Green Protectionism and Organic Food Exporting from New Zealand: Crisis Experiments in the Breakdown of Fordist Trade and Agricultural Policies

Abstract The exporting of organic produce from New Zealand is a response to the ongoing breakdown of Fordist regulatory measures for agriculture in destination markets. The unambiguous neoliberal revolution in New Zealand has survived only through the expansion of food exports, especially by large corporate entities and producer marketing boards. It has also rendered the country's exporters of food products particularly sensitive to the trade and agricultural policies of the United States, Japan, and the European Union. Some commentators consider New Zealand's experiment in agricultural deregulation indicative of a wider coherence in global food trade, a new stability institutionalized in the Uruguay Round of the GATT and regulated under the auspices of the World Trade Organization. The case of organic and low-input food exporting from New Zealand shows that no such ‘new times’ exist. Rather, these new types of food exporting are crisis experiments induced by green protectionism—the use of health and food safety issues as an impediment to trade. In turn, green protectionism is a direct result of the continuing breakdown of Fordist agricultural regulation in key nations: the global trade in food products remains in crisis.     

The Co-Evolution of Marriage and Parental Rights of Gays and Lesbians

ABSTRACT

Historically, federal and state legislation placed different conditions on same- and opposite-sex couples' ability to marry, adopt, or exercise their parental rights. Given the historical intertwining of marriage and parenting, legal issues remain hinged on differing conceptions of marriage and what constitutes a legal family in the United States, especially for same-sex partners compared to their different-sexed couple counterparts. This article provides a historical review of decisions that serve as the foundation for queer parenting rights in the United States. A key focus is on the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) marriage decision on queer parenting and its relevance to researchers and practitioners whose work involves queer families. State discrepancies continue to exist for the treatment of parental rights in spite of the legalization of same-sex marriage. Finally, suggestions are provided for future directions for the field.     

Social network characteristics associated with risky behaviors among runaway and homeless youth.

Runaway and homeless youth are at high risk for substance abuse and unsafe sexual behavior. Our study describes the personal social networks of these youth and examines network characteristics associated with risky behaviors. In 1995 and 1996, we interviewed a purposive sample of youth aged 14 through 21 who were living in Washington, DC and were identified on the streets or through shelters or other service agencies (N = 327). Although we found that most youth reported current social relationships, a significant minority (26%) did not. Youth without a social network were significantly more likely to report current illicit drug use, multiple sex partners, and survival sex than youth with a network. For youth with a network, the networks were small, strong in affective and supportive qualities, comprised primarily of friends, typically included an alcohol or illicit drug user, and usually were not a source of pressure for risky behaviors. Our results indicate that networks had risk-enhancing and risk-decreasing properties in that network characteristics were associated in both positive and negative directions with risky behaviors.     

Beliefs about Deliberation: Personal and Normative Dimensions

Democratic deliberative theory has long emphasized the importance of citizen deliberation as a form of political participation and a centrally important component of any vital democracy. Public deliberation and discourse among citizens has been less frequently investigated as a form of political participation than more standard indicators such as voting or volunteering for political organizations. This research examines the extent to which internalized beliefs about deliberation are associated with deliberation outcome measures among a national sample of high school students participating in a year-long deliberation forum, Project 540. Using a multilevel analysis, the research specifically tested the extent to which scales of personal and normative deliberation beliefs, independently and moderated by Project 540 participation, predict key deliberative outcomes (e.g., civic skills, intention to participate in civic affairs). We find that predeliberation endorsement of both personal and normative beliefs predicts increases in certain positive deliberative outcomes, and that these effects are not moderated by participation in Project 540. The implications of these findings for deliberative democracy theory and for developing effective citizen deliberation forums are discussed .     

Exploring community stress and empowerment among stakeholders and youth in an urban community

ABSTRACT

Community-level stress, such as pervasive substance abuse and violence, can yield negative health and mental heath outcomes for youth from disadvantaged communities. Community empowerment is a process whereby community members work together to increase control in their community. This qualitative inquiry analyzed in-depth interviews with adult stakeholders (n = 17) as well as focus group interviews with token youth (n = 85) to explore perceptions of community stress and empowerment in one disadvantaged locale. Each of the 102 total participants helped interrogate the research questions: What does it mean to live in a stressed community? How might youth and adults perceive themselves capable of impacting a stressed community’s quality of life? Emergent themes, which include a nod to the utility of coalition building, are explored. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are also discussed.     

The effects of backpack load carrying on dynamic balance as measured by limits of stability

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to determine if standing dynamic balance was affected by carrying a backpack. SUBJECTS: Data was obtained from 50 healthy college students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Limits of stability was assessed using the Smart Equitest Balance Master System(R). Reaction time, movement velocity, end point excursion, maximum excursion, and directional control were measured to evaluate movement, with and without a loaded backpack. DATA ANALYSIS: Reliability was established using an Intra-Class Correlation Coefficient (2,1). MANOVA was utilized to analyze the effect of the backpack. SUMMARY DATA: Movement velocity significantly decreased during backpack loaded trials (p=0.004). Directional control was significantly different with respect to direction (p=0.006). No significant difference in reaction time, maximum excursion, or end point excursion was observed with backpack loading (p=0.10-0.93). CONCLUSION: This study concludes that backpack load carrying has an effect on movement velocity and directional control.     

Intergenerational effects of parental personality and relationship traits on mate choice among gay male and lesbian offspring

Data from 33 lesbian and 54 gay male cohabiting couples were used to examine the relation between parental identification and mate selection. Theories of mate selection and parental identification are reviewed. Effects of gender and sexual orientation as they relate to parental identification and mate selection in gay male and lesbian couples also are reviewed. The results demonstrate significant associations between the similarity of perceived parental personality and relationship styling traits with those of the partner. Socio-economic status, age, and culture also were significantly associated between parents and partners. Taken together, the results demonstrate little support for any specific theory and allude to the need for further research in this area. Limitations and implications are discussed.     

Participating in a Culture of Consent May Be Associated With Lower Rape-Supportive Beliefs

With the recent national focus on rates of sexual violence, many interventions have been proposed, including those that focus on affirmative consent (e.g., “Yes Means Yes” campaign). The goal of the present study was to test whether individuals within a subculture with long-standing norms of affirmative consent—the bondage and discipline/dominance and submission/sadism and masochism (BDSM) community—report lower rape-supportive attitudes compared to individuals not from within this subculture. BDSM practitioner participants, adult participants from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk), and college student participants completed measures of hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, rape myth acceptance, victim blaming, expectation of sexual aggression, and acceptance of sexual aggression. BDSM practitioners reported significantly lower levels of benevolent sexism, rape myth acceptance, and victim blaming than did college undergraduates and adult MTurk workers. BDSM practitioners did not differ significantly from college undergraduates or adult MTurk workers on measures of hostile sexism, expectations of sexual aggression, or acceptance of sexual aggression. Limitations and implications are discussed.     

Incarcerated African American Fathers: Exploring Changes in Family Relationships and the Father Identity

This research examines data obtained from 12 incarcerated African American fathers during a six-week seminar. Participants were nonviolent offenders who enrolled in a Life Skills course that focused on the father-child relationship. Data from both individual interviews and group activities revealed key issues in these men's familial relationships. Participants focused on the affects of incarceration on their father identity, problems caused by their absence, and various issues of family conflict.