Scents of identity: Fragrance as heritage in Zanzibar

In 2000, UNESCO declared Zanzibar Stone Town a World Heritage Site. Since this time the Tanzanian government and international NGOs (based in Zanzibar) have participated in the rehabilitation of the town's buildings and other physical infrastructure. However, little attention has been paid to the rich intangible heritage of the islands and the fusion of cultural expressions in this part of the world. This paper considers the important role of fragrances in the identity construction processes of Zanzibar islanders. The author offers a brief history, theoretical discussion and detailed ethnography of fragrance in Zanzibar. She discusses its role in the varied constitution of identity, belief and in life cycle rituals. The author further argues that fragrance and other seemingly ‘mundane’ heritages attract little attention in the preservation process and yet these indicate important cultural continuities in the Indian Ocean region and form a vital part of heritage and the harmonisation of cultures on the islands.     

Evasion,Reinterpretation and Decoupling: European Commission Responses to the ‘External Dimension’ of Immigration and Asylum

Since 1999, the European Commission has been responsible for ‘integrating’ immigration and asylum goals into the EU's external relations. This article explores how different Directorates-General have responded to this requirement. Rejecting prevalent rationalist theories, it draws on organisational sociology to argue that administrative organisations are preoccupied with internal social and psychological tasks, and only selectively read and respond to signals from their political environment. Depending on characteristics of the organisation and policy area, one can hypothesise four ideal-typical responses: full adaptation, evasion, institutional decoupling, and reinterpretation. An analysis of Commission responses suggests that DG Justice, Liberty and Security fully adapted to the agenda, while DG External Relations adopted a strategy of institutional decoupling. DG Development shifted from initial evasion to reinterpretation, contributing to the rather incoherent mix of goals that emerged in the 2005 Global Approach. The article considers the implications of this account for theories of policy change.     

World formation or world mode of production? Alternative approaches to world system analysis

Conclusion Bergesen has identified the right problem but the wrong analogy. If we can make the analogy from a social formation to a world perspective then what were are analyzing is the world formation and not a world market or a world production. The capitalist world formation is the ensemble of economic relations (both the determinant production relations and the dominant world system), political relations, and ideological relations which are manifested at the world level. A world formation, as opposed to a world mode of production approach, avoids the confusion between the capitalist mode of production and participation in the capitalist world system, which Laclau pointed to as a necessary step in clarifying theories which utilize a world perspective. Furthermore, it allows us to establish the determinant effects of production in the world formation and the structuring of production by class struggle which Brenner argues is essential for the theory. And in the process it avoids economic reductionism by including the relative autonomy of the state and ideological structures.Finally, a world formation approach does not reduce the efficacy of the world perspective. This is especially true since the capitalist world formation did not arise from dust, but was a result of transformation of the feudal world formation. In this sense, the world formation has an a priori relation to social formations, which is the key insight of the world perspective.     

Knowledge, Legitimation and the Politics of Risk: The Functions of Research in Public Debates on Migration

There is a striking lack of research on the utilisation of expert knowledge in public policy debates and party political mobilisation. Existing contributions in related fields of scholarship generate rather contradictory expectations. On the one hand, political communications literature points to the dumbing down of political debate, implying a limited role for expert knowledge. On the other hand, a number of prominent sociologists have noted the centrality of science in political debate on the politics of risk. This article suggests that the two theses are not necessarily incompatible. For knowledge to be reported in the media, it clearly needs to conform to criteria of novelty, drama and scandal, but scientific findings can and often do meet these criteria, especially in areas of risk, where there is enormous potential to scandalise government actions or omissions. The article illustrates these tendencies through an analysis of the use of expert knowledge in UK debates on migration from 2002 to 2004. It explores how research was used in parliamentary debates, speeches and newspaper coverage of three prominent episodes in the politics of migration. The examples demonstrate well how the mass media utilises research to expose political scandal. The analysis also suggests the ambivalence of political actors and especially incumbents in drawing on research. While governments are keen to utilise research to legitimise policies, they are also aware of the limitations of science in underpinning risky decisions. The article concludes with a discussion of how politics has responded to this dilemma.     

What makes evidence‐based policy making such a useful myth? The case of NICE guidance on bariatric surgery in the United Kingdom

There is widespread skepticism among policy scholars and practitioners about the move to rationalize policy making: The naive vision of “evidence‐based policy” is often contrasted with the reality of “policy‐based evidence.” Yet, the language of evidence‐based policy making (EBPM) continues to dominate policy debate about complex and contested issues. In this paper, I explore this apparent paradox by looking at what makes EBPM such a useful myth for all sorts of policy actors. I do so with reference to the pioneering work of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), focusing specifically on its work in relation to bariatric surgery, a suite of controversial and drastic weight loss procedures. I show that the myth of EBPM has political, pragmatic, and procedural utility in practice, allowing the organization to set and administer guidelines on this uncertain, complex, and contested treatment in ways that sustain buy‐in and enable ongoing contestation.     

Shyness, Sociability, and Parental Support for the College Transition: Relation to Adolescents’ Adjustment

A path model was tested in an ethnically diverse sample of 350 college students in which shyness, sociability, and parental support for the college transition were related to loneliness and friendship quality. Furthermore, friendship quality and loneliness were related to depression and anxiety. High levels of shyness, low levels of sociability, and low levels of parental support were related to high levels of loneliness. High levels of parental support for the college transition were related to more positive friendship quality. Multiple regression analyses suggested that loneliness, but not friendship quality, were related to adolescents’ anxiety and depression. In addition, the interaction between shyness and sociability was significantly related to anxiety for African-American adolescents such that adolescents who reported low levels of sociability in combination with high levels of shyness reported the highest levels of anxiety. There was also a significant interaction between sociability and parental support for African-American adolescents such that high levels of sociability in combination with low levels of parental support for the college transition were related to high levels of anxiety. For White adolescents, only loneliness was related to anxiety. Nina S. Mounts is an associate professor at Northern Illinois University. She received her PhD in child and family studies from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her major research interests are on linkages between parent and peer contexts, parental management of adolescents’ peer relationships, and peer influence on adolescents. David P. Valentiner is an associate professor at Northern Illinois University. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from University of Texas-Austin. His major research interests are cognitive and emotional factors in anxiety disorders, including the development and maintenance of social anxiety. Katherine Anderson is a graduate student at University of Wisconsin-Madison. She received her MS in developmental psychology from Northern Illinois University. Her major research interests are on career identity development in college students. Michelle Boswell is a graduate student at Northern Illinois University. She received her MS in clinical psychology from Northern Illinois University. Her major research interests are on parenting effects on bullying and victimization.