THE GIFT OF SPIT (AND THE OBLIGATION TO RETURN IT)

People can now send a sample of their saliva to an internet-based company in order to discover genetic information about themselves. Entering this ‘direct-to-consumer’ genetic testing (DTC GT) marketplace can result in enticement to engage in various forms of ‘participatory’ practices, such as taking part in genetic research. In this article, we analyse the research activities of one of the largest and best-known DTC GT companies, 23andMe. 23andMe research is based on what they term ‘participant-led’ research methodologies, which utilize a combination of consumers’ genetic information and self-reported data in the form of completed online surveys. Our analysis shows that 23andMe presents research participation as a form of gift exchange, implying some kind of social bond. Social ties between the consumer-participant and 23andMe are integral to the company's ‘novel’ research agenda which relies on the ongoing aggregation of data from a loyal re-contactable cohort. We argue that the notion of gift exchange is used to draw attention away from the free, clinical labour which drives the profitability of 23andMe. We offer an account of a particular form of online research participation which differs from other kinds of participatory medical research. As medical research becomes increasingly driven by large data sets and internet-based research methods, we offer a timely analysis of emerging participatory practices.     

Personal Problems and Women's Issues

Teen television drama series are centrally concerned with issues of sexuality as teenage characters gradually mature. Their sexual maturation is key in marking their transition from childhood to adulthood and the genre often emphasises significant moments in this development, such as first kisses, dates and/or sexual experiences. Within the genre's sexual culture, representations of sexual violence are common, yet have remained widely neglected by both teen and feminist television criticism. This article addresses this neglect by examining the kinds of stories about sexual violence that emerge in this genre. I argue that a fuller understanding of these narratives is offered by situating them in relation to series’ and generic frameworks more broadly, rather than analysing them in isolation. Specifically, I will explore episodic sexual violence narratives in US programmes between 1990 and 2008, outlining developments in these representations over time. The article begins by mapping where these episodes occur within broader series’ structures. This provides the context for a deeper analysis of how sexual violence functions both narratively and ideologically across these programmes.     

Endless Interrogation

This paper takes a revisionist look at the first episode of Prime Suspect (1991–2006)—hereafter known as Prime Suspect (1)— in what was to become a cycle of dramas, conceptualised, and in the first instance, written by Lynda La Plante, based upon the female Detective Chief Inspector character, Jane Tennison. Critical attention has hitherto tended to shift away from Brunsdon's (2000) ground-breaking work on Prime Suspect (1)'s “equal opportunities discourse” toward critiques which emphasise its noir, hardboiled and literary, traditions. The paper thus seeks to rehabilitate Prime Suspect (1)'s televisual—rather than derived—lineage, in an adapted form of dramatised documentary practice. By using insights drawn from Kristevan psychoanalytic analysis I undertake an analysis of the programme in order to demonstrate how the masculine police series drama genre may be not only intervened, but is ultimately deconstructed by, the abject female body.     

Reconstructing the future: Du Bois,racial pedagogy and the post-civil rights era

This essay addresses the legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois, as both scholar and activist, at a time when the university's civic mission is imperiled by corporatisation and racial backlash, access to its resources are increasingly predicated on whiteness and wealth, and the greater public good is financially and spiritually starved with every advance of American empire abroad. Focusing on Black Reconstruction, it elaborates in particular on the pedagogical implications of Du Bois's reading of the post-Reconstruction era for progressives caught in the contradictions of the current post-Civil Rights era. Drawing on Du Bois's insistence that education (both formal and informal) is central to the functioning of a nonrepressive and inclusive polity, the essay reflects on the current crisis of black educational access to quality schooling at all levels, as well as the relentless attacks on more public sites of pedagogy, within the context of neoliberal social and economic policies as well as the racist backlash against the civil rights gains of the 1960s. It addresses the degree to which engaged dialogue about the history and politics of racialised exclusion in the US and globally in the university have been derailed by the dictates of a particularly limp version of liberal multiculturalism and its allegiance to the privatised discourses of identity and difference. In so doing, it explores the role that educators might play in linking rigorous scholarship and critical pedagogy to progressive struggles for securing the very conditions for racial justice and political democracy.     

Education and national identity in a comparative context

A missing link in the voluminous chain of prior studies on Canadian versus American identity is a comparative analysis of the impact of social studies – especially civics – education on the construction of national identity in these two North American nation-states. This article analyzes curricular documents and secondary-level school textbooks to learn more about how social studies education contributes to constructing a sense of ‘being a Canadian’ versus ‘being an American’ north and south of the 49th parallel.     

A Comparative Evaluation of Error and Bias in Census Tract-Level Age/Sex-Specific Population Estimates: Component I (Net-Migration) vs Component III (Hamilton–Perry)

While the housing-unit method continues to be the preferred method nationwide for producing small-area population estimates, this procedures lacks a method for making age/sex-specific estimates. This paper reports evaluation research on implementation of component-based methods for estimating census tract populations with age/sex detail. Two alternatives are explored: (1) the Component I method relying upon estimates of births, deaths, and net-migration and (2) the Component III method relying solely upon 1990 and 2000 Census counts. From an April 1, 2000 base, each method is used to make estimates moving forward to an April 1, 2010 estimate that is compared to the results of the 2010 Census. The two methods are compared in terms of accuracy and bias using both absolute and algebraic mean and median percentage errors. Results are reviewed and discussed in light of their implications for applied demographers tasked with making small-area demographic estimates.     

The Influence of the Built Environment and Other Factors on the Physical Activity of Older Women from Different Ethnic Communities

ABSTRACT

Inactivity has been identified as a major contributor to the burden of disease in older women. Study aims were: (a) to assess the personal, social, and environmental facilitators and impediments to physical activity in older women from ethnic communities; and (b) to determine the factors associated with physical activity participation. Older women (aged 60–84 years) were recruited from the local Italian (n = 20), Vietnamese (n = 26) and Anglo-Celtic (n = 26) communities. A survey questionnaire was administered in the participants' preferred language. The most common barriers were: “I am not in good health,” “I am self-conscious about my looks,” “I am too tired,” “I don't have time,” and “The weather is bad.” When comparing the ethnic groups, the Vietnamese women reported fewer barriers than the Italian women (2.6 vs. 5.9). While the Vietnamese women were much more likely to report being “self-conscious about my looks,” the Italian women more commonly reported poor health, being too tired, and not liking exercise as barriers. Overall, those living alone were more likely to be active and those who reported fear of injury, less active. Recognizing ethnospecific differences in the prevalence of barriers may be important when devising strategies to increase activity levels of older women.     

Dealing with Complexity in Research Processes and Findings: How Do Older Women Negotiate and Challenge Images of Aging?

The Representing Self—Representing Ageing initiative has been funded by the ESRC as part of the New Dynamics of Ageing cross-council research program. It has consisted of four projects with older women using visual research methods and participatory approaches to enable women to articulate their experiences of aging and to create alternative images of aging. Complex research processes were utilized. Innovative methods included the use of art elicitation, photo diaries, film booths, and phototherapy.     

Effects of Fathers on Adolescent Daughters’ Frequency of Substance Use and Risky Sexual Behavior

This research: (1) implements a genetically informed design to examine the effects of fathers’ presence–absence and quality of behavior during childhood/adolescence on daughters’ frequency of substance use during adolescence; and (2) tests substance use frequency as mediating the relation between paternal behavior and daughters’ sexual risk taking. Participants were 223 sister dyads from divorced/separated biological families. Sisters’ developmental exposure to socially deviant paternal behavior predicted their frequency of tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis (TAC) use. Older sisters who co‐resided with fathers who were more (vs. less) socially deviant reported more frequent TAC use during adolescence. More frequent TAC use predicted more risky sexual behavior for these daughters. No effects were found for younger sisters, who spent less time living with their fathers.