language and the performance of blurred gendered and racial identities

Building on Barrett (1998), this study provides a sociolinguistic analysis of the language used by Suzanne, a European-American drag queen, during her on-stage performance in the southeastern United States. Suzanne uses wigs and costumes to portray a female character on stage, but never hides the fact that she is biologically male. She is also a member of a predominantly African-American cast. Through her creative use of linguistic features such as stylemixing (i.e., the use of linguistic features shared across multiple language varieties) and expletives, Suzanne is able to perform an identity that frequently blurs gender and racial lines.     

Current trends of Internet Addiction Disorder research: a review of 2000–2008 Korean academic journal articles

This article reviewed various Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) studies in Korea. The study showed that the symptoms of IAD have been reported by many Korean scholars, but the current Korean literature shows that IAD has yet to have a universally accepted theoretical framework. Internet addictions have been studied in various disciplines, and a multimodal approach that uses a combination of interactivity between psychotherapies and other intervention skills has been suggested by various authors, but has yet to be formed. A further study is required to explore a structural map based on the interrelations between IAD risk factors and to establish its treatment modalities.     

An Analysis of Health Care Disparities and Subsequent Public Policy Initiatives

Racial and ethnic health disparities are a major clinical, public health, and societal problem in the United States. This article provides a historical analysis of the identification and progression of health disparities between Whites and minorities from 1989 to 2011. Key causes of health disparities are addressed, including the lack of culturally competent care, health insurance, and medical homes. Federal legislation that mandated federal health agencies to implement a plan to eliminate disparities is discussed.     

Using peer‐interviewing methods to explore place‐based disadvantage: dissolving the distance between suits and civilians

Collaborative and participatory research methods reflect ideals to undertake research in consultation and partnership with communities and to advance community empowerment and capacity. They offer ethical and practical approaches for conducting research addressing socioeconomic and health disparities particularly in marginalised or vulnerable communities. Peer‐interviewing is one such participatory strategy employed in studies involving hard‐to‐reach populations. However, while the value of peer‐interviewing for researchers is noted in the methodological literature, there are few discussions that critically examine the benefits and challenges of using peer‐researcher approaches, either for the interviewers themselves or the communities they represent. This study reports the findings from a qualitative study that explored the experiences of peer‐interviewers who were involved in undertaking community surveys of residents in the socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods in which they lived. We discuss the benefits and challenges that participants reported from their involvement.     

An interactive web-based method of outreach to college students at risk for suicide

OBJECTIVE AND PARTICIPANTS: From 2002 to 2005, the authors tested an interactive, Web-based method to encourage college students at risk for suicide to seek treatment. METHODS: The authors invited students at 2 universities to complete an online questionnaire that screened for depression and other suicide risk factors. Respondents received a personalized assessment and were able to communicate anonymously with a clinical counselor online. At-risk students were urged to attend in-person evaluation and treatment. RESULTS: A total of 1,162 students (8% of those invited) completed the screening questionnaire; 981 (84.4%) were designated as at high or moderate risk. Among this group, 190 (19.4%) attended an in-person evaluation session with the counselor, and 132 (13.5%) entered treatment. Students who engaged in online dialogues with the counselor were 3 times more likely than were those who did not to come for evaluation and enter treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The method has considerable promise for encouraging previously untreated, at-risk college students to get help.     

Prevalence of same‐gender sexual behavior and HIV in a probability household survey in Mexican men

The prevalence of male same‐gender sexual behavior in Mexico City in relation to HIV transmission was studied. A household probability survey of 8,068 adult men was conducted in 1992–93 using the Mexican National Health Survey sampling frame. The response rate was 59%. Differences between respondents and nonrespondents indicated no evidence for significant bias. A random subsample of 1,116 individuals provided serum or saliva for HIV testing. An estimated 2.5% of men practiced same‐gender sex in their lifetime: 2.1% (95% CI: 1.7 ‐ 2.4%) reported bisexual behavior and 0.4% (95% CI: 0.3 ‐ 0.6%) reported exclusively homosexual behavior. Among bisexuals, 70% reported sex only with women in the previous year, 7% reported sex only with men, 13% reported sex with both, and 10% were sexually inactive. A condom was used by 46% in their last homosexual encounter. An estimated 0.1% of married men were homosexually active in the previous year. The HTV prevalence estimate was 0.2% in the sample. The rate was 4% among homosexual/bisexual men and 0.09% in heterosexual men (p < 0.0001). Estimates of homosexual behavior and HTV infection from this population‐based sample are lower than results from nonprobability studies. The low prevalence of condom use anticipates future growth of the epidemic in the homosexual population. Bisexual behavior appeared to be infrequent and transitory, particularly among married men.     

Elijah the Prophet in Crime and Punishment

Post-Soviet scholarship has produced a plethora of new studies on Konstantin Pobedonostsev, focusing on his political “conservatism” and its current relevance. This scholarship, however, has marginalized two critical dimensions – the religious (so important to Pobedonostsev) and the transnational (so powerful a force because of post-1870 globalization). This study offers a critique of the new scholarship and draws on archival materials to reassess Pobedonostsev’s role as chief procurator (ober-prokuror) of the Holy Synod. Here it is argued that: (1) Pobedonostsev was not the embodiment of sterile negativism (as many claimed), but rather insisted that the change be gradual and based on Russian reality, not foreign models; (2) Pobedonostsev’s influence declined not only in the government (as is well known), but also in the Church; (3) Pobedonostsev became increasingly alienated from the “Church” and clergy, coming to identify with “simple believers”; (4) to meet their needs, Pobedonostsev laboured to build parish schools and reopen parish churches, and in the 1890s focused on religious writing; (5) at odds with the Church hierarchy, Pobedonostsev increasingly identified with the parishioners as the real repository of piety.