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AbstractThe literature regarding self‐other comparisons suggests that self‐enhancing perceptions are prevalent, including forms of "illusion" such as excessively positive self‐evaluation, unrealistic optimism, and exaggerated perceptions of control. Concepts from optimal distinctiveness theory served as the basis for two experiments examining whether illusion functions similarly when the context of evaluation involves a relationship. In both experiments participants rated themselves, the best friend, and the average other—or their own romantic relationships, the best friend's relationship, and the relationship of the average other–using scales measuring positivity of evaluation, optimism regarding the future, and perceptions of control. In both experiments, participants exhibited centrality‐based differentiation, rating targets more favorably to the degree that the target was more central to their social identity. Patterns of differentiation differed for the two contexts: In the individual context, participants differentiated themselves and their friends from the average other. In the relationship context, participants differentiated their own relationships from the relationships of friends and average others. Also, participants rated individuals as more controllable than relationships. Participants in Experiment 2 provided information regarding potential predictors of illusion. Analyses of these data suggest that favorable centrality‐based differentiation may be partially accounted for by impression management, global self‐esteem (particularly in the individual context), and commitment level (particularly in the relationship context).

Abstract. This paper examines the role of capital disinvestment in the development of common EU policies, and suggests that mobile capital in low–tech sectors (where technology gains do not support high unit labour costs) is susceptible to high social costs, and will avoid them through exit. Integration theories have failed to assimilate the implications of this. While theorists have been busy making the case for either states or institutions as the key actors upon whom integrative outcomes in Europe depend, not enough attention has been paid to the influence of organized interests, and particularly whether they derive systemic power from the structure of the international economic system. Three points may be made. First, the relative power of interests changes with the internationalization of the economy. Second, the power of capital relative to labour is likely to vary along several axes: the degree of mobility, the level of international competition faced by the sector or firm, and the sensitivity to policy costs. Third, the dilemma posed by capital mobility to political bargains among socio–economic actors may help us get to the bottom of the long–standing debate among integration theorists regarding both the likely outcome of integrative efforts and the identity of the most relevant actors.

This article is an exploration of the relationship between the social production of heterosexual masculinities and the 'making of men' as legal 'professionals' - as prac tising lawyers and legal academics. The focus is an analysis of the ways in which a range of categories of 'masculine' subjectivities are presently encoded as heterosexual within the institutional and organizational contexts of legal academy and legal prac tice. Theoretically, the article is concerned to explore what insights, if any, may be derived from recent scholarship on the relationship between identity, subjectivity and corporeality when seeking to re-conceptualize what has for some time, and from different perspectives, been identified to be the distinctly masculine cultures of the law school and law firm. How, the article asks, is 'masculinity' embedded in the nego tiations and contradictions of routine cultural practices, the evasions, fantasies and anxieties of 'everyday life' in the legal profession? Far from conceptualizing Woman as 'Other' to a masculine (legal) norm, the article seeks to unpack the nature of this 'norm' via an exploration of the ways in which certain (sexed) subject positions emerge within specific cultural sites and are experienced as encoded 'masculine' phenomena. The article seeks to 'name men as men' in an investigation of the relation ship between 'doing law' and the 'making' of men's subjectivities.

According to Luhmann, religion transforms the indefinable/undefined into the definable/defined complexity, thus outlining the problems of the whole society. Due to this function, religion remams bound to the level of the entirety of a social system. Nevertheless, in time, in the course of the functional differentiation of society, different sub-systems have been created for different tasks (economy, science, politics, education, etc.) and religion has been accorded the status of one such system. Besides distinguishing among various subsystems, this process implies the separation of diverse task-areas within the religious system itself. By and by, within the Christian religion, three functionally differentiated spheres have emerged which Luhmann labels as a) the church, i.e. the entirety of spiritual communication in which the function of the system of religion is fulfilled for the whole social system; b) Diaconate (Diakonie), which performs the system's tasks towards other social sub-systems (these tasks, in line with the theory of systems, may be termed services -Leistungen) as well as towards personal systems (in line with the theory of systems they may be termed pastoral - Seelsorge); and c) theology (Theologie) whose role within the religious system may be described as reflexion (Reflexion) i.e. the task of the reflexive contact of one's own identity. (SOI : PM: S. 255)

This paper examines the role of capital disinvestment in the development of common EU policies, and suggests that mobile capital in low-tech sectors (where technology gains do not support high unit labour costs) is susceptible to high social costs, and will avoid them through exit. Integration theories have failed to assimilate the implications of this. While theorists have been busy making the case for either states or institutions as the key actors upon whom integrative outcomes in Europe depend, not enough attention has been paid to the influence of organized interests, and particularly whether they derive systemic power from the structure of the international economic system. Three points may be made. First, the relative power of interests changes with the internationalization of the economy. Second, the power of capital relative to labour is likely to vary along several axes: the degree of mobility, the level of international competition faced by the sector or firm, and the sensitivity to policy costs. Third, the dilemma posed by capital mobility to political bargains among socio-economic actors may help us get to the bottom of the long-standing debate among integration theorists regarding both the likely outcome of integrative efforts and the identity of the most relevant actors. (European Journal of Political Research / FUB)

According to Luhmann, religion transforms the indefinable/un-defined into the definable/defined complexity, thus outlining the problems of the whole society. Due to this function, religion remains bound to the level of the entirety of a social system. Nevertheless, in time, in the course of the functional differentiation of society, different sub-systems have been created for different tasks (economy, science, politics, education, etc) & religion has been accorded the status of one such system. Besides distinguishing among various subsystems, this process implies the separation of diverse task-areas within the religious system itself. By & by, within the Christian religion, three functionally differentiated spheres have emerged which Luhmann labels as a) the church, ie, the entirety of spiritual communication in which the function of the system of religion is fulfilled for the whole social system; b) Diaconate (Diakonie), which performs the system's tasks towards other social sub-systems (these tasks, in line with the theory of systems, may be termed services Leistungen) as well as towards personal systems (in line with the theory of systems they may be termed pastoral -- Seelsorge); & c) theology (Theologie) whose role within the religious system may be described as reflexion (Reflexion) ie, the task of the reflexive contact of one's own identity. 1 Table, 10 References. Adapted from the source document.

Although vastly influential in German-speaking Europe, conceptual history (Begriffsgeschichte) has until now received little attention in English. This genre of intellectual history differs from both the French history of mentalités and the Anglophone history of discourses by positing the concept - the key occupier of significant syntactical space - as the object of historical investigation. Contributions by distinguished practitioners and critics of conceptual history from Europe and America illustrate both the distinctiveness and diversity of the genre. The first part of the book is devoted to the origins and identity of the field, as well as methodological issues. Part two presents exemplary studies focusing either on a particular concept (such as Maurizio Viroli's 'Reason of the State') or a particular approach to conceptual history (e.g. Bernard Scholz for literary criticism and Terence Ball for political science). The final, most innovative section of the book looks at concepts and art - high, bourgeois and demotic. Here Bram Kempers discusses the conceptual history of Raphael's frescos in the Stanza della Segnatura of the Vatican; Eddy de Jongh examines the linguistic character of much Dutch genre painting; and Rolf Reichardt considers the conceptual structure implicit in card games of the French Revolution, used to induct those on the margins of literacy into the new revolutionary world-view.

The recent institutional practice of the sacrifice of animals among Muslims living in Europe gives the opportunity for thinking about the anthropological status of the sacrifice from the reading of the islamic lawsmaking texts. The notion of "sacrifice" is here exposed in various ways and the terminology shows to be instructive, in particular for the converting period to islam of society of Bedouin breeders. The position of the ritual among the recommendations and the obligations of the religion leads to distinguish different kinds of "sacrifices" and sets a series of questions about allowable and for bidden for example. Moreover these questions are connected to interrogations about the ritual process of the sacrifice itself: when does the sacrifice take place? which kind of animal is chosen? who "sacrifices" and which way? what will become of the sacrificed animal? etc. Two conclusions emerge from the analysis: all the islamie rituals related to the slaughtering of animals cannot be described as sacrificial in the anthropological meaning of the word. And in the cases for which they are sacrifical, the religions functions that can be assigned to them don't appear clearly: communion, expiation, memorial, propitiation? Their social or even political functions of identity nature in the European context are waiting for new analysis.

Neophobia (fear of new stimuli) is an important component of mammalian
behavioural ecology. In addition, information on neophobia in pest species
could be of great significance in targetting control measures and predicting
changes in responses to them. Novel objects and an auditory stimulus were
presented to individually marked wild rabbits living socially in clumped
warrens in southern British farmland. Avoidance of stimuli was measured by
scan sampling of rabbits' locations, in replicated experiments. Rabbits
avoided a variety of novel objects by staying below ground, and by changing
their activity ranges. Responses to different stimuli were correlated within
individuals. There were non-significant differences in the degree of avoidance
elicited by novel visual stimuli. The most important factors in avoidance were
distance from the stimulus, number of previous presentations, and rabbit
identity. Individual characteristics, including sex, social rank, and
trappability, were less important determinants of neophobia, although dominant
females were significantly more neophobic than were non-dominant ones. Only
one or two presentations were required for attenuation of avoidance, so novel
objects would be of limited application to crop protection. However, equipment
used for delivering control measures should also quickly become accepted by
rabbits. The measured avoidance and its attenuation indicate that rabbits
assessed and responded to their surroundings with high precision, with
significant individual variation consistent over stimuli.

This paper argues that the field of security studies would benefit from engaging more closely with the poststructuralist writings on security than has previously been the case. Poststructuralism advocates a position different from both the traditional realist and idealist perspectives in IR and offers important insights on the construction of the national-international dichotomy, the relationship between national identity and security politics, the discursive character of the concept of security, and the late-modern transformation of security. Specifically, poststructuralism is an important contribution to the debate on whether and/or how to expand the concept of security. It is argued from the poststructuralist position, most clearly by Ole Wæver, that security is a discursive practice and that the concept of security cannot therefore by definition be linked to the military domain: the crucial point is not to establish an objective relationship between the concept and the possible domains of security, but to study whether and how an issue is securitized. The paper concludes by pointing towards further research within poststructuralist security studies and argues in favour of more studies problematizing the possible and argues relationships between the state and the Other, asking whether security politics has to be built on a conquest of the Other.

Abstract.The reconfiguration of political space is bringing about new forms of territorial politics. The meanings of nationalism and the state are being transformed and new types of autonomist movement are emerging. These are often seen as a resurgence of ethnicity, or as attempts to recreate mini nation‐states fragmented from the existing ones. Mainstream political science tends to regard them negatively. It is argued that the resurgence of minority nationalism is also a response to the needs for collective action in a world of weakened nation‐states. New forms of collective identity and action are emerging which recognise the limitations of traditional sovereignty and the necessary interdependence of the contemporary world. There is much that is new here, but also much that has always been present but has been lost in the state‐centred perspective of political science. The argument is illustrated by an examination of three of the most electorally successful nationalist movements in the Western world, in Quebec, Catalonia and Scotland. These are seen not as classic nationalist movements but as nation‐building projects which recognise the limitations of the nation‐state formula and are engaged in 'stateless nation‐building'. This project is difficult to translate into constitutional terms or to reconcile with the model of the state prevailing in the respective majority communities.

The historic claim of the Sami to lands that they have traditionally used and occupied – an issue that has long been dormant – is emerging as a significant public issue in Finland, Sweden and Norway. This article develops a control‐consociationalism typology to analyze bow each of the three states responds to Sami claims to their historic rights. Under a control situation, the cultural identity of a minority is almost exclusively determined by the laws, regulations and administrative procedures of the state. Under a consociationalism model, there would be a continuing dialogue between a stale and a minority within an administrative framework that the minority has had a major role in developing. The typology traces more than two centuries of administrative control by the three states and examines how existing institutions deal with the Sami minority. Interviews indicate that most authorities see collective minority rights as a component of human rights and, furthermore, that the Sami constitute an indigenous minority. However, the concept of aboriginal land title divides politicians and administrators; many oppose it or maintain that it is not really necessary. Many Sami rights activists, on the other hand, see it as a fundamental issue – even one of moral justice – that ultimately must be addressed by each state.

Compared to modern sport, that is to say the highly standardized Olympic disciplines that are practised in many parts of the world, traditional sports and games tend to be confined to a limited geographical area and are often referred to as `national' or `local'. They are often regarded as symbols of ethnic or regional identity and are therefore called `folk games'. Although these traditional sports and games are at the origin of almost all modern sports, they are too often treated as the Cinderellas of modern sports. Their participants may be local heroes, but the cultural stereotype of these `folk-gamesters' is that of an elderly rustic working-class male. To test this popular belief, the social profile was studied of the participants in 30 different traditional games in Flanders, Belgium. The data available in the Flemish Folk Games File in Leuven were analysed according to age, sex, socioprofessional status and degree of urbanization of the dwelling area. The results show a variegated picture, the profiles varying strongly from one traditional game to another. They show nevertheless that the above mentioned stereotype is confirmed for three out of the four assumptions. These participants are indeed elderly, lower-class males, but they stem from an urban environment rather than from the rural milieu.

Drawing on categorization theory, semiotics, and labeling theory, we argue that categories and labels are widely utilized by individuals in organizational settings to help structure and simplify the social environment, primarily for reasons of understanding, consensus, and control. Based largely on such situational criteria as role and rank, people are sorted into various categories and are perceived and treated as exemplars or prototypes of the category. The labels attached to these categories coalesce when individuals triangulate their perceptions of category members with the perceptions that credible peers and powerholders have of category members. Labels distill a complex and perhaps contradictory array of data into concise and coherent packages, and thus provide a potent means of interpreting, representing, and conveying organizational experience and cuing action. However, labels are inherently arbitrary, labels cause individual category members to lose their individuality and assume the affective tone of the category, and labels tend to become reified as objective and normative accounts of social reality. The ubiquity and potency of labeling processes are illustrated with applications to individual-level (service encounters), group- level (intergroup conflict), and organization-level (identity, image, and reputation) phenomena. We speculate that both the process of labeling and the content of labels are similar across levels.

The author discusses the contextual issues, which include political, economic, and social environments, the motivations of the illegal migrating populations and other non-illegal migrant groups; and the identity of those who exploit and/or are serviced by the illegal migrants. The paper discusses illegal migration within the wider debate over "security threats" that result as a consequence of transnational crimes. The paper questions whether illegal migration should be viewed and responded to as a security threat. It identifies the complicity of diverse interest groups in the immigration "problem." The author argues that efforts to "correct" these problems must acknowledge the complicity of others and will call in most cases for a humanitarian rather than a military response. This paper discusses the buying ad selling of citizenship, categories of migrants, support systems for illegal migrants, the exploitation of women in the transport of migrants, and the involvement of organized crime in illegal migration. The paper concludes that although the movement of illegal aliens is an essential concern and must be part of a policy and enforcement approach, there are other issues that must be addressed, particularly the exploitation of legal and illegal migrants as a commodity, the targeting of profiteers and state policies that fuel the migration market, and limitation of the flow of illegal migration