University of Southern Maine

The concept of hegemonic masculinity has influenced gender studies across many academic fields but has also attracted serious criticism. The authors trace the origin of the concept in a convergence of ideas in the early 1980s and map the ways it was applied when research on men and masculinities expanded. Evaluating the principal criticisms, the authors defend the underlying concept of masculinity, which in most research use is neither reified nor essentialist. However, the criticism of trait models of gender and rigid typologies is sound. The treatment of the subject in research on hegemonic masculinity can be improved with the aid of recent psychological models, although limits to discursive flexibility must be recognized. The concept of hegemonic masculinity does not equate to a model of social reproduction; we need to recognize social struggles in which subordinated masculinities influence dominant forms. Finally, the authors review what has been confirmed from early formulations (the idea of multiple masculinities, the concept of hegemony, and the emphasis on change) and what needs to be discarded (onedimensional treatment of hierarchy and trait conceptions of gender). The authors suggest reformulation of the concept in four areas: a more complex model of gender hierarchy, emphasizing the agency of women; explicit recognition of the geography of masculinities, emphasizing the interplay among local, regional, and global levels; a more specific treatment of embodiment in contexts of privilege and power; and a stronger emphasis on the dynamics of hegemonic masculinity, recognizing internal contradictions and the possibilities of movement toward gender democracy.

Abstract This chapter points out serious shortcomings in DEA's treatment of price efficiency, illustrates the dangers of misspecification errors in DEA, and suggests extentions of the basic DEA formulation that address these shortcomings.

Older adults and special populations (living with disability and/or chronic illness that may limit mobility and/or physical endurance) can benefit from practicing a more physically active lifestyle, typically by increasing ambulatory activity. Step counting devices (accelerometers and pedometers) offer an opportunity to monitor daily ambulatory activity; however, an appropriate translation of public health guidelines in terms of steps/day is unknown. Therefore this review was conducted to translate public health recommendations in terms of steps/day. Normative data indicates that 1) healthy older adults average 2,000-9,000 steps/day, and 2) special populations average 1,200-8,800 steps/day. Pedometer-based interventions in older adults and special populations elicit a weighted increase of approximately 775 steps/day (or an effect size of 0.26) and 2,215 steps/day (or an effect size of 0.67), respectively. There is no evidence to inform a moderate intensity cadence (i.e., steps/minute) in older adults at this time. However, using the adult cadence of 100 steps/minute to demark the lower end of an absolutely-defined moderate intensity (i.e., 3 METs), and multiplying this by 30 minutes produces a reasonable heuristic (i.e., guiding) value of 3,000 steps. However, this cadence may be unattainable in some frail/diseased populations. Regardless, to truly translate public health guidelines, these steps should be taken over and above activities performed in the course of daily living, be of at least moderate intensity accumulated in minimally 10 minute bouts, and add up to at least 150 minutes over the week. Considering a daily background of 5,000 steps/day (which may actually be too high for some older adults and/or special populations), a computed translation approximates 8,000 steps on days that include a target of achieving 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and approximately 7,100 steps/day if averaged over a week. Measured directly and including these background activities, the evidence suggests that 30 minutes of daily MVPA accumulated in addition to habitual daily activities in healthy older adults is equivalent to taking approximately 7,000-10,000 steps/day. Those living with disability and/or chronic illness (that limits mobility and or/physical endurance) display lower levels of background daily activity, and this will affect whole-day estimates of recommended physical activity.

BACKGROUND: Improvements in screening techniques have made significant contributions to the early detection of breast cancer. Physicians thus face the task of providing appropriate screening schedules for their patients. One group for whom this is particularly important are those women with a family history of breast cancer. METHODS: In this report, data from the Cancer and Steroid Hormone Study, a population-based, case-control study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control, are used to provide age-specific risk estimates of breast cancer for women with a family history of breast cancer. The data set includes 4730 patients with histologically confirmed breast cancer age 20-54 years and 4688 control subjects who were frequency matched to patients by geographic region and 5-year age intervals. The data set also includes family histories of breast cancer in mothers and sisters of both patients and control subjects. RESULTS: Genetic models fit previously to these data by the authors have provided evidence for a rare autosomal dominant allele that results in increased susceptibility to breast cancer. In addition, these models predict that women who carry the allele are at greater risk of developing breast cancer at any age than are women who do not carry the allele. The increase in risk in carriers versus noncarriers does, however, decrease with increasing age. Based on the parameters of this model, age-specific risks for a woman with one or more relatives affected with breast cancer at various ages at onset are given. CONCLUSIONS: These tables can be used for the purpose of counseling women at high risk of breast cancer development, that is, women with a family history of breast cancer.

In this commentary, I place the maturing field of rural health research and policy in the context of the rural health disparities documented in Health United States, 2001, Urban and Rural Health Chartbook. Because of recent advances in our understanding of the determinants of health, the field must branch out from its traditional focus on access to health care services toward initiatives that are based on models of population health. In addition to presenting distinct regional differences, the chartbook shows a pattern of risky health behaviors among rural populations that suggest a "rural culture" health determinant. This pattern suggests that there may be environmental and cultural factors unique to towns, regions, or United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) economic types that affect health behavior and health.

BACKGROUND: The age-specific proportion of breast and ovarian cancer in the general population that is likely to be due to a breast/ovarian cancer susceptibility gene(s) is estimated. In addition, the age-specific penetrance of ovarian cancer for women predicted to be carriers of a susceptibility gene is calculated using population-based data. METHODS: Data are from the Cancer and Steroid Hormone Study, a population-based, case-control study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control, which includes 4730 breast cancer cases aged 20 to 54 years. Information regarding the occurrence of breast and ovarian cancer was collected for mothers and sisters of the cases during an in-home interview. The probability of being a breast cancer susceptibility gene carrier was calculated for each of the breast cancer cases using information on the family history of breast cancer. The calculated risk of ovarian cancer in the first-degree relatives of breast cancer cases with a high probability of being a gene carrier is compared with that seen in first-degree relatives of breast cancer cases with a low probability of being a gene carrier and used to calculate the proportion of ovarian cancer cases that are likely to be due to a breast/ovarian susceptibility gene(s) as well as the age-specific risk of developing ovarian cancer for gene carriers. RESULTS: Approximately 10% of ovarian cancer cases and 7% of breast cancer cases in the general population are estimated to be carriers of a breast/ovarian cancer susceptibility gene; these women are found primarily in families characterized by multiple cases of the early onset of breast cancer. The proportion of breast cancer cases predicted to be attributable to the gene decreases markedly with age; approximately 33% of cases age 20-29 years compared with approximately 2% of cases age 70-79 years. The proportion of ovarian cancer cases predicted to be due to the susceptibility gene ranges from 14% among patients diagnosed in their 30s to 7% among those diagnosed in their 50s. Carriers are predicted to have at least 15 times the age-specific risk of ovarian cancer of noncarriers. Among women predicted to carry the gene, the cumulative risk of developing ovarian cancer by the age of 59 years is approximately 10%. CONCLUSIONS: The estimates provided may prove helpful to clinicians until such time as large-scale population-based screening for breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility genes is possible.

This article follows up on earlier research examining the factor structure of a measure of recovery from serious mental illness. Exactly 1,824 persons with serious mental illness who were participating in the baseline interview for a multistate study on consumer-operated services completed the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS) plus measures representing hope, meaning of life, quality of life, symptoms, and empowerment. Results of exploratory and subsequent confirmatory factor analyses of the RAS for random halves of the sample yielded five factors: personal confidence and hope, willingness to ask for help, goal and success orientation, reliance on others, and no domination by symptoms. Subsequent regression analyses showed that these five factors were uniquely related to the additional constructs assessed in the study. We compared these findings with those of other studies to summarize the factor structure that currently emerges on recovery.

This article examines Michel Foucault’s critical investigation of neoliberalism in the course published as Naissance de la biopolitique: Cours au Collège de France, 1978-1979. Foucault’s lectures are interrogated along two axes. First, examining the way in which neoliberalism can be viewed as a particular production of subjectivity, as a way in which individuals are constituted as subjects of “human capital.” Secondly, Foucault’s analyses is augmented and critically examined in light of other critical work on neoliberalism by Wendy Brown, David Harvey, Christian Laval, Maurizo Lazzarato, and Antonio Negri. Of these various debates and discussions, the paper argues that the discussion of real subsumption in Marx and Negri is most important for understanding the specific politics of neoliberalism. Finally, the paper argues that neoliberalism entails a fundamental reexamination of the tools of critical thought, an examination of how freedom can constitute a form of subjection.

As mental health recovery gains traction, many people have put forward varying definitions. Few attempts have been made to create a dimensional analysis of the recovery literature that assesses the growing consensus about what recovery is or what its definition should entail. This paper incorporates an ecological framework to take the individual's life context into account while emphasizing both the reestablishment of one's mental health (i.e., first order change) and the mitigation of the oppressive nature of barriers imposed by the greater community (i.e., second order change) so that people may experience social integration and community inclusion.

The human genome encodes for over 1800 microRNAs (miRNAs), which are short non-coding RNA molecules that function to regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. Due to the potential for one miRNA to target multiple gene transcripts, miRNAs are recognized as a major mechanism to regulate gene expression and mRNA translation. Computational prediction of miRNA targets is a critical initial step in identifying miRNA:mRNA target interactions for experimental validation. The available tools for miRNA target prediction encompass a range of different computational approaches, from the modeling of physical interactions to the incorporation of machine learning. This review provides an overview of the major computational approaches to miRNA target prediction. Our discussion highlights three tools for their ease of use, reliance on relatively updated versions of miRBase, and range of capabilities, and these are DIANA-microT-CDS, miRanda-mirSVR, and TargetScan. In comparison across all miRNA target prediction tools, four main aspects of the miRNA:mRNA target interaction emerge as common features on which most target prediction is based: seed match, conservation, free energy, and site accessibility. This review explains these features and identifies how they are incorporated into currently available target prediction tools. MiRNA target prediction is a dynamic field with increasing attention on development of new analysis tools. This review attempts to provide a comprehensive assessment of these tools in a manner that is accessible across disciplines. Understanding the basis of these prediction methodologies will aid in user selection of the appropriate tools and interpretation of the tool output.

Summary Nearly all fish evade predation strikes by rapidly accelerating out of the strike path, a behaviour called the fast‐start evasion response. The many studies investigating morphological, behavioural and ecological correlates of fast‐start performance assume that faster starts increase the probability of evasion. We tested this faster‐start hypothesis by measuring the effect of acceleration ability on evasion outcome (success, failure) in Guppies ( Poecilia reticulata ) evading the strike of a natural predator, the Pike Cichlid ( Crenicichla alta ). Four parameters affect evasion outcome: two parameters important to the predator–prey interaction but not to the faster‐start hypothesis – (1) the time required to reach the prey by the striking predator (measured by the initial distance between predator and prey and strike velocity), (2) the evasion path of the prey relative to the strike path of the predator; and two parameters relevant to the faster‐start hypothesis – (1) the ability of the prey to generate rapid tangential acceleration (measured by net distance travelled, maximum velocity, and maximum acceleration), and (2) the ability of the prey to rapidly rotate during the initial stage of the fast start. On average, a one standard deviation increase in fast‐start performance increases the odds of surviving a predation strike 2·3‐fold. These results support the assumption that faster starts increase the probability of successfully evading a predation strike.

O conceito de masculinidade hegemônica tem influenciado os estudos de gênero em vários campos acadêmicos, mas ao mesmo tempo tem atraído um sério criticismo. Os autores traçam a origem do conceito a uma convergência de ideias no início dos anos 1980 e mapeiam as formas através das quais o conceito foi aplicado quando os estudos sobre homens e masculinidades se expandiram. Avaliando as principais críticas, os autores defendem o conceito de masculinidade como fundamental, uma vez que, na maioria das pesquisas que o opera, seu uso não é reificador nem essencialista. Entretanto, as críticas aos modelos assentados em características de gênero e às tipologias rígidas são sólidas. O tratamento do sujeito em pesquisas sobre masculinidades hegemônicas pode ser melhorado com a ajuda dos recentes modelos psicológicos, mesmo que os limites à flexibilidade discursiva devam ser reconhecidos. O conceito de masculinidade hegemônica não equivale a um modelo de reprodução social; precisam ser reconhecidas as lutas sociais nas quais masculinidades subordinadas influenciam formas dominantes. Por fim, os autores revisam o que foi confirmado por formulações iniciais (a ideia de masculinidades múltiplas, o conceito de hegemonia e a ênfase na transformação) e o que precisa ser descartado (tratamento unidimensional da hierarquia e concepções de características de gênero). Os autores sugerem a reformulação do conceito em quatro áreas: um modelo mais complexo da hierarquia de gênero, enfatizando a agência das mulheres; o reconhecimento explícito da geografia das masculinidades, enfatizando a interseccionalidade entre os níveis local, regional e global; um tratamento mais específico da encorporação¹ em contextos de privilégio e poder; e uma maior ênfase na dinâmica da masculinidade hegemônica, reconhecendo as contradições internas e as possibilidades de movimento em direção à democracia de gênero.

The field of security studies has been the subject of considerable debate in recent years. Attempts to broaden and deepen the scope of the field beyond its traditional focus on states and military conflict have raised fundamental theoretical and practical issues. Yet, adherents to the prevailing neorealist approach to security studies have often reacted to these challenges in ways that preclude a recognition of the issues raised by alternative understandings. An examination of the debates over “rethinking security” in particular reveals an unfortunate tendency to foreclose debate between scholars taking critical and neorealist approaches. Coming to terms more fully with the foundations of these debates allows both a better view of the positions within the field and a clearer assessment of their relevance for understanding the dynamics of contemporary security.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between hip and knee strength, and valgus knee motion during a single leg squat. Thirty healthy adults (15 men, 15 women) stood on their preferred foot, squatted to approximately 60 deg of knee flexion, and returned to the standing position. Frontal plane knee motion was evaluated using 3-D motion analysis. During Session 2, isokinetic (60 deg/sec) concentric and eccentric hip (abduction/adduction, flexion/extension, and internal/external rotation) and knee (flexion/extension) strength was evaluated. The results demonstrated that hip abduction (r2=0.13), knee flexion (r2=0.18), and knee extension (r2=0.14) peak torque were significant predictors of frontal plane knee motion. Significant negative correlations showed that individuals with greater hip abduction (r=-0.37), knee flexion (r=-0.43), and knee extension (r=-0.37) peak torque exhibited less motion toward the valgus direction. Men exhibited significantly greater absolute peak torque for all motions, excluding eccentric internal rotation. When normalized to body mass, men demonstrated significantly greater strength than women for concentric hip adduction and flexion, knee flexion and extension, and eccentric hip extension. The major findings demonstrate a significant role of hip muscle strength in the control of frontal plane knee motion.

This essay contrasts the logic underlining the production of ‘commons’ with the logic of capitalist relations, and describes the conditions under which ‘commons’ become the seeds of a society beyond state and market. It also warns against the danger that ‘commons’ may be co-opted to provide low-cost forms of reproduction, and discusses how this outcome can be prevented.

We reviewed papers that compared intraspecific variation in territoriality vs. alternative forms of spatial or behavioral organization with three goals: (1) to discover which ecological variables act as determinants of territorial behavior and how they might act; (2) to extract and evaluate predictions and evidence for determinants of territoriality and (3) to suggest ways for future studies to build upon what the review revealed. Twenty ecological variables have been predicted, correlated with or experimentally demonstrated to relate to territoriality within vertebrate species. These variables include several characteristics of food: quantity, predictability, distribution, quality, renewal rate, type, density and assessibility. Other variables include nonfood resources, population density, habitat features, mates, space, refuges/spawning/home sites, predation pressure, host nests (for brood parasites) and energy availability. We suggest several reasons why food resources are cited most often, including their biological significance, ease of study and publishability of negative results. Certain groups of animals lend themselves to certain methods of study and, therefore, constrain the variables measured. Many variables are the subjects of apparently contradictory reports, i.e., some papers report that an increase in a given variable increases territoriality and others report that a decrease in the variable increases territoriality. After summarizing these reports we hypothesized U-shaped relationships between the ecological variables and behavior that could accommodate all these findings. However, these hypotheses cannot be tested rigorously by most current studies because of methodological limitations. We recommend a shift to quantification of intraspecifically varying spacing systems combined with simultaneous quantification of several ecological variables. Relative importance of different determinants of particular spacing systems can be revealed via multiple regression analysis. Hypothesized causal pathways, in which one ecological variable determines another variable that, in turn, determines territoriality, can be tested by path analysis.

Abstract The induced polarization (IP) response of rocks and soils is a function of lithology and fluid conductivity. IP measurements are sensitive to the low-frequency capacitive properties of rocks and soils, which are controlled by diffusion polarization mechanisms operating at the grain-fluid interface. IP interpretation typically is in terms of the conventional field IP parameters: chargeability, percentage frequency effect, and phase angle. These parameters are dependent upon both surface polarization mechanisms and bulk (volumetric) conduction mechanisms. Consequently, they afford a poor quantification of surface polarization processes of interest to the field geophysicist. A parameter that quantifies the {magnitude} of surface polarization is the normalized chargeability, defined as the chargeability divided by the resistivity magnitude. This parameter is proportional to the quadrature conductivity measured in the complex resistivity method. For nonmetallic minerals, the quadrature conductivity and normalized chargeability are closely related to lithology (through the specific surface area) and surface chemistry. Laboratory and field experiments were performed to determine the dependence of the standard IP parameters and the normalized chargeability on two important environmental parameters: salinity and clay content. The laboratory experiments illustrate that the chargeability is strongly correlated with the sample resistivity, which depends on salinity, porosity, saturation, and clay content. The normalized chargeability is shown to be independent of the sample resistivity and it is proportional to the quadrature conductivity, which is directly related to the surface polarization processes. Laboratory-derived relationships between conductivity and salinity, and normalized chargeability and clay content, are extended to the interpretation of 1-D and 2-D field-IP surveys. In the 2-D survey, the apparent conductivity and normalized chargeability data are used to segment the images into relatively clay-free and clay-rich zones. A similar approach can eventually be used to predict relative variations in the subsurface clay content, salinity and, perhaps, contaminant concentrations.

Previous investigators have analyzed the maintaining conditions for aberrant behaviors using brief functional assessment procedures. These assessment procedures have been used in one of our outpatient clinics, the Self-Injurious and Aggressive Behavior Service. This study presents a descriptive summary of the results from 79 cases during a 3-year period. The outcomes of the brief assessment were evaluated across three variables: (a) referring topography, (b) control over behavior as evaluated through brief multielement designs, and (c) the identified maintaining conditions for aberrant behavior. The limitations and future utility of brief functional assessments for identifying distinct maintaining contingencies are discussed.

The Trafficking Victims’ Protection Act of 2000 has been presented as an important tool in combatingthe exploitation and abuse of undocumented workers, especially those forced into prostitution. Through a close reading of the legislation and the debates surrounding its passage, this article argues that the law makes strategic use of anxieties over sexuality, gender, and immigration to further curtail migration. The law does so through the use of misleading statistics creating a moral panic around “sexual slavery,” through the creation of a gendered distinction between “innocent victims” and “guilty migrants,” and through the demand that aid to victims be tied to their willingness to assist in the prosecution of traffickers. As a result, the legislation is less a departure from, than of a piece with, other recent antisex and antiimmigrant policies.

Prochlorococcus is the numerically dominant primary producer in open ocean ecosystems. Analysis of Prochlorococcus genome sequences from cultured isolates and ocean samples has broadened interest in studying this tiny cell, and efforts are underway to develop it into a model system for studying marine microbial ecology. A critical component of these efforts has been the development of systematic culturing methods that will facilitate the distribution of Prochlorococcus to diverse labs that may be interested in studying it. This paper provides detailed methods for maintaining cultures of Prochlorococcus , including a comparison of growth rates of cells on two artificial seawater media and on a standard medium that uses a natural seawater base. Procedures for agar plating, cryopreservation, obtaining new isolates, and issues associated with culture volume and carbon limitation also are described.