Transnational households and ritual: an overview

In this article we introduce five papers, all by social anthropologists, all concerned with transnational households and ritual. Despite wide–ranging research on transnational migration and diasporas, many aspects have been accorded less consideration than they deserve. The transnational practices of migrant families, other than remittances and other economic activity, remain under–investigated. Some thought has been given to the transnational dimension of religious belief systems, notably Islam, but the micro–politics of religion has been largely ignored, and there has been little discussion of transnational religious practices (rituals) at the level of households and families, especially those performed by migrants back in their countries of origin. Household–level analyses of the performances of and meanings attributed to life–crisis rituals and consideration of what Salih has called the ‘transnational division of ritual space’ offer a valuable route to understanding relations between place, culture, ethnicity and gender among migrants in a transnational world, and illuminate contemporary processes of globalization.     

Conceptual dimensions of crowding reconsidered

A recent and noteworthy facet of crowding research has been the exploration of the perception of high density/crowding experiences. A review of the methods and results of these investigations reveals considerable variation across studies on the dimensions of stimulus domain and selection, attention to intersubject differences, and approaches to interpreting results. The outputs of these studies do not appear as clearcut as has been suggested. It is hoped that the raising of these issues will result in more careful and fruitful research in this area. The links between conceptual crowding, situational variables, intrapersonal variables, and behavioral responses to high density/crowding are discussed.     

Specifics in a Positive Approach to Peace

An approach to peace is called "positive" here if, in addition to appearing as a realistic means toward peace, it is inherently attractive and morally unobjectionable. Positive approaches include drastic reduction of nuclear weapons (bilateral if possible, but unilateral if necessary), total elimination of first-strike nuclear weapons, a wholehearted no-first-use policy in actions as well as in words, humanization of our own diabolical image of the U.S.S.R., cultivation of realistic empathy and global consciousness, drastic reduction of fear appeals by the peace movement, and cultivation of realistic hope. However, some "negative" actions are also well worth considering as paths to peace: retention of approximately 5% of our present nuclear strength, retention of "adequate" conventional strength, realistic criticism of the U.S.S.R., occasional use of fear appeals, and guarding against unrealistic hope. As a model of positive reasoning and a source of useful references, an imaginary dialogue is presented in which a peace activist answers, in a factual and two-sided way, a number of highly skeptical hawkish questions. Learning to answer such questions effectively may add to both immediate effectiveness and long-term hope within the peace movement.     

Meeting the Needs of the Social Care and Health Care Workforce: Can a Duck Sleep with a Hippopotamus?

In a period when recruitment and retention are crucial issues in health and social care the focus of this paper is:

? Who are the workforce of health and social care?

? What are the needs of that workforce?

? How safe is it for the much smaller partner, social care, to work together with the much larger health care?

The latter point heads us back to the sub‐title of the paper: can a duck sleep with a hippopotamus?

This question comes from an advert used in the UK for a bed manufacturer, where our British sensitivities and fear of sex prevents us from showing a man and a woman in a double bed, what the Spanish charmingly call a ‘cama de matrimonio’, a marriage bed, and instead we show a hippopotamus and a duck sleeping, safely, in the same bed.

To follow this analogy, we have to show:

? that health and social care are in the same bed;

? that one is as large as a hippopotamus, and the other as small as a duck;

? what the dangers are of this;

and ask the question:

? What is there in the place of ‘spring technology’ which would permit both to sleep together, and for the duck not to end up flat?

In doing so, I hope to answer the first three questions I posed.     

An Introduction to the Research Process

Abstract

College health professionals are often intimidated by the research process and thus miss opportunities to develop and communicate their ideas. The present article, the first in a series on college health research, describes the basics of the research process, including the purpose and nature of research and the ways in which ideas are developed into research hypotheses. The process of reviewing research literature is described in detail, including methods for computerized searching.     

Examining Parental Monitoring as a Pathway From Community Violence Exposure to Drug Use,Risky Sex,and Recidivism Among Detained Youth

ABSTRACT

This study examined whether parental monitoring mediated the relationship between community violence exposure and a spectrum of behaviors such as recidivism, risky sex, and drug use among youth with a history of being detained. It also explored whether risk pathways differed by gender. Adolescents (n = 550) who were detained or previously detained were recruited from eight regional detention facilities in Georgia. Audio computer-assisted self-interviewing technology was used to assess demographic factors (i.e., age, race, and socioeconomic status), risky sex, drug use, and recidivism prior to being detained. Major findings indicated direct relationships between community violence exposures and risky sex and drug use in the 2 months prior to being detained. Findings also indicated that parental monitoring mediated these relationships for both adolescent males and females. These findings document that parental monitoring is an important element even for troubled youth across a broad spectrum of risk factors. Consequently, it is recommended that intervention programs examine the differential effects of monitoring behaviors by a variety of groups such as parental figures, teachers, and peer mentors.