The brand-orientated play-community: toxic play in the marketplace

This ethnographic study makes a number of original contributions to the consumer identity projects and the marketplace cultures dimensions of consumer culture theory research. This study introduces the notion of the brand-orientated play-community, a novel consumption community form, which displays, as locus, a desire to play. This contributes to our understanding of the fluid relationship between subcultures of consumption, consumer tribes, and brand community. It was found that the brand-orientated play-community’s prime celebration, conceptualised as the ‘branded carnival’, displays characteristics of the archetypal carnival. The community access carnivalistic life and a world-upside-down ethos via the use and misuse of marketplace resources. The branded carnival is further supported by the community’s enactment of ‘toxic play’, which entails abnormal alcohol consumption, black market illegal resources, edgework activities, hegemonic masculinity and upsetting the public. This play-community is discussed in terms of a hyper-masculine playpen, as the play enacted has a direct relationship with the enactment of strong masculine roles. It was found that male play-ground members enact the extremes of contrasting masculine roles as a means to subvert the calculated and sedate ‘man-of-action-hero’ synthesis. Carnivals are unisex, and hence, women have begun entering the play-ground. Female members have successfully renegotiated their role within the community, from playthings to players – they have achieved player equality, which within the liminoid zone is more powerful than gender equality. However, while toxic play is essential to the maintenance of collective identity within the culture so too is the more serious form of play: the toxic sport of professional beer pong. The author conceptualises beer pong as a ‘toxic sport’, as it displays the contradictory play foundations of agon and corrupt ilinx: this is understood as a milestone step in the emergence of the postmodern sport era, in which spontaneity and the carnivalesque will dominate.

Correlates of poor health among orphans and abandoned children in less wealthy countries: the importance of caregiver health.

BACKGROUND: More than 153 million children worldwide have been orphaned by the loss of one or both parents, and millions more have been abandoned. We investigated relationships between the health of orphaned and abandoned children (OAC) and child, caregiver, and household characteristics among randomly selected OAC in five countries. METHODOLOGY: Using a two-stage random sampling strategy in 6 study areas in Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and Tanzania, the Positive Outcomes for Orphans (POFO) study identified 1,480 community-living OAC ages 6 to 12. Detailed interviews were conducted with 1,305 primary caregivers at baseline and after 6 and 12 months. Multivariable logistic regression models describe associations between the characteristics of children, caregivers, and households and child health outcomes: fair or poor child health; fever, cough, or diarrhea within the past two weeks; illness in the past 6 months; and fair or poor health on at least two assessments. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Across the six study areas, 23% of OAC were reported to be in fair or poor health; 19%, 18%, and 2% had fever, cough, or diarrhea, respectively, within the past two weeks; 55% had illnesses within the past 6 months; and 23% were in fair or poor health on at least two assessments. Female gender, suspected HIV infection, experiences of potentially traumatic events, including the loss of both parents, urban residence, eating fewer than 3 meals per day, and low caregiver involvement were associated with poorer child health outcomes. Particularly strong associations were observed between child health measures and the health of their primary caregivers. CONCLUSIONS: Poor caregiver health is a strong signal for poor health of OAC. Strategies to support OAC should target the caregiver-child dyad. Steps to ensure food security, foster gender equality, and prevent and treat traumatic events are needed.

Abortion and Nation: The Politics of Reproduction in Contemporary Ireland

Abortion politics are contentious and divisive in many parts of the world, but nowhere more so than in Ireland. Abortion and Nation examines the connection between abortion politics and hegemonic struggles over national identity and the nation-state in the Irish Republic. Situating the abortion question in the global context of human rights politics, as well as international social movements, Lisa Smyth analyses the formation and transformation of abortion politics in Ireland from the early 1980s to the present day. She considers whether or not the shifting connections between morality, rights and nationhood promise a new era of gender equality in the context of nation-state citizenship.
The book provides a new sociological framework through which the significance of conflict over abortion and reproductive freedom is connected to conflict over national identity. It also offers a distinctive in-depth consideration of the connection between gender and nationhood, particularly in terms of its impact on women's status as citizens; within the nation-state; within the European Union; and as members of a global civil society.

The “re-socialization” of Gypsy women in the literacy courses aimed to the recipients of the Social Integration Revenue Policy of the Region of Madrid

This article studies the gender values that are promoted both in the literacy courses for gypsy women beneficiaries of the Social Integration Revenue Policy of the Region of Madrid and in the events that are organized for this group by public institutions and NGOs. The process of “socialization” that occurs in the educative groups for Gypsy women is focused on constructing an image of what it is to be a “Gypsy modern woman”. Through multiple mechanisms and discursive techniques a specific conception of gender equality is transmitted in these educative spaces. In addition to this, Gypsy women are continually urged to assume certain values and social practices (of gender identity, of "citizenship", of parenting, etc..), while an archetype of "Gypsy Woman" which condenses powerful stereotypes and prejudices about the "Gypsy culture" and the gender relations characteristics of this group is constructed.

Habitat for Humanity: Calibrating Best Practice Against the MDGs

Poverty alleviation lies at the heart of contemporary international initiatives on development. The key to development is the creation of an environment in which people can develop their potential, leading productive, creative lives in accordance with their needs, interests and faith. This entails, on the one hand, protecting the vulnerable from things that threaten their survival, such as inadequate nutrition, disease, conflict, natural disasters and the impact of climate change, thereby enhancing the poor’s capabilities to develop resilience in difficult conditions. On the other hand, it also requires a means of empowering the poor to act on their own behalf, as individuals and communities, to secure access to resources and the basic necessities of life such as water, food, shelter, sanitation, health and education. ‘Development’, from this perspective, seeks to address the sources of human insecurity, working towards ‘freedom from want, freedom from fear’ in ways that empower the vulnerable as agents of development (not passive recipients of benefaction).

Recognition of the magnitude of the problems confronted by the poor and failure of past interventions to tackle basic issues of human security led the United Nations (UN) in September 2000 to set out a range of ambitious, but clearly defined, development goals to be achieved by 2015. These are known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The intention of the UN was to mobilise multilateral international organisations, non-governmental organisations and the wider international community to focus attention on fulfilling earlier promises to combat global poverty. This international framework for development prioritises: the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development. These goals have been mapped onto specific targets (18 in total) against which outcomes of associated development initiatives can be measured and the international community held to account. If the world achieves the MDGs, more than 500 million people will be lifted out of poverty. However, the challenges the goals represent are formidable. Interim reports on the initiative indicate a need to scale-up efforts and accelerate progress.
Only MDG 7, Target 11 explicitly identifies shelter as a priority, identifying the need to secure ‘by 2020 a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers’. This raises a question over how Habitat for Humanity’s commitment to tackling poverty housing fits within this broader international framework designed to allievate global poverty. From an analysis of HFH case studies, this report argues that the processes by which Habitat for Humanity tackles poverty housing directly engages with the agenda set by the MDGs. This should not be regarded as a beneficial by-product of the delivery of decent, affordable shelter, but rather understood in terms of the ways in which Habitat for Humanity has translated its mission and values into a participatory model that empowers individuals and communities to address the interdependencies between inadequate shelter and other sources of human insecurity. What housing can deliver is as important as what housing itself is.

Examples of the ways in which Habitat for Humanity projects engage with the MDG framework include the incorporation of sustainable livelihoods strategies, up-grading of basic infrastructure and promotion of models of good governance. This includes housing projects that have also offered training to young people in skills used in the construction industry, microfinanced loans for women to start up their own home-based businesses, and the provision of food gardens. These play an important role in lifting families out of poverty and ensuring the sustainability of HFH projects. Studies of the impact of improved shelter and security of livelihood upon family life and the welfare of children evidence higher rates of participation in education, more time dedicated to study and greater individual achievement. Habitat for Humanity projects also typically incorporate measures to up-grade the provision of basic sanitation facilities and supplies of safe, potable drinking water. These measures not only directly help reduce mortality rates (e.g. diarrheal diseases account for around 2 million deaths annually in children under 5), but also, when delivered through HFH project-related ‘community funds’, empower the poor to mobilise community resources, develop local leadership capacities and even secure de facto security of tenure from government authorities.

In the process of translating its mission and values into practical measures, HFH has developed a range of innovative practices that deliver much more than housing alone. The organisation’s participatory model enables both direct beneficiaries and the wider community to tackle the insecurities they face, unlocking latent skills and enterprise, building sustainable livelihood capabilities. HFH plays an important role as a catalyst for change, delivering through the vehicle of housing the means to address the primary causes of poverty itself. Its contribution to wider development priorities deserves better recognition. In calibrating the success of HFH projects in terms of units completed or renovated alone, the significance of the process by which HFH realises these outcomes is often not sufficiently acknowledged, both within the organisation and externally. As the case studies developed in the report illustrate, the methodologies Habitat for Humanity employs to address the issue of poverty housing within the developing world, place the organisation at the centre of a global strategic agenda to address the root causes of poverty through community empowerment and the transformation of structures of governance.

Given this, the global network of HFH affiliates constitutes a unique organisational framework to faciliate sharing resources, ideas and practical experience across a diverse range of cultural, political and institutional environments. This said, it is apparent that work needs to be done to better to faciliate the pooling of experience and lessons learnt from across its affiliates. Much is to be gained from learning from less successful projects, sharing innovative practices, identifying strategic partnerships with donors, other NGOs and CBOs, and engaging with the international development community on how housing fits within a broader agenda to alleviate poverty and promote good governance.

After the Male Breadwinner Model? Childcare Services and the Division of Labor in European Countries

Fundamental reforms in childcare services appear to have eroded traditional
support to the male breadwinner model across European states. There has been a strong debate about the direction of these changes, and the ways in which childcare services can alter the division of labor and promote gender equality. This paper deals with these issues by using fuzzy set ideal-type analysis to assess the conformity of childcare service provisions in European economies to Fraser’s four ideal typical models: male breadwinner, caregiver parity, universal breadwinner, and universal caregiver. We find that there is resilience of traditional gender roles in the majority of European countries, while there are different variants of the universal breadwinner shaping different forms of childcare policies. The more equalitarian universal caregiver model maintains its utopian character.

Ser mulher, aqui: teatro, género e comunidade

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção de grau de mestre em Educação Artística, na especialização de Teatro na Educação

Construction of womanhood in the bengali language of Bangladesh

The subject-matter of this essay is gender justice in language which, as I argue, may be achieved through the development of a gender-related approach to linguistic human rights. The last decades of the 20th century, globally marked by a “gender shift” in attitudes to language policy, gave impetus to the social movement for promoting linguistic gender equality. It was initiated in Western Europe and nowadays is moving eastwards, as ideas of gender democracy progress into developing countries. But, while in western societies gender discrimination through language, or linguistic sexism, was an issue of concern for over three decades, in developing countries efforts to promote gender justice in language are only in their infancy. My argument is that to promote gender justice in language internationally it is necessary to acknowledge the rights of women and men to equal representation of their gender in language and speech and, therefore, raise a question of linguistic rights of the sexes. My understanding is that the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights in 1996 provided this opportunity to address the problem of gender justice in language as a human rights issue, specifically as a gender dimension of linguistic human rights.

A Narrative Inquiry of Women in Administration: Their Voices Heard

This narrative study examined women’s experiences in leadership positions in an educational setting in Southern Ontario. Semi-structured interviews with 4 women (2 principals and 2 vice principals) revealed 4 key themes: (a) considerations prior to entering into leadership and confidence instilled by others to continue on that path; (b) ongoing challenge of maintaining work−life balance; (c) others’ perceptions of women in leadership positions; and (d) increasing number of women in leadership positions. The researcher used feminist standpoint theory to analyze data collected during interviews, which gave voice to the study’s participants and shed some light on women’s gendered experiences in leadership positions. Findings suggest that historical roots significantly influence society to continue with stereotypical gender roles, though some participants have overcome certain stereotypes. The literature review and participants’ experiences suggest that women have made some progress throughout history yet society needs to remain vigilant while striving for gender equality.

L'égalité entre hommes et femmes dans le Coran selon l'interprétation réformiste de Mahmoud Mohamed Taha

"Mémoire présenté à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de Maître en droit (LL.M)"

Le care invisible : genre, vulnérabilité et domination

Thèse réalisée en cotutelle avec l'Université catholique de Louvain

Ni hypersexualisées ni voilées ! Tensions et enjeux croisés dans les discours sur l’hypersexualisation et le port du voile «islamique» au Québec

Cette thèse identifie une cooccurrence des discours à propos de l’hypersexualisation des jeunes filles et ceux concernant le port du voile islamique qui sont, depuis quelques années, au cœur des préoccupations sociales au Québec comme ailleurs en Occident. Plus spécifiquement, elle propose une « économie générale des discours » (Foucault, 1976) contemporains sur l’hypersexualisation et le port du voile, dans une perspective conjoncturelle, par et à travers trois contextes d'analyse particuliers : féministe, médiatique et public. Elle démontre comment l’hypersexualisation et le port du voile sont problématisés (Foucault, 2001/1984), c'est-à-dire qu’ils sont posés comme nouveaux problèmes sociaux engendrant et cristallisant bon nombre de craintes et d’anxiétés contemporaines. Ainsi, la thèse est composée de trois chapitres centraux qui reprennent chacun des contextes de problématisation identifiés. Le chapitre intitulé « Féminisme(s) et égalité des sexes », avance que l’égalité des sexes est invoquée comme valeur moderne, féministe et québécoise par excellence et qu’elle participe, à ce titre, de la problématisation du port du voile et de l’hypersexualisation. Le chapitre suivant, « Médias, diversité et (hyper) visibilité », concentre l’analyse sur les médias et la culture populaire, à la fois sujets énonciateurs, régimes et objets de discours, participant à construire et à délimiter l’adolescence et la religion/culture musulmane comme des mondes à part, mystérieux, tout en les exposant au public. Enfin, à partir d’une analyse des discours publics à propos de l’hypersexualisation et du port du voile, le chapitre intitulé « Laïcité, sexualité et neutralité » met en lumière les façons par lesquelles ces problèmes sont constitutifs de chartes, de codes et d’autres formes de règlementations qui viennent non seulement normaliser mais également discipliner la conduite de chacun, au nom du bien commun et de la neutralité de l’État. Un « Retour sur la conjoncture » vient conclure la thèse en mettant en lumière certains éléments conjoncturels qui traversent ses principaux chapitres, dont les questions du consensus et de l’extrême.

Le phénomène de la très faible natalité au Japon : une situation aux causes socio-économiques multiples

Le Japon connaît depuis les années 1980 un certain nombre de difficultés liées au taux de natalité qui sont parmi les plus faibles dans le monde. Face à cette situation, le gouvernement japonais rejette la faute sur les femmes qui, selon le gouvernement, perdent les valeurs familiales et deviennent de plus en plus égoïstes. Ce changement, serait dû, entre autres, à un niveau plus haut niveau d’éducation et à des attentes croissantes tant au niveau personnel que professionnel. Dans ce mémoire, nous nous attacherons, à l’aide de différentes théories sur la faible natalité, à démontrer que s’il y a effectivement eu un changement au niveau des valeurs familiales, ces derniers n’expliquent pas entièrement la situation actuelle. Ainsi, nous touchons ici à la situation économique, au manque d’égalité entre les hommes et les femmes dans les différentes sphères de la vie et, enfin nous parlerons des changements au niveau des valeurs.