Color codification: law,culture and the hue of communication

This paper explores the intersection between color, culture and the legal domain; it reveals how recent, and disturbing, developments in trademark law have allowed for corporate ownership of the powerful communicative media of color and discusses the implications of this (colorful) codification. Mapping the communication of color within our contemporary legal, political and social environment, the paper addresses how color's vibrant significatory power is hemmed in by law, by (legal) language and by corporations. Law, it is argued, stands as one of the primary and most powerful practical “tools” used to shape, standardize and contain contemporary communication – and currently laws governing trademark function to recode and constrain the presumably boundless media of color. This is troubling, since our colorful environment becomes simplified when the array of meanings attributed to a particular hue are narrowed and then granted legitimacy by the courts.     

Impact of interaction with a partner or friend on the exposure effects of pornography and erotica

Past studies on the effects of sexually explicit materials on women have tended to study them alone, in pairs, or in groups of strangers. By contrast, our study randomly assigned women to bring either a same-sex friend or a male partner to reflect more natural viewing conditions. Discussion between the participant and her companion followed exposure to the sexual images. Women who viewed pornography maintained their (quite high) level of negative mood, whereas women who viewed erotica experienced a substantial improvement in mood. The sex of the companion did not have a direct influence on participants' mood, with discussion improving mood across the board. However, participants' ratings of their satisfaction with the discussion were significantly influenced by the sex of their companion. We suggest that future research should focus more on the interpersonal aspects of male-female relationships when exploring the effects of sexually explicit materials on heterosexual women.     

Narrowing the gap: the educational achievements of the Malay community in Singapore

This paper discusses the educational gap between the Malay community and other ethnic communities in Singapore. Using official statistics from 1980 to 2004, the paper compares the educational achievements of the Malay community with other ethnic communities in Singapore. The paper points out that, while the Malay students have made significant improvements in their educational achievements over the years, they are still lagging behind the other ethnic communities in Singapore. Three key educational challenges faced by the Malay community and the responses to these challenges are discussed in this paper. The paper recommends that a framework should be introduced to the Malay students in Singapore to integrate secular and religious subjects within an Islamic conception of knowledge.     

White-collar workers in the labour process: the case of the Federal Republic of Germany

This paper examines the impact of new technology on the labour process and labour market position of clerical and administrative workers in The Federal Republic of Germany. Data are drawn from several recent major case studies of such workers by German research teams. The paper's contributions to the ‘Labour Process’ debate are twofold. Firstly, it examines the position of white-collar workers to show that, contrary to Braverman, their work situation differs crucially in several respects from that of manual workers, despite some convergence in recent decades. Secondly, it shows that variations in the organization of the labour process between capitalist societies are much wider than is commonly recognized. The paper argues that historically evolved social structural and cultural features shape the position of German white-collar workers in the labour process and distinguish it in several respects from that of comparable groups in Anglo-Saxon countries.     

Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services: How Consumer Access Is Restricted by State Policies

State Medicaid programs have expanded home and community-based services (HCBS). This article compares trends and variations in state policies for Medicaid HCBS programs in 2005 and 2010. State limitations on financial eligibility criteria and service benefits have remained stable. Although the use of consumer direction, independent providers, and family care providers has increased, some states do not have these options. The increased adoption of state cost control policies have led to large increases in persons on waiver wait lists. Access could be improved by standardizing and liberalizing state HCBS policies, but state fiscal concerns are barriers to rebalancing between HCBS and institutional services.     

Lyme Disease: A Case Report

Abstract

Using a needs-assessment technique called story-boarding to determine characteristics of health promotion and wellness among university students is discussed. Storyboarding allows students to work together as they generate ideas and eliminates the territorial defensiveness that often occurs when new ideas are suggested. Sixteen graduate students in a health education teaching methods course demonstrated the use of the technique to identify characteristics of wellness for university students. In addition, they identified content areas and outlined key programs, services, personal habits, and skills useful for enhancing university students' wellness.     

A Two-Dimensional Person-Environment Fit Analysis of the Performance, Effort and Satisfaction of Research Scientists

SUMMARY This study questions traditional assumptions in the person-environment fit models. Previous research has regarded any kind of fit as positive and any kind of misfit as negative. In the present study, this thinking is refined. It is proposed that consideration of the nature of the fit or misfit matters and that different dependent variables, including performance, may be affected differently. The proposal is tested with a sample of 212 research scientists. The findings demonstrate modest support for the differing effects of type of fit on the dependent variables.