The Politics of Actually Existing Unsustainability:Human Flourishing in a Climate-Changed, Carbon-Constrained World

Going against both the naive techno-optimist of ‘greening business as usual’ and a resurgent ‘catastrophism’ within green thinking and politics, The Politics of Actually Existing Unsustainability offers an analysis of the causes of unsustainability and diminished human flourishing. The books locates the causes of unsustainability in dominant capitalist modes of production, debt-based consumer culture, the imperative for orthodox economic growth and the dominant ideology of neoclassical economics. It suggests that valuable insights into the causes of and alternatives to unsustainability can be found in a critical embracing of human vulnerability and dependency as both constitutive and ineliminable aspects of what it means to be human. The book defends resilience, the ability to ‘cope with’ rather than somehow ‘solve’ vulnerability. The book offers a trenchant critique of the dominant neoclassical economic ‘groupthink’, viewing it not as some value-neutral form of ‘expert knowledge’, but as a thoroughly ideological ‘common sense’. Outlining a green political economic alternative replacing economic growth with economic security, it argues economic growth has done its work in the minority, affluent world, which should now focus on improving human flourishing, lowering socio-economic equality and fostering solidarity as part of a new re-orientation of public policy. Complementing this, a, ‘green republicanism’ is developed as an innovative and original contribution to contemporary debates on a ‘post-growth’ economy and society. The Politics of Actually Existing Unsustainability draws widely from a range of disciplines and thinkers, from cultural critic Susan Sontag to the critical theory of the Frankfurt School, contemporary debates in green political thinking, and the latest thinking in heterodox and green economics, to produce a highly relevant, timely, and provocatively original statement on the human predicament in the twenty-first century.

Using public procurement to achieve social outcomes

The use of public procurement to achieve social outcomes is widespread, but detailed information about how it operates is often sketchy and difficult to find. This article is essentially a mapping exercise, describing the history and current use Of government contracting as a tool of social regulation, what the author calls the issue of 'linkage'. The article considers the popularity of linkage in the I 9,h century in Europe and North America, particularly in dealing with issues of labour standards and unemployment. The use of linkage expanded during the 20(th) century, initially to include the provision of employment opportunities to disabled workers. During and after World War 11, the use of linkage became particularly important in the United States in addressing racial equality, in the requirements for non-discrimination in contracts, and in affirmative action and set-asides for minority businesses. Subsequently, the role of procurement spread both in its geographical coverage and in the subject areas of social policy that it was used to promote. The article considers examples of the use of procurement to promote equality on the basis of ethnicity and gender drawn from Malaysia, South Africa, Canada, and the European Community. More recently, procurement has been used as an instrument to promote human rights transnationally, also by international organizations such as the International Labour Organisation. The article includes some reflections on the relationship between 'green' procurement, 'social' procurement, and sustainable development, and recent attempts to develop the concept of 'sustainable procurement.

Multiculturalism, freedom of religion, equality, and the British constitution: The JFS case considered

In the JFS case, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom held that the admissions policy of a Jewish faith school constituted unlawful racial discrimination because it used the Orthodox Jewish interpretation of who is Jewish as a criterion for determining admission to the school. A detailed discussion of the case is located in the context of two broader debates in Britain, which are characterized as constitutional in character or, at least, as possessing constitutional properties. The first is the debate concerning the treatment of minority groups, multiculturalism, and the changing perceptions in public policy of the role of race and religion in national life. It is suggested that this debate has become imbued with strong elements of what has been termed “post-multiculturalism”. The second debate is broader still, and pertains to shifting approaches to “constitutionalism” in Britain. It is suggested that, with the arrival of the European Convention on Human Rights and EU law, the U.K. has seen a shift from a pragmatic approach to constitutional thinking, in which legislative compromise played a key part, to the recognition of certain quasi-constitutional principles, allowing the judiciary greatly to expand its role in protecting individual rights while requiring the judges, at the same time, to articulate a principled basis for doing so. In both these debates, the principle of equality plays an important role. The JFS case is an important illustration of some of the implications of these developments.

Indigenous rights in Chile: National identity and majority group support for multicultural policies

We examine support for policies affecting indigenous ethnic minorities in Chile. Specifically, we examine the role of national group definitions that include the largest indigenous group—the Mapuche—in different ways. Based on questionnaire data from nonindigenous Chilean students (N = 338), we empirically distinguish iconic inclusion, whereby the Mapuche are seen as an important part of Chile's history and identity on the one hand, from egalitarian inclusion, which represents the Mapuche as citizens of equal importance to the nonindigenous majority on the other. Both forms of inclusion positively predict support for indigenous rights, independent of participants' political affiliation, strength of national identification, and social distance. A second study (N = 277) replicates this finding whilst controlling for right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, blind patriotism, and constructive patriotism. It also finds iconic inclusion to be predictive of a pro-Mapuche position regarding the unrest over the issue of ancestral land in 2009. We conclude that understanding how national identity affects attitudes about minority rights necessitates appreciating the importance of particular meanings of nationality, and not only the strength of identification.

Glucocorticoid receptor β and histone deacetylase 1 and 2 expression in the airways of severe asthma.

Rationale Upregulation of glucocorticoid receptor ß (GRß) has been implicated in steroid resistance in severe asthma, although previous studies are conflicting. GRß has been proposed as a dominant negative isoform of glucocorticoid receptor a (GRa) but it has also been suggested that GRß can cause steroid resistance via reduced expression of histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2), a key regulator of steroid responsiveness in the airway.


Objectives To examine GRß, GRa, HDAC1 and HDAC2 expression at transcript and protein levels in bronchial biopsies from a large series of patients with severe asthma, and to compare the findings with those of patients with mild to moderate asthma and healthy volunteers.


Methods Bronchoscopic study in two UK centres with real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry performed on biopsies, western blotting of bronchial epithelial cells and immunoprecipitation with anti-GRß antibody.


Measurements and main results Protein and mRNA expression for GRa and HDAC2 did not differ between groups. GRß mRNA was detected in only 13 of 73 samples (seven patients with severe asthma), however immunohistochemistry showed widespread epithelial staining in all groups. Western blotting of bronchial epithelial cells with GRß antibody detected an additional ‘cross-reacting’ protein, identified as clathrin. HDAC1 expression was increased in patients with severe asthma compared with healthy volunteers.


Conclusions GRß mRNA is expressed at low levels in a minority of patients with severe asthma. HDAC1 and HDAC2 expression was not downregulated in severe asthma. These data do not support upregulated GRß and resultant reduced HDAC expression as the principal mechanism of steroid resistance in severe asthma. Conflicting GRß literature may be explained in part by clathrin cross-reactivity with commercial antibodies.

Chronic cough in children: bronchoalveolar lavage findings

Isolated chronic cough in childhood is a common complaint. Although the symptom cough is included in the definition of clildhood asthma, there is debate as to whether the majoritv of these children have asthma. The authors studied children with isolated chronic cough looking for evidence of airway inflammation typical of asthma, with increased numbers of airway eosinophils as assessed from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL).

The investigations were carried out on 23 children (median age: 6.7 yrs; range: 1.7-12.75 yrs), attending the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children for elective surgery, who also had a chronic unexplained cough. Written informed consent was obtained from the parent(s) and a nonbronchoscopic BAL was performed. BAL samples were analysed for total and differential white cell counts and also for the inflammatory mediators, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and histamine. Results were compared with a group of normal nonatopic children and also a group of atopic asthmatic children, who had been recruited for other studies on airway inflammation.

There was a small but statistically significant increase in BAL percentage eosinophils in the children with chronic cough compared with nonasthmatic controls (0.28% versus 0.10%, p=0.03). However, the children with cough had lower percentage eosinophils than the atopic asthmatic controls (0.28% versus 0.66%, p=0.01). Three out of 23 children with chronic cough had BAL eosinophils greater than the normal upper 95% reference interval in BAL. There was a small but statistically significant increase in percentage neutrophils in the children with cough compared with the nonasthmatic controls (5.85% versus 3.21%, p=0.03). Four out of the 23 children had BAL neutrophils greater than the normal upper 95% reference interval in BAL.

The authors conclude that only a minority of children with chronic unexplained cough have asthmatic-type airway inflammation. It is speculated that the increased percentage neutrophils in bronchoalveolar lavage from children with cough could relate to underlying persistent airways infection.

The 'Unhomely' White Women of Antillean Writing

While the field known as ‘Whiteness Studies’ has been thriving in Anglophone criticism and theory for over 25 years, it is almost unknown in France. This is partly due to epistemological and political differences, but also to demographic factors — in contrast with the post-plantation culture of the US, for example, whites in Martinique and Guadeloupe are a tiny minority of small island populations. Yet ‘whiteness’ remains a phantasized and a fetishized state in the Antillean imaginary, and is strongly inflected by gender. This article sketches the emergence of ‘white’ femininity during slavery, then examines its representation in the work of a number of major Antillean writers (Condé, Placoly, Confiant, Chamoiseau). In their work, a cluster of recurring images and leitmotifs convey the idealization or, more commonly, the pathologization, of the white woman; these images resonate strongly with Bhabha’s ‘unhomely’, and convey the disturbing imbrication of sex and race in Antillean history.

Quality of life in men receiving radiotherapy and neo-adjuvant androgen deprivation for prostate cancer:Results from a prospective longitudinal study

Aim. To report a study measuring the quality of life and side effects in men receiving radiotherapy and hormone ablation for prostate cancer up to 1year after treatment. Background. Prostate cancer incidence is increasing with the result that more men are living longer with the disease and the side effects of treatment. It is important to know the effects this has on their quality of life. Design. Survey. Method. Between September 2006-September 2007, all men who were about to undergo radical conformal radiotherapy ± neo-adjuvant androgen deprivation for localized prostate cancer were invited to participate in the study; 149 men were recruited. They completed the European Organization on Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life questionnaire C-30 and Prostate Cancer module PR25 at four time-points. Results. At 4-6weeks after radiotherapy, participants experienced the biggest relative decline in global quality of life, social, physical, and role functioning and an increase in treatment side effects. At 6months postradiotherapy the majority of men experienced an improvement in their side effects. However, a minority of men were experiencing severe side effects of radiotherapy at 1year post-treatment. Single men and men who had a low quality of life prior to radiotherapy, reported a lower quality of life at 1year after treatment in comparison to married men. Conclusion. Men with prostate cancer suffer limitations due to the symptoms they experience and disruption to their quality of life. It is essential that nurses develop and deliver follow-up care which is flexible and appropriate to the individual needs of these men. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Claiming and displaying national identity: Irish Travellers' and students' strategic use of 'banal' and 'hot' national identity in talk

Two complementary explanations have been offered by social psychologists to account for the universal hold of national identity, first that national identity is ideologically assumed, as it forms the ‘banal’ background of everyday life, and second that national identity is ‘hotly’ constructed and contested in political and everyday settings to great effect. However, ‘banal’ and ‘hot’ aspects of national identity have been found to be distributed unevenly across national and subnational groups and banality itself can be strategically used to distinguish between different groups. The present paper develops these ideas by examining possible reasons for these different modes and strategies of identity expression. Drawing upon intergroup theories of minority and majority relations, we examine how a group who see themselves unequivocally as a minority, Irish Travellers, talk about their national identity in comparison to an age and gender-matched sample of Irish students. We find that Travellers proactively display and claim ‘hot’ national identity in order to establish their Irishness. Irish students ‘do banality’, police the boundaries and reputation of Irishness, and actively reject and disparage proactive displays of Irishness. The implications for discursive understandings of identity, the study of intra-national group relations and policies of minority inclusion are discussed.

Cognitive Adaptation to the Experience of Social and Cultural Diversity

Diversity is a defining characteristic of modern society, yet there remains considerable debate over the benefits that it brings. The authors argue that positive psychological and behavioral outcomes will be observed only when social and cultural diversity is experienced in a way that challenges stereotypical expectations and that when this precondition is met, the experience has cognitive consequences that resonate across multiple domains. A model, rooted in social categorization theory and research, outlines the preconditions and processes through which people cognitively adapt to the experience of social and cultural diversity and the resulting cross-domain benefits that this brings. Evidence is drawn from a range of literatures to support this model, including work on biculturalism, minority influence, cognitive development, stereotype threat, work group productivity, creativity, and political ideology. The authors bring together a range of differing diversity experiences and explicitly draw parallels between programs of research that have focused on both perceiving others who are multicultural and being multicultural oneself. The findings from this integrative review suggest that experiencing diversity that challenges expectations may not only encourage greater tolerance but also have benefits beyond intergroup relations to varied aspects of psychological functioning.

Socio-political context and accounts of national identity in adolescence

Psychological research into national identity has considered both the banal quality of nationalism alongside the active, strategic construction of national categories and boundaries. Less attention has been paid to the conflict between these processes for those whose claims to national identity may be problematic. In the present study, focus groups were conducted with 36 Roman Catholic adolescents living in border regions of Ireland, in which participants were asked to talk about their own and others’ Irish national identity. Discursive analysis of the data revealed that those in the Republic of Ireland strategically displayed their national identity as obvious and ‘banal’, while those in Northern Ireland proactively claimed their Irishness. Moreover, those in Northern Ireland displayed an assumption that their fellow Irish in the Republic shared their imperative to assert national identity, while those in the Republic actively distanced themselves from this version of Irishness. These results suggest that for dominant ethnic groups, ‘banality’ may itself provide a marker of national identity while paradoxically the proactive display of national identity undermines minority groups claims to national identity.

Introduction

The scholarly interest in norm implementation in the area of minority rights protection emerged during the period of the European accession of post-communist societies, which were characterised by persistent cleavage along ethnic lines. These studies have analysed democratic transition of ethnically segmented societies and developed into a broad field that focuses its attention on inter-ethnic relations, the role of history, interstate cooperation and the impact of international organisations on post-communist states' treatment of domestic minorities. All these are usually conducted from a vantage point of the European conditionality research. In our introduction to the special issue we sketch a number of reasons why it is encouraging and indeed, desirable to move beyond the perusal of conditionality into the domain of implementation research.

Risk of fatal injury in older adult drivers, passengers, and pedestrians

Objectives To compare risk of fatal injury in elderly road users (drivers, passengers, pedestrians) with that of younger age groups and to assess the contribution of elderly road users to the number of reported fatalities in the population. Design Fatality age was categorized as 21 to 29, 30 to 39, 40 to 49, 50 to 59, 60 to 69, or 70 and older, and road user was categorized as driver, passenger, or pedestrian. Estimated number of trips made by each age group was used to adjust for exposure and to measure individual risk. Setting Fatalities recorded in Britain between 1989 and 2009. Participants Population-wide fatal injury counts in Britain. Measurements Age of fatally injured drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. Estimated number of trips made per year by drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. Results Risk of fatal injury, but not fatality numbers in the population, were higher for older adult (=70) drivers than for younger age groups. Risk of fatal injury was also high for older adult passengers and pedestrians, who represented the majority of older adult fatalities. Conclusion Previous emphasis on driver impairment in older age has unduly focussed attention on elderly drivers, who represent a minority of all driver fatalities. Older adults represent a much larger proportion of passenger and pedestrian fatalities. Additional policy schemes and initiatives should be targeted at safeguarding older adult passengers and making the road environment safer for elderly pedestrians. © 2012, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2012, The American Geriatrics Society.

Low Pay, In-Work Poverty and Economic Vulnerability: A Comparative Aanalysis Using EU-SILC

We explore the potential of data from EU-SILC (Statistics on Income and Living Conditions) for the enlarged European Union for the study of low pay and its relationship to household poverty and vulnerability. Limitations of the earnings data currently available mean the analysis covers only 14 of these countries. For employees who are not low paid, income poverty is seen to be rare. The low paid face a much higher risk of being in a household below relative income poverty thresholds, ranging from 7 per cent in Belgium and the Netherlands up to 1718 per cent in Austria, Estonia and Lithuania. The likelihood of their being in a poor household is clearly linked to gender, age and social class. In most of the countries only a minority of low-paid individuals are in vulnerable households.