The Role of Practice in the Development of Military Masculinities

This article seeks to explore the extent to which the military rebuilds or reframes masculinities as a means of meeting the aims of the process of militarization. It focuses on the dimensions of military masculinities that can be distinguished as distinctive in practice. Drawing on Etienne Wenger's notion of communities of practice, this research asks how military men orient themselves in their social and material world, considering the role of practice in the development of military masculinities. A total of 71 semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 53 male and 18 female personnel of various ranks working in the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force. Six focus groups were also carried out (with a total of 10 male and six female participants). Thematic analyses of the narratives indicated that one outcome of militarization is the construction of military masculinities. The military reframes masculinities as a means of meeting the aims of the process of militarization. Dimensions of military masculinities can be distinguished as attributes and qualities and masculinities that are distinctive to the military are constructed through military practice. A strong sense of belonging to the military community of practice is fundamental to the development of military masculinities. In order to feel that one belongs, the recognition and acceptance of others is needed. Those who share the attributes and comply with the practices peculiar to the military achieve this recognition.     

‘A great job and a family’: work narratives and the work and family interaction

This article investigated how work narratives of dual-earner families are materially and symbolically configured in discourses of reconciliation of work and home life. Following critical studies of the work–family interaction, this research takes into consideration symbolic and social structures and tries to look into the interrelation of factors such as job resources, job satisfaction, levels of autonomy with the self-esteem and sense of ‘self’ which parents derive from their paid work. Hochschild's concept of ‘emotional culture’ is used to explore how parents' experience of work is intertwined to their occupational groups and how it is associated with different narratives of work–family interaction. This study is conducted through qualitative methods, using in-depth semi-structured interviews on a sample of 27 dual-earner families. The data collected are composed of in-depth accounts that are then examined through the method of narrative analysis. The data indicate that, for divergent occupational levels, work generates different material and symbolic resources, which account for divergent narratives of work and home. The sociological analysis of occupational levels with the associated emotional culture of work and family then provides an exploratory model for understanding the links between social class and work–family interaction.     

The relative centrality of life domains among Jews and Arabs in Israel: the effect of culture,ethnicity, and demographic variables

The centrality of major life domains (work, family community leisure and religion) have not, to date, been studied among Arabs in Israel. This paper examines life domains centrality of 909 Jews and 286 Arabs (or Palestinians that have Israeli citizenship), who work in the Israeli labor market. The findings reveal significant differences in the importance of all life domains. Work centrality, as well as the importance of religion and community is significantly higher among Arabs than among Jews. Among Jews, the importance of family and leisure are significantly higher than among Arabs. A hierarchical regression analysis indicates that demographic variables have a low ability to explain the differences in the centrality of life domains among Jews and Arabs. The findings can be explained by cultural differences, the high degree of segregation, occupational discrimination, and mainly by the regional Palestinian/Arab-Israeli conflict.     

Art for integration: political rationalities and technologies of governmentalisation in the city of Malmö

Cities increasingly use artistic and cultural activities to promote active citizenship and social cohesion. We suggest that city-sponsored cultural and artistic practices in Sweden are finding a new discursive context in migration. In this article, we look at two artistic and cultural institutions in Malmö, Sweden: Arena 305 and Drömmarnas hus. We develop a typology of governmentalisation based on the work of Nicholas Rose and Peter Miller, which allows us to describe the governing activity of Arena 305 and Drömmarnas hus. What becomes visible is the discrepancy between the moral form of the political rationalities and the technologies of government: even though institutions may harbour ideals and principles of inclusion, they are perfectly capable of sustaining activities that brighten the very boundaries they set out to challenge.     

Psychological Testing in Child Custody Evaluations With Ethnically Diverse Families: Ethical Concerns and Practice Recommendations

Given increasing ethnic diversity of divorcing families, it is more important than ever for family court evaluators to understand the ethical concerns and principles underlying the use of psychological testing with ethnic family members. Major professional organizations have promulgated the guidelines of child custody evaluation with an imperative to consider cultural factors in the evaluation. However, there is a paucity of literature that addresses ethnicity and psychological testing in child custody evaluations. This article addresses three major ethical domains: (a) competence, (b) test fairness, and (c) test interpretation when psychological tests are used. Practice recommendations provide guidelines to ensure ethical standards and competence in using psychological testing with ethnically diverse families in child custody and other family court evaluations.     

日韩文化与金融融合发展经验及其对上海的启示

与日韩两国相比,上海文化与金融融合发展起步晚,但起点高、步子实、进度快。中共十八届三中全会以来,上海将文化与金融融合发展作为重点工作推进,以国际视野、创新方式和落细落小落实举措,着力推动上海文化与金融融合发展并取得显著进展。学习和借鉴日韩两国经验,最重要的是坚持政府融合主导,发挥市场融合优势,激活社会融合主体,创新开放融合方式,合力推动融合发展。     

基于消费者价值的品牌关系形成机理

品牌关系研究是目前品牌科学研究领域的热点课题。在借鉴国内外消费者价值、品牌关系和品牌忠诚等相关研究成果的基础上,提出了由价值感知、品牌情感和品牌忠诚三个要素构成的基于消费者价值的品牌关系结构,并分别从变量和维度两个层面上对这三个要素间的作用关系进行了详细分析,以期从消费者价值整体视角对品牌关系的形成机理进行深入解析。     

“新市民”文化建设的问题分析及对策探究

我国正在以前所未有的速度进行着城市化,在这个过程中,越来越多的农民通过城市就业逐步转化为新市民,他们在享受城市化生活的同时也面临了许多困境,在文化方面的问题尤其突出。本文将主要分析这部分新市民的城市归属感、子女教育、现代化市民教育和文化生活孤岛化等四个问题,并提出相应的五个对策以加快推进新市民文化建设。     

社会性别视域下高校美女文化现象解析

高校美女文化面临着泛化的倾向。造成这种现象的深层次原因与市场经济中女性地位的衰落直接相关。而高校社会性别教育的缺失削弱了女性的独立意识,大众文化的勃兴则强化着社会性别的刻板印象。高校美女文化的泛滥弱化了女大学生独立意识的形成,造成社会资源的浪费．也加剧了社会文化中男女不平等的局面,促使女性向传统价值观回归。为了重塑高校社会性别平等文化,应该使社会性别意识纳入政府决策主流,推动社会性别平等教育进入高等教学体系并实现学科建设主流化,培养大众传媒的社会性别意识。     

Teaching culture beyond nationalist boundaries: national identities,stereotyping, and culture in language education

The authors take a critical language pedagogy approach to examining a 2011 controversy over disparaging comments towards Mexicans made by commentators of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s automotive show Top Gear. In particular, they focus on the characterization of groups and individuals according to their nationality and examine the ubiquity of nationalism and its ability to shape our conception of culture and in turn our understandings of others as members of ‘X national culture.’ The fact that humor is often a justification for national stereotyping and that these stereotypes are also connected to racist discourse are also explored. In the second part of the article, the implications of the stereotyping debate for language classrooms are considered. The authors argue that the controversy itself can be used as a tool for critical engagement that helps students deconstruct the underlying nationalist paradigm in L2 classrooms and build greater intercultural awareness.

Español: Los autores examinan, desde una perspectiva de la pedagogía crítica del lenguaje, la controversia que surgió en el 2011 debido a los comentarios nocivos hechos hacia los mexicanos por los locutores del show automotriz del BBC, Top Gear. En particular, se enfocan en la caracterización de los grupos e individuos de acuerdo a su nacionalidad, y examinan la ubiquidad del nacionalismo y su capacidad para darle forma a nuestra conceptualización de la cultura y, a su vez, nuestra forma de ver a otros como miembros de una ‘cultural nacional X’. Los autores también exploran el hecho de que a menudo se utiliza el humor como una justificación para los estereotipos nacionales, y que estos estereotipos también están conectados al discurso racista. En la segunda parte del artículo, se consideran las implicaciones para la enseñanza de idiomas del debate sobre los estereotipos. Argumentan los autores que la controversia en sí se puede utilizar como una herramienta para promover una postura crítica que ayude a los alumnos a deconstruir el paradigma subyacente del nacionalismo en el salón de lenguas extranjeras y fomente la conciencia intercultural.