Assessment bias : physical activity questionnaire assessment inadvertently influences patients’ desire to be ‘more physically active’

Evaluating physical activity is important for public health population research and evaluating lifestyle interventions among targeted groups. Self-reported questionnaires are frequently used to evaluate physical activity in a variety of contexts where resource or pragmatic limitations prohibit the use of more sophisticated approaches. However, prior research in the use of other patient reported outcomes in healthcare settings has highlighted that simply completing a questionnaire may change a patients’ behaviour or responses to subsequent questions. This methodology study aimed to examine whether completing a standard physical activity questionnaire altered patients responses to two related questions a) whether they are ‘sufficiently physically active’ and b) whether they desire ‘to be more physically active.’

Queer theory, media studies and editorial processes in queer student media

Australian queer (GLBTIQ) university student activist media is an important site of self-representation. Community media is a significant site for the development of queer identity, community and a key part of queer politics. This paper reviews my research into queer student media, which is grounded in a queer theoretical perspective. Rob Cover argues that queer theoretical approaches that study media products fail to consider the material contexts that contribute to their construction. I use an ethnographic approach to examine how editors construct queer identity and community in queer student media. My research contributes to queer media scholarship by addressing the gap that Cover identifies, and to the rich scholarship on negotiations of queer community.

Archivist as activist : lessons from three queer community archives in California

California is home to multiple queer community archives created by community members outside of government, academic, and public archives. These archives are maintained by the communities and are important spaces not only for the preservation of records, but also as safe spaces to study, gather, and learn about the communities’ histories. This article describes the histories of three such queer community archives (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society Lavender Library, Archives, and Cultural Exchange of Sacramento, Inc.; and ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives) in order to discuss the role of activism in the community archives and implications for re-examining the role of activism to incorporate communities into the heart of archival professional work. By understanding the impetus for creating and maintaining queer community archives, archivists can use this knowledge to foster more reflective practices to be more inclusive in their archival practices through outreach, collaboration, and descriptive practices. This article extends our knowledge of community archives and provides evidence for the need to include communities in archival professional practice.

Digital storytelling as everyday activism : Queer identity, voice and networked publics

This thesis investigates the role of personal Digital Stories shared in public spaces as catalysts for social change. By analysing the influence of workshop facilitators, organisations, digital platforms and networked publics on voice and self-representation, it sheds light on shifting meanings of publicness and privacy, both face to face and online. This thesis argues that, despite numerous obstacles, the cumulative influence of diverse voices dispersed among networked publics shape new cultural norms, thereby contributing to gradual social change.

The use of 'queer' in criminal justice discourses

Within criminological literature, there are growing references to a 'queer/ed criminology'. To date, ‘queer criminology’ remains a loose collection of studies and criminal-justice related commentary that uses the term 'queer'. Amid the growing calls for the more substantial development of these criminological studies, it is timely to reflect on the ways that the term ‘queer’ has been used in these discourses, to what ends, and with what effects. This paper considers the manner in which the term 'queer' has been used in these criminological and criminal justice discourses. It suggests that ‘queer’ has been used in two dominant ways: as an 'umbrella' term for lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, and queer-identified people; and to signify the use of theoretical tools with which to represent sexuality- and gender-diverse people more effectively within criminological research. The paper will argue that these ways of using ‘queer’ have a variety of implications and effects. Specifically, using ‘queer’ as an umbrella term has the potential to reinforce identity categories and the politics that surround identities (a critique that has often appeared in queer contexts), while using it as a theoretical tool potentially reproduces various investments in criminology and criminal justice institutions. Both uses may preclude other productive avenues for critique opened up by the term ‘queer’. The paper will conclude by suggesting that using ‘queer’ as a verb to signify a more deconstructive project directed towards criminology is a possible direction for these discussions. While this approach has its own effects, and articulates with existing deconstructive approaches in criminology, it is important to explore these possibilities at this point in the development of a ‘queer/ed criminology’ for two reasons: it highlights that multiple, and often competing, ‘queer/ed criminologies’ exist; and it expands the diverse possibilities heralded by the notion of ‘queer’.

The remediation of the personal photograph and the politics of self-representation in digital storytelling

Over the past couple of decades, the cultural field formerly known as ‘domestic’, and later ‘personal’ photography has been remediated and transformed as part of the social web, with its convergence of personal expression, interpersonal communication, and online social networks (most recently via platforms like Flickr, Facebook and Twitter). Meanwhile, the Digital Storytelling movement (involving the workshop-based production of short autobiographical videos) from its beginnings in the mid 1990s relied heavily on the narrative power of the personal photograph, often sourced from family albums, and later from online archives. This paper addresses the new issues arising for the politics of self-representation and personal photography in the era of social media, focusing particularly on the consequences of online image-sharing. It discusses in detail the practices of selection, curation, manipulation and editing of personal photographic images among a group of activist-oriented queer digital storytellers who have in common a stated desire to share their personal stories in pursuit of social change, and whose stories often aim to address both intimate and antagonistic publics.

Dislocations of desire : the transnational movement of gifts within the Vietnamese diaspora

Gifts have intrigued and challenged scholars ever since interest in the subject was piqued by Marcel Mauss who, in 1925, wrote the book The gift: The form and reason for exchange in archaic societies. Although ethnographic studies of giftgiving have been mostly confined to small-scale communities, scholars have more recently turned their attention to industrial societies, with studies of Christmas giving, Japanese gift-giving, etc. Now, as studies of consumption are entering a phase of efflorescence, it is time to re-evaluate gift-giving. The recent rapid expansion in the transnational flow of people, objects and ideas has had an impact on the social conditions associated with new global patterns of consumption. In this atmosphere of overlapping cultural, economic and political worlds, there is a need to look again at the objects that pass between us as gifts...

Sexual desire, erectile dysfunction and the biomedicalization of sex in older heterosexual men

Aim To examine sexual desire in older age and the use of pharmaceuticals for sexual enhancement in the context of erectile dysfunction. Background The ability of the older person to fulfil sexual desire has not been well supported in Western society. Design The paper draws on themes that emerged during a phenomenological study of sexual desire in older age. Method Narratives were collected between 2008–2010 from in-depth interviews with six men and two women aged 65–84 years who were part of a larger Australian study of sexual desire in older age. Findings Emergent themes reveal that for some older people, the biomedicalization of sex can be a disappointing experience. Conclusion The findings illuminate the need for nurses who are at the front line of health care, health policy makers and educators, to consider sexual desire experienced in older age in the context of sexual health and healthy ageing. This study will contribute to a growing body of knowledge about sexual desire in older age

What's Queer About Queer Criminology?

The term ‘‘queer criminology’’ is increasingly being used in criminological discussions, though there remains little consistency with regard to how it is used and to what it refers. It has been used broadly to describe criminological research on LGBTQ people and their interactions with the justice system, more specifically to describe those analyses that identify and critique the heteronormative knowledges or binarized understandings of gender and sexuality within criminal justice research, and also to label theoretical and conceptual pieces that argue for a greater connection between queer theory and criminology. However, there are some important distinctions between ‘‘queer criminology’’ and ‘‘queer theory’’ more widely, particularly the deconstructive approaches of the latter. This chapter explores the engagements between queer theory and ‘‘queer criminology,’’ specifically focusing on whether ‘‘queer criminology’’ adopts an understanding of ‘‘queer’’ as an attitude, and as signifying a deconstructive project—a position that features in many strands of queer theoretical work. It will argue that while there are different ways of engaging with ‘‘queer’’ as a concept, and that each of these engagements produces different kinds of ‘‘queer’’ projects, ‘‘queer criminology’’ does not always engage with the deconstructive approaches drawn from queer theory. Ultimately, this can limit the ways that ‘queer criminologists’’ are able to address injustice.

Queer criminology, critique, and the "art of not being governed"

This article builds on previous work that argues that a useful path for a ‘‘queer/ed criminology’’ to follow is one that takes ‘‘queer’’ to denote a position. It suggests that one way of developing such an approach is to adopt a particular understanding of critique—specifically one that draws from Michel Foucault’s view of critique as ‘‘the art of not being governed.’’ It then charts some of the possible directions for such a ‘‘queer/ed criminology.’’ While such an approach to critique has previously been discussed within critical criminologies, this article suggests that it is useful for queer criminologists to explore the opportunities that it affords, particularly in order to better appreciate how ‘‘queer/ed criminology’’ might connect to, draw from, or push against other currents among critical criminologies, and help to delineate the unique contribution that this kind of ‘‘queer/ed criminology’’ might make.

Queer, student, activism

Queer student activists are a visible aspect of Australian tertiary communities. This chapter explores the findings of interviews with eight queer student in which they discuss their understandings of queer student activism and the way they see the university setting shaping the production queer student media. The findings draw out two themes: visibility and access and participation. These discussions illustrate how the intersections of queer, student, activism, and their associated contexts, create a particular type of activism. This chapter thus contributes to queer history by demonstrating how one specific cultural subset does queer activism.

Sexualities and sensitivities: Queer(y)ing the ethics of youth research in the field

In contemporary Western societies, the years between childhood and young adulthood are commonly understood to be (trans)formative in the reflexive project of sexual self-making (Russell et al. 2012). As sexual subjects in the making, youthful bodies, desires and sexual activities are often perceived as both volatile and vulnerable, thus subjected to instruction and discipline, protection and surveillance. Accordingly, young people’s sexual proximities are closely monitored by social institutions and ‘(hetero)normalising regimes’ (Warner 1999) for any signs that may compromise the end goal of development—a ‘normal’ reproductive heterosexual monogamous adult...

The stress-buffering effects of control on task satisfaction and perceived goal attainment : an experimental study of the moderating influence of desire for control

The purpose of the present study was to examine the extent to which Desire for Control (DFC) interacts with experimental manipulations of demand and control, and the consequences of these interactions on task satisfaction and perceived goal attainment (i.e. task performance and task mastery). It was expected that the proposed stress-buffering effects of control would be evident only for individuals high in DFC. Moreover, it was anticipated that control may have a stress-exacerbating effect for those low in DFC. These hypotheses were tested on a sample of 137 first year psychology students who participated in an in-basket activity under low and high conditions of demand and control. Results revealed that the proposed stress-buffering effect of control was found only for those high in DFC and a stress-exacerbating effect of increased control was evident for those low in DFC on task performance and task mastery perceptions. Future research directions and the implications of these findings to applied settings are discussed.

The role of desire in understanding intentions to drink responsibly : an application of the model of goal-directed behaviour

This study models young people's moderate drinking decision-making using the Model of Goal-Directed Behaviour (MGB), thus presenting insights into young people's desires and intentions to drink responsibly. Testing the applicability of the MGB to quantitatively analyse responsible drinking, the explanatory sphere of the MGB is extended. An online survey resulted in 1522 completed questionnaires from respondents aged between 18 and 25 years. Collected data were analysed with structural equation modelling (SEM) using SPSS AMOS21 (IBM, New York, NY, USA) software. The key finding of this study is that an individual's desire to drink moderately is the most important predictor of young people's responsible drinking intentions. Our use of MGB provides further evidence that there is a strong distinction between consumer desires and intentions.