Reconstruction and resilience after Fukushima: A critical analysis of nuclear risk and disaster

This article revisits the concept of reconstruction in light of the Fukushima nuclear accident on March 11, 2011. It also offers an analysis of the reconstruction policy launched by the Japanese authorities in the context of the risk due to low-dose radiation. What does reconstruction mean after this nuclear disaster? What kind of reconstruction is considered possible in the contaminated territories by those affected by this disaster and confronted with this long-term health and environmental risk? To answer these questions, this article first examines the concept of reconstruction—very close to that of resilience in the Japanese context—which has sparked a controversy within the social sciences, at both national and international level. Second, based on more than 100 interviews conducted between 2013 and 2016 across the entire Nippon archipelago, this article analyzes the reconstruction policy's socio-cultural consequences on the victims of this disaster who leave, stay or return to the contaminated territories. Finally, it proposes a new approach to the reconstruction of Fukushima, one which would support the process of resilience at the individual and collective levels.     

Divine Development: Transnational Indian Religious Organizations in the United States and India

This article examines how Indian Americans’ religious organizations send not only financial remittances to India, but also social remittances that shape development ideologies. Comparing Indian‐American Hindu and Muslim organizations, I find both groups draw from their socioeconomic experiences in India and use their position as elite immigrants in the United States to identify and empower their respective religious constituencies in India and overturn different social relations (not just religious practices). Hindu Americans draw from their majority status in India to overturn India's lower position in the world system and support poverty alleviation efforts within a neoliberal development framework. Indian‐American Muslims draw from their poor status in India to overturn economic inequities within India by shifting India's development rhetoric from identity to class. Collective religious identities (expressed through organizations) not only affect the intensity of immigrants’ development efforts, but also their content and ideology. These findings urge us to fold transnational religious organizations into contemporary discussions on migration and development.     

Will you sign my autograph book? Using autograph books for a sociohistorical study of youth and social frameworks

This paper suggest that autograph books can be used as a tool for the study of attitudes among youth. Content analysis of 4,131 entries of 130 Israeli autograph books, written by 12–14 year-old students, during a 55 year peiod (1925–1980) was conducted. The analysis reveals two major changes: first, a diminishing of collective orientation coupled with an increase in individualism; second, an increase in the salience of schools and teachers coupled with a persistence in the significance of youth movements. Schooling ideology mainly serves the interests of the dominant groups, individualism raises the question of the legitimacy of the role of the state, while the youth movement ideology combines commitment to basic values of the collective with self-confidence and desire for individual careers. The findings are interpreted both in terms of normative changes in Israeli society (from quasi-socialism to advanced capitalism) and in terms of Habermas' theory of a crisis of legitimation. The analysis also reveals a dialectic situation in which contradictory norms and values exist together.We wish to thank S. N. Eisenstadt, W. Gamson, W. Shaffir, and the anonymous readers for valuable comments. The editors helpful editorial work is also acknowledged.     

Lottery participation by youth with gambling problems: are lottery tickets a gateway to other gambling venues?

The aim of the present study was to investigate the types of gambling activities youths with gambling problems participate in and whether the lottery is a key gambling venue for these young people. Secondly, we sought to ascertain whether youths with gambling problems display similar gambling behaviour with lottery tickets as those addicted to traditional forms of gambling. Participants were 1,072 young people, 10-18 years of age, in Ontario, Canada. Youths with gambling problems reported having a preference for lottery tickets compared to other forms of gambling. Differences were found for the frequency with which probable pathological gamblers reported going to the store specifically to purchase lottery tickets. Furthermore, probable pathological gamblers reported chasing their losses after having played the lottery more than the other gambling groups. This research demonstrates that youths with gambling problems gamble primarily with lottery products and exhibit similar pathological gambling behaviour (e.g., chasing) as those individuals addicted to other forms of gambling venues. Furthermore, the results suggest that lottery tickets are a potentially addictive activity that introduces youth to the exciting properties of gambling.     

Constructing Ethnicity: Myth of Return and Modes of Exclusion among Israelis in Toronto

Drawing upon data from ninety intensive interviews and from participatory observations of various social gatherings of Israelis living in Toronto, this study explores the role of the desire to return to the mother-country in the production of a distinctive ethnic community.
Although plans to return rarely materialize, they do contribute to both the individual's psychological well-being and the group's need to defy assimilation. On a personal level, the myth of return enables the immigrant to live in two social worlds; on a social level, the myth creates a collective fantasy which leads to excluding members from outsiders.
The research identifies modes of self-exclusion such as preservation of language, reinforcement of romanticized biographies and enhancement of stereotypes, all of which are instrumental in reconstructing Israeliness in the Diaspora. The rise of special "Israeli" organizations such as clubs, a radio station, schools, newspapers and synagogues, represent a resistance to integrate into the organized Jewish community.
Modes of exclusion and the emergence of Israeli ethnic organizations are constantly energized by the individual, as well as the collective, objective to return to the homeland. Paradoxically, the myth of return, rather than contributing to the fragility of Israel ethnic networks, provides the very foundation upon which this ethnic community is constructed.     

Maternal Cocaine Use and Infant Behavior

This study examined the impact of maternal cocaine use and associated risk factors such as polysubstance use, maternal functioning, and caregiving on affect regulation during infancy. Participants were 45 mother‐infant dyads (19 cocaine exposed and 26 control infants) recruited at birth. Observations and maternal reports of infant behavior were obtained at 2 and 7 months of age, along with measures of pre‐ and postnatal substance use, maternal functioning, and caregiving stability. Maternal cocaine use accounted for significant variance in infant positive affect at 2 months. Other substance use and gestational age predicted infant distress to novelty and arousal during developmental assessments. At 7 months, the impact of prenatal cocaine exposure on infant affect regulation was mediated by postnatal alcohol use and caregiving stability. These findings, if replicated, suggest that 1 pathway to later problem behavior reported among substance‐exposed children may be through early regulatory problems and the quality of postnatal caregiving.     

内蒙古草原文化研究综述

草原文化以其浓郁的北方少数民族生活文化气息,体现着北方游牧民族豪迈的精神文化特质和文化理念,成为中华民族文化研究的重要领域.近10年来,内蒙古草原文化研究取得了一系列突出的理论研究成果,呈现出前所未有的繁荣景象.内蒙古的草原文化研究不仅为兴区富民构建着文化智慧和历史底蕴,而且成为我国乃至世界蒙古学界研究草原文化的重要资源.     

The Association Between Cigarette Smoking During Pregnancy and Maternal Behavior During the Neonatal Period

This study examined the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and maternal behavior during mother‐infant interactions during the neonatal period. Participants included 84 mother‐infant dyads (43 cigarette‐exposed and 41 nonexposed) who were recruited after birth and assessed at 2 to 4 weeks of infant age. Results indicated that mothers who smoked during pregnancy had higher levels of maternal insensitivity (MI) and lower levels of maternal warmth (MW) during interactions with their infant even after controlling for demographics and pregnancy alcohol use. Maternal anxiety and hostility mediated the association between smoking and MI and maternal anger mediated the association between smoking and reduced MW. In addition, there was an interaction between infant gender and maternal smoking for MW with smokers displaying less warmth to boys during interactions.