Resistance in hopeles’: Assimilating queer theory

This paper seeks to assimilate Queer Theory, i.e. to bring it within the gambit of a ‘mainstream’ or ‘dominant’ space: the academy. It does so by historicising Queer Theory, and investigating, if not what it is, then at least what it has been. This makes it possible to engage critically with Queer Theory, Suggesting that Queer Theory has often employed tropes of assimilation, the paper turns to another cultural site at which such language is popular—science fiction—in order to investigate the assumption of these metaphors. It goes on to suggest some of the assumptions about cultures which underlie these metaphors. Finally, it points to other sites in Queer Theory which undermine these assumptions, and provide other ways—quite uninterested in assimilation—in which to think Queer.     

The changing geography of metropolitan opportunity: The segregation of the poor in U.S. metropolitan areas, 1970 to 1990

Abstract

This analysis uses census tract data to measure the segregation of the poor in U.S. metropolitan areas in 1970, 1980, and 1990. Two measures of segregation are used: the indices of dissimilarity and isolation.

In 1990 the mean dissimilarity of the poor in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas was 36.1, which is substantial but below the 60.6 dissimilarity of blacks. The 1990 isolation of the poor was 21.0. From 1970 to 1990, the dissimilarity of the poor increased by 11 percent, and the isolation of the poor rose by 9 percent; in contrast, racial segregation declined. Exploratory regression analyses reveal that income segregation in metropolitan areas was significantly greater in 1990 and increased more from 1970 to 1990 in the Northeast than in the South and West. Midwest areas generally were not significantly different from Northeast areas in 1990 segregation levels or in changes from 1970 to 1990.     

The Feminisation of Agriculture with Chinese Characteristics

The objectives of this article are to assess whether or not the feminisation of agriculture is occurring in China, and if so, to measure its impact on productivity. To meet these objectives, we rely on three data sets that allow us to explore who works on China's farms and the effects of the labour allocation decisions of rural households on productivity. We find that since the late 1990s, the role of women has increased in both the supply of farm labour and in the duties that they take on in the management of farms. While this expansion is important, we further demonstrate that when women do a majority of farm work or manage the farm, their farms are equally efficient as farms managed by men.     

Employment effects of output and technological progress in Malaysian manufacturing

A major factor contributing to the growth in industrial employment in Malaysia was the implementation of the export‐oriented industrialisation strategy. With the withdrawal of GSP privileges to the USA, the inevitable loss of comparative advantage in labour cost and the emergence of trading blocs, it is feared that the growth of the export‐oriented sectors in manufacturing will be impeded, causing a serious unemployment problem. This fear is compounded by the increasing shift to technology‐intensive methods of production which displace labour. This article shows that domestic demand and export expansion exert positive and almost equal influence on industrial employment. Any negative impact on employment due to a shortfall in exports could be neutralised if an appropriate choice of import‐substituting and export expansion policies is adopted. Displacement of labour due to the substitution effect of using technology‐ and capital‐intensive production is largely compensated for by the increase in labour utilisation due to the output effect of increased production for both the domestic and foreign markets.     

Acute Psychosis Induced by Bath Salts: A Case Report with Clinical and Forensic Implications

Bath salts are new designer drugs with stimulant effects on the central nervous system. White or brown powder sold online and in mini‐marts under different brand names, bath salts can be used by injecting, snorting, smoking, or ingesting with food or drink. The case of a 30‐year‐old Caucasian male who developed acute psychosis within a few hours of injecting himself with bath salts is described. The patient was hospitalized with a complaint of hearing voices. The drug also induced in the patient a state of euphoria, increased energy level, along with decreased need for sleep and decreased appetite. The psychological effects of the bath salts subsided within a few hours of injection and his reality testing remained consistently intact over the next 3 days of hospitalization. This case brings to attention the fact that bath salts were legal throughout the United States until recently and is still not completely controlled. This report informs clinicians of harmful effects of bath salts, including severe agitation with possible rhabdomyolysis, psychosis, suicidal ideation, hypertension, tachycardia, and death.     

Punk Subculture in Mexico and the Anti-globalization Movement: A Report from the Front

This article explores some strands of the current movement against capitalist globalization. It examines the affinity between punk subculture and autonomous politics taking the Mexican punk scene as an example. Based on participant observation it describes what Bourdieu would call the habitus of punk in Mexico. Recorded music, subcultural style and political ideas arrive into this habitus where they are selectively adopted. Thus, attempts to articulate punk in Mexico to the "anti-globalization" movement are somewhat different than in the United States and Canada.     

The agricultural crisis in Egypt

The paper probes the historical origins of and current responses to the agricultural problems of Egypt. Much of the difficulty stems from the fact that the class structure, the distribution of resources, and the social bases of both Nasser's and Sadat's regime have blocked either the mobilization of the peasantry on the one hand or the provision of decentralized incentives on the other. After a brief assessment of Nasser's land reforms, price policies, and investment strategy, the current responses of changing crop patterns and mechanization are assessed. Such a strategy seems unlikely to succeed, but no other obvious alternative strategy is at hand.