The media on violence against women: the paradigm of thinness

This article attempts to show that the aesthetic pressure through the media, especially exerted on women, can be defined as gender violence; and the consequences of thinness paradigm of our society and obesity stigma that this entails have for their bio-psycho-social health.

Langerhans cells--revisiting the paradigm using genetically engineered mice.

Langerhans cells (LCs) are prominent dendritic cells (DCs) in epithelia, but their role in immunity and tolerance is poorly defined. 'Knockin' mice expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) under the control of the langerin (CD207) gene were recently developed in order to discriminate epidermal LCs from other DC subsets and at the same time to track their dynamics under steady-state or inflammatory conditions in vivo. Additional knockin mice expressing a diphtheria toxin receptor fused to EGFP were used to conditionally ablate LCs and assess their role in triggering hapten-specific T cell effectors through skin immunization. We review the insights that have been provided by these various knockin mice and discuss gaps in our knowledge of LCs that need to be filled.

The nonformative elements of religious life: questioning the ‘sociology of spirituality’ paradigm

Sociological assertions of religious vitality in Euro-American societies have developed a paradigm of spirituality in which, following earlier studies of the New Age, a distinction is drawn between external authority and self-authority. Methodologically and theoretically problematic, this paradigm diverts attention from people’s social practices and interactions, especially in relation to multiple religious authorities. Drawing upon ethnographic fieldwork with an English religious network, and building upon the work of Pierre Bourdieu, this paper considers situations in which multiple authorities tend to relativize each other. Conceptualizing this in terms of nonformativeness - the lack of authorities’ abilities formatively to shape religious identity, habitus, and competition over religious capital - a new understanding of individual secularization emerges that questions assertions of vitality.

Applying the Paradigm: Shakespeare and World Cinema

The essay discusses films that have been made of the plays written by dramatist William Shakespeare, particularly films that were made outside of Great Britain and the U.S. The Chinese film "The Banquet," directed by Xiaogang Feng, is a retelling of Shakespeare's play "Hamlet." The film demonstrates how Shakespeare's play could be successfully repositioned to demonstrate problems in 21st century Asia.