Review of \u3ci\u3e Two Spirit People: American Indian Lesbian Women and Gay Men\u3c/i\u3e Edited by Lester B. Brown

Lester Brown\u27s edited volume acquaints social workers with two spirits, that is, those Native Americans who are gay, lesbian, or who may adopt mixed-gender practices and roles. Although well-intended, the attempts to sensitize social workers to Natives\u27 lives are occasionally thwarted by overgeneralizations and weak analyses. In the three chapters on identity, the intricacies of culture, gender, and sexuality theory are watered down and confused. In their comparison of Lakota and Dakota practices, Little Crow, Judy Wright, and Brown conjure the odd label non-heterosexual gender identity and collapse gender into sexuality. Mary Ann Jacobs and Lester Brown\u27s piece often homogenizes the American Indian, although the authors\u27 interviews with eight Native American lesbians and gays demonstrate a rich diversity of identities and experiences

Learning by Doing in a Multi-Product Manufacturing Environment: Product Variety, Customizations, and Overlapping Product Generations

<p>Extending research on organizational learning to multi-product environments is of particular importance given that the vast majority of products are manufactured in such environments. We investigate learning in a multi-product facility drawing on exceptionally rich data for a manufacturing firm that is a leading producer of high technology components. Weekly data for 10 years from the firm's production and human resource tracking systems are augmented by surveys of managers and engineers and by extensive first-hand observation. We find that productivity improves when multiple generations of the firm's primary product family are produced concurrently, reflecting the firm's ability to augment and transfer knowledge from older to newer product generations. No significant transfer of knowledge is evident between the primary product family and other products. Productivity is, however, decreased when the production facility is faced with extensive within-product buyer-specific customizations.We develop the implications of these findings for theory and practice.</p

Gênero ilimitado: a construção discursiva da identidade travesti através da manipulação do sistema de gênero gramatical Unlimited gender: the discursive construction of the travesti identity through the manipulation of the grammatical gender system

Este estudo investiga a manipulação do sistema de gênero gramatical entre travestis profissionais do sexo do Sul do Brasil. Verificou-se que há uma preferência êmica do grupo por formas gramaticais femininas. Porém, as tensões ideológicas e corporais que circundam as travestis forçam-nas a utilizar o masculino em contextos específicos. As travestis empregam o masculino gramatical para 1) produzir narrativas sobre o período anterior às suas transformações corporais; 2) reportar discursos produzidos por outros ao falar de travestis; 3) falar de si em suas relações familiares; e 4) distinguir-se de outras travestis com as quais as falantes não se identificam. Assim, o estudo demonstra como essas travestis usam o gênero gramatical do Português como um recurso lingüístico para manipular suas identidades e as identidades da comunidade a que pertencem.<br>This study investigates Southern Brazilian traveestis' manipulation of the Portuguese grammatical gender system. During field work, it was verified that feminine forms are the preferred choice in the group. However, ideological and bodily tensions that surround travestis seem to force them to make use of masculine forms in specific discursive contexts. Travestis use masculine forms 1) to produce narratives about the time before their body modifications took place; 2) to report speech produced by others when talking about transvestites; 3) to talk about themselves within their family relationships; and 4) to distinguish themselves from 'other' travestis they do not identify with. Thus, the study shows how Southern Brazilian travestis use the Brazilian Portuguese grammatical gender system as a resource to manipulate their identities and the identities of the community they belong to