Carnal Connections: On Embodiment,Apprenticeship, and Membership

This article responds to the special issue of Qualitative Sociology devoted to the author's book, Body and Soul: Notebooks of an Apprentice Boxer (vol. 28, no. 3, summer 2005). Four themes are tackled: the positioning of the inquirer and the question of social acceptance and membership; the dynamics of embodiment(s) and the variable role of race as a structural, interactional, and dispositional property; the functioning of the boxing gym as miniature civilizing and masculinizing machine; apprenticeship as a mode of knowledge transmissioin and technique for social inquiry, the scope of carnal sociology, and the textual work needed to convey the full-color texture and allure of the social world. This leads to clarifying the conceptual, empirical, and rhetorical makeup of Body and Soul in relation to its triple intent: to elucidate the workings of a sociocultural competency residing in prediscursive capacities; to deploy and develop the concept of habitus as operant philosophy of action and methodological guide; and to offer a brief for a sociology not of the body (as social product) but from the body (as social spring and vector of knowledge), exemplifying a way of doing and writing ethnography that takes full epistemic advantage of the visceral nature of social life. Response to the special issue of Qualitative Sociology on Body and Soul, vol. 28, no. 2, Summer 2005.     

Therapeutic Dilemmas in Cross-Cultural Practice with Asian American Adolescents

The following study proposes that differences in traditions and values between Western clinicians and Asian American clients manifests in therapeutic dilemmas, and offers recommendations for cross-cultural practice with Asian American adolescents and their families. The themes that will be examined are independence vs. acculturation/individuation, equality vs. hierarchy/authority, and supportive vs. dynamic treatment.     

美国总统奥巴马八年任职社会经济实效评述

本文试图通过数据对奥巴马总统任职八年的工作业绩进行考察、分析和评述.认为美国经济在一系列政策、规划、战略的推动下,已经从经济衰退的低谷走出,实现复苏,进入持续七年的温和增长.本文认为奥巴马任职八年对美国未来发展最有价值或意义的工作有三项:(1)提出"再制造业化"战略,创建起美国国家制造创新网络;(2)推动绿色能源的发展,清洁能源消费比重增加,节能技术提高;(3)推动全民医保计划,改善医疗质量,为消除美国医疗体制积弊做出努力.     

二战后美国研究生教育质量保障体系的分析与借鉴

二战后美国研究生教育迅速发展是与其完善的研究生教育质量保障体系密切相关的。其内部保障体系包含生源质量保障、入校后的研究生导师和导师委员会的指导保障、培养过程的质量保障与监督、研究生毕业的质量保障和管理机构的质量保障与监督;其外部保障体系涉及到国家立法和政策保障、多种渠道的经费保障和教育质量评价机构的保障。要构建中国研究生教育质量保障体系,必须改革研究生招生工作以保证生源质量,提高研究生导师水平以确保研究生导师的水准,制定研究生教育法规和政策以保障教育过程的制度化和规范化,建立多样化的评估机构以实现质量保障主体的多元化。     

美国终止父母权利制度述评

终止父母权利是美国儿童保护制度逐步发展的一个重要成果,也是美国用来保护受虐待和受忽视儿童、干预父母子女关系的最严厉手段。鉴于父母子女关系的重要价值和终止父母权利的严重性,父母权利的终止必须经过一系列正当程序后才能够最终裁定,而这些程序主要是以基于父母权利为中心的法律框架进行的。这表明美国终止父母权利制度并未能将儿童最大利益原则真正落实到位。尽管如此,美国的终止父母权利制度较为成熟完善的模式和理念对于我国现阶段完善儿童保护和儿童福利制度仍然具有较大的借鉴意义。     

心何所依？—从菲利普·罗斯的创作看犹太人在美国社会的疏离感

菲利普·罗斯在其创作中体现了犹太人在美国社会的疏离感."外人"感、反犹、社会动荡等都会导致犹太人与美国主流社会的疏离;美国文化中的个人主义在犹太人中的欣然接受与泛滥,最终导致了他们的文化疏离感;美国梦的破灭集中体现了犹太人的价值疏离感;带有欺骗性的美国式爱国主义、连绵不断的对外侵略战争、政治正确性以及麦卡锡式的政治恐怖等导致了犹太人的政治疏离感.罗斯创作中的疏离感既源于犹太人在美国遭受疏离的历史事实,也源于其犹太文化中的忧患意识与居安思危的意识,在一定程度上激发了作者的创作灵感与热情.     

北美高校一流东亚研究院系国际化手段探索

高等教育国际化成为当今世界一流大学发展和前进的趋势。研究和分析了九所北美高校的东亚研究院系,从教师和学生的国际化两个角度研究其国际化手段,结果表明,这些高校均配备了具有东亚国家背景的师资队伍,同时为学生提供多元化学术项目、实习项目和奖学金,中国高校外语院系可以从教师队伍、教学体系、教学氛围和奖学金制度等四个方面借鉴北美高校东亚研究院系的国际化策略,拓展国际合作交流。     

美国农村地区构建学前教育公共服务体系的经验及启示

美国农村地区完善的学前教育公共服务体系的建构积累了一些值得借鉴的经验：强化各级政府在发展农村学前教育中“首责定位”;出台完善法规对发展农村学前教育进行“规范与激励”;公共财政优先保障农村及处境不利早期儿童教育;形成了职前职后一体化幼儿教师培养与质量提升机制;实施符合农村地域特性的农村儿童教育成就项目。这给我国发展农村学前教育带来启示：强化发展学前教育的战略价值和政府首责角色;出台专门化的农村学前教育事业发展政策法规;增强农村幼儿园师资培养的适宜性,提升师资数量与专业自信;探索符合农村地域特点的学前教育成就项目。     

Values Important to Terminally Ill African American Older Adults in Receiving Hospice Care

While racial disparity in the use of hospice care by older African Americans is widely acknowledged, little is known about the values that they consider as important in receiving health care services along with direct experiences with having these values respected by hospice care providers. Using individual, face-to-face interviews, data were collected directly from 28 African American hospice patients about their experiences in hospice care. Content analysis was used to identify and categorize themes from multiple readings of the qualitative data. Resulting themes included: dying at home, open communications, independent decision-making, autonomy in daily life, unwillingness to be a burden, and relationships. Through the initial assessment, value preferences can be explored and then shared with hospice team members to ensure that services are provided in such a way that their values and preferences are respected.     

Clearing the air: American Indian tribal college students' exposure to second hand smoke & attitudes towards smoke free campus policies

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine knowledge, awareness, and support for campus smoke-free policies. Participants: 1,256 American Indian tribal college students from three tribal colleges in the Midwest and Northern Plains. Methods: Data are from an observational cross-sectional study of American Indian tribal college students, collected through a web-based survey. Results: Only 40% of tribal college students reported not being exposed to second hand smoke in the past 7 days. A majority of nonsmokers (66%) agreed or strongly agreed with having a smoke-free campus, while 34.2% of smokers also agreed or strongly agreed. Overall, more than a third (36.6%) of tribal college students were not aware of their campus smoking policies. Conclusions: Tribal campuses serving American Indian students have been much slower in adopting smoke-free campus policies. Our findings show that tribal college students would support a smoke-free campus policy.