Coloring vertices of claw-free graphs in three colors

We study the computational complexity of the vertex 3-colorability problem in the class of claw-free graphs. Both the problem and the class received much attention in the literature, separately of each other. However, very little is known about the 3-colorability problem restricted to the class of claw-free graphs beyond the fact the problem is NP-complete under this restriction. In this paper we first strengthen this negative fact by revealing various further restrictions under which the problem remains NP-complete. Then we derive a number of positive results that deal with polynomially solvable cases of the problem in the class of claw-free graphs.     

Characteristics of children in residential treatment in New York State

This study addresses three questions about the population of children and families served in the highest level of care in the child welfare system in New York State residential treatment centers (RTCs): (1) How prevalent are emotional and behavioral problems in the youth entering RTCs? (2) Has the proportion of youth with such problems increased compared to 10 years ago? (3) Are there identifiable subgroups of youth entering RTCs? One-fourth of RTC admissions in fiscal year 2001 were randomly selected from a representative sample of 16 RTCs. The study completed a standardized data collection instrument based on a review of agency records, and included information that was known at the time each child was admitted. The results show significant increases compared to t10 years earlier in the proportion of youth with mental health problems and juvenile justice backgrounds. The findings suggest that youth who traditionally have been served by other systems of care are now being served in the child welfare system. The increased treatment needs of these youth and the heterogeneity of the RTC population have important implications for policies, programs, and practice.     

Towards a Communication Dialectic: Embedded Technology and the Enhancement of Place*

Communication literature traditionally divides interaction into two forms: mass media and interpersonal communication. These ideal types are unquestionably useful heuristic tools. Yet their conceptual utility is often undermined when researchers place them at opposite ends of a linear, historical transformation in which mass media technology is believed to supplant interpersonal communication and the locations in which it occurs. This article abandons the polar, historical relationship in favor of a communication dialectic that recognizes the synthesis of ideal types into composite forms of interaction. Embedded technology demonstrates the dialectic by exploring how electronic media fixed within a physical location can combine with the interpersonal communication taking place there to enhance group interaction. The resulting hybrid defies the assumption that mass media simply displace interpersonal interaction, pointing instead to a dialectic relationship in which ideal types continually challenge and transform one another.     

Sexual violence in pornography: How prevalent is it?

We examine the treatment of female characters in videocassette pornography. Using a systematic sample, we analyze 209 vignettes in 40 x- to xxx- rated videos commercially available from a national chain in the local market. We found that most videos had sexually violent or dehumanizing/degrading themes; however, a significant number also had a theme of intimacy. As expected, we found little evidence (one case) of extreme sexual deviance. Extreme sexual deviance was the kind of sexual violence the 1986 Commission on Pornography assumed was commonly available in pornography today. We also examined how the race of the actor shapes pornographic violence. As hypothesized, we found that black women experienced more violence from both white and black men than was the case for white women. White women, in fact, experienced least violence when paired with a black man. Our work replicates that of others in that we found few intimacy themes in material where black actors were present.     

Sexual behavior among HIV-positive men who have sex with men: what's in a label?

Relatively little attention has been paid to the use and importance of labels used by men who have sex with men to describe insertive or receptive sexual behavior during intercourse. This study examines sexual self-labels, sexual behavior, HIV transmission risk, and psychological functioning among 205 HIV-seropositive men who have sex with men. The majority of participants (88%) identified as a top, a bottom, or versatile. Tops were more likely to engage in insertive anal intercourse than bottoms, and bottoms were more likely to engage in receptive anal intercourse than tops, with versatiles reporting intermediate rates of both behaviors. Although the results suggest preliminary evidence regarding the predictive utility of self-labels, sexual behaviors of self-label groups were greatly overlapping. Differences were found among self-label groups in gay self-identification, internalized homophobia, sexual sensation seeking, and anxiety. Results suggest an added value in assessing self-labels in addition to asking about sexual behavior.     

Curating Inequality: The Link between Cultural Reproduction and Race in the Visual Arts

Although the U.S. population is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, research indicates that minority participation in the arts continues to decline. This article addresses the racial disparity of public art museum attendance by examining the role of the art museum curator and the process by which concepts of race are reproduced within the space of the public art museum. Utilizing Bourdieu's theories of cultural reproduction, social space, and symbolic power as a preliminary framework of inquiry, we examine the concept of whiteness as privileged social construct. Through face‐to‐face in‐depth interviews with museum curators, we investigate the means by which the dominant cultural narrative of whiteness is maintained through the preferences, decisions, and social interactions of curators. We draw upon critical white studies, a part of critical race theory, to underline the manner in which whiteness presents itself as a position of dominance. Our findings show that whiteness is maintained through the process of exclusion by presenting the white cultural narrative as both ordinary and invisible.     

Images for change: community development, community arts and photography

This article explores how community development objectives canbe achieved through critical photographic practice. It summarizesthe literature relating to community arts practice and its potentialfor social regeneration. Photography is then located withinthis context and explored as a critical practice, with particularattention being given to photo-elicitation, photo-novella andphotovoice methods. The literature is discussed and analysedto explore how far critical photographic practice can meet theobjectives of community development.     

Experiencing release: sex environments and escapism for HIV-positive men who have sex with men

There are nonsexual reasons that may motivate people to seek out sexual activity with others. Some men who have sex with men may seek out sex environments to engage in sexual behavior. Among the nonsexual reasons that exist for men who have sex with men is a desire to escape from distressing thoughts and feelings. The amplified sexuality and other unique characteristics of sex environments allow men to have more intense emotional experiences around sex. Using the cognitive escape model as a theoretical foundation, this analysis focuses on the emotional vulnerability that some of the men who visit these venues may be avoiding and how their experiences at these venues might act as releasing mechanisms to alleviate dissonant thoughts and feelings. Implications for public health services and future research are discussed.     

Children's nonverbal responses to a physically disabled person

A male, who either was wearing a leg brace and carrying a metal crutch or was nondisabled, conducted interviews outside a discount store with 120 children accompanied by their parents and ranging in age from three to 15. A hidden observer recorded aspects of each child's nonverbal behavior and his or her parent's distance from the child-interviewer interaction. When the interviewer was disabled, the youngest children engaged in less self-manipulatory behavior, children of all ages stood closer to him and looked more at his leg and body, and parents stood closer to their children at the start of the interview. It is argued that these findings suggest interest in rather than aversion toward disability. The fact that no major developmental changes or sex differences were detected raises questions about previous findings suggesting that attitudes toward disabled persons become more positive with age and are more positive among girls than among boys. Findings based on obtrusive measures of verbally expressed attitudes may not generalize to situations in which nonverbal responses are unobtrusively observed.Portions of this paper were presented at the annual meeting of the southeastern Psychology Association in Atlanta, March 1985. The authors wish to thank Greg Batts, Tracy Mattingly, and Lee Sigelman for their help.