bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Media wars in Latin America
Authors: O'Shaughnessy Hugh
Published: December 2007

South America veteran journalist O’Shaughnessy reports:” During the Cold War the opponents of reform throughout Latin America, fearing the loss of their privileges that any change in the status quo would bring about…set aside arguments that the fight against poverty would put money into the pockets of those who did not have any, expand the market and thus benefit local and international trade, allowing everyone to gain. And their self-seeking views were well received in Western capitals. Many in Washington and London favoured dictators who claimed to be fighting for what they called “Western Christian civilisation”: Anastasio Somoza in Nicaragua, Alfredo Stroessner in Paraguay, Augusto Pinochet in Chile, Leopoldo Galtieri in Argentina and the assorted generals in Brazil.” And now “those opponents of change can no longer employ Cold War arguments and have had to find new ways of fighting the battle against reform. They have decided to try and deny the reformers legitimacy and strip them of their authority, using the media as frontline combat troops.” The media that support the cause of reform are weak, he says, consisting as they do of few newspapers and even fewer television channels, and with continuing struggles about poverty, wealth and semantics in Latin America, there is no sign these media tensions will end any time soon.
Nightmare on Oxford Street
Authors: Davis Victor
Published: December 2007

Veteran reporter Davis recalls how a minor case of shoplifting in London’s Oxford Street, when a woman left a store without paying for five gaily-coloured hats, turned into a major story that tested Fleet Street’s finest. The accused was identified as Nina Ponomareva, aged 27, a teacher and mother of a two-year-old boy named Sasha – a white beret listed in the charge was meant for him. “So far, so routine… But, unfortunately for all, Nina was also one of the Soviet Union’s most famous women, a world-class athlete who at the 1952 summer Olympics in Helsinki had taken gold for discus throwing. Fondly nicknamed Miss Muscles, she was in London with almost 100 other Russian athletes to compete against the British in a two-day meeting at the White City, due to begin the next evening.” Summoned to appear before magistrates and headlined ‘Nina of the Five Hats’, the discus genius’s non-appearance in court set off a chain of events that Involved the Russian chargé d’affaires, Lord Reading, minister of state at the Foreign Office, and the august British ambassador in Moscow, Sir William Hayter (Winchester and New College, Oxford), who “was infuriated to be summoned to the Kremlin to be harangued over this piddling business.” Davis reveals the whole hilarious story.
Explaining Varieties of Regional Innovation Policies in Europe
Authors: Prange Heiko
Published: December 2007

Since the 1990s the `region' has been widely acknowledged as an appropriate arena for innovation policies. While regional innovation policies and the creation of regional innovation systems and local clusters are highly propagated by the European Union and the OECD, there are still significant differences in regional activities even among nation states which are equally exposed to global competition, and are similarly dependent on technological innovations, such as Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The article aims to explain this variation in regional innovation policies by arguing that a country-specific pattern consisting of the geographical concentration of the science and research system, the vertical fragmentation of the political system, the degree of Europeanization, and the endowments of the regions shapes the way innovation policies are pursued in the regions.
European Citizenship and the Regions
Authors: Painter Joe
Published: December 2007

This article reconsiders the relationship between European citizenship and the regions in the light of theoretical developments in citizenship studies and empirical research in four sub-nation-state territories in Europe (Scotland in the UK, Catalonia in Spain, the Veneto in Italy and Upper Silesia in Poland).The article begins with an outline of the development of the idea of European citizenship and a review of some contemporary theoretical debates about the spatialities of citizenship. It then considers how European citizenship might be theorized in geographical terms, before turning specifically to the relationship between European citizenship and regionality. Drawing on the case-study research, this relationship is examined through four themes: identity, political rights, social rights and civic engagement. The article concludes with a commentary on the implications of a regional perspective for the future development of European citizenship.
The Uncertain State(s) of Europe?
Authors: Bialasiewicz Luiza
Published: December 2007

Recent representations of the European project have, more often than not, characterized it as `uncertain',`weak',and even `indeterminate'. In this article, I look to the political — and geopolitical — ramifications of such understandings, in particular as regards Europe's role in the world. I remark, especially, on the geographical imaginations which underpin such critiques: highly normative assumptions regarding political territoriality and `power' in the international arena. I argue that such geographical imaginations fundamentally miss the radical transformations taking shape at and well beyond Europe's borders, thus failing to recognize the emergence of the EU as a very new sort of international actor.
The Pakistani-Israeli Courtship
Authors: Kumaraswamy P.R.
Published: December 2007

The absence of official relations between Pakistan and Israel underscores the difficulties facing Pakistani leaders to modify their long-held position towards Israel. The ongoing public debate in the country over the issue of normalisation is part of an exercise to prepare the sceptic and conservative public. Over the years, political pragmatism had compelled Pakistan to deal with Israel, albeit clandestinely. While the need for such a posture is understandable within the narrow domestic context, the historical similarities between Pakistan and Israel and the changing Middle East dynamics cannot be ignored. While a meaningful resolution of Israel's conflict with the Palestinians might be an appropriate moment for Pakistani-Israeli normalisation, at least in the short run, Islamabad's moves towards Israel would be guided by the attitude and reactions of its powerful friends and allies in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, the absence of relations has been primarily a Pakistani decision. Hence any modification of this situation would have to come from Islamabad.
Self-Censorship In The Pakistani Print Media
Authors: Nadadur Ramanujan D.
Published: December 2007

Though there is no formally enforced press censorship in Pakistan, journalists have been indirectly forced to curtail their reporting due to various external reasons. This article examines the print media's potential role in Pakistan and identifies the direct external causes of self-censorship such as unofficial government controls, the oligopolistic newspaper ownership structure, the legal system and the lack of security for journalists. In addition, the paper looks at specific structural characteristics of the Pakistani print media that have created an environment for self-censorship to thrive, namely the reach and accessibility of the print media and the isolation of the Pakistani journalist from the international community. Finally, the paper puts forth three strategic recommendations to address the problem of self-censorship, first, legal reform to create an environment conducive to free journalism; second, ownership reform to increase plurality and create free market competition in the newspaper industry; and third, development of a self-regulating, professional Pakistani journalist association.
Conceptions of Space in India's Look East Policy
Authors: Chatterjee Shibashis
Published: December 2007

There are three possible future articulations of India's Look East policy, each underpinned by a different conceptual orientation. Firstly, the Look East policy might be conceived as an extended security trajectory to project India's legitimate power and resist growing Chinese domination of the region. A second vision sees the Look East drive primarily as a strategy of economic cooperation based on globalisation and the pursuit of similar liberal policies by all the major states of the region. The third vision argues for a communitarian reading of the Look East venture, interpreting it in terms of sub-nationalisms and soft border exercises. While power, prosperity and community can be desired in equal measure, their policy implications vary, resulting in uneasy compromises, awkward bottlenecks and policy indecisions. Till India decides which image of space it wants to pursue, the power, market and community visions of the Look East initiative would keep playing against each other, generating complementarities as well as frictions.
Origins and Pitfalls of Confrontational Politics in Bangladesh
Authors: Rahaman Muhammad Mustafizur
Published: December 2007

Bangladesh is a relatively young democracy that gained its independence in 1971. The reestablishment of parliamentary democracy in 1991 following years of military dictatorship and the introduction of a non-party caretaker government were important achievements of the country in its democratic journey. In recent years however, confrontational politics has become a serious threat to democracy and development in Bangladesh. It is no longer an internal issue; it has also become a major concern of international donors to Bangladesh and the region as a whole.
Soft, Porous or Rigid? Towards Stable Borders in South Asia
Authors: Chandran D. Suba , Rajamohan P.G.
Published: December 2007

Numerous suggestions and proposals have been made on how to manage the borders in South Asia. This article analyses these proposals, including soft and open borders, fencing and making borders irrelevant. With the concept of borders undergoing a tremendous change in the last two decades, the article first looks at how the concept of security has evolved and the role that borders play in the new strategic calculus. The article then adopts a historical perspective on the geopolitical and strategic ground realities relating to borders in South Asia. How did borders evolve in South Asia, what kind of movements have been taking place ever since, and how have these two factors shaped the security concerns of respective governments relating to borders? Finally, the article studies the applicability of various proposals and assesses the best border policy options available to states in South Asia, given the ground realities.
Child Malnutrition in South Asia
Authors: Khan Akram A. , Bano Nazli , Salam Abdus
Published: December 2007

Child malnutrition is the most pressing problem of the world, damaging to both children and nations. Malnutrition is costing poor countries up to 3 per cent of their yearly GDP. The pessimistic scenario suggests that child malnourishment will increase from 166 to 175 million children by 2020. Therefore, a detailed analysis of the plight of these children, and the root causes of malnutrition, are of paramount importance. The underlying causes of undernutrition vary from poverty, low levels of education and poor access to health services. The high levels of undernutrition in children and women in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa pose a major challenge for child survival and development. The examples of Thailand, Vietnam and China show that the problem of malnourishment is entirely preventable. Areas of intervention that will be most successful and the key policy priorities for each major developing region need to be identified.
Are Emerging Stock Markets Sideshows? Some Stylised Facts from an Emerging Economy, India
Authors: Bhaduri Saumitra N. , Shankar Bhargavi
Published: December 2007

The article addresses one of the most important policy questions: what role do emerging stock markets play in influencing real decisions such as corporate private investment? In this article we present some stylised facts about the relationship between the stock market and corporate investment through a case study of an emerging economy, India. The results indicate that the Indian stock market seems to be a sideshow in providing price signals to Indian managers and investment decisions are predominantly determined by a firm's fundamentals. However, stock plays a very important role as a source of finance for the Indian firms.
Earnings Forecasts Disclosed in SEO Prospectuses: Evidence from an Emerging Market
Authors: Siougle Georgia
Published: December 2007

This study investigates the credibility of earnings forecasts disclosed by companies listed on the Athens Stock Exchange. The focus of the study is on earnings forecasts disclosed in the prospectus of listed firms that are issuing equity through a rights issue. The results of the study show that the earnings forecasts are overestimated and exhibit low accuracy, a finding suggesting that companies are optimistic when they develop their forecasts. The level of forecast errors can be explained by valuation uncertainty, which is measured by the standard deviation of stock returns prior to the equity offering, and the market-to-book ratio. Furthermore, historical earnings are useful in explaining post issue stock prices.
Some Tests of the Efficiency of the Emerging Financial Markets
Authors: Islam Sardar M.N. , Watanapalachaikul Sethapong , Clark Colin
Published: December 2007

Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) has attracted a considerable number of studies in empirical finance, particularly in determining the market efficiency of an emerging financial market. Conflicting and inconclusive outcomes have been generated by various existing studies in EMH. In addition, efficiency tests in the emerging financial markets are rarely definitive in reaching a conclusion about the issue. This article proposes a theory–free paradigm of non–parametric tests of market efficiency for an emerging stock market, the Thai stock market, consisting of two tests—run–test and autocorrelation function tests (ACF)—to establish a more definitive conclusion about EMH in emerging financial markets. The result of this research demonstrates that an autocorrelation on Thai stock market returns exists particularly during the post–crisis period. The inefficiency of the Thai stock market follows on from the violation of the necessary conditions for an efficient market with a developed financial system and also implies financial and institutional imperfections.
Generating cross-cultural training data for THE UNIVERSITY GAME
Authors: Damron Rebecca L. , Halleck Gene B.
Published: December 2007

This article describes the process of creating training data for a game developed to promote cross-cultural competence among students studying in a culture di ferent from their own. The process of creating game cards (known as culture assimilators) begins with the collection of reports of intercultural misunderstandings. This phase of data generation is followed by the elicitation of possible explanations for the reported misunderstandings. The final phase in this process involves the development of evaluative feedback for the plausible explanations proposed by students.
The Intimacy Task Inventory: Taking a Relationship Snapshot
Authors: Page Linda J. , Nisan Larry , Eckstein Daniel , Ane Pedra
Published: December 2007

The purpose of the following article is to introduce the Intimacy Task Inventory (ITI), as a tool for couples to explore each other's perspectives on this important component of their relationship. Although the ITI was originally conceptualized by Bill and Mim Pew, the authors are presenting a substantially revised ITI in this article. Instructions for completing the inventory follow the form.
Couples Therapy With Borderline Personality Disordered Individuals
Authors: Oliver Marvarene , Perry Susan , Cade Rochelle
Published: December 2007

Couples who present for therapy with one person having borderline personality disorder (BPD) are a challenge for even the most seasoned couples counselor. Some have argued that couples counseling should not be attempted until the person diagnosed with BPD has completed successful individual treatment. However, there is a growing body of research addressing effective marital therapy with particularly difficult couples and also a research-based approach, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), used to work with borderline personality disorder. Linehan's DBT and Gottman's method for couples therapy form the foundation for the work conducted with these couples. A case study illustrates how these models are used.
Introduction
Authors: Softas-Nall Lia
Published: December 2007

The purpose of this column is to present interesting professional issues and cases. Any issue or case may be submitted for inclusion. Writers may choose to take a position on an issue or present treatment for the case, or they may present either, without comment, for evaluation by third parties.
A View of Systemic Therapy in Greece: An Interview With Charis Katakis
Authors: Softas-Nall Lia
Published: December 2007

Charis Katakis, PhD, is the director of the Laboratory for the Study of Human Relations in Athens, Greece, which she founded in 1983. The Laboratory is systemically oriented in its approach to therapy, training, and research. She is the author of five books; her first one, The Three Identities of the Greek Family, was first published in 1984 and is currently in its ninth edition. Her theoretical and research work in systems has been presented in numerous publications and presentations around the world. Dr. Katakis has also played an active role in many systemic organizations and associations. She was the first president of the Hellenic Association for Systemic Therapy, a member of the European Family Therapy Association Chamber of National Family Therapy Associations, a board member of the International Family Therapy Association, and served as president of the 8th World International Family Therapy Association Congress in Greece. In addition, she is an AAMFT approved supervisor at the founder's level.
Extramarital Affairs: Basic Considerations and Essential Tasks in Clinical Work
Authors: De Stefano Jack , Oala Monica
Published: December 2007

Among heterosexual couples extramarital affairs are common and they occur with regular frequency. In the short term, the discovery of an affair generally precludes a crisis for both partners and where this is not resolved, negative longer-term effects can be expected. In this article we discuss a number of key issues that have implications for practitioners working with these individuals and couples. At some point in their professional lives all counselors will encounter the dilemmas and challenges associated with a client's infidelity and they will therefore want to keep up-to-date about clinical and empirical developments. In addition to a discussion of the relevant literature, we highlight three specific aspects of working with individuals and couples that are an inherent part of this work. The three areas of handling disclosures, dealing with traumatic reactions, and fostering forgiveness are seen as unavoidable features of working with the complexities of marital infidelity.
Adapting Virginia Satir Techniques to Hispanic Families
Authors: Bermudez Diana
Published: December 2007

This article analyzes the application of Virginia Satir's model of family therapy to Hispanic clients based on consultation with expert clinicians and a literature review. To better serve the therapeutic needs of Hispanic families, the article proposes an adaptation of Satir's concepts and techniques (family map, family life chronology, family rules, ropes, communication stances, and sculpting) that incorporate Hispanic cultural and contextual factors.
Family Factors Predicting Social Self-Esteem in Young Adults
Authors: Gorbett Kelly , Kruczek Theresa
Published: December 2007

The relationship between social self-esteem and family functioning in college-aged young adults was investigated. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify family variables predictive of social self-esteem. High levels of family cohesion and number of siblings significantly predicted strong social self-esteem. Family adaptability, amount of time left in the care of others during childhood, birth order, and gender were nonsignificant predictors. As the sample was predominantly female, these findings are reviewed within the context of feminist family therapy, and indications for counseling young women are discussed.
Healthy Aging in Later Life
Authors: Onedera Jill Duba , Stickle Fred
Published: December 2007

There are negative realities associated with aging, however the purpose of this article is to present factors that contribute to healthy aging, including maintaining an active role in life. A number of successful patterns of aging exist. Instead of reciting these lifestyles, the authors will highlight means in which persons can age, while maintaining their health. Unfortunately, the current literature and research is lacking in identifying positive aspects of aging. The authors hope that through summarizing the literature and bringing it into the forefront, this article may contribute to a resurgence of valuable research, energy, and study around the topic of healthy aging.
Teacher Bonuses and Teacher Retention in Low-Performing Schools
Authors: Clotfelter Charles T. , Glennie Elizabeth J. , Ladd Helen F. , Vigdor Jacob L.
Published: December 2007

Between 2001 and 2004, the state of North Carolina gave an annual salary bonus of $1,800 to certified math, science, and special education teachers in a set of low-performing and/or high-poverty secondary schools. Eligible teachers were to continue receiving the bonus as long as they continued in the school. In a survey of teachers and principals, the authors find evidence that school personnel favor the use of monetary incentives to increase the attractiveness of their workplace but were skeptical that the amount of the bonus would be sufficient to reduce the high turnover rates in their schools. Preliminary evidence on turnover rates supports this skepticism. Given that the survey evidence reveals widespread misunderstanding of the retention incentives incorporated into the program, the authors conclude that the bonus program was hampered by a series of flaws in design and implementation.
The Impact of Assessment and Accountability on Teacher Recruitment and Retention
Authors: Boyd Donald , Lankford Hamilton , Loeb Susanna , Wyckoff James
Published: December 2007

This article uses data on every teacher in New York State public elementary schools from 1994-1995 through 2001-2002 to examine the response of teachers to the implementation of state-mandated testing. The authors ask whether the introduction of testing in the fourth grade has increased the turnover of fourth-grade teachers, whether testing differentially affected the decisions of teachers with particular attributes, and whether the characteristics of teachers entering the fourth grade changed with the introduction of testing. The authors find that the turnover rate of fourth-grade teachers decreased relative to teachers in other elementary grades since testing began. In addition, entering fourth-grade teachers are less likely to be inexperienced teachers than those moving into other elementary school grades.
Recruiting Highly Qualified Teachers
Authors: Balter Dana , Duncombe William D.
Published: December 2007

This article presents results from a survey on teacher recruitment practices used in New York State school districts and analyzes whether the level of use of recruitment practices is related to teacher qualifications. We find that most districts employ a wide variety of practices and that the number of recruitment practices used by districts goes up with district size. To examine the effectiveness of recruitment practices, we estimate a model relating a composite measure of teacher qualifications to the level of use of recruitment practices and labor supply and demand factors. The recruitment regressor is treated as an endogenous variable with factors related to district use of these practices as instruments. While we cannot identify which individual practices are important, we find consistent evidence that districts using only a limited set of recruitment practices have hired less qualified teachers in New York.
The Determinants of Teacher Attrition in Upstate New York
Authors: Ondrich Jan , Pas Emily , Yinger John
Published: December 2007

Policy makers and scholars have long been interested in teacher attrition, particularly in poor, urban schools. We investigate the determinants of teacher attrition in five large metropolitan areas in upstate New York. We focus on a teacher's decision to leave a school district or to leave teaching using the Prentice-Gloeckler-Meyer technique for proportional hazards with unobserved heterogeneity. We find that teachers in districts with higher salaries relative to nonteaching salaries in the same county are less likely to leave teaching and that a teacher is less likely to change districts when he or she teaches in a district near the top of the teacher salary distribution in that county. We also find, however, that the impact of salary on the probability of leaving teaching is small and that very large salary increases would be required to offset the impact of concentrated student disadvantage on the attrition of female teachers.
Re-viewing `Role' in Processes of Identity Construction
Authors: Simpson Barbara , Carroll Brigid
Published: December 2007

Although role theory appears to have been largely dismissed from the contemporary critical literature, role is nevertheless a persistent theme in the discourses of organizational actors. This paper argues that it is timely, therefore, to re-view role, particularly as it articulates with the processes of constructing identity. Drawing on three interview segments that evoke a variety of roles, we develop the notion of role as a boundary object (a concept that we have appropriated from the sociology of science and technology literature). We show that this provides a much richer and more complex understanding that recognizes role as an inherently incomplete and emergent intermediary in identity construction processes. Further, we suggest that this view of role resonates with, and informs, wider theoretical conversations about identity construction.
On the Nature of Dialogic Identity Work
Authors: Beech Nic
Published: December 2007

This paper seeks to supplement the theory that identity work incorporates a dialogic process by focusing on how such processes can proceed. The research question is: how do people's identities become meaningful? The aim is to theorize the `route to meaning construction' of the self by producing a model of micro dialogical process. The model synthesizes current research on dialogic processes and classic concepts of Bakhtin and Wittgenstein. An empirical analysis is conducted of a longitudinal multi-method engagement with an organization in the cultural sector, focusing on the multiple identity narratives of a manager. Subsequently, the model is developed to incorporate the concepts of meaning-giving tensions and enabling/militating factors.
Defaulting to Management: Leadership Defined By What It Is Not
Authors: Carroll Brigid , Levy Lester
Published: December 2007

The dynamics between identity (who I am) and anti-identity (who am I not) are drawn on to explore the identity work of senior and middle managers who have elected to embark on formal, sustained and intensive leadership development work. We construct the concept of a default identity, not primarily as an oppositional or negative identity, but as a baseline identity that, because it is securely held, has a major role to play in the understanding, acquisition and performance of more emergent identity constructions. In exploring the dynamics between management (default identity) and leadership (emergent and desirable identity) for instance, it becomes clear that each is shaped by the other in subtle and overt ways. We conclude that the recognition of the dynamics and relationships between them holds some promise for new thinking and innovation in terms of individual organizational identity work, leadership development and organizational change.
Intra-Party Politics and Coalition Formation
Authors: Bäck Hanna
Published: December 2007

Traditional theories about government formation in parliamentary democracies are based on the assumption that parties can be characterized as unitary actors. Many authors have questioned the soundness of this assumption. The problem with keeping it is that we may miss important factors explaining why certain coalitions form if we do not consider the role of intra-party politics. In this article, I evaluate two hypotheses drawn from a discussion about intra-party politics and coalition formation, hypotheses stating that, internally democratic parties and factionalized parties are less likely to get into government. Using different methods of evaluating coalition theories on data from Swedish local government, I find support for both hypotheses. It is concluded that we should consider the internal workings of parties when explaining and predicting coalition formation.
The Politics of Institutional Change
Authors: Remmer Karen L.
Published: December 2007

Building on the growing body of research on political institutions, this article explores the causes of electoral reform, with specific reference to Latin America. What factors account for the extensive array of electoral reforms adopted in the region since the return to democracy? How are shifting patterns of political representation related to institutional change? In addressing these questions, I develop an account of electoral reform that places shifting partisan political fortunes at the center of analysis and show that changes in the rules of the electoral game tend to reflect the political self-interest of dominant political parties as defined in relation to mounting electoral uncertainty. The evidence regarding the impact of electoral reforms on party system change is less consistent with the expectations derived from the comparative institutional literature. Over the past two decades, party system change in Latin America has generated institutional change more predictably than vice versa.
Equal Access, Unequal Success — Major and Minor Canadian Parties On the Net
Authors: Small Tamara A.
Published: December 2007

The Internet has been heralded as the most revolutionary technology since the printing press. Within political science, much work centres around the democratizing potential of the Internet. Cyber-optimists argue that the Internet has the capacity to equalize political competition for parties. Other scholars argue that the Internet will not dramatically change the status of minor parties. Politics on the Internet will be `politics as usual'. Empirical support for both theories is mixed. Research has shown that party-centred countries are more likely to become equalized as a result of the Internet than candidate-centred countries. Using data from the 2004 federal election, this article argues that the Internet has not led to an equalization of party competition in Canada. The websites of nine political parties show that despite equal access to the Internet, there is unequal success in cyberspace for Canadian parties.
Fluid Party Systems, Electoral Rules and Accountability of Legislators in Emerging Democracies
Authors: Slomczynski Kazimierz M. , Shabad Goldie , Zielinski Jakub
Published: December 2007

Does the system of repeated parliamentary elections function as a mechanism of political control in new democracies with fluid party systems? Moreover, does electoral format affect the degree to which voters are able to hold legislators accountable for their performance in office? In addressing these questions, we use a new database on all legislative incumbents and all parliamentary elections that have taken place in Ukraine since 1994. Our findings indicate that, even in a flawed `electoralist' democracy such as Ukraine, repeated parliamentary elections do serve as a mechanism of accountability with respect to economic performance. Disregarding electoral format, political control tends to work through political parties/partisan blocs. Only in the case of single-member district elections, however, is there a statistically significant relationship between economic performance and chances of winning, i.e. when economic performance is poor, voters punish legislators from a pro-presidential group and reward legislators from the opposition.
Menopause and the virtuous woman: the importance of the moral order in accounting for medical decision making
Authors: Stephens Christine , Breheny Mary
Published: December 2007

Whether or not to use hormone replacement therapy (HRT) around the time of menopause is seen as an important decision for many mid-aged women. Recent studies of information provided to women to assist them in making a medical decision about the use of HRT have highlighted the importance of understanding the broader social context of the decision. In this article we examine one important aspect of western mid-aged women's social world: the moral order and the imperative of virtue. Qualitative data from a survey, focus group discussions, and interviews with mid-aged women about HRT use are used to provide examples of the importance of the local moral order in women's talk about menopause and HRT use. The implications of these data will be discussed in terms of the different narrative resources available to construct menopause and HRT, the role of morality, and the demonstration of virtue in daily social life, including medical decision making.
Disciplining death: hypertension management and the production of mortal subjectivities
Authors: Banerjee Albert
Published: December 2007

Medicine powerfully mediates the relationship between life and death. This article argues that in the name of health, modern medicine constitutes a pathological mortal subjectivity, encouraging individuals to experience death as disease, to understand mortality as morbidity, and to approach living instrumentally as a means to longevity. This article uses the example of hypertension management to illustrate how this vision of death is transformed into a form of life.Through the analysis of a number of disciplinary technologies — from technical definitions of health to blood pressure monitoring — it illustrates how individuals are incited to relate to death in an antagonistic, impersonal, and technical fashion. While contemporary forms of capital accumulation in the health field require an intensification of such relations, this article suggests that there much to be gained from exploring visions of health that are not at odds with death.
Constructing health news: possibilities for a civic-oriented journalism
Authors: Hodgetts Darrin , Chamberlain Kerry , Scammell Margaret , Karapu Rolinda , Waimarie Nikora Linda
Published: December 2007

Health is a very prominent news category. However, we know little about the production processes of journalists leading to the health stories we encounter on a daily basis. Such knowledge is crucial for ensuring a vibrant public sphere for health. This article draws on interviews with eight health journalists in New Zealand to document what they consider to constitute a health story, their professional norms and practices, their perceptions of audiences, and the need for increased civic deliberations regarding health. Journalists privilege biomedical stories involving lifestyle and individual responsibility, and have limited frames for presenting stories that involve socio-political concerns. Stories are strongly shaped by journalists' considerations of their target audience, the sources they draw on, their professional norms, and institutional practices. This results in the omission of stories that have relevance for minority and disadvantaged groups and limits the nature of the stories told to ones that reflect the views of the majority. However, journalists are also reflective about these issues and receptive to ways to overcome them. This raises possibilities for health researchers to engage with journalists in order to repoliticise health and promote a more civic-oriented form of health journalism.
`I'd rather not take Prozac': stigma and commodification in antidepressant consumer narratives
Authors: Smardon Regina
Published: December 2007

This article explores the idea that narrative is the primary vehicle through which antidepressant consumers negotiate their sense of identity and reality. Antidepressant consumers represent a unique consumer culture because of the stigma that society attaches to mental illness. Recent media attention, including direct to consumer (DTC) advertising, appears to decrease the stigma surrounding antidepressant use while at the same time commodifying and branding them for mass consumption. Antidepressant consumers must negotiate the threat of stigma and the threat of commodification through the process of constructing narratives. Exploring the narrative process of identity negotiation reveals how the interconnected cultural processes of stigma and commodification are undergoing historical shifts. Among these shifts are the intensification of branding and an expansion of consumer culture. Implications for health promotion and further research are discussed.
News media coverage of direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising: implications for countervailing powers theory
Authors: Hartley Heather , Coleman Cynthia-Lou
Published: December 2007

Since a 1997 regulatory shift on the part of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there has been an explosion of televised direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising in the United States. The introduction and growth of this form of advertising, as well as other recent evolutions in the health care arena, have altered relationships among key countervailing powers in the health care system, suggesting the need to recast countervailing powers theory so as to account for these changes. Coming from the perspective that the news media play an important role in reflecting the balance of power among the various countervailing powers, the paper advances this theoretical framework through an empirical assessment of the relative prominence of those entities in print news media coverage of the DTC advertising phenomenon. The study finds that `corporate sellers' (pharmaceutical industry) are accorded more prominence in news coverage than are providers, consumers, corporate purchasers, or state players and that DTC critics, in particular, have minimal representation. In addition, the findings point toward two modifications for countervailing powers theory: (1) an incorporation of the role of academic/research organizations, and (2) a consideration of the universe of possibilities with respect to each of the countervailing powers.
Counting on the `Celtic Tiger'
Authors: King-O'Riain Rebecca Chiyoko
Published: December 2007

On 23 April 2006, an ethnicity question appeared for the first time on the census in the Republic of Ireland. This article analyses the evolution and addition of this question as an illustration of a specific process of state racialization in the Irish census. As such, it illuminates the social and political contestation of the meaning of race, racial categories and ethnicity in the Republic of Ireland through an examination of the interplay between demographers' needs for simple categorization and the complex lived reality of race and ethnicity in Ireland. Driven by the `Celtic Tiger' economic boom and reversing the historic trend of Irish emigration, immigration has increased to levels not generally seen before 1996 in Ireland. The article shows how a growing diverse population of immigrants to Ireland, an increased awareness of equality legislation and a need to rationalize the statistical systems in Ireland all created a desire to enumerate ethnic groups. The article also explores how the Irish census arrived at the particular form of racial and ethnic categorization that it did — influenced by international censuses (particularly from the UK with which it shares a common travel area), the historical ethnicization of Travellers (as the article shows, there has been a long-standing debate about whether Travellers, a disadvantaged indigenous nomadic group, are considered `ethnic' or not) and increasing awareness of ethnocultural characteristics among European statistical agencies.
Work in the kebab economy
Authors: Wahlbeck Östen
Published: December 2007

Immigrants from Turkey often end up as self-employed or employees in the fast-food and restaurant sector in Finland. The concept of ethnic economy describes the employment pattern in this particular economic sector. The article suggests that substantial state involvement is not necessarily in conflict with the existence of ethnic economies, and in some instances welfare state policies may even support the creation of ethnic economies. The article discusses both positive and negative consequences of an ethnic economy for the employees in the `kebab economy'. Since the Finnish general labour market is, for the most part, closed to immigrants, Turkish employees end up in a situation where they work under bad working conditions in kebab shops, hoping one day to be able to start their own business. The results of the study highlight the importance of the wider economic, institutional and social contexts in which immigrant businesses operate.
Contemporary racism and Islamaphobia in Australia
Authors: Dunn Kevin M. , Klocker Natascha , Salabay Tanya
Published: December 2007

Contemporary anti-Muslim sentiment in Australia is reproduced through a racialization that includes well rehearsed stereotypes of Islam, perceptions of threat and inferiority, as well as fantasies that the Other (in this case Australian Muslims) do not belong, or are absent. These are not old or colour-based racisms, but they do manifest certain characteristics that allow us to conceive a racialization process in relation to Muslims. Three sets of findings show how constructions of Islam are important means through which racism is reproduced. First, public opinion surveys reveal the extent of Islamaphobia in Australia and the links between threat perception and constructions of alien-ness and Otherness. The second data set is from a content analysis of the racialized pathologies of Muslims and their spaces. The third is from an examination of the undercurrents of Islamaphobia and national cultural selectivity in the politics of responding to asylum seekers. Negative media treatment is strongly linked to antipathetic government dispositions. This negativity has material impacts upon Australian Muslims. It sponsors a more widespread Islamaphobia, (mis)informs opposition to mosque development and ever more restrictive asylum seeker policies, and lies behind arson attacks and racist violence. Ultimately, the racialization of Islam corrupts belonging and citizenship for Muslim Australians.
Oncogenic association of the Cbp/PAG adaptor protein with the Lyn tyrosine kinase in human B-NHL rafts
Authors: Tauzin Sebastien , Ding Heidrun , Khatib Karim , Ahmad Ishtiaq , Burdevet Dimitri , van Echten-Deckert Gerhild , Lindquist Jonathan A. , Schraven Burkhart , Din Nasir-ud- , Borisch Bettina , Hoessli Daniel C.
Published: December 2007

B-non-Hodgkin lymphomas (B-NHLs) use a raft-associated signalosome made of the constitutively active Lyn kinase, the tyrosine phosphorylated Cbp/PAG adaptor, and tyrosine phosphorylated STAT3 transcription factor. No such “signalosome” is found in rafts of ALK+ T lymphoma and Hodgkin-derived cell lines, despite similar Cbp/PAG, Lyn, and STAT3 expression and similar amounts of raft sphingolipids. Stable association of the signalosome with B-NHL rafts requires (1) a Lyn kinase (auto)phosphorylated in its regulatory and active site tyrosines, (2) a Cbp/PAG adaptor phosphorylated at tyrosine 317 and bound to Lyn SH2 via phosphotyrosine 299 and neighboring residues, and (3) a tyrosine phosphorylated STAT3 linked via SH2 to the regulatory, C-terminal tyrosine of Lyn. No Csk appears to be part of this B-NHL signalosome. An oncogenic role for Lyn was shown after exposure of B-NHL lines to Lyn inhibitors that prevented Lyn and Cbp/PAG phosphorylation, dissociated the signalosome from rafts, and eventually induced death. Cell death followed decreases in Lyn or Cbp/PAG expression levels in one mantle cell lymphoma line, but not in a Hodgkin-derived one. The Lyn-Cbp/PAG signalosome appears to control proliferation and survival in most B-NHLs and constitutes a therapeutic target in B-NHL cells that exhibit oncogenic “addiction” to the Lyn kinase.
Haploinsufficiency of CDKN1B contributes to leukemogenesis in T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia
Authors: Le Toriellec Emilie , Despouy Gilles , Pierron Gaëlle , Gaye Nogaye , Joiner Marjorie , Bellanger Dorine , Vincent-Salomon Anne , Stern Marc-Henri
Published: December 2007

T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL) is consistently associated with inactivation of the ATM gene and chromosomal re-arrangements leading to an overexpression of MTCP1/TCL1 oncoproteins. These alterations are present at the earliest stage of malignant transformation, suggesting that additional events are required for overt malignancy. In this study, we pursued the investigation of the 12p13 deletion, previously shown to occur in approximately half of T-PLLs. We refined the minimal region of deletion by single nucleotide and microsatellite polymorphism allelotyping. We defined a 216-kb region containing the CDKN1B gene that encodes the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitory protein p27KIP1. Sequencing this gene in 47 T-PLL patient samples revealed a nonsense mutation in one case without 12p13 deletion. The absence of biallelic inactivation of CDKN1B for most patients suggested a haploinsufficiency mechanism for tumor suppression, which was investigated in an animal model of the disease. In a Cdkn1b+/− background, MTCP1 transgenics had consistent and multiple emergences of preleukemic clones not observed in control cohorts. The second Cdkn1b allele was maintained and expressed in these preleukemic clones. Altogether, these data strongly implicate CDKN1B haploinsufficiency in the pathogenesis of T-PLL.
Wogonin preferentially kills malignant lymphocytes and suppresses T-cell tumor growth by inducing PLCγ1- and Ca2+-dependent apoptosis
Authors: Baumann Sven , Fas Stefanie C. , Giaisi Marco , Müller Wolfgang W. , Merling Anette , Gülow Karsten , Edler Lutz , Krammer Peter H. , Li-Weber Min
Published: December 2007

Herbs have successfully been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. However, their curative mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this study, we show that Wogonin, derived from the traditional Chinese medicine Huang-Qin (Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi), induces apoptosis in malignant T cells in vitro and suppresses growth of human T-cell leukemia xenografts in vivo. Importantly, Wogonin shows almost no toxicity on T lymphocytes from healthy donors. Wogonin induces prolonged activation of PLCγ1 via H2O2 signaling in malignant T cells, which leads to sustained elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ in malignant but not normal T cells. Subsequently, a Ca2+ overload leads to disruption of the mitochondrial membrane. The selective effect of Wogonin is due to its differential regulation of the redox status of malignant versus normal T cells. In addition, we show that the L-type voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels are involved in the intracellular Ca2+ mobilization in T cells. Furthermore, we show that malignant T cells possess elevated amounts of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels compared with normal T cells, which further enhance the cytotoxicity of Wogonin for malignant T cells. Taken together, our data show a therapeutic potential of Wogonin for the treatment of hematologic malignancies.