bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ten Years That Shook the World? The United Provinces as First Hegemonic State
Authors: Taylor Peter J.
Published: September 2012

In world-systems analysis, the United Provinces are interpreted as one of only three hegemonic states in the history of the capitalist world-economy. Unlike the subsequent hegemons Britain and the United States, the United Provinces only became an independent country just before its rise to hegemony in the early seventeenth century. This essay explores how this new small state became the first hegemon of the modern world-system. Two questions are asked: why did the area of northern Netherlands became a state, and why did this state became a hegemon? Using Mann's sources of social power, it is shown how a promiscuous combination of ideological, military, political, and economic power produced a unique state combining the economic policies of city-states with the protective capacity of territorial states. It is concluded that the Dutch promotion of an economic raison d'etat was a necessary component for the consolidation of a competitive interstate system, itself a necessary requirement for the expansion of the capitalist world-economy.
Toxic Waste Siting and Community Resistance: How Cooptation of Local Citizen Opposition Failed
Authors: Murphree David W. , Wright Stuart A. , Ebaugh Helen Rose
Published: September 2012

Cooptation is used as a conceptual framework for analyzing a case of environmental conflict over a proposed toxic waste site that ended with allegations of betrayal aimed at community leaders who participated in structured negotiations with a waste disposal company. Though the negotiations committee challenging the waste company's proposal was stacked with veteran environmental activists, evidence suggests that they were effectively coopted. However, cooptation eventually failed when local activists not on the committee lost confidence in the negotiating process and accused committee members of “selling out” to the waste company and compromising the interests of the community. As a result of protests and citizen awareness campaigns, the opposition forces successfully convinced the regulatory agency to deny the company's permit. We find that cooptation theory helps to explain the short-lived success of corporate efforts during the early stages of negotiations, as well as the dynamics of failure in the long run. Three major components of cooptation are identified and discussed: (a) channeling, (b) inclusion/participation, and (c) salience control. The eventual failure of the siting process is linked to the latent demise of salience control.
Community, Capitalism, and Rebellion in Chiapas
Authors: Whitmeyer Joseph M. , Hopcroft Rosemary L.
Published: September 2012

In this paper, we examine the role of local land tenure, community solidarity, and recent commercialization in the 1994 rebellion in Chiapas. We find that neither the ejido land tenure system, nor community solidarity, nor community disruption and proletarianization due to recent economic change, may be considered as primary causal factors behind the revolt. We find the best explanation for the revolt to lie in the desire of certain groups, notably immigrants to the Lacondón rain forest area, for land, and in recent changes in land tenure law which have ended their hopes of acquiring land. The primary effect of economic change was indirect. It promoted population growth, which has led to increasing pressure on land.
Toward Models of Power Development in Exchange Networks
Authors: Skvoretz John , Willer David , Fararo Thomas J.
Published: September 2012

Much research on power development in exchange networks has demonstrated the effect of an actor's structural location on the exchange outcomes s/he experiences, without explicit attention to the process by which exchanges are completed. Our concern is with this process and, in particular, with the evaluation of some theoretical models of such negotiations. Observations of negotiations in two contrasting network exchange structures form the empirical basis for the examination of ideas from “resistance” theory, proposed by Heckathorn (1980) and Willer (1981), and simulation models built on simple actor decision strategies. We find that resistance ideas are consistent with gross differences in negotiation patterns in the two structures and that at least some aspects of differences in negotiation can be accounted for by simple random activity channeled by network-based constraints on actors' opportunity sets.
Organizations, Internal Labor Market Policies, and Gender Inequality in Workplace Supervisory Authority
Authors: Huffman Matt L.
Published: September 2012

Typically, it is assumed that bureaucratic labor policies associated with internal labor markets (ILMs) both promote the efficient use of workers' skills and foster equality in the workplace by publicizing managers' decisions and increasing the accountability they face. This article uses data from a national probability sample of U.S. workplaces to test these assumptions about ILM policies with regard to gender inequality in workplace supervisory authority. The analysis also considers supply-side and occupational segregation as explanations for gender inequality in work authority, as well as several organizational characteristics emphasized in the organizational literature that have so far been left untested. Results indicate that occupational segregation accounts for most of the gap in supervisory authority, while purely human capital accounts are insufficient. Other results are consistent with an institutional interpretation—that organizations adopt ILM policies in order to “symbolically comply” with both regulatory bodies and public ideals about workplace opportunity.
Political Voice, Fiduciary Activism, and the Institutional Ownership of U.S. Corporations: The Role of Public and Noncorporate Pension Funds
Authors: Hawley James P.
Published: September 2012

This article examines the significance of the change from ownership of corporate equity (and debt) primarily by individuals to about half held by institutions. Most important among these are pension funds, of which public and noncorporate funds are the focus of the article. It is argued that public and noncorporate funds play an increasingly important role in corporate governance and policy. These “fiduciary activists” are central actors in the emergence of “relationship investing” resulting in the bypassing of market mechanisms in many important instances. The article examines a variety of recent examples of political voices of these institutions, concluding there is a partial, if messy, “remarriage” between the ownership and control of the modern corporation. This implies that U.S. corporations are in a significant sense neither merely “private” capitalist enterprises, nor public either, but an emerging entity containing public and private aspects along with an emerging “civil” ownership quality (i.e., by unions and other nonstate entities).
Union Presentation of Self and Worker Participation in Organizing Campaigns
Authors: Markowitz Linda
Published: September 2012

Worker participation, or lack thereof, in union organizing campaigns has mainly been explained by workers' individual characteristics. This article takes a broader perspective: It postulates that union characteristics, and most importantly, the manner in which the union presents itself, are crucial in individuals' decisions to participate. The article shows, through analyses of interviews with workers collected after a union organizing campaign, that potential participants act in accordance with symbols the union presents to them. In the case examined here, the union presented itself as a business with a product to sell. This business presentation of self precluded participation because workers perceived that dues payment was all that was required to complete the business transaction. Political and economic hostility has been correctly blamed for the decrease in union strength. However, by acknowledging that the union's presentation has important ramifications for employee behavior, unions may gain more control over their own fate.
1996 Presidential Address: A Vision of Sociology
Authors: Scheff Thomas J.
Published: September 2012

There is a tradition in this association that the president's address should review the past, or set trends for the future. I will try to do both, first reviewing the main themes in sociological research, then sketching my own vision of sociology and the human sciences. I offer these thoughts with the hope of enlisting your cooperation toward the betterment of our discipline and our society. In keeping with the theme of this meeting, the sociological imagination, I will be brief in order to leave room for lively and imaginative discussion.
The Autonomy of Weak States: States and Classes in Primary Export Economies
Authors: Gallo Carmenza
Published: September 2012

State autonomy is often viewed as the result of the culture, ideological coherence, or class background of the state bureaucracies, and of institutional characteristics that ensure state effectiveness. This view has several problems: it assumes what has to be explained, makes it difficult to understand changes in state autonomy, and tends to make autonomy the characteristic of strong, core states. This paper calls for a new approach to study state autonomy, one in which power is a characteristic of a relationship, not of actors or organizations (Emerson 1962), and uses this approach to examine changes in state-class relationships based on taxation during the mid 1930s in Bolivia. The paper then argues that state autonomy depends on the relative costs of state policies and on the availability of political allies to the state vis-a-vis the opposing economic elite. This approach allows us to specify the power dependence of the state on a given class, the conditions under which that relative dependence changes in favor of the state, and is applicable to both weak and strong states.
Ethnic Identity and Aspirations among Rural Alaska Youth
Authors: Seyfrit Carole L. , Hamilton Lawrence C. , Duncan Cynthia M. , Grimes Jody
Published: September 2012

The villages of rural Alaska comprise one of the most exceptional, yet least visible, sociocultural environments in the United States They are geographically remote, and set off from the mainstream also by their unique Eskimo, Indian or Aleut cultures. At the same time many economic, legal and cultural connections pull these villages toward the dominant U.S. society, impelling continual and rapid social change. Our research focuses on adolescents growing up in this culturally complex and changing environment. We employ survey data from adolescents in 19 rural schools to explore relationships between ethnic identity and students' expectations about moving away or attending college. Many students describe their ethnic identity as mixed, both Native and non-Native. On some key variables, the responses of mixed-identity students fall between those of Natives and non-Natives, supporting a theoretical conception of ethnicity as a matter of degree rather than category. Migration and college expectations vary with ethnic identity, but the college expectations/identity relationship fades when we adjust for other variables. Ethnicity affects expectations for the most part indirectly, through “cultural tool kit” variables including family role models and support. Gender differences in expectations, on the other hand, remain substantial even after adjusting for other variables.
Class Differences in Racial Attitudes: A Divided Black America?
Authors: Hwang Sean-Shong , Fitzpatrick Kevin M. , Helms David
Published: September 2012

Class differences in racial attitudes among blacks were examined using the 1979–1980 National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA). We examined two perspectives—class realignment and ethnic competition—as possible explanations for attitudinal differences between middle- and lower-class blacks. The majority of our findings supported the ethnic competition perspective which predicts a more critical attitude among middle- than lower-class blacks toward the stratification system. However, we found no significant class differences in blacks' attitudinal orientation towards whites. In addition, a clear difference between classes with respect to political action was found. In general, the results provide qualified support for Wilson's class polarization thesis.
Marriage, Family and Loneliness: A Cross-National Study
Authors: Stack Steven
Published: September 2012

Previous research on loneliness has often neglected the role of marriage and family ties, comparative analysis, and cohabitation. It is not clear if the married/parent - loneliness relationship is consistent across nations, is stronger than a cohabitant-loneliness relationship, and applies to both genders. The present study addresses these issues. Data are from 17 nations in the World Values Survey. The results of multiple regression analyses determined that (1) Marriage is associated with substantially less loneliness, but parenthood is not (2) being married was considerably more predictive of loneliness than cohabitation, indicating that companionship alone does not account for the protective nature of marriage (3) both marriage and parental status were associated with lower levels of loneliness among men than women, (4) marriage is associated with decreased loneliness independent of two intervening processes: marriage's association with both health and financial satisfaction, (5) the strength of the marriage-loneliness relationship is constant across 16 of the 17 nations. Theoretically, the results are consistent with a social causation hypothesis on marriage and well-being, but also suggest possible support for a social selection thesis. The findings provide wide sweeping, strong, and largely consistent support for the married-loneliness thesis, but only weak support for a relationship between parenting and loneliness.
Inner-Directed Actions
Authors: Balog Andreas
Published: September 2012

Inner-directed actions are defined as actions which a person directs toward himself or herself in order to bring about inner states, or to motivate him- or herself to perform actions in the outer world. It is argued that inner-directed actions fulfill the criteria used in sociology to define actions that are traditionally the starting point in the development of sociological concepts. The role played by this kind of action in understanding “inner” phenomena is discussed with respect to two examples, emotions and the unity of the person. This conception aims at developing a nonpsychological approach to the analysis of inner states and processes and should prove that Simmel's program, the application of sociology to “inner phenomena” (he called “inner sociology”) is possible if the concept of action is taken as basis. Reference to inner-directed actions concerns also issues of general relevance to the theory of action in sociology, such as the relationship between “spontaneous” reactions and actions, the role of motives in explaining actions, and the linkage of actions with each other.
The Song of Sociobiology
Authors: Freese Lee
Published: September 2012

The author rejects as unfounded the argument that sociobiology can provide a nomothetic foundation for the sociocultural sciences. The theoretical logic of sociobiology is reviewed, the scope of the theory is discussed, and its problems of inference, ecology, and myth making are analyzed. The explicit claim made by interpreters that the theory provides ultimate explanations, and the implicit claim to a privileged status for these, cannot be theoretically, empirically, or logically justified.
Neo-Darwinian Approaches in the Social Sciences: Unwarranted Concerns and Misconceptions
Authors: Crippen Timothy
Published: September 2012

Sociologists have been unusually reluctant to incorporate into their explanatory systems the theoretical insights of evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, and population genetics. This skepticism toward genuinely evolutionary approaches is expressed, to varying degrees, in the reactions of Freese and Maryanski to my essay on neo-Darwinian sociology. In this brief response to their comments, I suggest that these general reservations are grounded in an unnecessary fear of resurgent Social Darwinism, unwarranted concerns regarding determinism and reductionism, unjustified allegations of teleology and tautology, and/or general misconceptions of the logic and principles of neo-Darwinian theory.
Metatheory, Metamethod, Meta-Data-Analysis: What, Why, and How?
Authors: Zhao Shanyang
Published: September 2012

This paper examines recent developments in meta-study in sociology which involves metatheory, metamethod, and meta-data-analysis. It argues that the three branches of meta-study, though previously unrelated, are now rapidly converging, signaling, among other things, the existence of a sustained crisis in the discipline. It concludes that meta-study will continue to grow in sociology for some time to come.
Popular Culture as Oppositional Culture: Rap as Resistance
Authors: Martinez Theresa A.
Published: September 2012

Bonnie Mitchell and Joe Feagin (1995) build on the theory of oppositional culture, arguing that African Americans, American Indians, and Mexican Americans draw on their own cultural resources to resist oppression under internal colonialism. In this paper, rap music is identified as an important African American popular cultural form that also emerges as a form of oppositional culture. A brief analysis of the lyrics of political and gangsta rappers of the late 1980s and early 1990s, provides key themes of distrust, anger, resistance, and critique of a perceived racist and discriminatory society. Rap music is discussed as music with a message of resistance, empowerment, and social critique, and as a herald of the Los Angeles riots of 1992.
Specifying the Gender-Class-Delinquency Relationship: Exploring the Effects of Educational Expectations
Authors: Triplett Ruth , Jarjoura G. Roger
Published: September 2012

Traditionally, research on the class-crime relationship has ignored gender, while much of the past research on the gender-delinquency relationship has ignored class. Both feminist criminologists and social psychologists, such as House (1981), suggest that analyses of class and gender should involve the examination of how these factors shape individual lives. In this paper we explore the role of educational expectations as one factor shaped by both class and gender. We consider three issues. First, is social class significantly related to female, as well as male, delinquency? Second, does social class shape educational expectations and do they, in turn, enhance the likelihood of delinquent involvement? Third, are there differences by gender in the ways that social class conditions educational expectations? The findings suggest that gender and class are both important factors shaping educational expectations and through them, delinquency.
Moving up, but How Far? African American Women and Economic Restructuring in Los Angeles, 1970–1990
Authors: James Angela D. , Grant David M. , Cranford Cynthia
Published: September 2012

In this article we use 1970 to 1990 Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) to examine patterns associated with African American women's economic and labor market integration in Los Angeles. We examine key indicators of overall economic restructuring in Los Angeles, such as patterns of industrial growth and decline during the period in question. We focus primarily on four specific labor market characteristics: Changes in industrial characteristics of Los Angeles, changing occupational distribution, changes in earnings, and employment patterns among African American women. Although we focus on trends for African American women, these trends are also examined, where relevant, for other groups. Specifically, comparisons are made with white women and Latinas and with African American, white, and Latino men. Our analysis illustrates the manner in which economic restructuring has had important and contradictory impacts on labor market participation and occupational distribution among African American women.
Mexican-Origin Women's Employment Instability
Authors: de Anda Roberto M.
Published: September 2012

This study compares the causes and earnings consequences of employment instability among Mexican-origin women, white women, and white men. Data for the analyses come from the work experience supplement in the March 1995 file of the Current Population Survey, which documents the respondent's yearlong labor force activity. Workers who had one or more spells of unemployment during the year or involuntarily worked part-time during the entire year are said to have experienced employment instability. Using logistic regression, results show that Mexican-origin women with low levels of schooling, immigrants, and those employed in the periphery services sector or extractive sector are highly vulnerable to employment instability. Earnings determination models revealed that employment instability exerts a heavy penalty on Mexican-origin women, compared to their stably employed coethnics, net of human capital endowments and economic sector location.
The 1869 Copper Tariff: The Politics and Geography of Postbellum U.S. Development in World-System Perspective
Authors: Leitner Jonathan
Published: September 2012

Traditional approaches to the political economy of tariffs usually examine formal politics within the state or look at the economic interests of the producers involved. World-systems approaches to tariffs try to integrate the two approaches, by examining how economic interests fit into the world-economy, and how this influences their politics. Despite being a little-remembered piece of Reconstruction-era legislation, the 1869 copper tariff allows an opportunity to reexamine an episode of the United States' development within a world-systems context and help to broaden our understanding of the politics behind its emergence as an industrial power. Simultaneously, it allows us to explore the salient physical and technological issues that underlie natural resource tariffs.
Collective Behavor and Social Movements in the Postmodern Age: Looking Backward to Look Forward
Authors: Johnston Hank , Lio Shoon
Published: September 2012

This article specifies several ways in which the collective behavior portion of Collective Behavior/Social Movement (CBSM) studies may be revitalized in the near future. The revitalization will occur because repertoires of extra-institutional challenge emerging in the postmodern age seem to fall outside the way social movements have been theorized in the last twenty-five years. Today's postmodern trends—increasing consumerism and affluence, individualism, demographic complexity, ideological diversity, global migration, and constant innovation in communications technology—have proliferated new social identities and deconstructed social identities imposed by the Other. As a result, postmodernity's complexities are multiplying the number of small, diverse, and diffuse groupings defining themselves in challenging ways outside the corridors of politics. Indeed these groupings may in the years to come recast what some see as a social movement society into a CBSM Society of diverse challenges to the institutional order.
A Quantitative Comparison of the Effectiveness of Public and Private Refugee Resettlement Programs: An Evaluation of the San Diego Wilson Fish Demonstration Project
Authors: Hohm Charles F. , Sargent Paul , Moser Robert
Published: September 2012

This article reports the results of a quantitative evaluation of San Diego County's Catholic Charities' Wilson Fish Demonstration Project (WF). The WF Project was compared to San Diego County's Department of Social Services' (DSS's) Refugee Employment Services System. The comparison of the two groups showed that, on average, the refugees with the WF Project achieved higher rates of employment, sooner after arrival, resulting in shorter dependency and lower levels of cash assistance.
Employment Chances in the Academic Job Market in Sociology: Do Race and Gender Matter?
Authors: Misra Joya , Kennelly Ivy , Karides Marina
Published: September 2012

Do employment chances for academics differ based on the gender or race/ethnicity of the job seeker? We use data from a sample of positions in sociology filled during the 1991–92 school year to determine whether European-American women, minority women, and minority men are advantaged, disadvantaged, or similarly placed in relation to European-American men. We find no evidence suggesting that European-American men are significantly disadvantaged, or disadvantaged in systematic or serious ways, vis-à-vis these groups. Among our most interesting findings is the discovery that minority men and women tend to be hired in positions newly created by the university while European-American women are significantly more likely to be hired in positions created when someone has been denied tenure. We conclude that disadvantages are beginning to level off, but they still exist for European-American women, minority men, and most especially minority women.
An Examination of the Effects of Residential and Church Integration on Racial Attitudes of Whites
Authors: Yancey George
Published: September 2012

The contact hypothesis suggests that interracial contact promotes harmonious racial relations. Previous tests of this hypothesis are dated and tend to deal with overt old-fashioned racism rather than subtle racism. The contact hypothesis is tested within residential settings and religious institutions. Residential integration does not appear to alter the racial attitudes of white respondents toward African-Americans. Yet after basic demographic controls, whites who attend interracial churches exhibit less social distance toward African-Americans and have a lower tendency to stereotype blacks. Interracial religious groups may lessen the development of racial myths and encourage more harmonious primary relationships between whites and blacks.
Academic Tenure and Employment in the Uk
Authors: Court Stephen
Published: September 2012

In this paper, my aim is to describe the growth of the academic profession in the UK, and to give an account of the security of tenure—or lack of it—of academic staff. In the early part of this century, while tenure was common among the professoriate, junior academic staff experienced considerable job insecurity. Although tenure for academic staff gradually became the norm, there are considerable doubts about how cast-iron tenure was, if put to the test as in the Edgar Page case. Recent employment trends in UK universities have been characterized by casualization and the statutory phasing out of tenure. In this article, the UK means England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; Britain generally means England, Scotland and Wales.
A Qualitative Comparison of the Effectiveness of Private and Public Refugee Resettlement Programs: The San Diego Case
Authors: Sargent Paul , Hohm Charles F. , Moser Robert
Published: September 2012

This article reports the results of a qualitative evaluation, through ethnographic interviews, of San Diego County's Catholic Charities' Wilson/Fish Demonstration Project (WF). The narratives of refugees who had been resettled by the WF were compared to those resettled by San Diego County's Department of Social Services' Refugee Employment Services System (RESS). In general, WF refugees reported gaining employment sooner and receiving cash payments for a shorter period. WF refugees also reported fewer problems in gaining access to agency personnel. WF refugees indicated greater integration of existing community networks into the agency's procedures. RESS refugees reported higher attained educational levels and a greater “future” orientation.
Residential Stability and Crime in Small Rural Agricultural and Recreational Towns
Authors: Jobes Patrick C.
Published: September 2012

This study investigates the relative importance of migration, population size, and economic base in explaining felony convictions in small rural towns. Freudenburg's concept “density of acquaintanceship” is used to analyze how differences in cohesion and integration within small rural towns are associated with crime. The central hypothesis is that lower social cohesion and integration increase crime. Two issues are examined. One is whether the type of community structure is associated with felony convictions. The other is whether migration, which ordinarily influences human capital, accounts for a high proportion of rural crime.
Brown-Collar Jobs: Occupational Segregation and Earnings of Recent-Immigrant Latinos
Authors: Catanzarite Lisa
Published: September 2012

I theorize immigrant employment as a case of occupational segregation and investigate earnings and segregation of recent-immigrant Latinos relative to native workers. Analyses of greater Los Angeles 1980 and 1990 Census 5% PUMS demonstrate increased marginalization of immigrant Latinos in “brown-collar” occupations (where Latino immigrants are vastly overrepresented among incumbents). During the 1980s earnings inequality grew between recent immigrants and native-born whites, blacks, and Latinos, even controlling for group differences in labor market characteristics. Yet pay inequality did not rise between whites and native minorities, suggesting deleterious processes particular to immigrant Latinos. Analyses of occupational dissimilarity demonstrate that native minorities are less segregated from immigrant Latinos than are whites; and segregation of recent-immigrant Latinos from native workers intensified in the 1980s, but segregation from earlier-immigrant co-ethnics remained fairly constant. A number of low-level occupations in Los Angeles are now clearly identifiable as brown collar.
Urbanization and Development: The Emergence of International Nongovernmental Organizations amid Declining States
Authors: Bradshaw York W. , Schafer Mark J.
Published: September 2012

Half of the world's population will live in cities by the early twenty-first century, and, of the ten most populated cities, nine will be in the developing world. Unfortunately, this is occurring at a time when national governments are increasingly unable to provide basic public services to growing populations. International nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) have dramatically increased their efforts in urban areas and in economic and social development in general. Although sociologists have examined the causes and effects of Third World urbanization and development, they have not focused on the role of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in this process. We argue that inclusion of NGOs in the literature is necessary and even compatible with several current theories of development. We test the impact of INGOs on three interrelated measures of urbanization and development: overurbanization, economic growth, and access to safe water. The results show that INGOs slow overurbanization and promote economic and social development.
Racialization and the State: The Housing Act of 1934 and the Creation of the Federal Housing Administration
Authors: Gotham Kevin Fox
Published: September 2012

Research examining the impact of corporate interests, state structures, and class contradictions on the state policy formation process has been dominated by three major theoretical perspectives: business dominance theory, state-centered theory, and Marxian structuralism. I argue that these existing perspectives pay insufficient attention to race and racial discrimination as a central component in the formulation and implementation of state policy. This article uses the concept of racialization to reframe existing theories of the state to explain the origin of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) through the Housing Act of 1934. As an integral component of New Deal legislation, the FHA was created for the purpose of salvaging the home building and finance industries that had collapsed during the Great Depression. I draw on government housing reports and analyses, real estate industry documents, and congressional testimony to examine the racial dynamic of the FHA's housing policies and subsidies. The analysis demonstrates the value of employing a racialization framework to account for the racial motivations surrounding the origin of state policies, the racial basis of corporate interests, and the impact of race and racial discrimination on the creation and development of state structures.
A Commentary on Aguirre: Taking Narrative Seriously
Authors: Ferber Abby L.
Published: September 2012

I explore the incorporation of the narrative approach in sociology, the role of sociologist as narrator, and why this approach is unsettling to traditional sociology, where tension exists between the postmodern implications of a narrative approach and our empiricist assumptions. A narrative approach represents an epistemological shift and should force us to interrogate the crucial role played by narrative in the construction of reality. Affirmative action provides a perfect example, as sociologists actively define and construct what constitutes affirmative action through narrative. I argue that taking narratives seriously is key to confronting anti—affirmative action narratives and denaturalizing white privilege.
Liquid crystal cell for space-borne laser rangefinder to space mission applications
Authors: Nowinowski-Kruszelnicki E. , Jaroszewicz L. , Raszewski Z. , Soms L. , Piecek W. , Perkowski P. , Kędzierski J. , Dąbrowski R. , Olifierczuk M. , Garbat K. , Miszczyk E.
Published: September 2012

Liquid crystal cell (LCC) for space-borne laser rangefinder to space mission applications was developed, manufactured and tested under cooperation between Military University of Technology (MUT) in Poland and Vavilov State Optical Institute (Vavilov SOI) in Russia. LCC operates in twisted nematic mode, commutating the polarization plane of a laser beam working at 1.064 μm and the energy density not smaller than 0,15 J/cm2 at the pulse duration about 8 ns. The transmission of LCC is not smaller than 95% at the aperture diameter not less than 15 mm. Switching on and switching off times in a 2.5-μm thick LCC driven by voltage of 10 V are not larger than 0.7 ms and 7 ms, respectively, in the operating temperature range from 20°C to 40°C. The LCCs developed in MUT were positively tested under space requirements in Vavilov SOI.
Queer Beirut Online
Authors: Gagné Mathew
Published: September 2012

This paper explores how the participation of men in Beirut within the exclusively gay-male dating web site GayRomeo.com is framed by identity politics and practices of national and ethnic membership, masculinity, and sexuality in post-civil war Beirut. Such intermingling of the sexualized meanings and queer desires within GayRomeo.com with local politics and practices affords new forms of self-description and embodied practice online as a queer Lebanese subject. Using context analysis to explore manifestations of selfhood within GayRomeo.com, as well as secondary literature about homosexuality in Beirut, I present how local politics and practices are present within user profiles constructed according to a series of profile categories consisting of character traits, interests, and demographic information. Through their profiles, users engage in embodied practices of masculinity and sexuality that influence subjectivity via their online visibility.
Efféminés, Gigolos, and MSMs in the Cyber-Networks, Coffeehouses, and “Secret Gardens” of Contemporary Tunis
Authors: Collins Rodney
Published: September 2012

This ethnographic essay reflects research conducted in urban Tunisia among two distinct, yet interrelated, groups of young “men who have sex with men” (MSMs). Theoretically, the essay focuses on the politics of identity categories, how these categories travel, and the intersections of their associated onto-epistemic instantiations. While the principal focus is on the movement of the categories of éffeminés, gigolos, and MSMs, it also considers the conditions of possibility for the emergence of a gay movement in Tunisia, enhanced by Internetbased technologies. Analysis is derived from ethnographic field materials (2003–2010) and interactions on social networking sites. A lack of cohesion among and between these groups highlights the absence of significant shared objectives that serve individuals in an effort toward solidarity, while simultaneously suggesting that the subject position of “gay” provides a key site from which micro-practices and techniques of the self challenge and reinforce identity politics. Ultimately, in light of the infrapolitics of both groups, coupled with the increasing accessibility of online networking tools in Tunisia, this essay demonstrates that same-sex intimacies have not been a salient political concern for the Tunisian state, although recent events suggest a pronouncedly different future.
7th SAARC ENT Conference
Authors: Guragain R
Published: September 2012

Nepalese Journal of ENT Head and Neck Surgery Vol.2 No.1 Issue 1 (Jan-Jun 2011) 1 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njenthns.v2i1.6774
Self-medication practices among health care professionals in a Private University, Malaysia
Authors: Ali Abdul Nazer , Kai Jason Tiong Tiong Kion , Keat Choo Chun , Dhanaraj SA
Published: September 2012

The purpose of this study was to evaluate and analyze the prevalence of self-medication practice among healthcare professionals in a private university, Malaysia. Prospective, quantitative, cross-sectional design which attempts to measure the self-medication practices among the teaching healthcare personnel through questionnaire survey form, self-developed and pre-validated consisting of open and closed-ended questions. Among respondents, 77.6% were practicing self medication. The reasons were, familiar with treatment options (23.5%) and mild illness (20%) and the highest practicing respondents were 30-39 years (76.3%). The reason among those who did not practice self- medication was risk of adverse reactions (31.6%). Self-medication practice was more prevalent among medical professionals (86.5%) followed by pharmacy and dentistry (70%). Headache (15.7%), cough and cold (15%) among illness and analgesics (13.1%) and antipyretic (12.7%) among drugs induced most respondents to practice self- medication. This study reveals very high prevalence of self-medication practice among healthcare professionals in the local private university. Exposure to drugs, knowledge of their illness and treatment choice remains main contribu- tors. The healthcare professionals must be encouraged to enter the patient role.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/icpj.v1i10.11846 International Current Pharmaceutical Journal 2012, 1(10): 302-310
Molecular and Epigenetic Mechanisms of MLL in Human Leukemogenesis
Authors: Ballabio Erica , Milne Thomas A.
Published: September 2012

Epigenetics is often defined as the study of heritable changes in gene expression or chromosome stability that don’t alter the underlying DNA sequence. Epigenetic changes are established through multiple mechanisms that include DNA methylation, non-coding RNAs and the covalent modification of specific residues on histone proteins. It is becoming clear not only that aberrant epigenetic changes are common in many human diseases such as leukemia, but that these changes by their very nature are malleable, and thus are amenable to treatment. Epigenetic based therapies have so far focused on the use of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors and DNA methyltransferase inhibitors, which tend to have more general and widespread effects on gene regulation in the cell. However, if a unique molecular pathway can be identified, diseases caused by epigenetic mechanisms are excellent candidates for the development of more targeted therapies that focus on specific gene targets, individual binding domains, or specific enzymatic activities. Designing effective targeted therapies depends on a clear understanding of the role of epigenetic mutations during disease progression. The Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL) protein is an example of a developmentally important protein that controls the epigenetic activation of gene targets in part by methylating histone 3 on lysine 4. MLL is required for normal development, but is also mutated in a subset of aggressive human leukemias and thus provides a useful model for studying the link between epigenetic cell memory and human disease. The most common MLL mutations are chromosome translocations that fuse the MLL gene in frame with partner genes creating novel fusion proteins. In this review, we summarize recent work that argues MLL fusion proteins could function through a single molecular pathway, but we also highlight important data that suggests instead that multiple independent mechanisms underlie MLL mediated leukemogenesis.
Biotechnological Utilization with a Focus on Anaerobic Treatment of Cheese Whey: Current Status and Prospects
Authors: Chatzipaschali Aspasia A. , Stamatis Anastassios G.
Published: September 2012

Cheese whey utilization is of major concern nowadays. Its high organic matter content, in combination with the high volumes produced and limited treatment options make cheese whey a serious environmental problem. However, the potential production of biogas (methane), hydrogen or other marketable products with a simultaneous high COD reduction through appropriate treatment proves that cheese whey must be considered as an energy resource rather than a pollutant. The presence of biodegradable components in the cheese whey coupled with the advantages of anaerobic digestion processes over other treatment methods makes anaerobic digestion an attractive and suitable treatment option. This paper intends to review the most representative applications of anaerobic treatment of cheese whey currently being exploited and under research. Moreover, an effort has been made to categorize the common characteristics of the various research efforts and find a comparative basis, as far as their results are concerned. In addition, a number of dairy industries already using such anaerobic digestion systems are presented.
Helmet Use and Associated Factors among Thai Motorcyclists during Songkran Festival
Authors: Siviroj Penprapa , Peltzer Karl , Pengpid Supa , Morarit Sompong
Published: September 2012

The aim of this study was to assess helmet use and associated factors among motorcycle riders during Songkran festival in Thailand. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of helmet use among Thai motorcycle riders (sample size = 18,998) during four days of the Songkran festival. For this sample, the population of motorcycle riders was consecutively selected using quota sampling from 12 petrol stations in four provinces from each of the four main geographical regions of Thailand. The study was conducted at petrol stations at roads in town, outside town and highway at different time intervals when trained field staff administered a structured questionnaire and performed an observation checklist. Results indicate that 44.2% of the motorcycle riders and 72.5% of the motorcycle passengers had not been using a helmet. In multivariable analysis demographics, environmental factors, helmet use experiences and attitudes and recalling a lower exposure to road safety awareness (RSA) campaign were associated with non-helmet use among motorcyclists. It appears that the RSA campaign may have some positive effect on reducing non-helmet use among motorcycle riders during the Songkran festival.
Climate Change and Children’s Health—A Call for Research on What Works to Protect Children
Authors: Xu Zhiwei , Sheffield Perry E. , Hu Wenbiao , Su Hong , Yu Weiwei , Qi Xin , Tong Shilu
Published: September 2012

Climate change is affecting and will increasingly influence human health and wellbeing. Children are particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. An extensive literature review regarding the impact of climate change on children’s health was conducted in April 2012 by searching electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science, as well as relevant websites, such as IPCC and WHO. Climate change affects children’s health through increased air pollution, more weather-related disasters, more frequent and intense heat waves, decreased water quality and quantity, food shortage and greater exposure to toxicants. As a result, children experience greater risk of mental disorders, malnutrition, infectious diseases, allergic diseases and respiratory diseases. Mitigation measures like reducing carbon pollution emissions, and adaptation measures such as early warning systems and post-disaster counseling are strongly needed. Future health research directions should focus on: (1) identifying whether climate change impacts on children will be modified by gender, age and socioeconomic status; (2) refining outcome measures of children’s vulnerability to climate change; (3) projecting children’s disease burden under climate change scenarios; (4) exploring children’s disease burden related to climate change in low-income countries; and (5) identifying the most cost-effective mitigation and adaptation actions from a children’s health perspective.
Correction: Barbouni, A., et al. Tobacco Use, Exposure to Secondhand Smoke, and Cessation Counseling Among Health Professions Students: Greek Data from the Global Health Professions Student Survey (GHPSS). Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2012, 9, 331-342
Authors: Barbouni Anastasia , Hadjichristodoulou Christos , Merakou Kyriakoula , Antoniadou Eleni , Kourea Kallirrhoe , Miloni Evangelia , Warren Charles W. , Rachiotis George , Kremastinou Jenny
Published: September 2012

The authors wish to make the following correction to this paper [1]: The author name “George Rahiotis” should be “George Rachiotis”.
A Combination of 3D-QSAR, Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics Simulation Studies of Benzimidazole-Quinolinone Derivatives as iNOS Inhibitors
Authors: Zhang Hao , Zan Jinhang , Yu Guangyun , Jiang Ming , Liu Peixun
Published: September 2012

Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase (iNOS) has been involved in a variety of diseases, and thus it is interesting to discover and optimize new iNOS inhibitors. In previous studies, a series of benzimidazole-quinolinone derivatives with high inhibitory activity against human iNOS were discovered. In this work, three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationships (3D-QSAR), molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation approaches were applied to investigate the functionalities of active molecular interaction between these active ligands and iNOS. A QSAR model with R2 of 0.9356, Q2 of 0.8373 and Pearson-R value of 0.9406 was constructed, which presents a good predictive ability in both internal and external validation. Furthermore, a combined analysis incorporating the obtained model and the MD results indicates: (1) compounds with the proper-size hydrophobic substituents at position 3 in ring-C (R3 substituent), hydrophilic substituents near the X6 of ring-D and hydrophilic or H-bond acceptor groups at position 2 in ring-B show enhanced biological activities; (2) Met368, Trp366, Gly365, Tyr367, Phe363, Pro344, Gln257, Val346, Asn364, Met349, Thr370, Glu371 and Tyr485 are key amino acids in the active pocket, and activities of iNOS inhibitors are consistent with their capability to alter the position of these important residues, especially Glu371 and Thr370. The results provide a set of useful guidelines for the rational design of novel iNOS inhibitors.