bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Embedded Assumptions in Qualitative Studies of Fatigue
Authors: Paterson Barbara , Canam Connie , Joachim Gloria , Thorne Sally
Published: April 2003

Qualitative researchers have long recognized that fatigue is a common concern among those with chronic illness; however, the insights derived from this body of inquiry have not been synthesized into a coherent body of clinical knowledge that could provide direction for nursing practice. Using a synthesis approach of meta-study, the authors identify four predominant assumptions embedded in qualitative studies that have influenced the way researchers have interpreted and made sense of their findings about fatigue in chronic illness over the past two decades. They argue that these assumptions may have inhibited the development of more dynamic, comprehensive understandings of fatigue. They conclude that addressing some of the methodological issues within this body of research might lead to a more accurate portrayal of the complexity, fluidity, and contextual nature of the fatigue experienced in chronic illness.
The Challenges of Searching for and Retrieving Qualitative Studies
Authors: Barroso Julie , Gollop Claudia J. , Sandelowski Margarete , Meynell Janet , Pearce Patricia F. , Collins Linda J.
Published: April 2003

The authors’ purpose in this article is to report the results of their search and retrieval efforts to date in an ongoing study to develop the procedural, analytic, and interpretive techniques to conduct qualitative meta-synthesis projects, using studies on women with HIV infection as the method case. For researchers conducting qualitative meta-synthesis projects, the ideal goal is to retrieve all of the relevant studies in a field—not simply a sample of them. Bates’s model of berrypicking is used as the framework to describe the techniques used to conduct these searches. The authors discuss, in particular, the challenges of working with bibliographic databases, including choosing which databases to search, learning about the idiosyncrasies of working with each database, developing a list of search terms, and refining inclusion criteria regarding which studies to include in the meta-synthesis. Recommendations are given for searchers and writers of qualitative research.
An Example of the Use of Systematic Reviews to Answer an Effectiveness Question
Authors: Forbes Dorothy A.
Published: April 2003

Systematic reviews assist nurses, other health care providers, decision makers, and consumers in managing the explosion of health care information by synthesizing valid data and reporting the effects of interventions. Nurses are increasingly using systematic reviews to guide their practice and develop policy. The purpose of the article is to outline the steps involved in conducting a systematic review with examples taken from a systematic review titled “Strategies to Manage the Behavioral Symptoms Associated With Alzheimer’s Disease.” The steps of a systematic review include: (a) formulating a well-defined question, (b) developing relevance and validity tools, (c) conducting a comprehensive search to retrieve published and unpublished reports, (d) assessing the reports using relevance and validity tools, (e) data extraction, (f) synthesis of the findings, and (g) report writing. Understanding the steps involved in a systematic review will assist nurses in critically appraising reviews and in conducting their own reviews.
Meta-Analysis and Decision Analysis Bridge Research and Practice
Authors: Byers Jacqueline Fowler , Stullenbarger Elizabeth
Published: April 2003

Research synthesis methods provide meaningful quantitative data through systematic review of the research literature and translation of these findings into practice implications. Meta-analysis has been the gold standard for translation of research findings into practice. Decision analysis has emerged as an alternative to and extension of meta-analysis. Examples, contrasting the application of meta-analysis and decision analysis, are presented and discussed in relation to its relevance in providing clinical direction. The methods are points along the continuum of translating research findings into practice. Meta-analytic studies provide an essential foundation for estimating and assigning the probabilities used in decision analysis, whereas the outcomes of decision analysis provide data for estimating the cost effectiveness of different interventions or treatment options. Decision analysis can assist in bridging the research-practice gap. Nurse researchers are urged to collaborate with other disciplines that have used these methods to refine translation and use of research findings in practice.
A Framework for Developing a Coding Scheme for Meta-Analysis
Authors: Brown Sharon A. , Upchurch Sandra L. , Acton Gayle J.
Published: April 2003

The prominence of systematic reviews as bases for evidence-based practice is increasingly recognized and has significance for practice disciplines such as nursing. Synthesizing research findings is key to informing the clinical care of individuals burdened with health problems. A major issue in conducting such reviews involves developing reliable and valid coding procedures for extracting data from the research literature. A formalized process is described for developing coding instruments that have been used in five separate studies. Initial instrument development for a diabetes self-management education meta-analysis is described, followed by a discussion of adapting the instruments for subsequent meta-analytic studies of self-management interventions in diabetes care and of interventions to reduce caregiver burden of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease dementia. Although time and effort are required for development of coding processes for research synthesis, these instrument development activities are one of the critical elements of producing reliable and clinically useful information.
Assessing the Methodological Quality of Nonrandomized Intervention Studies
Authors: Saunders L. Duncan , Soomro G. Mustafa , Buckingham Jeanette , Jamtvedt Gro , Raina Parminder
Published: April 2003

In many areas of health care, randomized controlled trials (the best evidence regarding the effectiveness of health care interventions) are lacking and decision-makers have to rely on evidence from nonrandomized studies (NRS). We conducted a Medline search to identify English-language articles describing instruments for assessing the quality of NRS of health care interventions. These instruments varied greatly in scope, in the number and types of items and in developmental rigor. Items commonly included were those related to specification of study questions, allocation method, comparability of groups, and blinding of outcome assessment. We do not support the development of a generic scale to evaluate the methodological quality of nonrandomized intervention studies. Instead, further study should be directed to investigate the degree to which, and the circumstances under which, different methodological characteristics are associated with bias. This information will assist researchers in identifying a priori which methodological characteristics need careful evaluation in particular studies.
Hydration and Acute Confusion in Long-Term Care Residents
Authors: Culp Kennith , Mentes Janet , Wakefield Bonnie
Published: April 2003

Although it is generally appropriate for a healthy adult to consume 2000 to 2500 ml per day, the literature does not address evaluating any standard. The objective here was to develop a weight-based hydration management intervention and evaluate the impact of this on the incidence of acute confusion (AC) using an N = 98. The intervention consisted of a fluid intake goal based on 100 ml per kg for the first 10 kg, 50ml/kg for the next 10 kg, and 15 ml for the remaining body weight. The treatment group received instruction and assistance on the fluid goal and the control group received routine care. Measurements included serum electrolytes, bioimpedance analysis, urinalysis, Mini-Mental State Exam, and the NEECHAM. There was no difference in the incidence of AC between treatment and controls, but those individuals with ≥ 90% compliance demonstrated higher ECF volumes and also lower urine leukocyte counts.
Physical Activity Alone and in Combination With Hormone Replacement Therapy on Vasomotor Symptoms in Postmenopausal Women
Authors: Li Suling , Holm Karyn
Published: April 2003

The purposes of this study were (a) to examine the influence of physical activity alone, and in combination with, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on vasomotor symptoms and (b) to identify factors that are predictive of vasomotor symptoms at menopause. A total of 239 postmenopausal women completed a modified Women’s Health Assessment scale, a Usual Physical Activity questionnaire, and a Health History and Demographic questionnaire. It was found the inactive women without HRT experienced more vasomotor symptoms than women with HRT, regardless of their levels of physical activity. Physical activity, however, may be synergistic to HRT, as a trend was noted that within the same HRT–non-HRT groups, active women tended to report fewer vasomotor symptoms than inactive women, although the difference did not reach statistical significance. In addition, sociodemographic and health-related variables had limited predictive power for vasomotor symptoms.
A Study of Critical Thinking and Research Utilization Among Nurses
Authors: Profetto-McGrath Joanne , Hesketh Kathryn L. , Lang Sarah , Estabrooks Carole A.
Published: April 2003

Previous studies have suggested that critical thinking influences research utilization; however, empirical support for the link between critical thinking dispositions and research utilization is nonexistent. In this article, critical thinking dispositions and research utilization habits are detailed, and the relationship of critical thinking dispositions to research utilization in a sample of 141 nurses working on two acute surgical units and five pediatric units in four tertiary care hospitals are examined. Results indicate a significant positive correlation between the total critical thinking disposition score and overall research utilization. Overall critical thinking disposition correlates significantly with all forms of research utilization, with the exception of symbolic research utilization. These findings indicate a need to foster critical thinking in both nursing education and the work environment.
Teaching Separate Versus Integrated Pharmacology Content
Authors: Zellner Kathy , Boerst Connie , Semling Kathy
Published: April 2003

With recent media attention on medication errors in nursing practice (Berens, 2000), nursing curricula must include a method of teaching pharmacology that promotes student learning. The purpose of this nonexperimental, descriptive exploratory study was to retrospectively compare two delivery methods: integrated pharmacology content throughout a 4-year curriculum and a separate pharmacology course offered during the sophomore year. Data, from a convenience sample of 299 senior nursing students who wrote the National League for Nursing computerized adaptive pharmacology test, were analyzed using chi-square. Findings demonstrated that teaching a separate pharmacology course did not result in an increase in scores. Faculty are, therefore, encouraged to plan defined content enhancement throughout the curriculum when pharmacology is taught as a separate course.
Survey Data Collection Using Audio Computer Assisted Self-Interview
Authors: Jones Rachel
Published: April 2003

The Audio Computer Assisted Self-Interview (ACASI) is a computer application that allows a research participant to hear survey interview items over a computer headset and read the corresponding items on a computer monitor. The ACASI automates progression from one item to the next, skipping irrelevant items. The research participant responds by pressing a number keypad, sending the data directly into a database. The ACASI was used to enhance participants’ sense of privacy. A convenience sample of 257 young urban women, ages 18 to 29 years, were interviewed in neighborhood settings concerning human immune deficiency virus (HIV) sexual risk behaviors. Notebook computers were used to facilitate mobility. The overwhelming majority rated their experience with ACASI as easy to use. This article will focus on the use of ACASI in HIV behavioral research, its benefits, and approaches to resolve some identified problems with this method of data collection.
The Family Racket: AOL Time Warner, HBO, The Sopranos, and the Construction of a Quality Brand
Authors: Jaramillo Deborah L.
Published: April 2003

This paper examines HBO's The Sopranos in the context of several industrial factors. I begin with the series'generic inscription. As a gangster program, The Sopranos comes to us in the form of a pedigreed pre-sold product, a television text of esteemed cinematic lineage. This leads to the examination of branding. In order to corral The Sopranos into the slogan, “It's Not TV, It's HBO,” HBO seeks to differentiate its product from lowest common denominator, broadcast fare. The separation results in the construction of the “quality” brand, a problematic concept academics have linked to demographics. HBO's branding strategy has also intensified the claim of competition between pay cable and broadcast television in popular discourse. This claim is problematized by the ratings gathering methodology of A.C. Nielsen and by AOL Time Warner's tiering strategies. By examining the aforementioned strategies, I uncover the materialist— rather than auteurist—foundations of The Sopranos.
Mascot Matters: Race, History, and the University of North Dakota's “Fighting Sioux” Logo
Authors: Tovares Raúl
Published: April 2003

This article critically examines an official document addressing the University of North Dakota's (UND's) “Fighting Sioux” logo. Prior to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the UND campus was populated mostly by white students, faculty members, and administrators. Such a population created a climate in which the appropriation of Native American images and symbols for fun and sport went largely unquestioned. The debates that have developed since the 1960s around the Fighting Sioux logo reflect the struggles of different groups to define the parameters of acceptable and unacceptable forms of communication.
The Brazilian Wax: New Hairlessness Norm for Women?
Authors: Labre Megdala Peixoto
Published: April 2003

In the past few years, the Brazilian bikini wax—a procedure involving the removal of hair from women's genital area—has become the subject of substantial media attention. From HBO's Sex and the City to popular magazines and in several Web sites, the Brazilian wax has been described as the latest craze among Hollywood stars. This article explores the Brazilian wax practice from a feminist perspective. Like the removal of hair from other body parts, the Brazilian wax is being promoted by consumer capitalism—particularly through beauty salons, popular magazines, and Web sites—as a way for women to increase their attractiveness and sexuality. Notably absent from media coverage are critical views of this practice and its potential repercussions, including its contribution to the sexual objectification of girls and women and to the social construction of women as childlike.
“Things Like This Don't Just Happen”: Ideology and Paul Thomas Anderson's Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, and Magnolia
Authors: Goss Brian Michael
Published: April 2003

This article examines the first three films directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. One of the rising auteurs in the U.S. film industry, Anderson's films have generated passionate and mostly favorable responses from audiences and critics. In their narratives and visual style, Anderson's films are striking for their sympathetic portrayals of marginal figures and their audacious use of the film medium to tell stories. In examining the ideology that is inscribed within the three films, I will argue that they strain against the core ideologies of the market and patriarchal family. Although the strain is considerable, the films affirm the ideology of the patriarchal family in part by transposing it to the surrogate family. Similarly, the films present relations of dominance and submission within market relations; nonetheless, slippage occurs and market relations are recuperated as the optimal steering mechanism for society. In this manner, Anderson's films demonstrate how far a liberal critique may extend before closing ideological ruptures that it has opened.
The Black Woman As Marker of Hypersexuality in Western Mythology: A Contemporary Manifestation in the Film The Scarlet Letter
Authors: Abraham Linus K.
Published: April 2003

Despite criticisms of the film The Scarlet Letter as engaging in historical revisionism of representations of blighted groups in society, a critical examination of its symbolic language reveals that the film draws on, and circulates, centuries-old Western symbolism and mythology of black sexuality. The article undertakes a review of Western iconography surrounding black sexuality in nineteenth-century Europe and shows how it manifests itself in the interaction of race and sex in contemporary American mythology. The article attempts to show how the iconography of black sexuality undergirds signification of the narrative relationship between the main character and her black servant in the film. The article argues, from the perspective of potential multiaccentual interpolation of the audience, that even a polysemic interpretation (from the hegemonic male gaze or a subversive female gaze) of the text still reveals blackness as a marker of difference and hypersexuality.
Media, Democracy, and Human Rights in Argentina
Authors: Park David J.
Published: April 2003

This article examines the relationship between media and democracy in Argentina. A Tinker/Nave short-termfield research grant supported this research pro ject during the summer and fall of 1997. It uses archival sources on media concentration, as well as an ethnographic investigation, to gather information concerning media access by human rights groups. The author argues that media concentration, institutional connections with media, foreign ownership, violence against the press, and neoliberal market restraints limit the quality of Argentina's transitional democracy. These conditions can restrict the discussion of human rights issues and simultaneously limit the re-creation of a severely damaged public sphere.
In the Public Interest? The State of Local Television Programming Fifteen Years after Deregulation
Authors: Bishop Ronald , Hakanen Ernest A.
Published: April 2003

The authors' research tests the assertion that deregulation of broadcasting has caused a decline in the amount of local non–news programming produced by commercial television stations. Locally produced programming from stations in three markets was analyzed for the years 1976 (before deregulation), 1985 (during deregulation), and 1997. The markets were selected to give a broad representation of market size. Local programlistings were taken fromsystematically selected back issues of TV Guide to formconstructed weeks for analysis. The number of public affairs programs airing in the markets has declined. There was also a significant decrease in the number of hour-long programs aired and a significant relationship across all markets between the year studied and the days of the week on which a programaired. The analysis suggests that stations have not maintained their commitment to local public affairs programming. A recent Gore Commission report adds relevance to these findings.
Observing Discourses of Advertising: Mobitel's Interpellation of Potential Consumers
Authors: Pajnik Mojca , Lesjak-TuŠek Petra
Published: April 2003

Advertising appeals to people in such a way that it affects their choices. Advertisers operate on the basis of different discourses that are both verbal and nonverbal. This article explores how contemporary discourses of advertising interpellate individuals as subjects. Furthermore, ideological work in the discourses, as Althusser has put it, are discussed on the basis of “voices” of advertisers. The theory is brought into practice in the analysis of the case studies: two of Mobitel's advertisements promoting the mobile phone. The semioticstructuralist approach is used to discuss the denotative and connotative meanings of the advertisements and to point to the ideological nature of advertising and the discourses promising new identities and desired lifestyles.
My Grandmother’s Black Market Birth Control: “Subjugated Knowledges” in the History of Contraceptive Discourse
Authors: Marcellus Jane
Published: April 2003

This article explores the historical context for a 1933 brochure advertising contraceptives. Using historical research, Michel Foucault’s theory of “subjugated knowledges,” and Roland Barthes’s method for semiological analysis, the article looks at both public discourse about contraception and the discreet, coded one often used by women. Analysis of the 1933 brochure illustrates a clumsy attempt to create a female consumer in a way that addresses public discourse and intuits the existence of private discourse as well. That consumer, the author argues, is with us today.
Contesting the Borders of the Imagined Nation: The Frame of Religious Marginalization in Grassroots Socially Conservative Discourses about Sexuality in Public Education
Authors: Guzmán Isabel Molina
Published: April 2003

This article examines the social construction of community through a discursive analysis of the cognitive frames used by socially conservative participants involved in conflicts about multicultural education in two case studies. The primary frame explored is that of religious marginalization. Within this frame, socially conservative activists produce texts that reify an ideological boundary between the values of social conservatives and those groups perceived as symbolic threats, primarily public educators and sexual minorities. Since one of the most controversial issues in contemporary conflicts about multicultural education is the role of religion and sexuality in the public schools, this article contends that the domain of the private sphere (religion, race, gender, and sexuality) is a central component of socially conservative constructs of nation and community.
Counting Color: Ambivalence and Contradiction in the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ Discourse of Diversity
Authors: Mellinger Gwyneth
Published: April 2003

Of particular interest to any inquiry into the post-Kerner failure of newspapers to remedy past racial exclusion is why the industry’s seemingly progressive affirmative action efforts have fallen so far short of their goals. This article analyzes the discourse surrounding a moment of crisis in the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ diversity initiative to show that the organization’s demographic parity project in fact continually resecures white domination and marginalizes the non-white journalists it invites to work in its newsrooms.
Argentinean Jews as Scapegoat: A Textual Analysis of the Bombing of AMIA
Authors: Feldstein Federico Pablo , Acosta-Alzuru Carolina
Published: April 2003

On 18 July 1994, the Asociación de Mutuales Israelitas Argentinas (Israelite Argentinean Mutual Aid Association) (AMIA) was bombed. AMIA’s seven-story building was destroyed, and eighty-five lives were lost. Drawing on the literature of news as myth and using textual analysis, this study focuses on news media coverage of AMIA’s attack to analyze the representation of “the Jews” in two major Argentinean newspapers: La Nación and Clarín. These dailies distanced Jews and non-Jews, presenting Argentinean Jews in the role of scapegoat, and contributing to the general perception of the AMIA attack as a Jewish problem and a Jewish burden. This perception further separates Argentinean Jews from non-Jews. In addition, it diminishes the probabilities of solving the judicial case since the terrorist attack is not acknowledged as an Argentinean problem.
Pop (Up) Goes the Blind Date: Supertextual Constraints on “Reality” Television
Authors: DeRose Justin , Fürsich Elfriede , Haskins Ekaterina V.
Published: April 2003

In this textual analysis of the reality dating show Blind Date, the authors challenge the recent cultural studies scholarship that champions textual openness of reality television. In particular, the authors demonstrate how the pop-up supertext in Blind Date undermines the counterhegemonic potential of this show with regard to gender, class, and ethnic representations. The authors find that the interplay between the comic supertext and the dating coverage tends to punish deviance from dominant conceptions of aesthetics, class, social, and intellectual abilities. The analysis highlights the limits of textual polysemy in the new generation of interactive or enhanced television formats.
Linguistic Style Matching in Social Interaction
Authors: Niederhoffer Kate G. , Pennebaker James W.
Published: April 2003

Three experiments were conducted to determine the psychometric properties of language in dyadic interactions. Using text-analysis, it was possible to assess the degree to which people coordinate their word use in natural conversations. In Experiments 1 (n = 130) and 2 (n = 32), college students interacted in dyadic conversations in laboratory-based private Internet chat rooms. Experiment 3 analyzed the official transcripts of the Watergate tapes involving the dyadic interactions between President Richard Nixon and his aids H. R. Haldeman, John Erlichman, & John Dean. The results of the three studies offer substantial evidence that individuals in dyadic interactions exhibit linguistic style matching (LSM) on both the conversation level as well as on a turn-by-turn level. Furthermore, LSM is unrelated to ratings of the quality of the interaction by both participants and judges. We propose that a coordination-engagement hypothesis is a better description of linguistic behaviors than the coordination-rapport hypothesis that has been proposed in the nonverbal literature.
Similarities and Differences in Perceptions and Evaluations of the Communication Styles of American and British Mangers
Authors: Dunkerley Kathleen J. , Robinson W. Peter
Published: April 2003

American and British managers working in American companies in Britain were interviewed about issues associated with the workplace communication styles of themselves and the other group. They were asked to comment both descriptively and evaluatively about both similarities and differences. Transcripts were coded in terms of emergent themes. Results showed that the two groups were agreed about the existence and nature of differences. However, both groups displayed in-group favoritism and out-group disapproval in their evaluations; each group saw the style of the other as being comparatively dysfunctional. The results were interpreted to suggest that the American style and stated preferences reflected an orientation toward efficient task-related problem solving, whereas the British emphasized processes rather than products and status-based social relations. Given the greater transparency of the American style, it is argued that it is likely to be more efficient and less prone to misunderstandings for outsiders who are competent and familiar with English but not with local cultural conventions.
Attitudes of Primary School Australian Aboriginal Children to their Linguistic Codes
Authors: Purdie Nola , Oliver Rhonda , Collard Glenys , Rochecouste Judith
Published: April 2003

This study examined the attitudes of 114 Nyungar Aboriginal school children toward Aboriginal English (AE) and Standard Australian English (SAE), and the attitudes they attributed to their teachers and peers. Students were generally positive about using AE at home and in the playground but negative about using SAE in those contexts. Students did not feel positive about using either AE or SAE in the classroom. Ethnolinguistic Identity Theory is used to explain the significant differences found in attitudes to the two linguistic codes of students, as well as the attitudes students perceived their teachers and peers to have.
Themes And Perceptions Of Written Sexually Harassing Messages And Their Link To Distress
Authors: Kinney Terry A.
Published: April 2003

This study examined how sexually harassing messages harm. Based on theories of sexual harassment and message effects, message contents and perceptions of message features were related to indices of distress. Sixty-six messages were collected and then sorted to acquire similarity data, which was then cluster analyzed to derive content themes. A separate set of participants were exposed to randomized sequences of the messages in written form to provide their perceptions of each and predict the extent to which each would activate affects and elicit psychosomatic symptoms. One-way ANOVA results across the content themes showed that the hostile/aggressive category produced the highest levels of distress. In addition, regression results showed that message perceptions accounted for significant amounts of variance in the affects and psychosomatic symptoms measures. Results are discussed in terms of advancing work on message effects through inclusion of sets of message perceptions.
Blood And Chocolate
Authors: Neuman Yair , Levi Mor
Published: April 2003

Fear appeal, as a tactic of persuasion, has been studied mostly from an experimental and nondiscursive perspective. The aim of this study is to examine the use of fear appeal in a natural discursive setting of fundamentalist rhetoric. More specifically, the authors examine the interactional problems facing Jewish fundamentalist preachers who try to manipulate fear. In addition, the authors identify several discursive strategies that aim to solve these problems. The general conclusions point to the power of a discursive perspective for examining fear appeal and its sophisticated use in rhetoric and present a new vision for the study of discourse and psychology.
Adolescence And Media
Authors: Mastronardi Maria
Published: April 2003

It is argued in this article that to develop richer models and more effective pedagogical tools, studies exploring the relationship between mass media and young people need to foreground media use in the context of young peoples' daily lives, as well as in the context of more broad social and political issues that shape how specific media forms are constructed, deployed, and taken up by young people. Focusing primarily on major trends of the media effects tradition, the dominant paradigm among social scientists, this article surveys and assesses four key themes of effects research concerning adolescents: heavy media consumption, media violence, sexuality, and media and young women. Recent research developments concerning young people and new or digital media forms also are considered, and arguments about media and youth culture from a political economy perspective are reviewed briefly.
Profiling "New" Communication Technologies In Adolescence
Authors: Thurlow Crispin , McKay Susan
Published: April 2003

In an overview of some of the central issues concerning the impact and effects of new technology in adolescence, this article questions the reality of the "net generation" before considering the interplay of new and old technologies, the internet as both communication and lifestyle resource, and newer technologies like text messaging and webcams.
Adolescent Language And Communication From An Intergroup Perspective
Authors: Fortman Jennifer
Published: April 2003

How people meet and master certain challenges in adolescence may have a lasting impact on the remainder of their lives. Intergroup theories of communication offer a unique perspective to aid in the understanding of the complex psychological and communicative dynamics of adolescent interactions. It is suggested that viewing adolescent behavior from an intergroup perspective may permit a better understanding of their communication styles and indicate ways to alleviate problematic talk and miscommunication that are frequently pervasive for this age group.
Language And Adolescent Peer Groups
Authors: Eckert Penelope
Published: April 2003

This article focuses on the use of linguistic resources from the perspective of the creation and maintenance of adolescent groups and categories, and specifically on the use of aspects of verbal style in the creation and maintenance of distinctiveness. It explores the use of a variety of types of linguistic resources, phonological and grammatical variation, lexical innovation, language crossing, and interactive style. It shows how oppositions with which the group defines itself generally also serve as organizing principles within the group, accounting not only for intergroup but for intragroup differences in language use.
Cognitive, Emotional, And Verbal Responses In Unfair Everyday Discourse
Authors: Mischo Christoph
Published: April 2003

Research about argumentational unfairness has focused primarily on the cognitive evaluation of argumentational rule violations, applying written argumentational scenarios, and structured answering format. This study investigates cognitive, emotional, and verbal responses to unfair contributions (nonrational vs. noncooperative speech acts) using an open-ended answering format in various presentation modalities (written, auditory, and role-play). No differences appeared between reactions to nonrational versus noncooperative contributions or between the different presentation modalities. The results replicate previous findings and provide support for the validity of attributional models in unfair everyday discourse, as well as for the position that argumentative behavior is rule governed by reciprocal expectancies.
Humour and Embarrassment
Authors: Billig Michael
Published: April 2003

This article suggests that there are intrinsic links between humour and embarrassment and that both are crucial for the maintenance of social life. Goffman and others have claimed that embarrassment plays a key role in the maintenance of social order. However, it is argued that Goffman overlooked the role of ridicule in embarrassment. In consequence, he formulated a `nice-guy' theory of embarrassment, suggesting that onlookers empathize with the embarrassment of others and seek to diminish that embarrassment. By contrast, it is suggested that the embarrassment of others is often a matter of laughter and enjoyment. Such a link between embarrassment and humour is crucial for the socialization of embarrassment, which depends on the possibility of ridicule. This is illustrated by an incident in Freud's classic case-history of Little Hans. The transformation of embarrassing incidents into humorous narrations is also discussed. It is suggested that the link between humour and embarrassment is theoretically significant, pointing the way to a reconstituted Freudian view for understanding the relations between the individual and social order.
Charisma and Possession in Africa and Brazil
Authors: Lehmann David
Published: April 2003

The spread of evangelical Christianity across the globe is characterized by both a high degree of similarity in liturgy, symbolism and methods of organization and communication, and at the same time a remarkable ability to plug in to local indigenous rituals, symbols and practices related to possession and magic, to disease and healing. This poses complex questions for understanding ethnicity and also cultural globalization, which are explored using contemporary and historical sources relating to South and West Africa and to Brazil. The ability of those evangelical churches which advertise their ability to transmit healing powers most insistently, to transpose healing from individual to community, to replace mystery with transparency, is set against their opportunistic and clientelistic political involvements and lack of transparency in their organization.
Autonomous Production?
Authors: Thoburn Nicholas
Published: April 2003

This article takes the suggestions by Jameson and Žižek that Hardt and Negri's recent Empire is an important `new theoretical synthesis' and a challenge to a politically complacent Cultural Studies as its starting point to explore Negri's understanding of `production'. It opens out Negri's apparent synthesis to consider the formative elements of his work: operaismo's `social factory', Marx's `Fragment on Machines' and Deleuze's figure of `control society'. The article argues that whilst Negri develops the important analytic categories of socialized and affective labour, he breaks with operaismo's and Deleuze's `cramped' and `minor' interrogation of the intricacies of capitalized production to develop a problematic understanding of an emerging autonomy-in-production. In this Negri makes a strange return to the orthodox Marxian and - in an inverted way - neo-Gramscian positions which operaismo had sought to undermine; so making Empire less a synthesis of, than a break with some of the core theoretical principles of operaismo, Marx and Deleuze.
Rediscovering the Theological in Sociology
Authors: Keenan William J.F.
Published: April 2003

Is sociology inherently a mode of secular materialism? Or, are there intellectual resources deep within the sociological tradition, expansively conceived, that offer the sociological imagination a spiritual `post-secular' perspective on society and culture? This article draws out the subterranean theological stream of sociological consciousness and illuminates a `sacramentalist' socio-theology with particular reference to the `iconic vision' of Paul Evdokimov. In the context of late modernity, such a radical emphasis on the sacred foundations and transcendent potentialities of life provides the possibility of a fundamental critique of commodified profane culture and of sociology itself.
A Tale of Two Enclosures
Authors: Mazlish Bruce
Published: April 2003

Utopian thinking, and utopias as a genre, flourished as forms of the imaginary until recently. The emergence of the genre, with Thomas More, emphasizing spatial arrangement and with Louis-Sébastien Mercier invoking future orientation, I argue, is illuminated by placing them next to the economic enclosures of their time. (I treat the connection of enclosures and utopias as both a literary conceit and as an elective affinity.) Their utopias, however, closed off both the individual and time from the capitalist changes around them, allowing for little or no variation or expression of self. Thus, their imagined virtuous societies actually sought to foreclose the future and other spaces. The paradox is that capitalist development, with its admitted inequities and horrors, favored an expansive self and vital societies, which carry with them their own virtues. In spite of the ameliorative tendencies of utopias, their limitations, that is, their closed-mindedness, slowly but surely discredited the genre itself. Its place has been taken today by science fiction, futurist studies and the exercise of the imaginary in terms of social science.
From Epistemology to the Avant-garde
Authors: Panofsky Aaron L.
Published: April 2003

This article argues that the sociology of knowledge as a critical subfield of sociology and the artist Marcel Duchamp are engaged in epistemologically analogous projects. Two sets of claims demonstrate the analogy: that Duchamp and the sociology of knowledge both have the same conception of and attitude toward their objects (respectively, art and knowledge/truth), and that they both mount similar critiques of the institutions they occupy (respectively, the art world and social science). A set of similar practices leads both to adopt an attitude of reflexivity which courts self-refutation by changing the ontological status of their objects and the epistemological status of their own practices. The analogy implies some new ways of thinking about the institutional role of the sociology of knowledge, the practice and epistemology of sociology, and perhaps the epistemic character of modernism.
Pushing for Peace
Authors: Spencer Graham
Published: April 2003

Although much has been written about the role of the news media within conflict situations, far less is known about the part played by reporting during a period of developing peace. This article approaches this question by looking at how the Irish government dealt with television news during the initial phases of the Northern Ireland peace process. In drawing from interviews carried out with key government representatives, it presents a picture of diverse strategies applied by the Irish in their efforts to push for peace and indicates how different communicative priorities came into play to meet varying problems and opportunities afforded by television news coverage.
Print Media in Post-Communist East Central Europe
Authors: Gulyás Ágnes
Published: April 2003

This article analyses the changes and development of the print media sectors in three post-Communist countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. It examines the main changes which took place post- Communism and the development of the print media sectors during the 1990s. Specifically, changes in relation to the functions of print media production, to media control and to the role of the state are discussed. The general political, economic, social and cultural environment affecting the changes in the print media sectors are also overviewed. The features of the post-Communist print media sectors are analysed by examining the development of market conditions, ownership, performance and consumption.
The effect of acute tryptophan depletion on probabilistic choice
Authors: Anderson I. M. , Richell R. A. , Bradshaw C. M.
Published: April 2003

Choice behaviour can be viewed as a response to reinforcement determined by an interaction between the quantities, delays and probabilities of two outcomes. The variation in the perceived value of a reinforcer with alteration of these factors (discounting) can be modelled mathematically by hyperbolic discounting functions. Making risky choices is a feature of impulsivity and has been associated with reduced serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) function. In this study, we investigated the possible role of 5-HT in modulating probability discounting using the technique of acute tryptophan (TRP) depletion in subjects undertaking an imaginary gambling task. The gambling task consisted of choosing between two ‘roulette-like’ dials: ‘A’ which provided a smaller but nearly certain ‘win’ and ‘B’ which gave a ‘win’ 2.5 times the amount with a probability that was systematically varied. A series of reward sizes on dial ‘A’ was presented ranging from 10 pence to £10 000. The probability of winning on dial ‘B’ at which the subjects valued the two dials equally (indifference point) was determined as a measure of willingness to take a risk. Subjects were more likely to take a risk for smaller rewards but the indifference points in the 15 subjects who received TRP depletion did not differ from 13 who had the control drink. On a surprise retesting 1 week later there was a trend (p < 0.07) for subjects to be more willing to take risks the second time, particularly in the case of small rewards. This study does not support a role for 5-HT in modulating probabilistic choice in agreement with recent evidence from experiments with animals; however, the imaginal nature of the task and modest numbers may have influenced the result.
Triazolam-amphetamine interaction: dissociation of effects on memory versus arousal
Authors: Mintzer Miriam Z. , Griffiths Roland R.
Published: April 2003

It is well-documented that benzodiazepine sedative/hypnotics produce robust dose-dependent memoryimpairing effects. However, benzodiazepines also induce marked sedation, as reflected in changes in observer and subjective ratings of arousal and impaired psychomotor performance. Thus, it is possible that the observed amnestic effects are secondary to more global sedative effects, and do not reflect a specific, primary, benzodiazepine effect on memory mechanisms. This study was designed to use the non-specific stimulant d-amphetamine to dissociate the sedative and memory-impairing effects of the benzodiazepine triazolam. Across four sessions, 20 healthy adult volunteers received via oral capsule administration placebo, 0.25 mg/70 kg triazolam alone, 20 mg/70 kg d-amphetamine sulfate alone, and triazolam (0.25 mg/70 kg) and d-amphetamine (20 mg/70 kg) conjointly, in a double-blind, staggered dosing, cross-over design. d-Amphetamine significantly reversed the effects of triazolam on all participant rating and psychomotor performance-based measures of sedative effects, and selectively reversed the memory-impairing effects of triazolam on some measures (e.g. working memory assessed by a 2-back task, episodic memory assessed by free recall, metamemory), but not others (e.g. working memory assessed by a digit recall task, episodic memory assessed by recognition memory). Results suggest that benzodiazepines do have specific effects on memory that are not merely a by-product of the drugs' sedative effects, and that the degree to which sedative effects contribute to the amnestic effects may vary as a function of the particular memory process being assessed. In addition to enhancing the understanding of the mechanisms underlying benzodiazepine induced amnesia, these results may also contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationship between specific memory processes and level of arousal.
Lorazepam induces an atypical dissociation of visual and auditory event-related potentials
Authors: Pompéia S. , Manzano G. M. , Galduróz J. C. F. , Tufik S. , Bueno O. F. A.
Published: April 2003

Lorazepam has been reported to atypically disrupt visual processing compared to other benzodiazepines (BZs), but it is not known to what extent this effect extends to impairment in other modalities. Our objective was to compare the effects of lorazepam with those of flunitrazepam, a BZ with standard effects, on visual and auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) using the same paradigm. The study followed a placebocontrolled, double-blind, parallel group-design and involved single oral doses of lorazepam (2.0 mg), flunitrazepam (1.2 mg) and placebo. Thirty-six young, healthy subjects completed a test battery before and after treatment including classic behavioural tests, visual and auditory ERPs. Both drugs led to comparable alterations on behavioural tests and double-dissociations were found, indicating that the doses used were equipotent: lorazepam was more deleterious than flunitrazepam and placebo in fragmented shape identification, while simple reaction times were prolonged for flunitrazepam in comparison to lorazepam and placebo. Effects on P3 latencies were also distinct: alterations in both modalities for flunitrazepam were equivalent and greater than placebo's. In contrast, lorazepam at the frontal and central electrode sites led to greater changes in visual than in auditory latency, and also to longer visual latencies than flunitrazepam and placebo, but lorazepam's auditory latency effects were only different to placebo's at the parietal electrode site. Peripheral visual changes were not responsible for these effects. Differences in the impairment profile between equipotent doses of lorazepam and flunitrazepam suggests that lorazepam induces atypical central visual processing changes.