Sex drugs, peer connections, and HIV: Use and risk among African American, Latino, and Multiracial young men who have sex with men (YMSM) in Los Angeles and New York

African American and Latino young men who have sex with men are at high risk for HIV infection. We administered brief intercept surveys (N=416) at 18 Black and Latino gay pride events in Los Angeles and New York in 2006 and 2007. Ordinal logistic regressions were used to model the effects of substance use during sex, peer connectedness, relationship status, and homelessness on condom use. Alcohol use, crystal use, homelessness, and having a primary relationship partner were negatively associated with condom use, while peer connectedness and marijuana use during sex were positively associated with condom use. Implications for service providers and future research are discussed.     

Parallel algorithms for Markov chain Monte Carlo methods in latent spatial Gaussian models

Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) implementations of Bayesian inference for latent spatial Gaussian models are very computationally intensive, and restrictions on storage and computation time are limiting their application to large problems. Here we propose various parallel MCMC algorithms for such models. The algorithms' performance is discussed with respect to a simulation study, which demonstrates the increase in speed with which the algorithms explore the posterior distribution as a function of the number of processors. We also discuss how feasible problem size is increased by use of these algorithms.     

Measuring Love: Sexual Minority Male Youths' Ideal Romantic Characteristics

Research examining how sexual minorities characterize love within same-sex relationships is scarce. In this study, we examined the validity of Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love in a sample of sexual minority male youth (N = 447). To test the adequacy of the theory for our population, we examined the psychometric properties of the Triadic Love Scale (TLS) and tested whether the three underlying constructs of the theory (Intimacy, Passion, and Commitment) emerged when participants were asked to consider their ideal relationship with another man. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), we found support for the three-factor solution to characterize sexual minority male youths' ideal romantic relationship, after minimizing item cross-loadings and adapting the content of the Passion subscale. We discuss the implications of our findings regarding the measurement of the TLS among sexual minority male youth and propose ways to enhance its measurement in future research.     

Reworking Postfordism: Labor Process Versus Employment Relations

The Fordism/postfordism framework has been widely used, but also heavily criticized, in the social sciences. I outline the central points of debate over the use of this framework for analysis of work organization, including the range of models offered as successors to Fordism. I then suggest that, while some criticisms of the concept of postfordism have highlighted important problems and issues, the Fordist/postfordist framework can be elaborated as an analytically coherent, theoretically illuminating approach to the historical, institutional, and comparative analysis of work and employment. Although researchers appear to be using the concept of postfordism increasingly less frequently over the last decade, I argue that it provides a unifying framework within which to analyze work and employment relations in the current phase of capitalism, which is characterized by an apparent variety of new organizational forms within a broader context of increasing disconnectedness of economic institutions. Lean production has become established as the predominant postfordist labor process, widespread in manufacturing but also increasingly being implemented in services. However, this must be distinguished from a broader set of changes in employment relations.     

Role‐Playing and Playing Roles: The Person,Player, and Persona in Fantasy Role‐Playing

In fantasy role‐playing games, participants collectively create and play fantasy personas in an imaginary universe by using a vast system of rules that function as guidelines for make‐believe action and interaction. Consequently, role‐playing games obligate participants to occupy a liminal role located in the boundaries of persona, player, and person. This study, based on approximately ninety hours of participant observation and forty interviews with thirty role‐players, explores how role‐players actively negotiate these symbolic boundaries: how role‐players carve out distinct spheres of meaning between themselves, their fantasy personas, and status as players of these games. It also illustrates how these distinctions fail. Boundaries erupt and role‐players prove unable to compartmentalize themselves so discretely. Through the lens of these games, we can examine simplified and exaggerated dynamics and entertain the possibility that we are all players located at the liminal margins between the people we believe ourselves to be and the personas we perform in situated social encounters.     

Globalisation and local experience: encounters with difference in a UK school

This paper explores issues of identity, difference and globalisation in the micropolitical context of a UK school. Drawing on ethnographic data and theoretical perspectives from the sociology of education, development and globalisation, the paper takes the communication of the ‘Third World’ in the curriculum as a case study of the ways in which UK schools engage with difference. Thus, the paper goes beyond the traditional focus on ‘race’ and ethnicity, emphasising the importance of distant difference in the context of globalisation. It is suggested that whilst teachers may identify local and global factors as underpinning the need to engender critical engagements with difference, the realisation of this is complex; the communication of the ‘Third World’ in the school is characterised by contradiction, reinforcing as well as unsettling ethnocentrism. To understand this situation, we need to locate these contradictions in terms of the complex interplay of restructuring processes, policy frameworks and the micro‐politics of the school. The paper highlights the impacts of increased assessment and measurement in education alongside policy contradictions around curriculum authority. Teacher empowerment in the articulation of an appropriate curriculum is identified as a priority.     

The Organization of Factions: Interest Mobilization and the Group Theory of Politics

Theories of interest group mobilization are central to political science but current research on interest organizations has not proven useful for scholars in related fields. I argue that, by adapting organizational theory to account for the particular function of interest organizations, scholars can build a widely applied theoretical framework. The key step is an analysis of the role that organizations play in the mobilization of influence: they are intermediaries, reliant on their constituents and their lobbying targets. Reviewing research on ethnic politics and political economy, I demonstrate that this intermediary view of interest organizations encourages theoretical ideas to travel between subfields.

Aging-related research in the "-omics" age

The application of high-throughput technologies to aging-related research has the potential to dramatically enhance our understanding of how longevity is determined at a molecular level. Genome-scale studies are being carried out in every major model system used for aging-related research, and new technologies are being developed to rapidly identify mutations or small-molecules that increase life span. A meta-analysis of data derived from genome-wide studies of aging in simple eukaryotes will allow the identification of conserved determinants of longevity that can be tested in mammals.     

Agricultural change and restructuring: recent evidence from a survey of agricultural households in England

Despite widespread speculation about the likely future extent of agricultural restructuring in the UK, researchers and policymakers are surprisingly ignorant of the nature and extent of farm household adjustment in the period since the mid 1990s. Meanwhile, claims that agriculture is in crisis and on the threshold of radical structural change continue to receive widespread media attention. Critics point out that because European policy debates are constructed in ways which emphasise the vulnerability of farmers and their businesses, there is a lack of attention to the true status and economic sustainability of agricultural households themselves. This paper reports results from a recent survey of agricultural business restructuring within six English study areas selected to span a range of agricultural settings and designed to identify the different trajectories of change to be found there. It concludes that while there is some evidence of disengagement from mainstream agriculture and an increasingly diverse set of relationships between the occupation and management of land, commitment to remaining in agriculture remains strong amongst farming families. A substantial proportion of agricultural and agri-environmental assets seem likely to remain in the same hands for the foreseeable future.     

Population and land use change in the California Mojave: Natural habitat implications of alternative futures

Demographic and land use dynamics have important implications for the natural environment within both developed and developing nations. Within the context of developed nations, popular and policy debates surrounding contemporary patterns of suburbanization attest to the salience of demographic and development issues. We examine the implications of land-use patterns as related to population and development within the context of the California Mojave Desert ecosystem. In a general sense, we aim to better understand the land requirements inferred by varying levels of population growth and density, as well as the natural habitat implications of those requirements. We develop a GIS including remotely sensed imagery, and demographic, economic, and biophysical data to examine of the implications of various demographic scenarios on species diversity. Spatial and statistical models are designed to develop possible alternative land use `futures'. Within the context of the California Mojave region, our results suggest that high-density development could reduce conflict with regions providing potential habitat for threatened or endangered species by over 80 percent. The process of model development demonstrates a potentially useful tool for policymakers, allowing for estimation and visualization of the land use implications of policy decisions.