Stress,Depression and Tiredness among Women: The Social Production and Social Construction of Health*

Cet article traite essentiellement de la production sociale du stress, de la dépression et de la fatigue chez les femmes. Ces problèmes font partie de ceux qui ont été le plus fréquemment évoqués à l'occasion d'une enquête effectuée sur un échantillon aléatoire de 356 femmes canadiennes. Nous avons utilisé les procédures de régression linéaire multiple pour explorer comment ces problèmes de santé sont liés à certains aspects des conditions de vie sociale et matérielle de ces femmes. Certaines de nos conclusions viennent contredire les modéles traditionnels invoqués pour décrire les problemes de santé. En nous appuyant sur les définitions que les femmes ont données, nous croyons avoir décelé un discours sur la santé propre à la classe moyenne. En conclusion, nous soutenons que les études sur la production sociale des maladies devraient aussi explorer la construction sociale des definitions de la santé et de la maladie. This paper focusses on the social production of stress, depression and tiredness among women. These problems were among the most frequently reported by a random sample of 356 Canadian women. The authors use multiple linear regression procedures to explore the links between these health problems and aspects of the social and material conditions of women's lives. Some of the findings contradict the usual patterning of health problems. The authors suggest that by relying on women's own definitions they may have captured a middle-class discourse of health. In conclusion, it is argued that studies of the social production of illness should also explore the ways in which definitions of health and illness are socially constructed.     

Development of an Indigenous Inventory GMAB (Gambling Motives,Attitudes and Behaviors) for Chinese Gamblers: An Exploratory Study

Scale development in the extant gambling literature has been dominated by pathological gamblers, but the non- or sub-clinical gamblers have been overlooked. Moreover, most scales are predominantly based on Western samples; only a few of the scales have Chinese versions validated with Chinese samples. A rarely explored niche still exists for the development of an indigenous scale for Chinese gamblers. The current exploratory study made the first step towards such a direction by identifying factors through the construction of an indigenous Gambling Motives, Attitudes and Behavior (GMAB) scale for Chinese gamblers. Preliminary items were generated primarily from focus group discussions. The items were administered through a telephone survey in which 791 randomly sampled gamblers participated. Exploratory factor analyses revealed (a) five dimensions of gambling motives, namely, self-worth, monetary gains, sensation seeking, boredom alleviation, and learning; (b) four dimensions of gambling attitudes, namely, luck and fate, attitudes toward negative consequences in gambling, techniques, and superstition; and (c) six dimensions of behavior, namely, impaired control in gambling, gambling involvement, arousal reaction, superstitious behavior, controlled gambling and casino exploration. Implications of the interplay among these factors and future research directions were discussed.     

中国“三资”企业中的文化冲突与文化创新

自1980年以来,进入中国的外国投资越来越多,1995 年全国吸引外资总额375亿美元,2002 年为 527 亿美元。1外资投资于中国的动因主要是大陆低廉的劳动力成本和庞大的国内市场。早期的投资以前一种动因为主,由于供销市场都在海外,早期的“三资”2企业像“孤岛”一样与本地社会联系不大。随着中国经济持续多年的高速增长和进一步开放的政策的实施,国内市场成为吸引外资的主要动力。以立足中国为发展目标、国内采购和销售比例越来越大的外资企业必定与本地社会发展建立起更为密切的关系。随着“三资”企业本地化,发生在这些企业当中的中国员工与…     

Racializing the "Social Development" State: Investing in Children in Aotearoa/New Zealand

This paper focuses on the claim that the child is emerging asa key figure of social governance. International studies suggestthat as liberal welfare states increasingly draw on social investmentdiscourse, the child—particularly the child-as-worker-in-becoming—hasemerged as an iconic figure. This has resulted in the childbecoming the central subject of social policies and programsand the focus of new spending priorities. In Aotearoa/New Zealand,however, the figure of the child is much less prominent thanelsewhere. Moreover, in the policies and programs of the NewZealand "social development" state, the child is often racializedby virtue of its location within specific family groupings andgeographical communities. In turn, this has implications forthe positioning of women. As we show, the child/mother who standsto benefit from the "investments" of social development in Aotearoa/NewZealand is actually more likely to be a Pkeh child/mother, whereasthe child/mother requiring continued programmatic interventionis more likely to be Mori or Pacific. This finding points tothe need for feminist scholars to examine further the complexinterpenetration of gender and race/ethnicity in the shapingof contemporary socio-political landscapes.     

Managing money, managing coupledom: a critical examination of cohabitants' money management practices

This article focuses on the use of independent money management by a small number of cohabitants living in New Zealand. This style of money management seems to be popular with cohabitants and is likely to become increasingly significant as the number of couples who cohabit continues to grow in Western countries such as New Zealand. Yet it has received sparse attention within the literature on domestic monies. This literature has noted that money management practices operate either to diminish or to exacerbate inequalities between women and men, most noticeably in the realm of decision‐making and personal spending money. Independent money management is pursued in order to achieve equality and autonomy, thereby overcoming some of the difficulties identified in other forms of money management. However, it is argued that equality and autonomy exist in tension with each other. In certain relational settings, adherence to the goal of autonomy leads to the emergence of inequalities and the continued exercise of power within heterosexual relationships.     

The effect of fragmentation on the threatened plant community Coastal Moonah Woodland in Victoria,Australia

Coastal vegetation is under increasing pressure with the expansion of urban developments, tourism, population and changing climates. This study sought to examine the effects of fragmentation on the threatened plant community, Coastal Moonah Woodland, in southern Victoria, Australia. We examined the effects on community composition of surrounding land use (urban, rural, native vegetation), remnant size and environmental attributes at three spatial scales. At larger scales, geographic and environmental attributes, such as annual rainfall and temperature, were important drivers of community composition. At finer scales, remnant size, disturbance, weed invasion, connectivity, and immediate surrounding land use impacted more on community composition. At these scales, increasing native vegetation cover in the landscape, remnant connectivity and size positively influenced community composition. If coastal development continues at the current rate, all but a few remnants of this community will be surrounded by the urban landscape. Thus, planning for the integration of these remnants in the urban landscape through long-term management plans and community involvement is essential for the survival of these remnants.     

‘Your Mind is the Battlefield’: South African Trainee Health Workers Engage with the Past

A key problematic in any post‐conflict society is how to account for the injustices of the past, while at the same time making a space for the development of a shared future. In South Africa, there is an increasing demand for health and social service workers, who are required to address the impact of an unjust past upon individuals and communities. Educators of health and social service workers are thus faced with the complexities of finding pedagogical practices that would allow students to recognize these past injustices and their impact on present problems. This article looks at data taken from a teaching project across two South African universities, where students from three professions engaged in online discussions about their personal, social and future professional identities. During some of these discussions, students spontaneously entered into disagreements about the relevance or irrelevance of the past in modern‐day South Africa. The data indicates considerable reluctance on the part of some students to talk about the past and its relevance to the present. The authors suggest that while talking about the past is both difficult and potentially painful for students, it is nevertheless the responsibility of educators to facilitate such discussions among trainee professionals.     

Not more learning logs! A research based perspective on teaching reflective learning within HR professional education

The challenges of teaching reflective learning, whilst not peculiar to the HR profession, assume a poignancy given HR's claim to be the natural custodians of ‘all things learning’. The paper discusses the impact of attempts to enhance the reflective learning curriculum within one professional HR programme. Tensions in terms of the positioning of reflective learning within a predominantly functionalist management curriculum can, in part, be ameliorated. Developing a capability amongst students for reflective dialogue and careful construction of assessment work, for example, can enhance engagement with reflective learning rather than simply ‘knowing’ about it. More problematic is impact beyond the classroom. Research revealed ambivalence in respect of transfer and significance beyond the specifics of the professional programme. HR graduates need a capability that extends beyond individual reflective learning and into creating and supporting reflective learning in organizations. Herein lies the distinctive and fundamental challenge facing tutors of reflective learning within HR professional education.