The sublime and the cultures of the extreme: An exploration

Abstract

The article traces the relationship between the concept of the traditional sublime and the contemporary cultures of the extreme and their fascination with unlimitation. It is asked to what degree the aesthetic category of the sublime, generally defined as a ‘formlessness’, can assist in exploring and making sense of the cultures of the extreme. The cultures of the extreme are analysed by means of three tropes, namely the ecstasy of speed, the immersion into immediacy, and the shrinking of the natural landscape. By utilising these three tropes or hermeneutical tools, the author attempts to show how these events typify the contemporary obsession with extremes, and can indeed be likened to a pseudo-sublime or kitsch sublime.     

Intimate Partner Violence Among Hispanics: A Review of the Literature

This paper analyzed the existing literature on risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence among Hispanics using the four-level social-ecological model of prevention. Three popular search engines, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Google Scholar, were reviewed for original research articles published since the year 2000 that specifically examined factors associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) among Hispanics. Factors related to perpetration and victimization for both males and females were reviewed. Conflicting findings related to IPV risk and protective factors were noted; however, there were some key factors consistently shown to be related to violence in intimate relationships that can be targeted through prevention efforts. Future implications for ecologically-informed research, practice, and policy are discussed.     

Stressful Life Experiences and Peer Externalizing Behaviors Mediate the Relation Between Reduced Family Support and Externalizing Symptoms in Low-Income Urban Youth

Family support, urban stressors, and peer behavior were examined in relation to externalizing symptoms in 605 predominantly low-income urban sixth through eighth grade adolescents. Mother and father support were each associated with lower levels of externalizing symptoms in both males and females. For males, father absence was associated with increased peer externalizing behavior and heightened rates of youth externalizing symptoms. Stress (in the form of major life events, daily hassles, and exposure to violence) and peer externalizing behavior were examined as mediators of the relation between parent support and youth externalizing symptoms. Increased stress exposure mediated the relation between weak mother and father support and youth externalizing symptoms. Additionally, for females, peer externalizing behavior mediated the relation between weak mother support and youth externalizing symptoms.     

Prevalence and correlates of psychopathic traits in the household population of Great Britain

There are no previous surveys of psychopathy and psychopathic traits in representative general population samples using standardized instruments. This study aimed to measure prevalence and correlates of psychopathic traits, based on a two-phase survey using the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL: SV) in 638 individuals, 16–74 years, in households in England, Wales and Scotland. The weighted prevalence of psychopathy was 0.6% (95% CI: 0.2–1.6) at a cut score of 13, similar to the noncriminal/nonpsychiatric sample described in the manual of the PCL: SV. Psychopathy scores correlated with: younger age, male gender; suicide attempts, violent behavior, imprisonment and homelessness; drug dependence; histrionic, borderline and adult antisocial personality disorders; panic and obsessive–compulsive disorders. This survey demonstrated that, as measured by the PCL: SV, psychopathy is rare, affecting less than 1% of the household population, although it is prevalent among prisoners, homeless persons, and psychiatric admissions. There is a half-normal distribution of psychopathic traits in the general population, with the majority having no traits, a significant proportion with non-zero values, and a severe subgroup of persons with multiple associated social and behavioral problems. This distribution has implications for research into the etiology of psychopathy and its implications for society.     

The impact of after‐school programs on the routine activities of middle‐school students: Results from a randomized,controlled trial*

Research Summary Unsupervised after‐school time for adolescents is a concern for parents and policymakers alike. Evidence linking unsupervised adolescent socializing to problem behavior outcomes heightens this concern among criminologists. Routine activities theory suggests that, when youth peer groups congregate away from adult authority, both opportunity for and motivation to engage in deviant acts increase. After‐school programs are a possible solution to unsupervised teen socializing during afternoon hours and are much in demand. However, empirical research has yet to test the relationship between the availability of after‐school programs and youth routine activities. This study presents evidence from a multisite, randomized, controlled trial of an after‐school program for middle‐school students in an urban school district. Policy Implications Youth in the treatment group engaged in less unsupervised socializing after school than youth in the control group but not as much less as would be expected if the after‐school program was providing consistent supervision to youth who would otherwise be unsupervised. Additional analyses examined why the influence of the after‐school program was not more pronounced. We found that, although program attendance was related to decreases in unsupervised socializing, the program did not attract many delinquency‐prone youths who were unsupervised, which suggests that the students most in need of the program did not benefit. Furthermore, data obtained from a mid‐year activity survey revealed that youth in the study were highly engaged in a variety of after‐school activities. The addition of the after‐school program into the mixture of available activities had little effect on the frequency with which students participated in organized activities after school.     

Screening for cocaine metabolite fails to detect an intoxication

Testing for the presence of cocaine (COC) is common in postmortem and clinical laboratories. COC use may be detected by screening urine specimens for COC metabolite. In the forensic arena, screening positive results are confirmed by a more specific and sensitive technique, such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. This article reports the case of an individual who died of COC intoxication but whose immunoassay screen (EMIT) for COC metabolite was negative. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the urine detected benzoylecgonine (BE) at a concentration of 75 ng/mL and COC at 55 ng/mL. These concentrations explain the negative screening result since the cutoff concentration of the assay was 300 ng/mL for BE. The reported cross reactivity with COC was 25,000 ng/mL. However, heart blood concentrations of COC and BE were 18,330 and 8640 ng/mL, respectively. The results from this case provide evidence that an EMIT test alone may fail to detect COC use. Individuals utilizing results of drug screening by immunoassay must be aware of the limitations of this testing methodology.     

Stepping Out: Rhetorical Devices and Culture Change Management in the UK Civil Service

Organizational culture is the pattern of values and beliefs held by members of an organization and the management of culture is now one of the most frequently discussed of all organizational concepts. The excitement associated with culture is attributable to two factors. First, it is argued that culture is the key to organizational performance; simply stated, a strong organizational culture can be a source of competitive advantage. Second, culture is perceived as an alternative method of control to traditional and technocratic forms of management and can be manipulated to ensure that employees are enthusiastic and committed to organizational objectives.
Despite the extensive interest in this topic, culture remains an elusive concept. This paper investigates the nature of culture and considers strategies for introducing cultural change. Specifically, the aims of the paper are threefold. First, to locate and explain the interests and significance of culture change for the public sector. Second, using a case study of a newly created agency, to investigate the problems and issues affecting cultural change in the civil service. Third, to reassess and critically evaluate the claims for culture management made in the literature. Finally, this paper questions some of the assumptions in the literature, which with few exceptions are biased toward top management and the unitary conception of organization, an ideological frame of reference which is particularly problematic in the public sector.     

The Relationship between Legal Systems and Economic Development: Integrating Economic and Cultural Approaches

This paper seeks to demonstrate the need to bridge the gap between the economic and culture-based approaches to two issues which are fundamental to the debate over the relationship between legal reform and economic development: (a) the relative importance which economic actors around the world place on the legal system and (b) the core components of an effective legal system, as defined by those economic actors. It first outlines the major tenets of current economic legal reform policy, focusing on its underlying assumption that the perceptions and expectations of economic actors around the world do not vary significantly. Data from Geert Hofstede's study of variance in cultural values are then analysed in order to demonstrate how cultural values might affect private sector perceptions and expectations of legal systems as supporters of material progress. It concludes that there is a clear need for a more interdisciplinary approach to the debate over the relationship between legal reform and economic development, and the potential variance in private sector perceptions and expectations of legal systems in particular. Such an approach might be initiated through a systematic integration of existing data and theory from each discipline, reinforced by a new multi-country survey.