Questão social em tempos de hegemonia neoliberal: a centralidade da mídia e o processo brasileiro de passivização

Este estudo objetiva apresentar contribuições para o aprofundamento do debate acerca da relação entre questão social e mídia no Brasil, articulando esta temática à discussão sobre as particularidades da formação social brasileira, com destaque para o conceito de revolução passiva no pensamento de Antonio Gramsci. A aproximação a este complexo campo de reflexão se dará, em seus aspectos gerais, pela articulação entre três grandes debates teóricos: a) o concernente à questão social, sobretudo a discussão realizada no interior do Serviço Social, pelo estudo de suas expressões e determinações fundantes, seu desenvolvimento histórico, as particularidades que assume na formação social brasileira e em tempos de hegemonia neoliberal; b) o denso debate sobre as particularidades do desenvolvimento histórico da formação social brasileira, tendo como fio condutor a noção de revolução burguesa, tal como desenvolvida por Florestan Fernandes. O diálogo com autores que trataram das especificidades do desenvolvimento capitalista e da instauração da ordem burguesa no Brasil, aporta não apenas elementos para se pensar na questão social no País, mas também, compreender a conexão entre a trajetória histórica da sociedade brasileira que, a nosso ver, é marcada por momentos de transição pelo alto (o que Gramsci chamou de revolução passiva) e a relevância e influência que a chamada grande mídia tem na sociedade brasileira atual; c) o debate teórico entorno do conceito de hegemonia no pensamento de Gramsci, no sentido de compreender a função e o lugar da grande mídia na luta de classes, articulando o conceito de hegemonia compreendido como a capacidade de uma classe formar e conservar seu poder através da direção intelectual e moral às noções de sociedade civil, senso comum, aparelhos privados de hegemonia, cultura, entre outros. Trata-se de uma análise de caráter fundamentalmente teórico-interpretativo, que não pode prescindir, assim sendo, de uma análise que, partindo do presente, se aproxime de processos históricos elementares para pensar o contexto atual, sobre o qual incide nossa proposta de estudo. Na condição de aparelho privado de hegemonia, a mídia burguesa cumpre a função de fabricar e difundir consensos que formam o senso comum e contribuem para a reprodução da passivização das classes subalternas. No Brasil, essa questão assume dimensão diferenciada, em virtude das recorrentes soluções pelo alto, típicas de uma revolução burguesa experimentada como revolução sem revolução, que marcaram a trajetória histórica do país. Nesse processo, o Estado assume protagonismo para preservar a hegemonia das classes dominantes, excluindo a massa do povo de exercer influência na direção da vida política e social através da repressão direta e da coerção e através da construção de estratégias destinadas à obtenção do consenso das classes subalternas. Com a hegemonia neoliberal, efetiva-se um aprofundamento da subordinação e passivização destas classes, por um novo processo de fragilização de seus aparelhos de disputa por hegemonia, ao mesmo tempo que grandes conglomerados midiáticos se formam e se fortalecem, interferindo em todas as esferas da vida social e participando na construção de uma direção hegemônica da sociedade que seja favorável à preservação da ordem.

In Praise of Folly: International Administration and the Corruption of Humanity

Bain, William, 'In Praise of Folly: International Administration and the Corruption of Humanity', International Affairs, (2006) 82(3) pp.525-538 RAE2008

Equational Axiomization of Bicoercibility for Polymorphic Types

Two polymorphic types σ and τ are said to be bicoercible if there is a coercion from σ to τ and conversely. We give a complete equational axiomatization of bicoercible types and prove that the relation of bicoercibility is decidable.

System F with Constraint Types

System F is a type system that can be seen as both a proof system for second-order propositional logic and as a polymorphic programming language. In this work we explore several extensions of System F by types which express subtyping constraints. These systems include terms which represent proofs of subtyping relationships between types. Given a proof that one type is a subtype of another, one may use a coercion term constructor to coerce terms from the first type to the second. The ability to manipulate type constraints as first-class entities gives these systems a lot of expressive power, including the ability to encode generalized algebraic data types and intensional type analysis. The main contributions of this work are in the formulation of constraint types and a proof of strong normalization for an extension of System F with constraint types.

Collective action and individual choice: rethinking how we regulate narcotics and antibiotics.

Governments across the globe have squandered treasure and imprisoned millions of their own citizens by criminalising the use and sale of recreational drugs. But use of these drugs has remained relatively constant, and the primary victims are the users themselves. Meanwhile, antimicrobial drugs that once had the power to cure infections are losing their ability to do so, compromising the health of people around the world. The thesis of this essay is that policymakers should stop wasting resources trying to fight an unwinnable and morally dubious war against recreational drug users, and start shifting their attention to the serious threat posed by our collective misuse of antibiotics.

Sexually coercive male chimpanzees sire more offspring.

In sexually reproducing animals, male and female reproductive strategies often conflict. In some species, males use aggression to overcome female choice, but debate persists over the extent to which this strategy is successful. Previous studies of male aggression toward females among wild chimpanzees have yielded contradictory results about the relationship between aggression and mating behavior. Critically, however, copulation frequency in primates is not always predictive of reproductive success. We analyzed a 17-year sample of behavioral and genetic data from the Kasekela chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) community in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, to test the hypothesis that male aggression toward females increases male reproductive success. We examined the effect of male aggression toward females during ovarian cycling, including periods when the females were sexually receptive (swollen) and periods when they were not. We found that, after controlling for confounding factors, male aggression during a female's swollen periods was positively correlated with copulation frequency. However, aggression toward swollen females was not predictive of paternity. Instead, aggression by high-ranking males toward females during their nonswollen periods was positively associated with likelihood of paternity. This indicates that long-term patterns of intimidation allow high-ranking males to increase their reproductive success, supporting the sexual coercion hypothesis. To our knowledge, this is the first study to present genetic evidence of sexual coercion as an adaptive strategy in a social mammal.

The Changing Significance of European Borders

It is necessary to understand how state borders in Europe are changing in order to fully assess the factors which facilitate and encourage cross-border cooperation. This article considers the enduring social significance of borders, the need for a historical understanding of the nature and extent of border change in Europe, and the impact of recent European integration. Change in the structure, functions and meanings of European state borders has been the norm rather than the exception. Although much of this change has been associated with war, violence and coercion, a key contemporary issue facing the architects of European integration is how the ambiguity and contradictory nature border change can be regulated democratically and managed cooperatively.

Welcoming the World: Governing Hospitality in London's 2012 Olympic Bid

London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympic Games presented a diverse, cosmopolitan city opening its arms and “welcoming the world.” This article explores the apparently benign gesture of hospitality contained in London’s official candidature files submitted in 2004 and asks how such a promise of inclusiveness is managed. We argue that London’s depiction of itself as hospitable to every kind of visitor relies on subtle techniques of governmentality in which the subject positions of “host” and “guest” are imagined and produced in ways that make them more governable. By this, we are not referring to acts of authority, coercion, or discipline that exclude subjects or render them docile bodies within a rigid panoptical city. Rather, we are referring to the delicate ways in which the official bid document imagines and produces the ideal subject positions of host and guest and in so doing enables, encourages, and incentivizes certain behaviors. This analysis of urban welcoming takes us beyond reductive oppositions of hospitality and hostility, inclusion and exclusion, self and other. It focuses instead on how London’s inclusive welcome produces a variety of host and guest positions (for example, the “Olympic Family,” volunteers, guest workers), segregates them within the city, and then “conducts their conduct” in the areas of planning, security, transport, accommodation, education, and training. By analyzing the techniques of governmentality at work in London’s 2004 bid document, this article foregrounds the enabling form of power driving the city’s inclusive welcome and exposes its inherent micropolitics.

Predictors of PTSD Symptoms in Response to Psychosis and Psychiatric Admission

The experiences of psychosis and psychiatric admission have the potential to act as events precipitating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Known risk factors for the development of PTSD symptoms in adults were identified. These included childhood trauma, current psychiatric symptoms, perceived coercion, and relationships with mental health service providers. These factors were analyzed to determine if they were important in the development of PTSD symptoms in response to psychosis and admission. We used a cross-sectional design with a sample of 47 participants recruited from a service in Northern Ireland who had experienced psychosis and been discharged from inpatient treatment within 12 months of data collection. The main outcome measure was the impact of events scale-revised. Data was subject to correlation analyses. A cut-off point of r = +/- 0.25 was used to select variables for inclusion in hierarchical regression analyses. Forty-five percent and 31% of the sample had moderate to severe PTSD symptoms related to psychosis and admission, respectively. The majority of participants identified positive symptoms and the first admission as the most distressing aspects of psychosis and admission. Childhood sexual and physical traumas were significant predictors of some PTSD symptoms. Strong association was found between current affective symptoms and PTSD symptoms. A reduced sense of availability of mental health service providers was also associated with PTSD symptoms and depression. Awareness of risk factors for the development of PTSD symptoms in response to admission and psychosis raises important issues for services and has implications for interventions provided.

European Union Cross-Border Cooperation and Conflict Amelioration

The relevance of European Union (EU) cross-border cooperation for European border con?ict amelioration may be questioned in the contemporary global climate of threat and insecurity posed by forces of ’dark globalisation’. In any case, empirical evidence exposes the limitations of cross-border cooperation in advancing con?ict amelioration in some border regions. Nevertheless, in an enlarged EU which encompasses Central and East European member states and reaches out to neighbouring states through cross-border cooperation initiatives, the number of real and potential border con?icts with which it is concerned has risen exponentially. Fortunately, there are cases of EU ’borderscapes’ that have adopted a cross-border ’peace-building from below’ approach leading to border con?ict amelioration. Unfortunately, countervailing pressures on EU cross-border cooperation from border security regimes (principally Schengen), the Eurozone crisis, EU budgetary constraints, the conceptualisation of ’Europe as Empire’, and the possible recon?guration of the EU itself compromises this approach. Therefore, the path of European integration may well shift from one of inter-state peace-building and regional crossborder cooperation after the Second World War, to border con?ict and coercion in constituting and reconstituting state borders after the recon?guration of the EU.

Three narratives in search of a city: Researching Belfast's 'post-conflict' transitions

This paper highlights the role of narratives in expressing, shaping and ordering urban life, and as tools for analysing urban conflicts. The paper distinguishes analytically between two prominent epistemological meta-narratives in contemporary urban studies and multiple ontological narratives in a given city-in this case Belfast. The first meta-narrative represents cities as sites of deepening coercion, violence and inequality and the second sees them as engines of new forms of transnational capitalism. Both are marked by the strategy of specifying 'exemplar' or 'paradigm' cities. The core of the paper addresses how these two meta-narratives map onto and interact with, three contemporary ontological narratives of urban regeneration in Belfast. We conceive of narratives-epistemological and ontological-as analytical tools and objects of analysis but also as tools for social action for competing political and economic interests and coalitions. While in the urban studies literature Belfast is typically studied as an exemplar 'conflict city', it is now being promoted as a 'new capitalist city'. In the context of post-Agreement Belfast, we explore not only the 'pull' of exemplar narratives but also resistances to them that are linked to multiple and hybrid senses of place in the city. We conclude that any significant move beyond the exigencies of rampant commodification or recurring inter-communal antagonism must firstly, encourage new forms of grassroots place-making and, secondly, reform of Belfast's (and Northern Ireland's) fragmented governance structures. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

ARTICLE: Anarchy and International Law: The Approaches of Hedley Bull and Noam Chomsky

Are anarchy and the law antithetical? Not so, as for more than 350 years international law has governed a legal order based on anarchy; wherein no central authority exists and law functions not on the basis of coercion but on cooperation whereby States must agree to each specific laws before it is bound by its obligations. This article contemplates two manners in which an anarchist might consider international law interesting: first, as a legal system which governs an anarchical society as described by Hedley Bull in line with the English School of International Relations; and second, as a manifestation of a State system which, though illegitimate can be utilized, as Noam Chomsky does, for tactical reasons to demonstrate its inconsistencies and thus weakening the system with the ultimate aim being its implosion

How do young people understand and communicate their heterosexual readiness: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review

Young people’s understandings of sexual readiness are under-researched and their perspectives are often missing in debates about sexuality and sex education. Research to date has predominantly focussed upon age and socio-cultural predictors of sexual debut, thus failing to explain how young people themselves conceptualise their readiness for sexual relations. Synthesised in this review is the evidence from 26 studies which included young people’s perspectives of their readiness to begin sexual intercourse, undertaken using either quantitative or qualitative methods. Available evidence suggests that young people may not view initiating sex as problematic, focusing instead on the rewards sex brings and less on health concerns. Gender differences emerged in conceptualisations of love, parenthood, respect and abuse within relationships and were further mediated by social class and ethnicity. Age was also significant in young people’s accounts. Those under 16 years may not be ‘sexually ready’ because their own retrospective analyses suggest they experienced difficulty negotiating their risk of coercion or exploitation. More research exploring more deeply young people’s understandings of sexual readiness is required. We recommend a rights-based approach to support young people’s participation in the research process and to include their voices in the development of relevant sex education and services.

Risk, Recovery and Capacity: Competing or Complementary Approaches to Mental Health Social Work

Mental health social workers have a central role in providing support to people with mental health problems and in the use of coercion aimed at dealing with risk. Mental health services have traditionally focused on monitoring symptoms and ascertaining the risks people may present to themselves and/or others. This well-intentioned but negative focus on deficits has contributed to stigma, discrimination and exclusion experienced by service users. Emerging understandings of risk also suggest that our inability to accurately predict the future makes risk a problematic foundation for compulsory intervention. It is therefore argued that alternative approaches are needed to make issues of power and inequality transparent. This article focuses on two areas of practice: the use of recovery based approaches, which promote supported decision making and inclusion; and the assessment of a person’s ability to make decisions, their mental capacity, as a less discriminatory gateway criterion than risk for compulsory intervention.

Community response in disasters: an ecological learning framework

Natural disasters are frequently exacerbated by anthropogenic mechanisms and have social and political consequences for communities. The role of community learning in disasters is seen to be increasingly important. However, the ways in which such learning unfolds in a disaster can differ substantially from case to case. This article uses a comparative case study methodology to examine catastrophes and major disasters from five countries (Japan, New Zealand, UK, US and Germany) to consider how community learning and adaptation occurs. An ecological model of learning is considered, where community learning is of small loop (adaptive, incremental, experimental) type or large loop (paradigm changing) type. Using this model we consider that there are three types of community learning that occur in disasters (navigation, organisation, reframing). The type of community learning that actually develops in a disaster depends upon a range of social factors such as stress and trauma, civic innovation and coercion.