The Female Body and Reviews of Women Pianists in 1950s London

Women pianists in London in the 1950s, performing mainstream repertoire (Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt and Chopin) as well as modern pieces which demanded stamina, physicality and bravura, were often the subject of negative reviews. The critics’ attitudes towards them seems to echo the prevailing Freudian mantra, ‘anatomy is destiny’: women, generally smaller than men, apparently possessing less power and mental capacity, were deemed unfit for this repertoire. But if some women pianists demonstrated ‘unusual’ (for women) physical and mental power, successfully performing long and difficult pieces, they too were damned by the critics, because they did not fit the traditional notion of femininity. In this article, the author demonstrates the magnitude of the effect of the cultural image of women on the reception of both the ‘feminine’ and ‘unfeminine’ women pianists in 1950s London.     

Learning as territoriality: the political ecology of education in the Brazilian landless workers’ movement

In this contribution, I explore the importance of agroecological education in the Brazilian Landless Workers’ Movement (MST). I analyze how certain MST educational programs are based in a critical place-based pedagogy. This type of pedagogy can serve as a form of territoriality, influencing individuals’ interactions with the land. Drawing upon a political ecology of education perspective, I conclude that MST educators can serve as Gramscian ‘organic intellectuals’, by using a critical pedagogy of place as a form of territoriality to: (1) create a conception of place that is not discrete, but instead relational, and (2) advocate counter-hegemonic land usage.     

Women’s human rights education trainers in Turkey: situated empowerment for social change

This article presents evidence of the links between human rights education and social change by analyzing the long-term effects on 88 trainers engaged in a non-formal adult training program sponsored by a women’s human rights group in Turkey, Women for Women’s Human Rights – New Ways. In this article, I show the transformative impacts of carrying out human rights education on the trainers themselves: in their identity; knowledge, skills, and attitudes; and behaviors in their family and in the workplace. This article extends the treatment of an emerging question within social change theory – that of the long-term influence on activists brought about by their very engagement in these activities. At the same time, because the activists are trainers associated with a human rights education program that infuses critical pedagogy with a feminist perspective, this qualitative case study provides the opportunity to explore ‘situated empowerment’ on trainers in both their personal and professional domains. The article concludes that further studies of human rights educators engaged as long-term trainers will further enrich the social change literature and the treatment of activists.     

The Iran nuclear deal: winning a little,losing a lot

Iran’s nuclear programme had for more than a decade become a controversial issue between Iran and the West; it had even threatened to develop into a military confrontation between Teheran and its arch adversary, Washington. The issue was finally resolved in an agreement, after more than a year of negotiations, between the two sides in Geneva in July 2015. This was hailed as a ‘breakthrough’ and a ‘win-win’ for both parties. It is argued here that the nuclear deal has made Iran’s nuclear programme almost inoperable, and pointed out that many members of Congress are vehemently against the deal; the next administration may not honour it or may revise it. The high costs of sanctions against Iran to the sanctioning countries are also examined, with a comparison made between the meagre concessions that Iran will get and the huge concessions that the West will receive under the deal. Furthermore, Iran has acceded to very intrusive inspection of some of its military sites. It is contended that, if the Iranians hope the agreement will soon bring about the resolution of other thorny regional and international issues that exist between Teheran and Washington, they are very likely to be disappointed.     

Consent behind the counter: aspiring citizens and labour control under precarious (im)migration schemes

‘Managed migration’ schemes promote mobility of labour across international borders, diversifying worksites and introducing new systems of enacting labour consent. This article examines how Canadian franchisees are recruiting Filipino migrants to staff their restaurants, facilitating employers’ access to new, flexible subjects. These workers covet their employment as pathways to Canadian citizenship. Some are unaware, however, that they are recruited under a precarious immigration scheme, one that neither directly denies nor facilitates access to legal incorporation. Instead, migrants are (transnationally) encouraged to compete in the worksite for employer-nominated citizenship, a highly productive system for engendering consent. This draws attention to new challenges ‘managed migration’ schemes pose for resisting downward pressures on work and employment conditions.     

Teachers as Builders of Respectful School Climates: Implications for Adolescent Drug Use Norms and Depressive Symptoms in High School

Positive school climates have been found to have favorable effects on adolescent health risk behaviors and mental health outcomes. However, the mechanisms by which teacher behavior may promote such effects in high schools have not been extensively studied. Based on social control theory and a social developmental-contextual model, it was predicted that by respecting students’ points of view and decision making capabilities, teachers can help build respectful school climates that encourage healthy norms of behavior. Structural equation modeling with a nationally representative sample of 476 youth ages 14–18 supported the model. Adolescents who reported higher teacher support and regard for student perspectives in their high schools were more likely to see their schools as having respectful climates and healthy norms of drug use which was associated with lower levels of personal drug use. Students in such schools also reported greater social belonging and fewer symptoms of depression.

Antecedents and Consequences of Psychiatric Disorders in African-American Adolescents

This study included three waves of data, collected from approximately 890 African-American children and their families. Antecedents and consequences of psychiatric disorders among this population were examined. Children’s temperament, pubertal timing, and experience of stressful life events were tested as antecedents of psychiatric disorders. Several aspects of school functioning were then tested as consequences of psychiatric disorders. In addition, children with a single psychiatric disorder and those with comorbid disorders were statistically compared. Results showed that (1) children with at least one disorder, compared to those with no disorder, exhibited significantly more difficult temperament, experienced puberty earlier, and underwent greater numbers of stressful life events; (2) those with at least one disorder had significantly poorer school outcomes than those with no disorder; (3) children with comorbid disorders, compared with those who had only one disorder, displayed lower educational aspirations and poorer school commitment.

中学生对学校体育需求的研究——以济南市为例

考查了中学生对学校体育需求的状况,并对性别差异进行了比较分析,目的是为中学学校体育课程改革提供理论和实践依据。结果发现:一是济南市中学生对学校体育课学习需求共有情意目标学习需求等五个维度,其中对运动能力发展需求最高,在认知目标学习需求维度上男生显著高于女生。二是济南市中学生对校内体育活动比赛需求共有情意目标学习需求等四个维度,且在体育活动规划需求和竞技特殊价值需求两个维度存在显著的性别差异,男生在体育活动规划需求平均数低于女生,在竞技特殊价值需求则高于女生。三是济南市学生,对校外体育活动比赛需求共有运动竞赛利益需求、学生辅导需求、竞赛规划需求和情意目标学习需求等四个维度,不同性别的学生,并无差异存在。     

再论侵害承租人优先购买权的救济

出租人未通知承租人直接将租赁房屋出卖给买受人而承租人事后知悉的,他应当向出租人主张行使优先购买权,这是其获得法律救济的前提。承租人主张优先购买权后,他能够获得法律救济的程度或法律后果取决于买受人是否善意及房屋是否办理物权变更登记。买受人善意并且与出租人办理物权变更登记的,买受人取得房屋的所有权,承租人向出租人主张违约责任;买受人善意但未与出租人办理物权变更登记的,出租人的履行决定房屋所有权的归属,未被履行方向出租人主张违约责任。买受人与出租人恶意串通的,其买卖合同无效,出租人应向承租人履行;买受人单纯恶意但未进行物权登记的,出卖人只能向承租人进行履行;买受人单纯恶意且进行物权登记的,买受人取得房屋所有权。     

英国中文学校发展现状探析

笔者赴英国考察了周末中文学校的教学和运营状况,分析了存在的问题。伴随着中国综合国力的不断提升,英国的中文学校(班)迎来了更广阔的发展机遇。中文学校通过教授中文及举办各种各样的文化活动,为华人青少年搭建了学习、传承中华语言文化的平台,架起了一座中英文化交流的桥梁。