The Deviance of the Zookeepers

In May 1968 Alvin Gouldner published his attack on the ‘Becker School’ of sociology (‘The Sociologist as Partisan’). The essay was a sometimes sarcastic and brutal but characteristically insightful and sharp critique of what he called the ‘Becker School’ of sociology – especially as it related to law-breaking and norm-transgressing outsiders. In attacking the failure of ‘sceptical deviancy theory’ to confront the wider structural sources of power and authority, its seeming inability to address gross social divisions of wealth and status, and its lack of attention to the larger political and economic interests that were embedded in departments of State and industrial and financial corporations alike, Gouldner pinpointed with some accuracy the radical motivations of the soon-to-emerge ‘new criminology’ – in both its ‘left idealist’ and ‘left realist’ guises. What Gouldner’s essay really exposed was a certain kind of ‘deviant imagination’ (c.f., Pearson, 1975) prevalent in the emerging critical criminologies of 1960s America (and then the UK, see Young, 1969). In this paper I use Gouldner’s essay as a lens to investigate the ‘deviant imagination’ of contemporary critical criminologies and ask: who are the zookeepers of contemporary criminology and what is their deviant imagination

Criminal Degradations of Consumer Culture

In this chapter I take a ‘social harm’ approach to explore some of the degrading impacts of modern consumerism. My aim is to explore the harmful, often criminal, sometimes fatal consequences that attend the supply of consumer goods in contemporary capitalist societies. At the same time, I note that a focus on social harm begs some very fundamental questions about criminology as an academic discipline – or ‘field’ of study. When a cradle-to-grave assessment of consumer goods is undertaken it reveals that many personal and environmental degradations are nothing more than the ordinary means by which objects are produced, distributed and discarded in contemporary societies. In order to unpack the mundane character of the degradations of a consumer culture I use the example of prawn production but my more general argument is that what is true for prawns is true for (almost) any consumer object

Room rates - staff turnover: from small increases - great gains can be made: what is your staff turnover percentage like?

In this first edition of the New Zealand Hotel Research Bulletin, we present a demonstration of our research and new knowledge development capability that can add value to the New Zealand hotel industry in terms of past hotel average room rate analysis, and a commentary on Australian hotel turnover research

A “Lasting Transformation”: From food stocks to feedstocks’

In this article I link surplus food with the politics of capitalist production and consumption in order to shed some useful light on the strange case of food not being food once it has been discarded but not thrown away. I develop an analysis of waste policy as a dimension of capitalist surplus management (after Sweezy, 1962) by reconfiguring Claus Offe’s (1984) essay on the state and social policy and construe waste policy as effecting a ‘lasting transformation’ of non-accumulating capital into accumulating capital. My intention is to provide a sketch of the labyrinthine semantic and political structures that are emerging around waste, in general, and waste food, in particular. I show that transforming waste food into capitalist surplus is a multi-layered and multi-stranded endeavour that is embedded in larger political, economic and cultural arrangements and cosmologies. The article explores the transformation of waste into surplus by exploring, first, waste as an imaginary construct; second, the strange case of discarded food not being discarded (and not being food, either); third, the convoluted cosmology of European waste policy; and, fourth, aspects of political sociology which help to reveal the status of waste as a source of capital accumulation. I conclude by proposing a sociological account of food waste that situates the critique of excess not in the ignorant, sordid voraciousness of individual citizens but in the structures and institutions of capitalist accumulation

Kinetics of metabolism in the perfused heart

The kinetics of the permeation of cardiac muscle cells by glucose and the effect of insulin on this process were examined in the isolated perfused rat heart. Previous attempts to determine the parameters of permeation by glucose are considered to be imprecise because endogenous insulin influenced experi¬ mental results, intracellular glucose was inaccurately measured and estimates of glucose utilisation were not associated with defined concentrations of extracellular or intracellular glucose. In principle the parameters of permeation can be deter¬ mined from a steady state relationship between glucose uptake and the intracellular and extracellular concentration of glucose. Alternatively they can be determined from the relationship between the uptake and the extracellular concentration of glucose. if the kinetics of glucose metabolism are taken into account. A novel apparatus for cardiac perfusion was therefore developed in which hearts were brought to a steady state of glucose permeation and utilisation. In the apparatus hearts were perfused with a small volume of perfusate under well controlled conditions. Glucose concentration in perfusates was estimated by rapid and accurate automated methods which met the requirements of the procedure. The utilisation of glucose was determined not only in the steady state but also throughout the approach to that state. The first method for the determination of the parameters of permeation was impracticable because accurate estimates of intracellular glucose could not be made with methods currentlyavailable. Consequently the kinetics of glucose utilisation were compared with the predictions of a mathematical model in which permeation was assumed to be a simple carrier mechanism and the phosphorylation of glucose to be an irreversible enzymecatalysed reaction. Agreement was found. Estimates made of the parameters of permeation in the presence and absence of insulin were in qualitative accord with previous work. The hormone increased the half saturation constant at least 3-fold and the maximum rate of permeation 5-fold. The estimates of the parameters of permeation in the presence of insulin may be inaccurate because in their determination the possibility of a concentration gradient in the extracellular glucose was ignored. However, the estimates provide a reason¬ able explanation of a phenomenon which was observed when the time-course of glucose utilisation was studied in the absence of exogenous insulin. A stimulation of utilisation, presumably by endogenous insulin, occurred consistently only at concentra¬ tions of glucose greater than ImM. It was concluded that the estimates are an improvement on previous values and that the apparatus is a useful addition to the methods available for the study of the metabolism of isolated hearts

Exploring to Bangkok Chaay Rak Chaay (Gay Men) Accessing Health Services in Thailand

Health services are central to the provision of services for those affected by HIV including, prevention, health promotion and treatment. Access to health services for gay men is significant in increasing their knowledge associated with issues relevant to HIV so that they can better protect and care for themselves. Aim: This ethnographic study sought to clarify and further understand the experience of Bangkok’s gay men and their access to health services relevant to HIV issues. Methods: The data collection was conducted between May and August, 2014. 45 to 60 minutes Face to face interview and digital audio recording were utilised for the data collection processes. Semi structured in-depth interviews undertaken at the Thai Red Cross Research Centre, Bangkok. All interview transcripts were translated from Thai to English. The NVivo program version 10 was utilised to organise the data coding and theming. Result: This study identified that there are few specific clinics for gay men with HIV in Thailand. Additionally, information associated with HIV and other related concerns are required to be more accurate and specific to men living with HIV. Many chaay rak chaay face difficulties accessing services, including a lack of information, privacy concerns and inadequate provision of services. Conclusion: the specific clinic and information relevant HIV issues need to be more readily available and widely circulated. Moreover, health care services should be aware of the privacy issues and personal confidentially issues. Such approaches toward providing services for gay me in Bangkok may assist in eliminating some of the many barriers faced by gay men when accessing health services in the city

Predicting Future Halal Tourist Behavior: Incorporating Holistic Tourist Experience and Virtual Reality Experience

This study evaluates the role of experience visiting tourism destination in person as well as via VR in predicting Muslim tourist behavioral intention during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were gathered using an online survey from 291 Muslim tourists from Muslim majority countries as well as non-Muslim majority countries. Partial least square was utilized to assess the behavioral intention model. The result shows that behavioral intention of tourists from Muslim countries is driven by experience quality and experience via VR, while tourists from non-Muslim countries are driven by experience with VR. Further, halal experience is not a significant factor in driving behavioral intention for halal tourists from both Muslim and non- Muslim countries

Is Muslim tourist satisfaction in Muslim destination and non-Muslim destination different?

This study is intended to assess Muslim tourist satisfaction across Muslim and non-Muslim destinations, seeing from the attractions, halal, and people's experiences. It also observes religiosity’s role in the link between tourist experience and satisfaction in both tourism destinations. Data was obtained from surveying 479 Muslim tourists in Indonesia and 270 in Taiwan and analyzed using partial least squares techniques. The results indicate that the tourist experience is an essential driver of Muslim tourist satisfaction in Indonesia and Taiwan. While experience with halal products and services is an essential driver for tourists visiting Muslim destinations, the case does not occur for tourists visiting non-Muslim destinations. Next, although religiosity significantly impacts the halal experience, it does not moderate the relationship between halal experience, tourist satisfaction, and tourism attraction experience. The findings suggest tourism marketers and attraction managers in both Muslim and non-Muslim destinations increase their focus on enhancing the attraction experience. Further, to strengthen tourist attractions’ attractiveness, special attention should be given to the availability of halal products, which impacts the acceptance of this important cultural element by locals and tourists

The linkage between virtual reality experience, visiting experience, and destination loyalty: Perspective of Muslim tourists from the West

This study examines the loyalty of Muslim tourists based in Western countries by incorporating their experiences visiting the destination in person and via virtual reality (VR). Data was gathered using an online survey from 330 Muslim tourists who have experience of actually visiting tourism destinations and via VR. This study employed partial least square (PLS) to examine the proposed destination loyalty model. Data analysis reveals that Muslim tourists’ loyalty toward a tourism destination is driven mainly by perceived experience quality from visiting the destination and experience with VR content with halal experiences demonstrating an insignificant effect on their loyalty