Leisure Policy in France and the Reduction of Social Inequalities

In contemporary French society, despite extensive government intervention over the past half centuv, differential access to free time and to leisure facilities, together with differences in attitudes towards participation in cultural activities, remain good indicators of the social inequalities associated with gender, age, educational training, socio-occupational status and regional origins. Thejndings from recent government-sponsored national surueys and from other smaller scale empirical research highlight some of the most salient cultural inequalities persisting in leisure behaviour in France today. The evidence suggests that gender deferences, while still acting as one of the main discriminators in leisure behaviour, are most meaningful when considered in relation to age, correlated in turn with the level of educational attainment, family circumstances and socio-occupational status. A survey of the leisure policies pursued ly successive French governments in the post-war period demonstrates how the state has intervened increasingly with the overt objective of reducing social inequalities and breaking down the traditional cultural and economic barriers affecting access to leisure.     

When “critters” act like people: Anthropomorphism in greeting cards

This paper examines anthropomorphism as a social phenomenon, using one of the most widely used modes of interpersonal communication, the birthday card, as the source of data. The sample consists of 535 birthday cards randomly selected from fourteen retail outlets in a metropolitan (SMSA) area. Each outlet represented a geographically distinct high‐traffic area varying in type of establishment (discount, drug, dime, department, grocery and card stores) and socioeonomic levels of the community. The incidence of anthropomorphism in birthday cards and differences between cards with and without anthropomorphism are presented. Cards with anthropomorphism are compared with respect to the type of animal(s) and the context within which the animal(s) is pictured. Using Goffman ‘s model of frame analysis as reference, social and cultural implications are discussed.     

The Presence of Memory-Enriched Environments for Cognitively Impaired Nursing Home Residents

Abstract

Enriched living environments that contain a wide array of personal memorabilia and memory-stimulating cues have the potential to support cognitive functioning. The purpose of this ethnographic research was to describe the care environments of older adults with cognitive impairment living in nursing homes (n?=?42), to evaluate the degree to which these environments contained memory-stimulating cues, and to understand the extent to which these environments were cognitively stimulating for older adults with dementia. Results indicated varying levels of enrichment both within and between homes, with nearly a quarter of the residents living in environments that contained no memory-enhancing stimuli.     

Evaluation of a Web-Based Malaria Risk Reduction Game for Study Abroad Students

Abstract

Objective: Compare feedback strategies in 3 versions of an educational game. Participants: Study abroad students (N = 482) participated by playing the game and completing pregame/postgame surveys January–March 2010. Methods: This study employed an experimental design. Primary outcome measures were knowledge gain, player satisfaction, and risk perception. Results: One-third had previously traveled to a malaria-risk region, and two thirds planned to do so. Baseline malaria knowledge was low. Postgame knowledge and risk perception were significantly higher than pregame, irrespective of past travel status. The group that automatically received explanatory feedback following game decisions scored higher for mean knowledge gain, without differences in player satisfaction. Conclusions: The challenges of designing a feedback strategy to support Web-based learning make these results highly relevant to health educators developing interactive multimedia interventions. The increasing number of students traveling to higher-risk destinations demands attention. Both malaria-naive and malaria-experienced students would benefit from this approach to travel health education.

[An appendix to the article is featured as an online supplement at the publisher's Web site.]     

Acknowledgement and support matter: A brief report on gender identity and sexual orientation at a large,urban university

ABSTRACT

Objective. To examine reporting trends of students identifying as LGBTQIA+ following changes made to the ACHA-NCHA-II survey about gender identity and sexual orientation.

Methods. Data were analyzed from two sources for the purpose of triangulation: the ACHA-NCHA-II 2016 survey specific to our university and an electronic audience response survey.

Participants. Primary analyses included first-year students from the ACHA-NCHA-II data (N = 158; spring 2016) and the audience response survey (N = 1,452; August 2016).

Results. Five percent of students did not identify as cis-gender and 21% did not identify as straight/heterosexual. The sexual orientation trend was confirmed by the audience response survey.

Conclusions. The percentage of students identifying as LGBTQIA+ increased nationally between the ACHA-NCHA-II 2014 and 2016 survey samples, a trend which was confirmed using an independent audience response survey. This information has implications for university programming and inclusivity efforts nationwide.     

Parent Conflict as a Mediator Between Marianismo Beliefs and Depressive Symptoms for Mexican American College Women

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine how marianismo is related to the depressive symptoms of Mexican American women with family conflict as a mediator. Participants: During January of 2010, 170 Mexican American women college students in a southern, Hispanic-serving institution were sampled. Methods: A mediation analysis was conducted to determine if parent conflict mediates the relationship between marianismo values and depressive symptoms. Results: Results from Barron and Kenny's¹ mediation analysis method, in conjunction with a Sobel² test indicated that parent conflict significantly mediated the relation between marianismo and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Findings and implications of the mediation will be discussed for the mental health and treatment of Mexican American women college students.     

Marketing Postsecondary Health Services

Abstract

This article reviews the major elements of marketing as applied to college and university health service programs. Changes in the health care industry, institutional debate about the advisability of institutionally based health centers, and the erroneous equation of promotion as marketing are reviewed. The necessity for research data to determine campus health program offerings is articulated as the most important aspect of successful marketing programs for health services. Types of segmentation for user groups are detailed, as well as the basic elements of an environmental analysis. The four fundamental aspects of health care marketing are discussed: the need to define the “core of service” for the health center; the issues associated with the access corridor to care; the task of refining communication channels; and the difficulty of measuring the effect of price on service usage rates. For marketing efforts to have a positive effect, colleges and universities must have an institutional commitment to health services. The article concludes by noting that marketing is a major management task.     

PERFORMING VIRTUAL WHITENESS: GEORGE GILDER'S TECHNO-THEOCRACY

Over the past twenty years, US conservatism has achieved a dominance by symbolically reconciling two historical strains that are, in reality, marked by contradictions: the social gospel of traditional values and the economic gospel of the free market. While this movement has often been characterized as irrational because of its emotional language, in fact, conservative activists were brilliantly rational in their deployment of a symbolic logic organized by the metaphor of Spirit. Drawing on resources already available from the history of religion in the USA, Spirit was also directly reconnected with the imperialist Spirit of Enterprise. But though its terms are drawn from nineteenth-century white supremacist hierarchies, this constellation is resolutely postmodern in its use of media and technology; as a result, whiteness is displayed so overtly that it has become all the more difficult to counter precisely because of that display. This essay will show how white masculinity has been translated into the language of the digitalized frontier by the cyberspace guru, George Gilder, who hails from an old New England family but reconnects the North to a strong Southern theocratic belief in the natural law of God and the markets. Next, the essay analyses a talk by George Will, in which white supremacy comes to be defined as meritocracy in a rebuttal to Toni Morrison. And finally, the display of whiteness will be analysed in terms of appearances on cable TV talk shows of The Blondes: the right-wing political commentators Laura Ingraham, Kellyanne Fitzpatrick, Ann Coulter and the late Barbara Olson.