Perceptions of power and the management of environmental conflict: Forest politics in British Columbia

Political actors' perceptions of the contexts in which they act influence their strategies and behavior. A key element of political contexts is the configuration of power with respect to a conflict. We interviewed 28 individuals involved in British Columbia forest politics to determine their perceptions of the configuration of power, the nature of their political behavior, their dispositions with respect to institutionalized conflict resolution processes, and their policy goals. Our analysis generated two sets of conclusions. First, the B.C. government's efforts to address forest conflict will be hindered by the inconsistency between the conflict management strategy they have chosen and the mental models of politics held by key political actors. Second, the subjective realities of political actors can be used to explain variation in political behavior.     

Situational and Relational Factors Associated With Coitus During Vaginal Bleeding Among Adolescent Women

Menstruation is a normal, developmental event anchored in contradictory value systems. Although it demarcates a transition to womanhood, it is often associated with negative sentiments such as shame, camouflage, and discomfort. Certain behavioral expectations, including avoiding sexual intercourse, also accompany menstruation. Research generally has suggested that sex does decrease during menstruation. However, not all sexual activity is suppressed during menses; both individual and relationship factors provide influence. Accordingly, this study investigated situational and relational factors associated with the day-to-day likelihood of sex and vaginal bleeding among 387 (aged 14–17 at enrollment) adolescent women. Generalized estimating equation logistic regression, in SUDAAN 9.0, was used. Predictors of coitus and bleeding included recent sexual activity; past coitus/bleeding; marijuana use before intercourse; and higher partner support, higher sexual interest, and lower feelings of being in love. The findings highlight appropriate areas of focus for information, education, and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention counseling.     

Subjective sexual arousal and involvement: Development of multiple indicators

Three measures of subjective sexual arousal were observed across four erotic conditions in a sample of 241 college men and women (a) to refine two multi‐item scales of subjective sexual arousal, (b) to determine the convergent and discriminant validity of three measures of sexual arousal, and (c) to relate these operational definitions of subjective sexual arousal to the construct of subjective sexual arousal within Mosher's (1980) involvement theory. From the perspective of involvement theory, subjective sexual arousal is conceived to be an affect‐cognition blend, consisting of awareness of physiological sexual arousal, sexual affects, and affect‐cognition blends, which is transmuted into consciousness and deepens involvement by amplifying the perception of sexual stimulation, sexual cognitions, sexual behavior, physiological sexual response, and itself. Evidence of convergent validity was strong with a median validity coefficient of .51 for the three measures across the four conditions.     

Identities and Social-Psychological Well-Being among African American College Students

Abstract

This study investigates African American college students to show the impact of role, social, and personal identities on social-psychological well-being, and compares the relationship between identity processes and academic achievement for black and white college students attending a large, urban, predominantly white public university. The findings confirm that student, ethnic, and personal identities influence self-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-authenticity, but that relationships vary both in direction and strength. Turning to our comparison of black and white college students, the findings do not support claims that black students' self-esteem is less dependent than whites' on getting good grades or that black students' academic identity is less important to their self-esteem than it is for white students.     

Irish immigration and the ‘condition of England’ question: The roots of an historiographical tradition

This article argues that the study of Irish immigration in nineteenth‐century Britain has focused for too long ‐ and often uncritically ‐on what the Victorians themselves wrote about the Irish. It is argued here that historians have taken their lead from Condition of England writers, like Kay, Engels, Mayhew and A. B. Reach, with the result that our understanding of the emergence of Irish communities in Britain has been distorted in two ways. First, historians have concentrated upon ‘apartness’ and ‘settlement’ and have made little effort to assess ‘development’. Secondly, such writings have until recently focused especially on the years 1830 to 1870 to the exclusion of others. This article examines some of the key writings of contemporaries and argues that they represent the beginnings of an historiographical tradition which scholars must now look beyond.     

THE GLOBALIZATION OF A MINOR SPORT: THE DIFFUSION AND COMMODIFICATION OF MASTERS SWIMMING

ABSTRACT

We examine the global spread of Masters Swimming (MS) focusing on the economic, social, and demographic conditions associated with its initiation in the United States and its international growth. We characterize MS as a modern sport and look at its subcultural form, organizational structure, practices, and early pattern of organizational growth from bottom to top. Then we describe the top down role of La Federation Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA) in supplying legitimacy, resources, organizational coherence, and corporate sponsors to spread the sport among FINA members. By establishing mutually beneficial relations with corporate sponsors, MS rapidly commodified and diffused to countries and territories with middle to high socio-economic development.     

Men,Masculinity, and Cancer: Risk-factor Behaviors,Early Detection,and Psychosocial Adaptation

Abstract

Men and women experience cancer differently. More men than women get cancer, more men than women die from cancer, and men usually adapt less well than women after a cancer diagnosis. In this article, the author suggests that the consequences of male gender-role socialization may explain some of these differences. The focus of the article is on (a) cancer risk-factor behaviors; (b) screening, early detection, symptom recognition, and help seeking; and (c) psychosocial adaptation. Research that has identified gender differences is reviewed and the impact of male gender-role socialization is offered as a potential explanation for these differences. In addition, practice implications for college health professionals are offered.     

On-Campus Programs to Support College Students in Recovery

Abstract

The author argues that referral of alcohol-abusing college students to off-campus treatment services, although necessary for some, is not optimal for many. He advocates the implementation of comprehensive on-campus services for students committed to recovery in order to optimize their treatment while allowing them to remain in school and work towards their degree. The author suggests that such on-campus recovery services provide additional benefits to the college or university as well as to other students, and he proposes that on-campus alcohol-abusing students in recovery can serve as important opinion leaders and role models for their peers.