"It's all in your mind": The final common pathway

The relatively new field of Psychoneuroimmuonology (PNI) seeks to reveal links between many systems of the body once thought to work independently of each other. Through a growing body of research, scientists are revealing that what goes on in our mind impacts not only our mental well being but our state of physical health. Presented here is an overview of the stress response and discussion regarding the effects of stress on physiological processes. Of particular interest is the role stress plays on the ability of the immune system to function properly. Both landmark and current research is cited which supports connections between these systems. Finally, the future of PNI is discussed as well as the role health care providers may take to embrace mind/body philosophies.     

Further notes on record taking and making in maternity care: The case of South Asian descent women

This paper draws on data from a small-scale ethnographic study of the delivery of maternity care to South Asian descent women in a hospital in Southern England during 1988. Stereotyped views of these women which related to their customs and culture as well as their typification as patients were commonly expressed by staff, particularly midwives. The paper examines the role of medical records and record making in stereotyping Asian women: the ways in which stereotyped views of women may affect the record making process; and how that process itself may reinforce and create stereotypes. The utility of records for ‘rate production’ purposes is also discussed. The focus of the paper is the creation of a woman's maternity records which occurs in the antenatal clinic. The transformation of stigmatised views of a client into ‘facts’ about a client is common among bureaucrats, in this setting health service staff. This process affects the client's future encounters with the bureaucracy. In medical settings records (ie the case notes) help to create, transmit and reify negative stereotypes of health service users. These stereotypes can affect the kind of care given to individual patients.     

Revising the research agenda on agricultural policy in developed market economies

Intervention by the state in agriculture is under increasing scrutiny world-wide as the financial cost to both consumers and taxpayers rises. This paper analyses the consequences for research of the contemporary and prospective revision of agricultural intervention, with attention directed to both direct and indirect farm support programmes. The discussion emphasizes the need for researchers to place their analyses within a more explicit conceptual framework of state-agriculture relations than in the past. A number of alternative frameworks are discussed including the previously dominant policy process model. Policy impact assessments emerge as the most researched area of state-agriculture relations, although recent research on the cost of agricultural support programmes is emphasized, together with projected effects of trade liberalization agreements. The paper concludes by drawing up a research agenda for the 1990s on agricultural intervention.     

From Serodiscordant to Magnetic: The Feasibility and Acceptability of a Pilot Psychoeducational Group Intervention Designed to Improve Relationship Quality

Serodiscordant or magnetic couples experience HIV-related issues that can compound daily stressors. Psychoeducational couples group interventions can build coping skills and increase relationship satisfaction. Throughout Summer 2014, 6 gay male magnetic couples (n = 12) collaboratively designed and participated in an 8-session psychoeducational support group. The intervention was feasible (i.e., recruitment was <2 weeks, it was easy to coordinate) and acceptable (i.e., each session was consistently rated very good or outstanding). Relationship quality improved significantly in all couples regardless of whether couples agreed on how to manage HIV within their relationship. Implementation of this model is encouraged to fully evaluate this promising intervention.     

O Other,Where Art Thou? Support for Multiparty Politics in the United States*

Objective. We test hypotheses about support for multiparty politics in the United States. We expect that individual‐level attitudes and state‐level partisan context determine who supports having more parties. Methods. Survey data are used to model attitudes about having additional parties to challenge Democrats and Republicans. Results. Self‐identified partisans are opposed to additional parties, but independents who “lean” toward a major party are most supportive. Independents who say they are closer to Democrats, as well as independents who say they are closer to Republicans, tend to support having new parties. The latter effect is contingent on a state's partisan context. Independents closer to Republicans are most receptive to additional parties in states where fewer conservative representatives are elected. Conclusions. Support for multiparty‐ism among “leaning” independents challenges our understanding of how they may be similar to partisan identifiers, and illustrates that a base for new parties may exist in the “mainstream” public if electoral rules were changed.     

Partisanship and Views about Immigration in Southern California: Just How Partisan is the Issue of Immigration?

ALLÉGEANCE PARTISANE ET POINTS DE VUE SUR L'IMMIGRATION EN CALIFORNIE DU SUD: LA QUESTION DE L'IMMIGRATION EST-ELLE ASSOCIÉE À UNE ATTITUDE PARTISANE ?
Étant donné les divisions partisanes qu'affichent les élites politiques sur la question de l'immigration, on peut s'attendre, sur ce même sujet, à voir l'attitude des masses reproduire les mêmes clivages. Nous étudions l'incidence de l'attitude partisane sur cette question en analysant les attitudes populaires à l'égard des immigrants en Californie, oú le regard porté sur l'immigration et les immigrants a été au centre de campagnes éminemment politiques. Pourtant, même en Californie, nous constatons que des types très différents d'électeurs partagent des préoccupations étonnamment semblables face à l'immigration. Nous nous intéressons tout particulièrement à la question de savoir si les démocrates et les républicains perçoivent de façon semblable ou différente l'incidence de l'immigration sur l'action des pouvoirs publics. Nous constatons que, comme on pouvait s'y attendre, les républicains ont davantage tendance à penser que l'immigration aura des effets néfastes sur les plans social et politique aux États-Unis, mais aussi que les démocrates tendent à partager les mêmes préoccupations. Cette tendance a pour conséquence que le Parti républicain - tout du moins en Californie - pourrait être en mesure d'utiliser la question de l'immigration pour obtenir l'adhésion de personnes qui soutiennent habituellement les candidates démocrates, censés être plus ouverts à l'égard des immigrants.