Sexuality,Normality, and Social Terror: XXY by Lucía Puenzo

Lucía Puenzo’s (2007b) subtle and observant coming of age film, XXY, is the starting point for a discussion of gender, families, and unspoken anxieties. This article explores the world of Alex, an intersex teenager, who is navigating a relationship with the visiting son of family friends. Alex has reached the age when she wants to make her own choices about both gender and desire, setting off a family and social chain reaction about who decides that there are only certain ways to be human. XXY is first considered as a narrative of a common developmental crisis, then as a narrative case study.     

Poor,abused, and neglected children’s prospects in a fair society

In this article, the principles of Justice as Fairness (Rawls, 1971) are applied to some of the institutions affecting children—the legal system and the family. Within this perspective, these institutions are just if there are no alternative arrangements under which the prospects of the least advantaged children could be maximized. Improving the prospects of the abused, neglected, and oftentimes anomic children becomes the barometer of social change. A welfare and protection rights agenda, and ways of strengthening the nuclear family within the community, are envisioned in order to provide least advantaged children with the most basic primary goods enabling them to develop their capabilities. Such changes are prerequisite for reducing violence and anomie in our society.     

Is acoustic evaluation in a non-primate mammal,the tree shrew,affected by context?

Sound categorisation plays a crucial role for processing ecological and social stimuli in a species’ natural environment. To explore the discrimination and evaluation of sound stimuli in human babies and nonhuman primates, a reciprocal habituation-dishabituation paradigm has been successfully introduced into auditory research. We applied the reciprocal paradigm for the first time to a non-primate mammal, the tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri), to examine to what extent non-primate mammals share the ability to evaluate communication calls with primates. Playback stimuli were three types of communication calls, differing distinctively in context and acoustic structure, as well as two artificial control sounds, differing solely in frequency. We assessed the attention towards the playback stimuli by the latency to respond to the test stimulus. Subjects evaluated pairs of communication call types as well as the artificial playback stimuli. Attention towards the test stimuli differed significantly in strength for one pair of communication calls, with subjects dishabituating faster to one category than the other. The comparison of a second pair of communication calls did not show significant differences. Interestingly, subjects also evaluated the artificial control sounds. Findings are only partly in line with results on human and non-human primates. They provided first evidence that in non-primate mammals acoustic evaluation is not solely affected by the sound-associated context but is also linked to unusualness and acoustic cues, such as peak frequency.     

Tunable wave-vector filtering in a two-dimensional electron gas modulated by magnetic barriers and δ-doping

We report a theoretical investigation on the control of wave-vector filtering (WVF) in a two-dimensional electron gas modulated by realistic magnetic barriers and δ-doping, which can be experimentally realised by depositing a ferromagnetic stripe on the surface of a GaAs/Al_xGa_1?xAs heterostructure and using atomic layer doping. Theoretical analysis demonstrates that a sizeable WVF effect still exists even if δ-doping is introduced into the device. Numerical calculation reveals that the WVF efficiency is related closely to the δ-doping. Thus, the WVF effect in a magnetic nanostructure can be conveniently manipulated by properly adjusting the weight and/or the position of the δ-doping, giving rise to a tunable momentum filter for nanoelectronics applications.     

Spouse and Family Functioning Before and After a Marine’s Suicide: Comparisons to Deaths by Accident and in Combat

The impact of service member suicides on families is not well understood. Civilian studies have demonstrated that family survivors of suicide deaths experience complicated grief, feel guilt and shame, and often do not receive sufficient social support. In this exploratory study, spouse survivors of Marines who died by suicide (N = 17), accident (N = 19), and in combat (N = 34) retrospectively reported on their immediate pre- and postmortem and current personal and family functioning. Nonparametric analyses revealed that several between-group differences existed. Observation of the means suggested that the spouses and families of Marines who died by suicide exhibited significantly poorer pre- and postmortem functioning compared with those whose spouses died in combat. Specific challenges included low family cohesion, high family conflict, perceived stigma, and shame. There were no differences in current spouse or family functioning, and there was weak evidence for posttraumatic growth among surviving spouses of those dying by suicide. These results should be considered preliminary and interpreted with caution given several methodological challenges.     

Affect, accessibility of material in memory, and behavior: a cognitive loop?

Two studies investigated the effect of good mood on cognitive processes. In the first study, conducted in a shopping mall, a positive feeling state was induced by giving subjects a free gift, and good mood, thus induced, was found to improve subjects' evaluations of the performance and service records of products they owned. In the second study, in which affect was induced by having subjects win or lose a computer game in a laboratory setting, subjects who had won the game were found to be better able to recall positive material in memory. The results of the two studies are discussed in terms of the effect that feelings have on accessibility of cognitions. In addition, the nature of affect and the relationship between good mood and behavior (such as helping) are discussed in terms of this proposed cognitive process.     

Sexual Arousal by Dominance and Submissiveness in the General Population: How Many,How Strongly,and Why?

Sexual arousal by dominance and submissiveness was long considered as pathology. Surprisingly, approximately half of respondents (n = 673) were excited by their partner’s submission or their own submission. A strong preference was found in 8.2% of respondents. Respondents of 6.1% were not even excited by equality, but only by disparity. The respondents differed in the type of disparity that they prefer, and how strongly they preferred this disparity. We suggest that sexual arousal by dominance and submissiveness is related to a common mating strategy.     

Does height-induced threat modulate shortening of reaction times induced by a loud stimulus in a lateral stepping and a wrist extension task?

IntroductionThe StartReact (SR) effect is the accelerated release of a prepared movement when a startling acoustic stimulus is presented at the time of the imperative stimulus (IS). SR paradigms have been used to study defective control of balance and gait in people with neurological conditions, but differences in emotional state (e.g. fear of failure) may be a potential confounder when comparing patients to healthy subjects. In this study, we aimed to gain insight in the effects of postural threat on the SR effect by manipulating surface height during a postural (lateral step) task and a non-postural (wrist extension) task.MethodsEleven healthy participants performed a lateral step perpendicular to the platform edge, and 19 participants performed a wrist extension task while standing at the platform edge. Participants initiated the movement as fast as possible in response to an IS that varied in intensity across trials (80 dB to 121 dB) at both low and high platform height (3.2 m). For the lateral step task, we determined anticipatory postural adjustments (APA) and step onset latencies. For the wrist extension task, muscle onset latencies were determined. We used Wilcoxon signed-rank tests on the relative onset latencies between both heights, to identify whether the effect of height was different for IS intensities between 103 and 118 dB compared to 121 dB.ResultsFor both tasks, onset latencies were significantly shortened at 121 dB compared to 80 dB, regardless of height. In the lateral step task, the effect of height was larger at 112 dB compared to 121 dB. The absolute onset latencies showed that at 112 dB there was no such stimulus intensity effect at high as seen at low surface height. In the wrist extension task, no differential effects of height could be demonstrated across IS intensities.ConclusionsPostural threat had a significant, yet modest effect on shortening of RTs induced by a loud IS, with a mere 3 dB difference between standing on high versus low surface height. Interestingly, this effect of height was specific to the postural (i.e. lateral stepping) task, as no such differences could be demonstrated in the wrist extension task. This presumably reflects more cautious execution of the lateral step task when standing on height. The present findings suggest that applying stimuli of sufficiently high intensity (≥115 dB) appears to neutralize potential differences in emotional state when studying SR effects.     

Reflections by a nineteenth‐century convert to Islam on Judaism and Christianity in Ottoman Jerusalem

The Khalidi Library in Jerusalem contains a number of valuable works pertaining to Muslim‐Christian relations during the Ottoman period, and in this paper an effort is made to elucidate one such text, a unique anonymous essay entitled Al‐risala al‐sabi^ciyya fi ibtal al‐diyana al‐yahūdiyya. As the title suggests, the essay presents itself as a work of a Jewish convert to Islam; pressed to justify what he has done, he gives seven reasons for his conversion, and then lists two sets of seven similarities and differences between Islam and Judaism that have also served to encourage his conversion.

In this paper it is argued that the essay is actually the work of a Christian convert, probably one who wrote in Jerusalem in the late nineteenth century. Seeking to justify his conversion, but hesitant to reject openly the central doctrines of Christianity, he pretends to be a Jewish convert and argues for the superior position of Islam among the three monotheistic faiths. This tactic, while uncommon, is known from other parts of the Near East, and a convert in Jerusalem would have been in an excellent position to become aware of such writings.

While most of his arguments are familiar from the arsenal deployed in disputations of the past, this author's essay is valuable for its illustration of the hesitation and doubt that must have accompanied most acts of conversion, and for the way in which it draws attention to the fact that Christian—Muslim relations—especially in Jerusalem—have always proceeded within the broader context of relations. among the three great monotheistic religions in general.     

When and How Does a Person's Relationship With Environments Begin and Continue to Play a Role in Psychological Functioning?: Reply to Paper and Commentaries by Bodnar and Roth

Bodnar and I urge therapists to understand and address not only a person's conflicted desires, which Roth advocates should be the only focus of psychoanalytic treatment, but also the role space and place play in a person's psychology. The psychoanalysts Bodnar cites, who advocate the importance of understanding environments, follow the positivistic assumptions of ecopsychology. I argue why the dialectical-relational model I outlined should be followed. From the viewpoint of this model, I discuss Bodnar's patients who are wasting environments and commend Bodnar for addressing the role body experiences with places and spaces play in the conflicts of these individuals. I explain why I disagree with Roth's opinion that Bodnar and I are romanticizing nature in our discussions of environments. I join Bodnar's challenge that treatment should include helping a person learn how he or she can repair and recover the ability to interact and negotiate with all environments. I also challenge therapists to understand the embodied metaphors they carry that give meaning to human and nonhuman environments and to explore why, when, and how therapy should be conducted in different environments.     

Lesbians,gay men and family therapy: a contradiction in terms?

This paper seeks to review the history of discussions about lesbian and gay male sexuality in family therapy theory and practice. It examines whether homophobic and heterosexist attitudes are present in family therapy thinking. Possible connections are explored between attitudes towards lesbian and gay issues and the professional backgrounds of family therapists, wider debates on homosexuality within society, and conceptualizations of the family life cycle. The question of why relatively little has been written on the issues raised by lesbians, bisexuals and gay men in therapy is discussed. The implications of this oversight on practice are addressed and suggestions made for future work.     

The Claparède phenomenon: A further example in amnesics,a demonstration of a similar effect in normal people with attenuated memory,and a reinterpretation

Three amnesics and four controls were asked to find hidden objects in cartoon drawings, and their success rate and search speed were noted over five learning trials. When latency on the first trial was equated in the two groups, amnesics were shown to learn the location of the test objects less rapidly than controls. Savings scores at seven weeks were similar in the two groups when amount of exposure during learning was equivalent. At seven weeks amnesics failed to recognize items that they were able to show savings on in terms of speed of search (the Claparede phenomenon), but a similar effect was demonstrated in the control group when tested some 17 months later. The implications of the results for various retrieval-deficit views of the amnesic syndrome were discussed.     

Racism in soccer? Perception of challenges of black and white players by white referees, soccer players, and fans

This experiment investigated challenge evaluations in soccer and their relation to prejudice: more precisely, whether skin colour may influence judgments of soccer tackles. Three groups of participants (soccer players, referees,and soccer fans) were asked to evaluate challenges, featuring Black and White players as aggressors and victims in a mixed-design study. Results showed that participants made some differentiations between Black and White players in a challenge evaluation task. Participants were more likely to consider within-group challenges as fouls and were faster to consider challenges made by Black players as fouls. On the other hand, fouls made by White players were seen as more severe. There were no major differences between the participating groups, suggesting that the observed effects were independent of how good players were or whether the participants were referees or not.     

Polemics and Proverbs: Religious Controversy in England, ‘German Lips,’ and the Character of a Genre

ABSTRACT

This article firstly reconstructs the usage and meaning of the early-modern English proverb ‘as just as German’s lips.’ It demonstrates that the meaning of the proverb, which has never been authoritatively established, can be ascertained through its frequent appearance in the context early-modern religious polemics in England. The study then argues that the proverb’s presence in, and subsequent disappearance from, printed literature is inextricably tied up with epochal cultural changes in England. These are reflected in the increasingly pervasive use of the vernacular for formal controversial theology and in English notions of social standing and intellectual credibility. It lastly suggests a possible source for the origin of the proverb under discussion.