Gender,Sexuality and the Latin American Left: testing the transformation

This article examines the extent of change under Latin American left governments by assessing their actions on women's and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights. To provide a historical context, it first offers an overview of the relationship between feminist movements and the left. It then employs a four-country comparison of Brazil, Bolivia, Chile and Venezuela on women's socioeconomic status; feminist state–society relations; women's representation in national decision-making positions; legislation on violence against women; reproductive rights; and sexual rights. It concludes that standard political and economic divisions among the cases do not explain their response to the demands of feminists and LGBT activists. While governments have improved women's status and inclusion, the transformation of gender and sexual power relations remains unfinished.     

Clausewitzian Alchemy and the Modern Character of War

Current conflicts reinforce, rather than undermine, the Clausewitzian paradigm. It is not the nature of war itself that is changing, but rather the dominant relationships between the components of its nature. Recognizing that the relationship between the interaction with passion, reason, and chance with the people, the state, and the military, which prevailed in Clausewitz's day, does not continue to prevail in our day deeply rests on ideas established in On War. Three shifts in the character of war have materialized: the collapse of warfare, the intersection of strategy and politics, and the atomization of political power. To act successfully in future conflicts, we must move beyond any simple Clausewitzian alchemy and understand the countless ways in which passion, chance, and rationality can be alloyed with the state, the people, and the military.     

Mindful yoga as an adjunct treatment for forensic inpatients: a preliminary evaluation

Although emerging evidence of yoga interventions shows benefits for people with schizophrenia, research is lacking regarding yoga interventions among forensic inpatients. This pilot study investigated the acceptability and effectiveness of an eight-week mindful yoga programme in improving psychological outcomes in 26 forensic inpatients. Outcome measures included the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation – Outcome Measure as well as a qualitative component post-intervention and at two-month follow-up. Trends in the predicted direction suggested reductions in clinical symptoms over time, specifically anxiety. Key themes revealed increased body awareness, relaxation and self-directed yoga practices and breathing techniques for anxiety management. Ninety-two percent reported acceptance of the programme. Preliminary findings are encouraging and warrant further research into the application of mindful yoga in the management of distress and risk with forensic inpatients.     

Join the club: effects of club membership on Japanese high school students’ self-concept

Extracurricular clubs are widely believed to be an important part of education in Japan, and Japanese students devote an enormous amount of time and energy to them. Until recently, however, there has been very little research examining either the content or the outcomes of participation in such clubs. In this paper, based on a nationally representative survey of Japanese high school seniors (n = 3753) we examine the relationship between participating in extracurricular clubs and Japanese students' self-concepts. Our findings demonstrate that students who join extracurricular clubs have more positive self-concepts than those who do not join clubs, and students in sports clubs have higher self-concepts than students in non-sports clubs. This paper, therefore, offers important data for scholars interested in non-academic aspects of Japanese education in general, and demonstrates the impact that extracurricular activities have on Japanese students' self-concepts in particular.