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Against a backdrop of rising youth violence in the UK, the issue of gang policing has once more risen to prominence. Intense debates surrounding police cuts have led to renewed calls for a 'war on gangs', echoing earlier responses to England's summer of violent disorder in 2011. Drawing on a long-term ethnographic study of policing in the London Borough of Newham, this paper reports on a case-study of gang policing during a similarly fraught political moment. In the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics, a street-based group of minority ethnic youth – the so-called Portuguese Mafia (PGM) – became the primary focus for gang policing in the Borough. Though the group did not self-identify as a gang, their activities were inflated and became the subject of a targeted enforcement initiative. These distortions, we argue, resulted from the influence of political decision-making on the working practices of front-line police officers, amplified in a climate of austerity. Through the reconstruction of this 'natural history', we seek to contribute an empirical account of the ambiguities inherent in police definitions of gangs, and the discriminatory consequences of categorisation. Theoretically, the paper seeks to contribute a critical sociological account of gangs and gang policing that bridges extant objectivist and constructivist readings of gangs through engagement with the Bourdieusian concept of 'field'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of NAD/NARB as a self-regulatory mechanism is evaluated under "consumer advocacy" and "advertising advocacy" models. Based on past research and a content analysis of NAD case summaries, conclusions are drawn and recommendations are made. The NAD/NARB has been an effective force for improving advertising given the existing constraints of severe budget limitations and industry expectations, but certain trends toward conservatism and stronger industry orientation are noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research showing inconsistent effects of corrective advertising on company image is described. Examination of four waves of national telephone surveys over the course of the Listerine corrective campaign shows a small but significant drop in company image. Suggestions for future research are offered along with policy implications of the Listerine results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article draws on the findings of two years’ ethnographic fieldwork in exploring how gang activity in Newham, East London is combatted by faith-based organisation, Targeted Against Gangs (TAG). More specifically, the authors examine how TAG seeks to reform the identities of young male gang members according to the principles of what we have called ‘Pentecostal realist masculinity’. The characteristics of this reformed masculinity include an awareness of the racial (and racist) dynamics of criminal and wider society, a focus on individuals thriving within fraternal networks, and the desire to channel creative energies into legitimate entrepreneurial activities. Though this strategy did not mount a direct challenge to the racist societal structures it identified, it was effective in reducing levels of gang violence in East London. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A nation's politics and socio-cultural identity can sometimes be best considered through the lens of Association Football (soccer). Examining football in the Mediterranean island of Malta in the inter-war years of 1920-1940 this paper focuses its analysis on the phenomenon that is the game of football and the epi-phenomena it provokes and sustains. In the tiny archipelago that constitutes the Maltese islands, the game as it was played and administered in this era had implications for the British colonialists, the refugees that fled Central Europe for Maltese shores and the indigenous Maltese peoples. In these years the game was played out amidst, variously, the island's unique party politics, intra-district rivalries, and historical considerations of reputation and social class. It was also to become integral to the contestations around anti-colonial sentiment and the debates over national identity. The game in Malta was thus a facilitator of both local and global processes and played an understated role in the pursuit of independence. This examination of the specific Maltese context may well shed light upon broader processes within the international game which lies at the intersection of the global and the local. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role and contribution of peacemaking to the wider sport, development and peace (sdp) sector. Particular attention is paid to a hitherto under-explored subject: the complex position of the military vis-a-vis sport and sport-related peacekeeping. Through an historical overview of the sport-military intersection, reference to fieldwork in Bosnia and Liberia, and a brief examination of the Conseil Internationale du Sport Militaire, some critical and cautious conclusions are put forth. We suggest that sport-based peacemaking interventions provide the military with a new kind of institutional function, and fresh ways of building positive social links to civilian populations. However, such engagement is only possible if full dialogical engagement between civilians and peacekeeping forces is established, in which the military adapt their practices to suit the local cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of the Far Right in Europe over the past decade has attracted the attention of both academics and police. Popular sports tend to reflect societal trends so it is not bizarre that a popular European cultural practice such as football has seen a rise in supporters with neo-fascist sympathies. Football (soccer in the USA), specifically in Italy, has been linked since the beginning to politics and its stadiums have always been one of the most efficient public Agora for the socialization of the Italian youth. In recent years, together with an ideologization of the football terraces, there has been a noticeable increase in conflict between hardcore football supporters and the Italian police at and around the stadium. These conflicts often involve the UltraS as the main participants. The final capital S identifies neo-fascist-oriented fans, distinguishing them from mainstream hardcore football supporters, known as ultra. This paper is the result of ethnographic research lasting six years (2003-2009). The research aimed to investigate the world of the UltraS by using two notorious national and international UltraS as case study. The groups, the Boys and the Irriducibili, support AS Roma and SS Lazio, respectively. Both are located in the Italian capital city of Rome. The present paper aims to investigate the relationship between the neo-fascist UltraS and the institutions that they identify as their enemies, namely, the Italian State and the police. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In January 2007, English international soccer star David Beckham announced to a global media that he would be leaving the Spanish giants Real Madrid to join Major League Soccer's (MLS) Los Angeles Galaxy. MLS Commissioner Don Garber feted Beckham as a global sporting icon whose presence attested to America's gradual transformation into a 'Soccer Nation.' However, following LA Galaxy's acquisition, a debate surrounding soccer's previous failure to compete at the highest echelons of American professional sport reappeared. Academic and journalistic commentators identified a number of obstacles—historical, socioeconomic and ideological—that have prevented soccer from gaining a foothold in the United States sporting market and therein becoming a credible adversary to the holy trinity of Gridiron Football, Baseball, and Basketball. This article, drawing upon Ian Hacking's prescriptions for Historical Ontology (2002) and thereby foregrounding issues of identity and power, seeks to analyse the impediments that have marked soccer's development in the United States and that led to the recruitment of Beckham as the sporting celebrity-cum-commercial juggernaut intended to bring MLS to the attention of a mass audience—variegated in terms of class, 'race,' and gender—so coveted by leaders of the organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article disputes three positions entrenched in the essentialist interpretation of R. H. Tawney's political thought. First, it contests the notion that Tawney's work is characterized by an overwhelming consistency. Whilst the Tawney canon displays a thematic persistence, a chronological analysis demonstrates that he significantly altered his core political concepts. Second, the article asserts that the prevailing consensus amongst commentators that Tawney's politics is largely a derivative of his religion is one-dimensional, ignoring the extent to which Tawney's politics departed from its Christian foundations. Both of these mistaken notions—overwhelming consistency and derivation from religion—are exemplified in the third erroneous position adopted by commentators—the elevation of Tawney's private diaries (known as the Commonplace Book) to a key role in setting the seal on his subsequent political thought. By exposing these fallacies, the article seeks a more authentic interpretation of Tawney's political thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades the link - perceived and actual - between political extremism and football fans has been the subject of academic, political, and policing debate. It is not rare to witness manifestations of intolerance and ideological statements referring to regional, national and international issues at football stadia. In Italian football stadia, political representation has been evident for decades; politics has been integral to all realms of Italian society and culture since the origin of the nation. As one of the most significant Italian cultural practices, football has not been an exception. This combination of theory and action inspires thousands of young male football supporters. The football stadium might thus be interpreted as a twenty-first century social Agora, where political opinions - otherwise ghettoized in society - can be freely expressed in pursuit of a wider consensus. This paper explores the under-researched milieu of neo-fascist ideology as displayed in contemporary Italian football stadia. Contributing original material and employing as conceptual frameworks the New Consensus Theory on fascism and the works of Julius Evola and Georges Sorel, this analysis hypothesizes that the neo-fascist tenets manifested by the ideologically-oriented 'ultras' fan groups, may be understood as both a consequence of, and a resistance against the dominant socio-cultural and political values of contemporary Italy. The research conducted between 2003-2007 sought to evaluate two internationally renowned ultras groups located in the Italian capital of Rome: the Boys of AS Roma and the Irriducibili of SS Lazio who enact their performances on their respective 'curve' [football terraces] of the city's Olympic stadium. Utilizing the ethnographic method, unique access was achieved in a notoriously difficult research milieu bringing the researcher into the social-cultural world of the participants and to the echelons of the extra-parliamentary Italian far right. Research sought to uncover the groups' social interactions, values, and political beliefs, as a way of contributing to an understanding of both the Italian ultras of the twenty-first century and indeed the wider political milieu of the modern nation-state of Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the implication of football for the rights of the child in Liberia, West Africa. Idea behind the Olympic Charter; Way in which Liberia was regarded in the turbulent history of post-colonial Africa; Significance of human rights to the foundation of the nation.

The core meaning of individual and group identities is established by sameness over time and space, sustained by ceremony and ritual. This article illustrates the complex relationship between identities, rituals, and memory by focusing on annual public spectacles in the Norwegian city of Bergen, manifestations of youthful rite de passage, expressions of local and national patriotism, and a variety of practices bound up with support for the city's largest football club. The world over the game of football generates loyalty and sentiment that vary in their consequences from mild amusement to acts of violence. Nationalistic displays abound around the game and analysts of the human condition realise that much of what we value most is embedded in the game itself and the epiphenomena around it. Football is a contrived theatre of emotions; with no universal or legal agreed-upon meaning the game becomes a receptacle for identities and loaded with significance. This article addresses to what extent the game and more specifically a football club can provide a focus for a sense of civic loyalty over and above that ideally articulated by the subjects of a modern European nation state. Employing the ethnographic method provided by participant observation, this article focusses on three locations in the collective celebration of a city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on the role of football in the construction of national identity and rehabilitation of Liberia in West Africa. Discussion on the social responsibility of football clubs in the country; Aim of the football tournament, County Meet, organized by Liberian President William Tubman; Objectives of the fund allotted by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association for the National Assistance Programme of the Liberian Football Association.

There is a need for new theoretical perspectives in business-to-business marketing to provide insights that can help firms manage their business exchange relationships in ways that maximize shareholder value. The authors argue that resource theory, a prominent theory of competition, effectively meets that need. They extend the theory by conceptualizing business relationships as a risky asset of the firm. In addition, they introduce a new construct, relational asset value, which is operationalized as a probability distribution of potential relationship outcomes. The authors discuss how the construct informs our current understanding of business relationships and discuss directions for additional research using a resource-based approach. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-3429678. E-mail address: Website: © 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the history of sports in India. Consideration of polo as the ancient game in the country; Reasons for the popularity of sports games in the country; Efforts of the Indian government of including the kabbadi sport in the Olympic sports to the Olympic federation.

The article reviews the sheet music for "The Bing Boys of Bramall Lane," by Joseph Green.