bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The relationship between religious involvement and clinical status of patients with bipolar disorder
Authors: Cruz Mario , Pincus Harold Alan , Welsh Deborah E , Greenwald Devra , Lasky Elaine , Kilbourne Amy M
Published: January 2010

Cruz M, Pincus HA, Welsh DE, Greenwald D, Lasky E, Kilbourne AM. The relationship between religious involvement and clinical status of patients with bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 68–76. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Objective:  Religion and spirituality are important coping strategies in depression but have been rarely studied within the context of bipolar disorder. The present study assessed the association between different forms of religious involvement and the clinical status of individuals treated for bipolar disorder.

Methods:  A cross‐sectional observation study of follow‐up data from a large cohort study of patients receiving care for bipolar disorder (n = 334) at an urban Veterans Affairs mental health clinic was conducted. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the association between public (frequency of church attendance), private (frequency of prayer/meditation), as well as subjective forms (influence of beliefs on life) of religious involvement and mixed, manic, depressed, and euthymic states when demographic, anxiety, alcohol abuse, and health indicators were controlled.

Results:  Multivariate analyses found significant associations between higher rates of prayer/meditation and participants in a mixed state [odds ratio (OR) = 1.29; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.10–1.52, chi square = 9.42, df = 14, p < 0.05], as well as lower rates of prayer/meditation and participants who were euthymic (OR = 0.84; 95% CI = 0.72–0.99, chi square = 4.60, df = 14, p < 0.05). Depression and mania were not associated with religious involvement.

Conclusions:  Compared to patients with bipolar disorder in depressed, manic, or euthymic states, patients in mixed states have more active private religious lives. Providers should assess the religious activities of individuals with bipolar disorder in mixed states and how they may complement/deter ongoing treatment. Future longitudinal studies linking bipolar states, religious activities, and treatment‐seeking behaviors are needed.
Development and psychometric evaluation of the Bipolar Functional Status Questionnaire (BFSQ)
Authors: Goldberg Joseph F , McLeod Lori D , Fehnel Sheri E , Williams Valerie SL , Hamm Lynne R , Gilchrist Kim
Published: January 2010

Goldberg JF, McLeod LD, Fehnel SE, Williams VSL, Hamm LR, Gilchrist K. Development and psychometric evaluation of the Bipolar Functional Status Questionnaire (BFSQ). Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 32–44. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Objectives:  Persistently impaired psychosocial functioning has been recognized in many individuals with bipolar disorder. However, existing measures of functional disability have been adapted for use in bipolar disorder based mainly on those developed for use in other conditions. The present study involved the development and validation of a new patient self‐report measure specific to bipolar disorder, the Bipolar Functional Status Questionnaire (BFSQ).

Methods:  Relevant constructs were identified, evaluated, and refined through an expert advisory panel in conjunction with patient interviews. Questionnaire items were vetted through iterative patient interviews. Psychometric properties were determined based on patient responses from implementation of the proposed 33‐item questionnaire in an 11‐site study of 596 patients with bipolar disorder across varied phases of illness.

Results:  Eight constructs were identified as fundamental to functional status in bipolar disorder: cognitive function, sleep, role functioning, emotional functioning, energy/vitality, social functioning, personal management, and sexual functioning. Psychometric validation supported item reduction to a 24‐item unidimensional scale, with high internal consistency (coefficient α’s = 0.93–0.95), high test‐retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.86, 95% confidence interval = 0.82–0.89), strong convergent validity with other functional disability measures (r’s > 0.70), and highly significant discriminant validity across illness phases, with large effect sizes (Cohen’s d > 0.70).

Conclusions:  The BFSQ is a psychometrically sound self‐report measure that can be used to effectively quantify functional status across different clinical states in patients with bipolar disorder.
Ten‐year diagnostic consistency of bipolar disorder in a first‐admission sample
Authors: Ruggero Camilo J , Carlson Gabrielle A , Kotov Roman , Bromet Evelyn J
Published: January 2010

Ruggero CJ, Carlson GA, Kotov R, Bromet EJ. Ten‐year diagnostic consistency of bipolar disorder in a first‐admission sample. Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 21–31. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Objectives:  A number of reports have examined the stability of the diagnosis of schizophrenia, but fewer studies have considered the long‐term consistency of a bipolar diagnosis or factors that influence the likelihood of a diagnostic change. The present study sought to estimate how consistently a bipolar diagnosis was made across a 10‐year period and factors associated with consistency, particularly demographic and clinical characteristics, childhood‐related factors, and illness course.

Methods:  The sample included 195 first‐admission patients presenting with psychosis who were assessed soon after hospitalization and at 6‐month, 2‐year, and 10‐year follow‐up and diagnosed with bipolar disorder on at least one of these assessments. Diagnoses were made using best‐estimate procedures and were blind to all previous consensus diagnoses. Respondents who were consistently diagnosed with bipolar disorder were compared to those whose diagnosis shifted across assessments.

Results:  Overall, 50.3% (n = 98) of the 195 respondents were diagnosed with bipolar disorder at every available assessment, but 49.7% (n = 97) had a diagnostic shift to a non‐bipolar disorder at least once over the course of the 10‐year study. Childhood psychopathology and poorer illness course were among the few variables associated with increased odds of a change in diagnosis.

Conclusions:  Even with optimal assessment practices, misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder is common, with complex clinical presentations often making it difficult to consistently diagnose the disorder over the long term.
Conceptual and methodological issues in designing a randomized, controlled treatment trial for geriatric bipolar disorder: GERI‐BD
Authors: Young Robert C , Schulberg Herbert C , Gildengers Ariel G , Sajatovic Martha , Mulsant Benoit H , Gyulai Laszlo , Beyer John , Marangell Lauren , Kunik Mark , Ten Have Thomas , Bruce Martha L , Gur Ruben , Marino Patricia , Evans Jovier D , Reynolds III Charles F , Alexopoulos George S
Published: January 2010

Young RC, Schulberg HC, Gildengers AG, Sajatovic M, Mulsant BH, Gyulai L, Beyer J, Marangell L, Kunik M, Ten Have T, Bruce ML, Gur R, Marino P, Evans JD, Reynolds CF III, Alexopoulos GS. Conceptual and methodological issues in designing a randomized, controlled treatment trial for geriatric bipolar disorder: GERI‐BD. Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 56–67. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Aim: This report considers the conceptual and methodological concerns confronting clinical investigators seeking to generate knowledge regarding the tolerability and benefits of pharmacotherapy in geriatric bipolar disorder (BD) patients.

Method: There is continuing need for evidence‐based guidelines derived from randomized controlled trials that will enhance drug treatment of geriatric BD patients. Therefore, we present the complex conceptual and methodological choices encountered in designing a multisite clinical trial and the decisions reached by the investigators with the intention that study findings be pertinent to, and can facilitate, routine treatment decisions.

Results: Guided by a literature review and input from peers, the tolerability and antimanic effects of lithium and valproate were judged to be the key mood stabilizers to investigate with regard to treating bipolar I disorder manic, mixed, and hypomanic states. The patient selection criteria are intended to generate a sample that not only experiences common treatment needs but also represents the variety of older patients seen in university‐based clinical settings. The clinical protocol guides titration of lithium and valproate to target serum concentrations, with lower levels allowed when necessitated by limited tolerability. The protocol emphasizes initial monotherapy. However, augmentation with risperidone is permitted after three weeks when indicated by operational criteria.

Conclusions: A randomized, controlled trial that both investigates commonly prescribed mood stabilizers and maximizes patient participation can meaningfully address high‐priority clinical concerns directly relevant to the routine pharmacologic treatment of geriatric BD patients.
Occupational status and social adjustment six months after hospitalization early in the course of bipolar disorder: a prospective study
Authors: Dickerson Faith , Origoni Andrea , Stallings Cassie , Khushalani Sunil , Dickinson Dwight , Medoff Deborah
Published: January 2010

Dickerson F, Origoni A, Stallings C, Khushalani S, Dickinson D, Medoff D. Occupational status and social adjustment six months after hospitalization early in the course of bipolar disorder: a prospective study. Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 10–20. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Objectives:  Bipolar disorder is often accompanied by poor functional outcomes, the determinants of which are not fully understood. We assessed patients with bipolar disorder undergoing a hospital admission early in the illness course and identified predictors of occupational status, overall social adjustment, and work adjustment six months later.

Methods:  This was a prospective longitudinal cohort study. During hospitalization patients were evaluated with a cognitive battery; symptoms, occupational history, and other clinical factors were also assessed. At six‐month follow‐up, patients’ symptom remission status was assessed; they were also evaluated as to their occupational status, overall social adjustment, and work adjustment. Multivariate analyses were used to identify predictors of these outcomes.

Results:  Among the 52 participants, the average rating of overall social adjustment at follow‐up was between mild and moderate maladjustment. While 51 had a history of working full time, only 28 (54%) worked full time at follow‐up. A total of 24 (46%) had symptoms that met criteria for a full depression or mania syndrome. In multivariate analyses, full‐time occupational status at follow‐up was predicted by the absence of baseline substance abuse. Better overall social adjustment was predicted by better performance on cognitive tasks of processing speed and by symptom remission; the latter variable also predicted work adjustment.

Conclusions:  Persons with bipolar disorder have limited occupational recovery and overall social adjustment six months after a hospital admission early in the illness course. Predictors vary among outcomes; performance on tasks of processing speed and the extent of symptom remission are independently associated with functional outcomes.
N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate receptor expression in parvalbumin‐containing inhibitory neurons in the prefrontal cortex in bipolar disorder
Authors: Bitanihirwe Byron KY , Lim Maribel P , Woo Tsung‐Ung W
Published: January 2010

Bitanihirwe BKY, Lim MP, Woo T‐UW. N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate receptor expression in parvalbumin‐containing inhibitory neurons in the prefrontal cortex in bipolar disorder.  Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 95–101. © 2010 The Authors.  Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Objectives:  Inhibitory neural circuits and the glutamatergic regulation of these circuits in the cerebral cortex appear to be disturbed in bipolar disorder. In this study, we addressed the hypothesis that, in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), disturbances of glutamatergic regulation of the class of inhibitory neurons that contain the calcium buffer parvalbumin (PV) via N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor may contribute to the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder.

Methods:  We used double in situ hybridization with a sulfur‐35‐labeled riboprobe for the NR2A subunit of the NMDA receptor and a digoxigenin‐labeled riboprobe for PV in a cohort of 18 subjects with bipolar disorder and 18 demographically matched normal control subjects.

Results:  We observed no differences in the relative density and laminar distribution of the PV‐expressing neurons between subjects with bipolar disorder and matched normal control subjects. Furthermore, the density of the PV neurons that co‐expressed NR2A messenger RNA (mRNA) or the cellular expression of NR2A mRNA in the PV neurons that exhibited a detectable level of this transcript was unaltered in subjects with bipolar disorder.

Conclusions:  These findings suggest that, in the PFC, glutamatergic regulation of PV‐containing inhibitory neurons via NR2A‐containing NMDA receptors does not appear to be altered in bipolar disorder. However, the possibility that other subsets of γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons or other glutamate receptor subtypes are affected cannot be excluded.
Suicide attempts in bipolar I and bipolar II disorder: a review and meta‐analysis of the evidence
Authors: Novick Danielle M , Swartz Holly A , Frank Ellen
Published: January 2010

Novick DM, Swartz HA, Frank E. Suicide attempts in bipolar I and bipolar II disorder: a review and meta‐analysis of the evidence. Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 1–9. © 2010 The Authors.  Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Objective:  The prevalence of suicide attempts (SA) in bipolar II disorder (BPII), particularly in comparison to the prevalence in bipolar I disorder (BPI), is an understudied and controversial issue with mixed results. To date, there has been no comprehensive review of the published prevalence data for attempted suicide in BPII.

Methods:  We conducted a literature review and meta‐analysis of published reports that specified the proportion of individuals with BPII in their presentation of SA data. Systematic searching yielded 24 reports providing rates of SA in BPII and 21 reports including rates of SA in both BPI and BPII. We estimated the prevalence of SA in BPII by combining data across reports of similar designs. To compare rates of SA in BPII and BPI, we calculated a pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) with random‐effect meta‐analytic techniques with retrospective data from 15 reports that detailed rates of SA in both BPI and BPII.

Results:  Among the 24 reports with any BPII data, 32.4% (356/1099) of individuals retrospectively reported a lifetime history of SA, 19.8% (93/469) prospectively reported attempted suicide, and 20.5% (55/268) of index attempters were diagnosed with BPII. In 15 retrospective studies suitable for meta‐analysis, the prevalence of attempted suicide in BPII and BPI was not significantly different: 32.4% and 36.3%, respectively (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 0.98–1.48, p = 0.07).

Conclusion:  The contribution of BPII to suicidal behavior is considerable. Our findings suggest that there is no significant effect of bipolar subtype on rate of SA. Our findings are particularly alarming in concert with other evidence, including (i) the well‐documented predictive role of SA for completed suicide and (ii) the evidence suggesting that individuals with BPII use significantly more violent and lethal methods than do individuals with BPI. To reduce suicide‐related morbidity and mortality, routine clinical care for BPII must include ongoing risk assessment and interventions targeted at risk factors.
Relationship of the Brief UCSD Performance‐based Skills Assessment (UPSA‐B) to multiple indicators of functioning in people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
Authors: Mausbach Brent T , Harvey Philip D , Pulver Ann E , Depp Colin A , Wolyniec Paula S , Thornquist Mary H , Luke James R , McGrath John A , Bowie Christopher R , Patterson Thomas L
Published: January 2010

Mausbach BT, Harvey PD, Pulver AE, Depp CA, Wolyniec PS, Thornquist MH, Luke JR, McGrath JA, Bowie CR, Patterson TL. Relationship of the Brief UCSD Performance‐based Skills Assessment (UPSA‐B) to multiple indicators of functioning in people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 45–55. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Objective:  This study assessed the relationship between multiple indicators of ‘real‐world’ functioning and scores on a brief performance‐based measure of functional capacity known as the Brief University of California San Diego (UCSD) Performance‐based Skills Assessment (UPSA‐B) in a sample of 205 patients with either serious bipolar disorder (n = 89) or schizophrenia (n = 116).

Methods:  Participants were administered the UPSA‐B and assessed on the following functional domains: (i) independent living status (e.g., residing independently as head of household, living in residential care facility); (ii) informant reports of functioning (e.g., work skills, daily living skills); (iii) educational attainment and estimated premorbid IQ as measured by years of education and Wide Range Achievement Test reading scores, respectively; and (iv) employment.

Results:  Better scores on the UPSA‐B were associated with greater residential independence after controlling for age, diagnosis, and symptoms of psychopathology. Among both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia patients, higher UPSA‐B scores were significantly related to better informant reports of functioning in daily living skills and work skills domains. Greater estimated premorbid IQ was associated with higher scores on the UPSA‐B for both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder participants. Participants who were employed scored higher on the UPSA‐B when controlling for age and diagnosis, but not when controlling for symptoms of psychopathology.

Conclusions:  These data suggest the UPSA‐B may be useful for assessing capacity for functioning in a number of domains in both people diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Does lithium protect against dementia?
Authors: Kessing Lars Vedel , Forman Julie Lyng , Andersen Per Kragh
Published: January 2010

Kessing LV, Forman JL, Andersen PK. Does lithium protect against dementia? Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 87–94. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Objective:  To investigate whether treatment with lithium in patients with mania or bipolar disorder is associated with a decreased rate of subsequent dementia.

Methods:  Linkage of register data on prescribed lithium in all patients discharged from psychiatric health care service with a diagnosis of mania or bipolar disorder and subsequent diagnoses of dementia in Denmark during a period from 1995 to 2005.

Results:  A total of 4,856 patients with a diagnosis of a manic or mixed episode or bipolar disorder at their first psychiatric contact were included in the study. Among these patients, 2,449 were exposed to lithium (50.4%), 1,781 to anticonvulsants (36.7%), 4,280 to antidepressants (88.1%), and 3,901 to antipsychotics (80.3%) during the study period. A total of 216 patients received a diagnosis of dementia during follow‐up (103.6/10,000 person‐years). During the period following the second prescription of lithium, the rate of dementia was decreased compared to the period following the first prescription. In contrast, the rates of dementia during multiple prescription periods with anticonvulsants, antidepressants, or antipsychotics, respectively, were not significantly decreased compared to the rate of dementia during the period with one prescription of these drugs.

Conclusions:  Continued treatment with lithium was associated with a reduced rate of dementia in patients with bipolar disorder in contrast to continued treatment with anticonvulsants, antidepressants, or antipsychotics. Methodological reasons for these findings cannot be excluded due to the nonrandomized nature of the data.
Parental perceptions of barriers to children's participation in organised sport in Australia
Authors: Hardy Louise L , Kelly Bridget , Chapman Kathy , King Lesley , Farrell Louise
Published: January 2010

Aim:  To examine parents' perceptions on how cost, time, travel and the variety of organised sporting activities influence their decisions to allow their child to participate in organised sport; and recent expenditure on sport‐related items for their child.

Methods:  Computerised assisted telephone interviews survey of 402 parents of children aged 5–17 years old living in New South Wales, Australia.

Results:  Overall, 63% of children participated in organised sporting activities. Multivariate analysis shows that for parents of 5–12‐year old children, the decision to allow their child to participate in organised sports was strongly influenced by time (P < 0.00). The financial costs associated with a child's participation in organised sports influenced families with lower incomes (p = 0.01) and with girls (p=0.04), while for rural families the option of a wider variety of local sporting activities influenced decisions about their child's participation in organised sport (p=0.05). Footwear/uniforms were the main sporting related expense. Sydney parents were more likely to report sport related expenditures for their child (P < 0.01).

Conclusions:  Sporting costs, variety and time commitments influenced parents' decisions about their child's participation in organised sport. These factors indicate the need for initiatives to promote access to organised sports through reducing costs and increasing variety, particularly for families with lower incomes and are living in rural and regional areas.
Urodynamic interpretation of changing bladder function and voiding pattern after radical prostatectomy: a long‐term follow‐up
Authors: Song Cheryn , Lee Jungmin , Hong Jun Hyuk , Choo Myung‐Soo , Kim Choung‐Soo , Ahn Hanjong
Published: January 2010

Study Type – Diagnostic (exploratory cohort) Level of Evidence 2b

OBJECTIVE

To investigate and compare changes in the bladder function after radical prostatectomy (RP) and to correlate changes in subjective voiding symptoms with the observed changes in function.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In 72 patients who had RP between 2003 and 2004, we serially evaluated urodynamic studies (UDS) before RP and at 3, 6 and 36 months afterward. The short‐form International Continence Society‐male symptom questionnaire was also repeated at corresponding periods. Changes in bladder contraction and storage function after RP were compared for changes in subjective symptoms.

RESULTS

On serial UDS, there were reductions in maximum cystometric capacity, maximum detrusor pressure and maximum urethral closure pressure (MUCP) at 3 months, after which all remained relatively unchanged. On the questionnaire, the voiding symptom domain score improved (8.04 to 4.82, P < 0.001) while the storage domain score significantly and progressively worsened, beginning from 3 months (2.25 to 3.78, P= 0.04), resulting in an unchanged overall urinary symptom‐related quality of life at 3 years. The incidence of detrusor overactivity increased from 37.5% before RP, to 45.8% at 3 months and 51.4% at 3 years. At 3 years, a recurring postvoid residual urine volume was the cause of the deterioration in the voiding symptom domain score, while a prominent reduction in MUCP resulted in a deterioration in the storage symptom score.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a reduction in bladder capacity, detrusor and sphincteric activity immediately after RP, stabilizing thereafter but remaining significantly reduced at 3 years. Although voiding symptoms improved in most men, the significant deterioration in storage symptoms, which might be attributed to sphincteric incompetence in addition to increased detrusor overactivity, became a source of overall urinary bother in the long term.
RELIABILITY OF STATED PREFERENCES FOR CHOLERA AND TYPHOID VACCINES WITH TIME TO THINK IN HUE, VIETNAM
Authors: COOK JOSEPH , WHITTINGTON DALE , CANH DO GIA , JOHNSON F. REED , NYAMETE ANDREW
Published: January 2010

We examine the effect of giving respondents time to think about their stated choices (SC) in a survey of cholera and typhoid vaccine preferences in Hue, Vietnam. Because neither vaccine is widely available in Vietnam, we used the SC approach (a stated preference technique) and gave half of our respondents overnight to think about their choices to make the hypothetical valuation scenario as similar to a real‐life choice situation as possible. Respondents who were given extra time made fewer choices that violated internal validity tests of utility theory, and had lower average willingness to pay (WTP), confirming a result found in similar studies in the contingent valuation literature. (JEL D12, I18, C25)
Minding the Undertow: Assessing Water “Privatization” in Cuba
Authors: Cocq Karen , McDonald David A.
Published: January 2010

Abstract: The privatization and commercialization of water has proven to be one of the most controversial policy developments of the past 20 years. Largely associated with the neoliberalization of the world economy, it comes as a surprise to many that the socialist government of Cuba signed a 25‐year contract with a Spanish multinational in 2000 to manage the supply of water in Havana. This paper provides an historical context for water reforms in the country and the first comprehensive study of this little‐known contract. Based on key interviews and primary documentation we argue that there are no easy explanations for why the contract was signed, or whether it has achieved its objectives. There are, however, interesting lessons to be learned for public–private partnerships elsewhere in the world, and insights into the changing fabric of socialism in Cuba.
Class, Agency and Resistance in the Old Industrial City
Authors: Cumbers Andrew , Helms Gesa , Swanson Kate
Published: January 2010

Abstract:  Recent left academic work on the consequences of economic restructuring and local labour market change in old industrial cities has been important in emphasising the role of local context and contingency in the shaping of labour market outcomes. However, in such accounts agency is often limited to capital and state actors, albeit working across scales from the local upwards. There is little sense of agency for individuals and communities in the midst of economic restructuring. Instead, they are usually treated as passive victims of deeper underlying processes. In this paper, our purpose is to highlight the autonomy and agency of workers, people and communities in old industrial cities. Rather than starting from the perspective of capital, our starting point is to emphasise how those experiencing economic change forge strategies and practices for “getting by”. This leads us to call for a re‐theorisation of labour agency, drawing upon the Autonomous Marxist tradition and the more recent work of Cindi Katz, in order to offer fresh insight into the agency of labour and the prospect for recovering a class politics based upon lived experience over reified abstractions.
Immigrant “Illegality” as Neoliberal Governmentality in Leadville, Colorado
Authors: Hiemstra Nancy
Published: January 2010

Abstract:  In this paper, I frame immigrant “illegality” as a local‐scale technique of neoliberal governmentality. Drawing on recent work of anthropologists, I present illegality as a racialized, spatialized social condition which operates as governmentality by marginalizing and criminalizing immigrants, loosening the US border and forcing it into local spaces, and impacting immigrants’ everyday lives and mobility. The paper then draws on a case study of Leadville, Colorado, to illustrate the utility of this framework. In Leadville, we see how through illegality neoliberalism seeps through scales. Illegality disciplines immigrant labor in service of the neoliberal order, turns all residents into surveillers of immigrants’ subordinate sociospatial position, and masks contradictions within neoliberalism that arise particularly at the local scale. I argue that conceptualizing illegality as a governmentality technique provides a powerful tool for understanding changing state spatiality, especially ways in which neoliberalism is diffused and embedded into local economic, political, and social processes.
Negotiating “Streets for All” in Urban Transport Planning: The Case for Pedestrians, Cyclists and Street Vendors in Nairobi, Kenya
Authors: Khayesi Meleckidzedeck , Monheim Heiner , Nebe Johannes Michael
Published: January 2010

Abstract: This paper uses the concept of “streets for all” as the analytical basis to critique the neglect of pedestrians, cyclists and street vendors in transport policy and practice in the city of Nairobi. The paper shows that transport planning in Nairobi has not adequately taken care of informal economy and non‐motorized transport such as walking and cycling. This has resulted in competing use of pavements and roads, exposing pedestrians, cyclists and street vendors to insecurity and harassment. The paper calls for inclusive transport planning for multiple street activities, which requires implementing a “streets for all” policy. Such a policy needs to be critically pursued at the level of dealing with the institutional and structural bias in urban transport planning towards motorized traffic and the overall urban development that does not adequately consider the spatio‐temporal activity pattern and the life of pedestrians, cyclists and vendors on the streets.
The Crisis of Social Reproduction among Migrant Workers: Interrogating the Role of Migrant Civil Society
Authors: Martin Nina
Published: January 2010

Abstract:  Transformations in urban economies are leading to the growth of jobs where labor and employment laws are routinely violated. Workers in these jobs are subject to harsh conditions such as low wages, hazardous work sites, and retaliation for speaking up. Many of these workers are undocumented migrants who are in a weak position to make demands on their employers or to request government assistance. These workers often turn to migrant civil society organizations for help with the multiple conflicts they face at work. Drawing on case studies of nonprofit organizations in Chicago, this paper focuses on the role of such organizations in the social reproduction of the migrant workforce. I posit that such organizations are integral to the functioning of the informal economy because the wide range of programs and services that they provide are essential to the social reproduction of migrant workers.
Imagining a Shared State in Palestine–Israel
Authors: Mavroudi Elizabeth
Published: January 2010

Abstract:  There has been much deliberation over future solutions to the Palestinian–Israeli impasse. These invariably revolve around the two‐state solution. However, some have argued that a one‐state solution would be preferable because it stresses the need to imagine Palestinians and Israelis as connected rather than as separate. This article examines notions of a one‐state solution and highlights the useful role that geographers can play in discussing such notions. In particular, it focuses on the need to re‐think relationships between citizenship, national identity and the nation‐state in order to emphasise the importance of shared pasts, presents and futures in the region. The article also outlines the relevance of postcolonial, diasporic and transnational theories to geographical discussions on the one‐state solution and concludes that the use of such theories potentially allows a more hopeful exploration of the complex identities, lives and performances of people as they struggle to negotiate contested spaces and places.
The Promise of Patronage: Adapting and Adopting Neoliberal Development
Authors: O’Reilly Kathleen
Published: January 2010

Abstract:  Much of the literature on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and development suggests that a top‐down process is underway which leads to the dispersal of neoliberal ideals. Drawing on 2 years of ethnographic research in Rajasthan, India, this paper examines how a poverty alleviation project “fits” into competitive and co‐operative socio‐economic relations already operating on the ground. It argues that in contradiction to neoliberal notions of empowerment espoused by project policies, both NGOs and their constituents have an interest in establishing and maintaining patronage networks that stabilize relationships of dependency. The paper concludes that neoliberal development projects serve to enable patron–client relationships between NGOs and villagers, and enroll the state in the continuing provision of benefits beyond those planned by the project.
The “Moral Hazards” of Microfinance: Restructuring Rural Credit in India
Authors: Young Stephen
Published: January 2010

Abstract:  This paper explores how economic ideas are produced, how they travel, and how they are contested, in complex and contingent ways, in particular places. It stems from events that took place in coastal Andhra Pradesh, India, where I conducted fieldwork on microfinance programs during 2007. I begin by tracing how the practices of microfinance—and the ideas and rationalities underpinning them—have been increasingly globalized as a development tool since the 1970s. I then move on to describe the proliferation of various microfinance programs across Andhra Pradesh over the last decade. In the closing section, I consider the implications of a recent protest that took place against commercial microfinance institutions in the region.
PUBLIC DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRIAL ESTATES IN THE NETHERLANDS: UNDESIRED MARKET OUTCOMES AND POLICY INTERVENTIONS
Authors: VAN DER KRABBEN ERWIN , VAN DINTEREN JACQUES
Published: January 2010

The Dutch market for industrial estates is dominated by municipalities who have always felt responsible for supplying sufficient industrial sites at all times. As a result, a number of undesired market outcomes have occurred in this market, including oversupply of land and a high rate of deteriorating industrial estates. Policy interventions have been announced that must improve market outcomes. This paper analyses those undesired market outcomes and compares them with development processes in other European countries. We will argue that the effectiveness of the present set of interventions – all meant to adjust the present institutional order – can be improved, when they are accompanied by interventions meant to restructure this institutional order. The latter set of interventions, based on recent Coasian planning literature, includes the pricing of externalities, reduction of the rights of municipalities to develop industrial estates and a change of the conditions in industrial properties tenancy contracts.
COMMENTS ON NIJMAN'S ‘A STUDY OF SPACE IN MUMBAI'S SLUMS’. FROM SLUMDOG TO MUMBAIKAR: A SPACE ODYSSEY?
Authors: DRUIJVEN PETER
Published: January 2010

Following a brief sketch of the shift within development geography from rural to urban themes, this paper examines Nijman's description and analysis of Mumbai's slums. This is characterised by a historical and geographical stratification, with an emphasis on the congruence of economic and social geography in Dharavi. His analysis is conducted primarily at the community level. In this commentary the reader's attention is drawn to the livelihood strategy approach, which originated from the rural context but is also relevant in the slum setting. Such an approach could be useful in documenting the dynamic of slums and of the households that inhabit them. But households are just one of the actors in this struggle for space. Also making an appearance are public authorities, NGOs and businesses, each with a claim to the same space. At the same time, the struggle is played out at several levels and is imbedded in the local situation, which makes comparative and longitudinal research an interesting way to define the place of slums and their inhabitants.
KNOWLEDGE AND THE EUROPEAN CITY
Authors: VAN WINDEN WILLEM
Published: January 2010

This paper discusses and illustrates the ‘knowledge turn’ in urban policy across Europe. We identify four manifestations of it: 1) widespread efforts to lure knowledge workers; 2) a growing involvement of knowledge institutes in urban development and planning processes, 3) an explicit ‘knowledge based’ approach to planning and the design of public space, and 4) efforts to underline a ‘knowledge city’ identity using all kinds of marketing and branding techniques.
COMMENTS ON NIJMAN'S ‘A STUDY OF SPACE IN MUMBAI'S SLUMS’
Authors: PANDIT KAVITA
Published: January 2010

This commentary on Nijman's presentation at the 100th anniversary celebration of TESG underlines how his study of the Mumbai slum reconciles the multiple dualisms that lie at the core of the study of economic and social geography. The dualisms that are identified are located in the personal impressions of the urban landscape, the supposed homogeneity of the informal settlements, and the assumed barriers between the informal and the formal economy. The paper argues the importance of adding a personal reflection on doing research in a slum environment.
Teaching L2 Learners How to Listen Does Make a Difference: An Empirical Study
Authors: Vandergrift Larry , Tafaghodtari Marzieh H.
Published: January 2010

This study investigated the effects of a metacognitive, process‐based approach to teaching second language (L2) listening over a semester. Participants (N = 106) came from six intact sections of French as a second language (FSL) courses. The experimental group (n = 59) listened to texts using a methodology that led learners through the metacognitive processes (prediction/planning, monitoring, evaluating, and problem solving) underlying successful L2 listening. The control group (n = 47), taught by the same teacher, listened to the same texts the same number of times but without any guided attention to process. Development of metacognition about L2 listening, tracked using the Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire (MALQ), was measured at the beginning, middle, and end points of the study. As hypothesized, the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group on the final comprehension measure, after we controlled for initial differences. The hypothesis that the less skilled listeners in the experimental group would make greater gains than their more skilled peers was also verified. Transcript data from stimulated‐recall sessions provide further evidence of a growing learner awareness of the metacognitive processes underlying successful L2 listening, as MALQ student responses changed over the duration of the study.
On violence as the negativity of the Durkheimian: between anomie, sacrifice and effervescence
Authors: Mukherjee S. Romi
Published: January 2010

In this introductory article I contextualise, historically and theoretically, the rapport between Durkheimianism and violence. Telescoping Durkheimian theories of anomie, sacrifice and effervescence, I demonstrate how both Durkheim and Mauss, arguably the most prominent members of the French School of Sociology, found themselves constantly reflecting on violence in all its forms while never outlining an explicit theory of violence. Violence was thus the dark spot of their enterprises, at once omnipresent but disavowed. I weave together the various fragments of their oeuvres that illuminate the ground of the Durkheimian theory of violence and also examine the precise reasons for its lack of clear theorisation. I conclude with some remarks on Durkheim and fascism. Therefore, this article serves to supplement and set the stage for the articles that appear in this volume, pieces that in their own ways grapple with similar problematics while also moving beyond them and charting new directions in Durkheimian studies.
Durkheim's theory of violence
Authors: Gane Mike
Published: January 2010

Emile Durkheim (1858–1917) developed a wide‐ranging foundational sociology that has often been read as lacking a theory of politics, power and violence. This article argues that this view can be contested and outlines a reading of Durkheim's work that reveals that it places power and violence at the centre of its concerns through the concept of social energy. The discussion examines aspects of Durkheim's work on education, the family, gender, suicide, politics and war. It argues that Durkheim's theory centres on the way that social energies are produced and distributed. The heart of the theory suggests that in social development social energy can be centralised and concentrated in an absolute form, and as societies become more complex and institutionally balanced energies are dispersed towards the individual and this shift is the underlying cause for the move towards the cult of the individual and human rights. But this is not an inevitable progression as societies can experience tensions that shift social energies into tyrannical forms.
Durkheimism: a model for external constraint without a theory of violence
Authors: Plouin Jacques
Published: January 2010

Durkheimism is often regarded as being unconcerned with the question of violence because it considers manifestations of violence to be a residue of irrationality. However, the Durkheimian model places great importance on the notion of coercion, which condenses the action of the social on the individual. The consistency of Durkheimism can be seen more clearly if we make a slight distinction between the Durkheimian model and Durkheim's work. In the model, instead of a social holism seen as an organic totality, we find relativism grounded in a sociological externalism, in which the only basis for sociology is the externality of social facts to individuals. The social is then no longer identified with an organic totality but with an ecosystem of plural, heterogeneous norms in which violence is not a residue of subjectivity but the effect of an always possible conflict between norms. The Durkheimian model can thus identify all forms of violence because it can proceed without a general theory of violence. We then obtain a new investigative tool: “look for forms or expressions of social coercion and violence and you will find social facts and underlying regularities to study”.
Durkheim, the question of violence and the Paris Commune of 1871
Authors: Stedman Jones Susan
Published: January 2010

Through an examination of certain features of his thought and neglected aspects of his theoretical apparatus and of his historical era, Durkheim is defended against the accusation that he takes no account of violence. Indeed, rather than neglecting it, he has a wide conception of violence that focuses on the social. This was radical for his day for it moves the question of violence away from conservative ideas that violence was a permanent feature of human nature. An examination of some of his main concepts and ideas shows that, through his study of the main features of society, he is concerned with the establishment of positive social relations. The traumatic historical beginnings of the period in which he lived were a tragic inspiration and in turn lead him to criticise those theories that in different ways justify violence.
Durkheimian sociology, biology and the theory of social conflict
Authors: Marcel Jean‐Christophe , Guillo Dominique
Published: January 2010

Durkheim's appropriations from the biology of his time are not simple concessions to the biologically influenced mood of his day, sitting uneasily with his sociological theory. Though tightly bound to the rest of his work, this biology nevertheless has a very particular content, quite different from what is today referred to by the term Darwinism or the theory of evolution. It consists of a conception of life centred on the idea of an ascending linear series of living forms, graduated according to their complexity of organisation. In this fundamentally morphological understanding, competition, conflict and dialectics are not driving principles in the functioning and development of organised bodies. A re‐examination of this notion of biology enables us to understand the way that social conflict is theorised by Durkheim and, following him, by Halbwachs and Simiand, whose work shows a reference to such morphological thinking. This sheds light on the Durkheimians' conception of class relations and their rejection of Marxism and revolutionary socialism.
“Change only for the benefit of society as a whole”: pragmatism, knowledge and regimes of violence
Authors: Strenski Ivan
Published: January 2010

By temperament and pragmatic intellectual conviction, Durkheim seems to have been averse to violence. His notion that suicide threatened the social whole or that the violence of social revolution was counterproductive, indicate as much. Yet in other areas of social life, such as in Durkheim's views of physical punishment and discipline in schools of his pedagogical work, or in his insensitivity to the fate of victims of religious and ritual sacrifice, an acceptance of violence, even death, appears to infuse his writings. Furthermore, there are also arguments to be made of the support that Durkheimian theory may have offered to regimes of French colonial domination during the Third Republic. Similarly, did Durkheim's societal thinking aid the rise of fascist organicism by offering it intellectual legitimacy? Such cases thus raise doubts about the consistency of Durkheimian thought with political violence or regimes of domination, like those explored by Michel Foucault. Among these matters I discuss whether there is a sense in which Durkheim may have been perceived as a supporter of schemes in which knowledge conspires to condition regimes of power, such those referred to as institutional violence.
Festival, vacation, war: Roger Caillois and the politics of paroxysm
Authors: Mukherjee S. Romi
Published: January 2010

I trace the evolution of Roger Caillois' theories of paroxysm and festival and his early sense of the political somatic structure of the social organism. I attempt to systematise his category of the paroxysmic, a mutation of Durkheimian effervescence, and examine it in relationship to his theory of the sacred as a vertiginous space of order/disorder. I then carefully explore Caillois' phenomenological anthropology that narrates the decline of the social and the sacred from the primitive to the modern and also critically explore his dialectic of festival, vacation and war. I demonstrate that Caillois' propositions, while grounded in the history of religions, reveal a political ontological hermeneutic that remains a vital critique of the modern nation‐state.
Durkheim's concept of dérèglement retranslated, Parsons's reading of Durkheim re‐parsed: an examination of post‐emotional displacement, scapegoating and responsibility at Abu Ghraib
Authors: Mestrovic Stjepan G. , Caldwell Ryan Ashley
Published: January 2010

In a continued attempt to comprehend Durkheim's original understanding of anomie as a form of dérèglement or derangement, we begin with a discussion of how the experiences of abuse at Abu Ghraib fit his model of a deranged, anomic social system. To bolster our interpretation we show how this, more accurate, understanding of anomie as derangement is useful for understanding war crimes in general, an area where Durkheim's concept of anomie has been infrequently applied as a descriptor for research and analysis. Additionally, the concept of post‐emotionalism is used to capture a number of related themes in this discussion pertaining to the sociology of knowledge: how and why original meanings of both the abuse at Abu Ghraib and Durkheim's concept of derangement have been taken out of context and result in displaced emotions, scapegoating and misplaced responsibility in intellectual discourse as well as the military justice system.