Homosocialitetens kraft : hur unga män ”gör” maskulinitet i grupp och individuellt

The power of homosociality: how young men “do” masculinity in groups and individually Using young men’s narratives, about other men, friends, dates and girlfriends, this article discusses the following questions: Can the interpretation – the understanding of young men’s collective presentations of masculinity as a surface that hides a more complex masculinity – undermine how we interpret young men’s talk about and interaction with other men, as well as with women? Can this disassembling understanding have an impact on how young men interpret and relive the interactions with other men, as well as with women? Can this disassembling of the homosocially created masculinity from the more individually created masculinity shape secondary gains for the young men, such as e.g. a more flexible and stretchable arena of responsibility, as well as more flexible space of acting? Thomas Johansson, Professor of Social Work social work, states that if we only focus the homosocially created masculinity, this will reshape a less nuanced picture of young men’s way of doing masculinity (Johansson 2005). Thus, young men’s vulnerability and difficulties remain hidden. However, this disassembling of the homosocially created masculinity from the more individually based doings of masculinity could possibly also give secondary gains, such as e.g. a more flexible and stretchable field of responsibility, as well as more flexible space of acting. This article shows that using a fragmentised and situated masculinity, as a way of understanding the complexity and the ambivalence in young men’s project of doing masculinity, makes evident – on the one hand – the vulnerability in young men’s process of doing masculinity. On the other hand, however, this view also makes it possible for young men to avoid responsibility for their actions. Instead the situated context – e.g. if in a peer group or alone, and what kind of relations the young man has – will be significant for how the act will be interpreted. The empirical material consists of six individual interviews and one group interview with four men. The age span of the participants is 16 to 24 years old. The overall theme for the discussions is heterosexual practice and relations.

Differences in muscle activity during hand dexterity tasks between women with arthritis and a healthy reference group

Background. Impaired hand function is common in patients with arthritis and it affects performance of daily activities; thus, hand exercises are recommended. There is little information on the extent to which the disease affects activation of the flexor and extensor muscles during these hand-dexterity tasks. The purpose of this study was to compare muscle activation during such tasks in subjects with arthritis and in a healthy reference group. Methods. Muscle activation was measured in m. extensor digitorium communis (EDC) and in m. flexor carpi radialis (FCR) with surface electromyography (EMG) in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 20), hand osteoarthritis (HOA, n = 16) and in a healthy reference group (n = 20) during the performance of four daily activity tasks and four hand exercises. Maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) was measured to enable intermuscular comparisons, and muscle activation is presented as %MVIC. Results. The arthritis group used a higher %MVIC than the reference group in both FCR and EDC when cutting with a pair of scissors, pulling up a zipper and—for the EDC—also when writing with a pen and using a key (p < 0.02). The exercise “rolling dough with flat hands” required the lowest %MVIC and may be less effective in improving muscle strength. Conclusions. Women with arthritis tend to use higher levels of muscle activation in daily tasks than healthy women, and wrist extensors and flexors appear to be equally affected. It is important that hand training programs reflect real-life situations and focus also on extensor strength.

The hand of God is over their hands (Q. 48:10) : on the notion of covenant in al-Ṭabarī’s account of Karbalāʾ

This article is an analysis of the story of the killing of Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī at Karbalāʾ in 61/680, as it is presented by Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923). The main argument is that the notion of the divine covenant, which permeates the Qur’an, constitutes a framework through which al-Ṭabarī views this event. The Qur’anic idea of the covenant is read in structural/thematic continuity with the Hebrew Bible account of the covenant between Yahweh and the Hebrew people, which has, in turn, been traced back in its basic form to Late Bronze Era treaties between rulers and their vassals.   The present study focusses on four speeches ascribed to Ḥusayn during the encounter he and his group had with the vanguard of the Kūfan army led by al-Ḥurr. These are analysed in accordance with their use of Qur’anic covenant vocabulary. They are also categorised within the broader framework of the eight standard characteristics of Ancient West Asian and Biblical covenants, as presented by George Mendenhall and Gary Herion, which have recently been developed in a Qur’anic context by Rosalind Ward Gwynne. This article argues that al-Ṭabarī’s Karbalāʾ narrative presents the pact of loyalty to Ḥusayn as a clear extension of the divine covenant.

How much debtors' punishment?

This paper investigates how the bankruptcy exemptions applied by the Personal Bankruptcy Law in each American state a§ect the aggregated level of individuals and small businessesí loans. Higher levels of bankruptcy exemptions imply in a lenient rule, motivating debtors to Öle for bankruptcy, what makes lenders worsen the terms of credit. On the other hand, lower levels of exemptions imply in a harsh punishment to debtors, inhibiting their demand for credit fearing a possible bankruptcy by bad luck. ConÖrming the theoretical claims, empirical tests show the existence of a non-monotonic shape in the relationship between the bankruptcy exemptions and the amount of credit to individuals and small businesses, where the optimal level of exemptions should be neither too high nor too low. Since the majority of the states in U.S. do not apply the optimal level, an intervention that brings the exemption level closer to the optimal one can be credit and welfare enhancing.

Estrutura de mercado e esforço tecnológico

A relação entre estrutura de mercado e inovação tecnológica é um tema amplamente discutido, mas não existe concordância entre os autores que a estudam. Um dos aspectos que tornam o entendimento desta relação importante é seu possível impacto na praxis da política antitruste, já que esta assume que a concorrência perfeita é a estrutura de mercado que maximiza o bem-estar. Esta dissertação investiga o impacto da concentração de mercado (HHI) nos gastos em atividades inovativas para o caso dos setores industriais brasileiros através de uma análise de dados em painel. A partir de informações sobre os gastos em diferentes atividades inovativas e de características da indústria testa-se a hipótese de que a concorrência influencia os gastos em P&D internos às firmas na forma de um U invertido, como prevêem Scherer e Ross (1989) e Aghion et al. (2002). Os principais resultados encontrados indicam que essa relação em U invertido realmente existe e que o índice de concentração que maximiza os gastos em P&D interno é, em torno de, 0,30 de HHI. Apesar disso, quando efeitos específicos da indústria são controlados, o poder de explicação do HHI decai. Um segundo resultado importante é que quando se examina as atividades inovativas com menor risco associado, como capacitação tecnológica, a relação entre concentração e gastos inovativos é negativa.

Implications of ernbodied technological change for development economics

Employing a embodied technologic change model in which the time decision of scrapping old vintages of capital and adopt newer one is endogenous we show that the elasticity of substitutions among capital and labor plays a key role in determining the optimum life span of capital. In particular, for the CD case the life span of capital does not depend on the relative price of it. The estimation of the model's long-run investment function shows, for a Panel data set consisting of 125 economies for 25 years, that the price elasticity of investment is lower than one; we rejected the CD specification. Our calibration for the US suggests 0.4 for the technical elasticity of substitution. In order to get a theoretical consistent concept of aggregate capital we derive the relative price profile for a shadow second-hand market for capital. The shape of the model's theoretical price curve reproduces the empírical estimation of it. \lVe plug the calibrate version of the long-run solution of the model to a cross-section of economies data set to get the implied TFP, that is, the part of the productivity which is not explained by the model. We show that the mo dei represent a good improvement, comparing to the standard neoc!assical growth model with CD production function and disembodied technical change, in accounting the world diversity in productivity. In addition the model describes the fact that a very poor economy can experience fast growth based on capital accumulation until the point of becoming a middle income economy; from this point on it has to rely on TFP increase in order to keep growing.

How much debtors' punishment?

This paper investigates how the bankruptcy exemptions applied by the Personal Bankruptcy Law in each American state affect the aggregated leveI of individuaIs and small businesses' loans. Higher leveIs of bankruptcy exemptions imply in a lenient rule, motivating debtors to file for bankruptcy, what makes lenders worsen the terms of credito On the other hand, lower leveIs of exemptions imply in a harsh punishment to debtors, inhibiting their demand for credit fearing a possible bankruptcy by bad luck. Confirming the theoretical daims, empirical tests show the existence of a non-monotonic shape in the relationship between the bankruptcy exemptions and the amount of credit to individuaIs and small businesses, where the optimal leveI of exemptions should be neither too high nor too low. Since the majority of the states in V.S. do not apply the optimallevel, an intervention that brings the exemption leveI doser to the optimal one can be credit and welfare enhancing.

A representação social do cuidado no Programa Saúde da Família na cidade do Natal

The aim of this study was to learn about the social representations of the care provided by the Family Health Program (FHP) in the city of Natal, Brazil and determine how these representations guide the daily actions of doctors, dentists, nurses, nurse s assistants and oral health assistants during the work process. In this sense, we used the theoreticalmethodological approach to the Theory of Social Representations. For data collection, we used the following instruments: a two-part questionnaire, where the first part recorded sociodemographic data and the second part was adapted to the free word association technique (FWAT), which was applied to 90 professionals belonging to 18 FHP units. Interviews were also used as collection instruments. These were based on inductive stimuli and on direct observations of 30 of these professionals. After a superficial reading of the material, we constructed a corpus from which ten categories emerged. To analyze FWAT we used lexicographic analysis, combining frequency and the mean order of responses. The interviews and sociodemographic variables were analyzed using content analysis and descriptive statistical analysis, respectively. The study showed that the central nucleus of the social representation in question is composed of the elements attention, receptivity and love, revealing that the subjects have different understandings of the FHP care process and that the knowledge accumulated in this respect is supported by an approximate vision of the meaning of care. However, traditional elements with trivializing connotations about care predominate, which compromises the development of strategies to overcome traditional practices. In the set of analyses, we were able to capture the invariance of a contradiction: on one hand, professionals know and affirm the importance of providing care for FHP patients; on the other, the experience of daily practice translates into the negation of this concept. In this contradictory context, professionals build gradual and successive syntheses that allow them to act and affirm themselves by associating information from their academic formation, structured knowledge acquired in other experiences, values and symbols of their daily routine. Thus, they shape and reshape themselves, according to what is concretely and specifically required, at the same time both plural and multiple. The composition of the central nucleus indicates that any measure that intends to modify attitudes that is, the daily actions of FHP professionals with respect to care must take into account and give priority to the debate about the redefining of the semantic fields of the central nucleus (love/attention/receptivity and humanization), especially those of love and attention