Urban–Rural Variation in Satisfaction with Life: Demographic, Health, and Geographic Predictors in Halifax, Canada

This paper examines how satisfaction with life (SWL) varies in four zones of the urban–rural continuum, for 1,971 residents of the county-sized municipality of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It also examines whether the predictors of SWL themselves vary by rural–urban. Data are from the STAR project, which is an innovative GPS-assisted time diary survey. ‘Global’ SWL varies significantly by urban–rural zones, being highest in the inner city (IC), and lowest in the outer commuter belt (OCB). Self-rated health is a significant bivariate correlate, as are age, whether married, household size, and household income (all of which vary significantly by U-R zones). Several geographic variables co-vary significantly with SWL, particularly community belonging (strong in IC, weak in OCB), unsafe after dark (worst in IC, best in OCB), and commuting time (least in IC, most in OCB). A regional multivariate model yielded significant predictors related to physical health, mental health, and community geography, but excluded socio-demographic variables. Separate models for each urban–rural zone showed that SWL is more predictable at the zonal level than for the region as a whole, and the predictors vary considerably by zone. Physical health is an important predictor in the inner city and suburbs, unsafe after dark is significant only in the suburbs, and travel-related variables are very important in the inner commuter belt.     

Metropolitan migration in the past: Labour markets, commerce, and cultural interaction in Europe, 1600–1914

This article challenges the “imaginary ethnography” of European urban population as monocultural and non-migrating. Pre-1800 European migrations are discussed first, next changing patterns in the 19th century are summarized. In the third section immigration to industrializing cities at the height of nationalism is exemplified by Czech migration to Vienna, Polish migration to the cities of the Ruhr District, and the multicultural and immigrant character of Budapest and of Paris. Immigrant insertion, conflict, migrants, and economic niches, as well as the reaction of host societies and community formation are discussed. In conclusion, older theories of disorganization are contrasted with recent concepts of acculturation and transcultural lives.     

Patriots in the Making? Migrants, Citizens, and Demos Building in the European Union

Almost 20?years ago, Jürgen Habermas launched the idea of constitutional patriotism as a proposed solution to the tension between citizenship and national identity in the European Union. Since then, constitutional patriotism has remained a key concept in debates on European Union (EU) citizenship and democracy. This article, as so many before it, scrutinizes the meaning and viability of the concept. Unlike most others, however, it focuses less on the content of the concept and more on the subjects to which it is assumed/supposed to apply. I argue, firstly, that constitutional patriotism is not a viable or even desirable ideal for the European demos in its totality. The potential patriots of the EU are not the large majority of European Union citizens who live in their home country but migrants from other member states and nonmember states who are foreigners in their host countries. Secondly and accordingly, I argue that advancing constitutional patriotism means improving the status of foreign nationals in general and third-country nationals in particular. Connecting the acquisition of EU citizenship to domicile as opposed to member state nationality is one venue for such improvement. I discuss what this could imply and defend it as a means of building a truly European demos.     

Japanese north–south gradient in IQ predicts differences in stature,skin color,income, and homicide rate

Regional differences in IQ are estimated for 47 prefectures of Japan. IQ scores obtained from official achievement tests show a gradient from north to south. Latitudes correlate with height, IQ, and skin color at r = 0.70, 0.44, 0.47, respectively. IQ also correlates with height (0.52), skin color (0.42), income (0.51) after correction, less homicide rate (− 0.60), and less divorce (− 0.69) but not with fertility infant mortali'ty. The lower IQ in southern Japanese islands could be attributable to warmer climates with less cognitive demand for more than fifteen hundred years.     

Scientific, political, ethical, or pragmatic issues in the collection of ethnic statistics: an exploratory survey in public institutions in Montréal

In recent years, ethnic statistics have been at the core of a passionate debate in many Europeans countries. This debate has been as much about the political legitimacy of ethnoracial data collection in the census as it has been about the scientific legitimacy of ethnic statistics to understand social inequality and discrimination. These questions have not provoked the same kind of intense debate among academics in Canada. However, very few studies have examined the relevance of these issues beyond the census. This paper presents results of an exploratory study conducted with 14 major public institutions across diverse sectors including health, law enforcement and public safety, social services, and housing in Montréal. Investigating which institutions collects ethnic statistics and why, the study examined the political, scientific, ethical, and pragmatic issues raised by local managers.     

Cultivating admiration in brands: Warmth,competence, and landing in the “golden quadrant”

Although a substantial amount of research has examined the constructs of warmth and competence, far less has examined how these constructs develop and what benefits may accrue when warmth and competence are cultivated. Yet there are positive consequences, both emotional and behavioral, that are likely to occur when brands hold perceptions of both. In this paper, we shed light on when and how warmth and competence are jointly promoted in brands, and why these reputations matter.     

Gender,Affiliation, and Control in Physician–Patient Encounters

This study investigates the effects of physician gender and communication styles on participant responses to physicians. Participants were 146 mostly low-income students (50% Caucasian, 50% African-American) who each viewed one of four videotapes of physicians varying in communication style (affiliative, controlling) and gender (male, female). The affiliative communication style evoked the greatest levels of participant satisfaction, trust, self-disclosure, and compliance. Physician gender did not significantly affect these variables. Participants' recall of medical information showed an interaction: When the physician was male, participants recalled more when he was controlling than when he was affiliative; when the physician was female, communication style did not affect participant recall. Results suggest that physician communication style is more important than gender in determining patient response.     

‘Atmosphere’, matching,and logic in syllogistic reasoning

The frequency of error in syllogism solving suggests that not all subjects are using logic. The atmosphere and matching hypotheses suggest what they might be doing instead but predict some of the same (correct and incorrect) responses. Reexamination of the data supporting the atmosphere hypothesis (Sells, 1936) shows that the procedure employed was unsatisfactory and that the results obtained support the matching hypothesis as well as they support the atmosphere hypothesis. It is argued on theoretical grounds that the matching hypothesis should be preferred. An experiment is reported in which subjects (N=71) were required to draw conclusions from syllogistic premises and to construct premises from which given conclusions followed. It is shown that subjects may be divided into three groups: (n=16) consisting of subjects who used logic and made few errors; (n=25) of subjects whose correct and incorrect responses were in accordance with the matching hypothesis; and (n=30) of subjects who were not matching but trying to do logic and not doing it well.     

Creativity,chaos, and self‐renewal in human systems

The research findings from the psychology of creativity are shown to be of considerable relevance to the study of self‐organization and self‐renewal in human systems. The characteristics of the creative person, and the nature of the creative process, particularly as they have been elaborated by Barron, are shown to be remarkably congruent with recent findings and theoretical elaborations by Abraham, Jantsch, Laszlo, Prigogine, and others in the fields of evolutionary and chaos theory. The broader social implications of chaos and evolutionary theories are fleshed out through an understanding of their characteristics in creative human systems.     

Subverting patriarchal Buddhism in Spring,Summer, Fall,Winter…and Spring

A number of Kim Ki-duk’s films, particularly Bad Guy (2001), are infamous for the violence towards women characters. While feminist critics deplore Kim as a misogynist, alternative readings – some based on interviews with the director – suggest violence is the only way his silent characters, existing on the margins of society, can communicate. In this way, his body of work is not read as an endorsement of misogyny, but rather as a social critique of patriarchy. One film, however, that is considered unique and eludes these discussions is Spring, Sumer, Fall, Winter…and Spring (2003), a contemplative Buddhist story. I argue, in fact, the film is in dialogue with patriarchal Buddhist portrayals of women as temptresses and samsaric mothers. Further, since it appears the monks in the narrative are incapable of enlightenment, we should question if this is a result of their treatment of women.     

Less Religion,Better Society? On Religion,Secularity, and Prosperity in Scandinavia

Abstract : Phil Zuckerman argues in his book Society without God that Scandinavian secularity is strongly correlated to Scandinavian prosperity. In this article, we argue that such usage is premature. First, there are methodological issues that are not properly dealt with. Second, providing a causal narrative in addition to mere correlation is needed. Third, we argue that the causes of Scandinavian prosperity are found in close connection to Scandinavian Lutheranism.     

Urban cyberspace policy initiatives in Manchester,UK, 1989–1999

As the world is becoming both digital and urban, cyberspace advancements pose a serious challenge to the study of modern cities’ development. This research work stresses the importance of investigating the intervention and effectiveness of public policies and agencies that involve the development of the cyberspace in urban restructuring. Thus, the present paper reviews and analyzes the deployment of urban cyberspace policy initiatives in Manchester, during the 1989–1999 decade, reflecting critically upon the questions raised from the literature regarding the cyberspace paradigm in urban policy and planning. Vassilys Fourkas graduated in Civil Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessalonica in 1993 and he then followed a post-graduate research program in the area of computer-simulation techniques in urban planning, at the University of Venice-Dept. of Architecture-DAEST/Italy. He is currently working at the Egnatia Odos SA, as the Head of the Observatory Unit which is concerned with the measurement, evaluation and study of spatial impacts caused by the Egnatia motorway (a TEN, EU-funded project). His academic and research interest focuses on the issues of virtual geography, urban cyberspace planning and virtual cities in relation to modern urban regeneration strategies and plans in European Union. In September 2003 he received a post-doctorate grant from the Greek government (Greek State Scholarship Foundation) to carry out a research project regarding the development of Greek cities over cyberspace.     

Hobbes, Rousseau, and The “Gift” in Interpersonal Relationships

This paper compares and contrasts the philosophical positions of Hobbes and Rousseau from the standpoint of interpersonal communication theory. Although both men argued from the state of nature, they differed fundamentally on the nature of humankind and the purpose of relationships. These differences should be of concern for interpersonal scholars insofar as they reflect differing sets of axioms from which to begin theorizing. The second part of the paper establishes a link between Hobbes' philosophy and the social exchange tradition: The Hobbes-social exchange tradition begins with the assumption that individuals form relationships to maximize rewards and minimize costs; a Rousseauist position must begin with the assumption that individuals form relationships in pursuit of some common goal. Thus, relational continuity and quality are not a function of cost-benefit ratios, but of how well partners work together toward their common good.     

Words in the Thorns: Marshall McLuhan,Testing—One,Two, Three

Marshall McLuhan was a medium with a message. According to McLuhan, technology was not merely a neutral means to a particular end but itself content, itself the stuff of moment and decision. Consequently for McLuhan the telephone, radio, television, and computer transmitted the same information in extremely different ways because of how each worked. To this add McLuhan's conclusion that in the technological age where information travels at the speed of light, the printed word on the paper page was dead, an antiquated way of telling the story.

In the following excerpt from the one-man play I Don't Necessarily Agree with Everything I Say: An Evening Imagined with Marshall McLuhan, writer Miles Beller reanimates the wily “Global Village” guru here puckishly explaining it all, from TV's subsuming part to advertising's Machiavellian heart, from human evolution to the thinking machine revolution. Mixing McLuhan's own words with invented dialogue, a portrait emerges of a whip-smart intellectual provocateur who envisioned our current world long before Steve Jobs or Bill Gates made computing personal, long before books went digital and mail traveled as invisible impulses through the Internet. So, please take your seat. The house lights are dimming, the show about to start. The curtains part and Marshall McLuhan takes center stage, arranges his papers and begins.     

Gender Differences in Video Game Characters’ Roles, Appearances, and Attire as Portrayed in Video Game Magazines

Video game characters have the potential to shape players’ perceptions of gender roles. Through social comparison processes, players learn societal expectations of appearances, behaviors and roles. Forty-nine articles were coded from current U.S. gaming magazines, resulting in 115 coded characters. This content analysis of video game magazine articles investigated how characters are portrayed, focusing on gender differences. Males were more likely to be heroes and main characters, use more weapons, have more abilities, and were more muscular and powerful. Females were more often supplemental characters, more attractive, sexy, and innocent, and also wore more revealing clothing. Understanding these video game messages is an important first step in understanding the effects games and magazines may have on behavior and attitudes.     

Critical issues in Muslim‐Christian relations: Theoretical,practical, dialogical,scholarly

In treating some critical issues in Muslim‐Christian relations at present and in the near future I would like to say something on the basis of what may be qualified as ‘critical realism’ on the one hand and ‘constructive partnership’ on the other. My purpose here is to identify some issues with which we have to cope when we want to improve relations between Muslims and Christians for times to come.