Locating Impropriety: Street Drinking, Moral Order, and the Ideological Dilemma of Public Space

Drawing on research in urban sociology, cultural geography, and social psychology, this paper explores some of the moral rules that govern social relations in public places. In particular, we consider how certain practices become classified as everyday incivilities—infractions of the moral order that sustains public life. In order to develop this notion, we draw illustrations from an ongoing research project that is investigating social attitudes towards "street drinking," an activity that has led to the creation of "alcohol-free zones" in over 100 British cities during the past decade. As an emergent theme, this research has suggested that the classification of street drinking as either acceptable or unacceptable conduct is contingent upon the social construction of public space that users invoke. This theme is discussed in the context of wider struggles over citizenship and social control in the public domain—struggles manifest within "ideological dilemmas" (Billig et al., 1988) over the limits of free conduct, the tension between open and closed public spaces, and the attempt to distinguish "admissible" from "inadmissible" publics.     

Workforce Support for Urban After‐School Programs: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities

Organized after‐school programs can mitigate risk and build resilience for youth in urban communities. Benefits rely on high‐quality developmental experiences characterized by a supportive environment, structured youth–adult interactions, and opportunities for reflective engagement. Programs in historically disenfranchised communities are underfunded; staff are transient, underpaid, and undertrained; and youth exhibit significant mental health problems which staff are variably equipped to address. Historically, after‐school research has focused on behavior management and social‐emotional learning, relying on traditional evidence‐based interventions designed for and tested in schools. However, after‐school workforce and resource limitations interfere with adoption of empirically supported strategies and youth health promotion. We have engaged in practice‐based research with urban after‐school programs in economically vulnerable communities for nearly two decades, toward building a resource‐efficient, empirically informed multitiered model of workforce support. In this paper, we offer first‐person accounts of four academic–community partnerships to illustrate common challenges, variability across programs, and recommendations that prioritize core skills underlying risk and resilience, align with individual program goals, and leverage without overextending natural routines and resources. Reframing obstacles as opportunities has revealed the application of mental health kernels to the after‐school program workforce support and inspired lessons regarding sustainability of partnerships and practice.     

Enjeux majeurs de santé publique versus autonomie personnelle : le cas spécifique de l’obligation vaccinale

While the triple individual, altruistic and collective dimension of the preventive vaccination obligation serves a major public health objective, it only prevents such a choice by public authorities, by imposing a constraint on individuals and thus violating several of their fundamental rights, from going against personal freedom. The first question raised is then that of the legitimacy of such a policy. Could less coercive means, and therefore less intrusive on fundamental rights and freedoms, not be deployed? If not, at what risk alert threshold(s) could the vaccination obligation be justified?     

Behavioral assessment of public-speaking anxiety using a modified version of the Social Performance Rating Scale

The current study aimed to extend the evaluation of the utility of the Social Performance Rating Scale (SPRS) [Behav. Res. Ther. 36 (1998) 995]. We examined the utility of a modified SPRS for the behavioral assessment of public-speaking anxiety among patients with social phobia (n = 49). The videotaped performance of public-speaking fearful patients in a public-speaking task was rated using four of the five SPRS ratings and was compared to global ratings by patients and observers, as well as to self-report and clinician-administered measures of social anxiety. The pattern of correlations with criterion measures of social anxiety provided evidence for the convergent and divergent validity of this modified SPRS for the behavioral assessment of public-speaking anxiety.     

乡村公共伦理建设的难题解析

乡村现代化运动提出了建设支持“人的普遍联系”和公共生活的公共伦理的历史性要求、致力于乡村公共伦理建设,必须寻求解决三类难题,即基础难题、结构难题、操作难题。     

How to improve the walking realm in a car-oriented city? (Dis)agreements between professionals

PurposeUrban environments and transport systems can enable and encourage walking, and therefore play a key role in climate action, public health, equity of access, and population wellbeing. The question, especially in cities that have been dominated by car traffic, is how? The challenge is heightened by the multidisciplinary involvements in the design, operation, and maintenance of urban infrastructure.This study examines the views of professionals from different disciplines involved in delivering walking environments in Auckland, New Zealand. The study examines agreements and disagreements regarding users’ needs, priorities, challenges, and evidence gaps for delivering quality walking environments in a car-dominated city.MethodsPrimary data were collected through an online survey (N = 28) and a focus group, both involving professionals active in urban design, road safety, transport planning, public health, urban development and strategy. Analysis involved content coding and comparing the frequency of responses across professional groups.ResultsThe results indicated a consensus on the complexity associated with providing walking environments, as well as the importance of the quality of street environments. The lack of priority given to walking, car-dominated environments, and the inability to deliver change were seen as challenges. The inputs suggested a negative chain reaction linking the low priority of walking and the lack of consensus relative to users’ experience. There appeared to be a lack of common understanding of users’ needs and experiences and a paucity of evidence on this topic.ConclusionThe findings suggest the need for urban retrofit rooted in a sound understanding of users’ needs and experiences, and walkability as a sub-system of the urban environment. Recommendations include higher interdisciplinary collaboration at the policy and practice level, reviewed delivery processes, and better-quality data.     

Neither public nor private religion: the Russian Orthodox Church in the public sphere of contemporary Russia

Cross-country comparative studies of religion (e.g. the Religion Monitor) do not cover some important issues regarding the religious situation in Russia. The problem of contemporary Russian religiosity is beyond individual religiosity or religiosity as a spiritual phenomenon. In Russia—one of the countries which experienced Communism as a period of enforced secularization, there are very few people who have had any religious socialization or who have the experience of belonging to the Christian Church or to any religion. The main point of this article is that what is happening with religion in post-Soviet Russia cannot be adequately explained by the concept of ‘public religion’ and the dichotomy of public vs. private religion, due to the practices of private religion manifesting at a very low level among the Russian population, despite the fact that a large number of Russians consider themselves to be Orthodox Christians. However, the representation of the Church in the public sphere has little to do with what concerns Russians who are in some way involved in parishes. As an alternative tool we propose to describe the religiosity of Russians through the methods of network analysis. Results of a content analysis of contemporary Russian and Soviet media, survey data of the Russian population, and data obtained in a network analysis of parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church are used for substantiating this conclusion.     

Caldwell University’s Department of Applied Behavior Analysis

Since 2004, faculty members at Caldwell University have developed three successful graduate programs in Applied Behavior Analysis (i.e., PhD, MA, non-degree programs), increased program faculty from two to six members, developed and operated an on-campus autism center, and begun a stand-alone Applied Behavior Analysis Department. This paper outlines a number of strategies used to advance these initiatives, including those associated with an extensive public relations campaign. We also outline challenges that have limited our programs’ growth. These strategies, along with a consideration of potential challenges, might prove useful in guiding academicians who are interested in starting their own programs in behavior analysis.     

The influence of public self-consciousness and anger on aggressive driving

This study examined how anger interacted with public self-consciousness to influence aggressive driving. It was hypothesized that when people were angry, more aggressive driving behavior would occur when public self-consciousness was low than when public self-consciousness was high. To test this hypothesis the participants were required to complete measures of driving anger and public self-consciousness. Then participants gave a retrospective self-report of aggressive driving behavior. Further, participants were required to keep a log in which they recorded aggressive driving behavior. The results supported the prediction. Public self-consciousness interacted with anger to influence aggression while driving.