Protecting the leaders—syndromic surveillance for the G8 summit in Scotland

The G8 summit was held at the Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland, from July 6th to 8th, 2005. Leaders of the eight largest economies, and their entourages, assembled to discuss economic and political issues and the state of the world, including terrorism. Previous G8 summits had sparked off waves of protests and violence. Consequently, a huge security exercise took place in central Scotland for the 2005 summit. With Bush, Putin, Blair and a clutch of other premiers on hand, their safety had to be protected—as did their health, and that of those around them. Chris Robertson was charged with that task.     

Editorial

Publication of these conference papers on the theme of communitydevelopment in the ‘new’ Europe comes at a particularlysignificant moment as the people of different ‘old’European nation states     

Self‐Awareness in Human and Chimpanzee Infants: What Is Measured and What Is Meant by the Mark and Mirror Test?

The objective study of self‐recognition, with a mirror and a mark applied to the face, was conducted independently by Gallup (1970) for use with chimpanzees and monkeys, and by Amsterdam (1972) for use with infant humans. Comparative psychologists have followed the model (and assumptions) set by Gallup, whereas developmental psychologists have followed a different model (e.g., Lewis & Brooks‐Gunn, 1979). This article explores the assumptions in the definitions and methods of self‐recognition assessments in the 30 years since these initial studies, and charts the divergence between the developmental mark test and the comparative mark test. Two new studies, 1 with infant chimpanzees and 1 with infant humans, illustrate a reconciliation of the 2 approaches. Overt application of the mark, or other procedures related to how the mark is discovered, did not enhance mirror self‐recognition. In contrast, maternal scaffolding appears to enhance performance, perhaps by eliciting well‐rehearsed verbal responses (i.e., naming self). When comparable testing procedures and assessment criteria are used, chimpanzee and human infants perform comparably. A combined developmental comparative approach allows us to suggest that mirror self‐recognition may be based on a specific aspect of mental representation, the cognitive ability to symbolize.     

Addiction,Power and Gender

This paper examines addictive behaviour in relation to power and gender and introduces the notion of ‘addiction as a disordered power arrangement embedded in gender’ (Bepko, 1989). The notion of power in terms of relationship positions and their impact on addictions is discussed. The popular concepts of powerlessness and co-dependency are examined in terms of their clinical usefulness and compatibility within this framework.     

Multiple forms of violence and other criminal activities as an indicator of severe child maltreatment

Child protection practice still appears to view child maltreatment as an event largely isolated from other family violence and criminal activities. Research undertaken by the authors suggests that children who have been subjected to the more severe forms of abuse are likely to have come from families who engage in several forms of criminal activity, inside and outside the family, which is often severe in nature. The child who has been maltreated may also become a participant in these activities. The authors recommend that these factors should be investigated in families who have maltreated a child, as the presence or absence of several forms of concurrent violence and other criminal activity may provide an important clue about the welfare of the child. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The sociological construction of gender and sexuality

This essay considers how we might come to understand social constructionism sociologically. It examines a number of related approaches to gender and sexuality that speak to sociological concerns and might be termed social constructionist: historicism, symbolic interactionism, ethnomethodology and materialist feminism. By recognising that social constructionism is multifarious rather than unified, we find that each social constructionist approach offers particular strengths for analysing the complexities of gender and sexuality. Through closely analysing these approaches and some of the criticisms of them we can reassert sociology's specific contribution, and embrace social constructionist analyses which address the multilayered characteristics of the social in general and gender and sexuality in particular.     

Cosmopolitanism and Europe

Cosmopolitan perspectives on contemporary social and political issues have made inroads into EU studies, despite official EU discourse making no reference to Europeans as cosmopolitans. There are three main dimensions to the cosmopolitanization of the EU studies agenda: (i) a rethinking of transnationalism and globalization in relation to the EU; (ii) an increasing interest in the social dimensions of Europeanization; and (iii) a growing multi-disciplinarity in the study of contemporary Europe. There are several reasons for the increased interest in cosmopolitanism: a growing disenchantment with nationalism; recognition of the importance of global civil society; the ‘cosmopolitan democracy’ thesis advanced by Archibugi and Held; and the growing importance of human rights as a benchmark for democracy. Cosmopolitanism encourages a shift from a concern with the role of the nation-state in Europe to a broader sense of its role in the world, and relativizes Europe and the EU by placing them in a global context.