Impact of financial leverage on sustainable growth,market performance,and profitability

Economic Change and Restructuring - The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of financial leverage on the performance of 424 Pakistani nonfinancial listed companies over the...     

Forgotten victims: students’ attitudes towards and responses to male sexual victimisation

This paper will examine students’ attitudes and responses to male sexual victimisation in England. In particular, it focuses on their thoughts, beliefs, views, and understandings of male rape. It does this by empirically researching male rape with the use of qualitative questionnaires, from 100 students of a university in West Yorkshire, England. There are some serious concerns that were highlighted by the findings. For example, the myths that “male rape is not a serious issue” and “male rape is solely a homosexual issue” (and more) emerge from the findings. This warrants close attention and analysis, given that students are a part of the community in which male rape often occurs. This paper outlines the implications of the findings. It argues that, in certain contexts, students’ attitudes and discourses about male rape are being shaped and re-shaped; this suggests that their thought patterns are fluid with regard to male rape, shaped by the contexts in which they are situated.     

Feminism,masculinity and male rape: bringing male rape ‘out of the closet’

Feminist research has played a pivotal role in uncovering the extent and nature of male violence against women and suggests that the main motivations for rape are the need for power, control and domination. This paper argues that, although feminist explanations of rape are robust and comprehensive, male victims of rape have largely been excluded from this field of research. While feminism has enabled the victimisation of women to be recognised, further understanding of the victimisation of men is required. Some feminist writers (such as hooks, 2000) have argued that men's emancipation is an essential part of feminism since men are equally harmed by gender role expectations and sexism. This paper makes a contribution to current knowledge through evaluating the social constructions, stigma and phenomenological realities associated with male rape (by both men and women), arguing that there has been neglect in this area that functions to support, maintain and reinforce patriarchal power relations and hegemonic masculinities.     

Fractured: Cracks in the Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Structure

The acquisition of energy resources is a necessity to power the nation, fuel its economy, and support its people. The introduction of hydraulic fracturing has created an energy boom in North America, revolutionizing the supply and demand of energy for the country. This article explores the fundamentals of the hydraulic fracturing process, the economic benefits, and the corresponding environmental impact of the practice. Furthermore, the article discusses the regulation of fracking on a local and federal level and offers a practical, balanced approach to limit the adverse environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing while retaining its economic advantages.     

Me,myself and I: the sociology of policing male rape,the gaze of the ‘Other’

In this paper, the bodies of male rape victims as the ‘other’ are problematized. The social and cultural constructions of male rape within a policing context are examined since the police play a major role in impeding the progress of male rape cases. The author draws on police data, generated from interviews and qualitative questionnaires with the police, to illustrate the problems with policing male rape in England, UK. While the author provides empirical data, sociological, cultural, and post-structural theoretical frameworks largely inform it. It is argued that the bodies of male rape victims are positioned in inferior positions, whereby their bodies are metaphorically and symbolically marked as ‘abnormal’, ‘deviant’, and the ‘other’. Through social and power relations, their bodies are tainted, which reinforces gender and social norms.