The tyranny of the male preserve

Within this paper I draw on short vignettes and quotes taken from a two-year ethnographic study of boxing to think through the continuing academic merit of the notion of the male preserve. This is an important task due to evidence of shifts in social patterns of gender that have developed since the idea was first proposed in the 1970s. In aligning theoretical contributions from Lefebvre and Butler to discussions of the male preserve, we are able to add nuance to our understanding of how such social spaces are engrained with and produced by the lingering grasp of patriarchal narratives. In particular, by situating the male preserve within shifting social processes, whereby certain men’s power is increasingly undermined, I highlight the production of space within which narratives connecting men to violence, aggression and physical power can be consumed, performed and reified in a relatively unrestricted form. This specific case study contributes to gender theory as an illustration of a way in which we might explore and understand social enclaves where certain people are able to lay claim to space and power. As such, I argue that the notion of the male preserve is still a useful conceptual, theoretical and political device especially when considered as produced by the tyranny of gender power through the dramatic representation and reification of behaviours symbolically linked to patriarchal narrations of manhood

La séparation des deux rugbys

Die Spaltung im Rugbysport. Die Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts erfolgte Trennung zwischen Rugby mit 15 Spielern und dem mit 13 Spielern belegt den Zusammenhang zwischen den spezifischen Beziehungen zur Welt des Sports und dem Stand der sozialen Verhältnisse. Vollzieht sich im Rugby (anders als im Cricket oder Fussball) die Trennung zwischen Amateuren und Profis, dann deshalb, weil die Probleme der "Monetarisierung" des Spiels, der Öffnung der Wettbewerbe für Klubs mit Mitgliedern aus den Volksklassen und der Kontrolle der Sportorganisation sich genau zu dem Zeitpunkt -den 90er Jahren des letzten Jahrhunderts- verschärft stellen, in dem die Klassenspannungen -und in ihrem Gefolge heftige Streiks und die Entwicklung von Organisationen zur Vertretung der Arbeiterklasse- zunehmen. Hinzukommt die Statusunsicherheit des Füihrungspersonals im Bereich des Rugby, die zwar aus Eliteschulen (public schools) kommen, aber eben nicht aus den mit höchstem Ansehen, und die mittels des als bedroht empfundenen Postulats einer Ethik der Zweckfreiheit ihre Position abzustutzen suchen. Derart in den Kontext der englischen Sozialgeschichte zurückversetzt, gewinnen die Spaltung der beiden Rugbyarten und die Ausbildung eines Amateur-Ethos ihre umfassende soziologische Bedeutung.How English rugby split. The separation between Rugby League and Rugby Union in late 19th-century England is an example illustrating the interdependence between the relations specific to the world of sport and the state of social relations. If rugby is the only sport to have experienced a split between amateurs and professionals (in contrast to cricket and football), this is because the questions of the "monetization" of the sport, the opening of competitions to working-class clubs and the control of the sports organization we- re at maximum intensity at the very moment (the 1890s) when the tensions between the classes were aggravated by violent strikes and the emergence of organizations representing the working class. To this was added the statutory insecurity of the leaders of rugby, who were from public schools, but "minor" ones, and who sought to bolster a position they felt to be threatened through affirmation of an ethic of pure sportsmanship. Recontextualized in this way in British social history, the split between the two games of rugby and the formalization of an amateur ethos take on their full sociological significance.La séparation des deux rugbys. La séparation entre rugby à XV et rugby à XIII en Angleterre à la fin du 19e siècle est un exemple illustrant l'interdépendance entre les relations propres au monde sportif et l'état des rapports sociaux. Si le rugby est le seul sport à connaître une scission entre amateurs et professionnels (à la différence du cricket et du football), c'est que les questions de la "monétisation" du jeu, de l'ouverture des compétitions aux clubs à recrutement populaire et du contrôle de l'organisation sportive, connaissent une acuité maximale au moment précis - les années 1890 - où les tensions entre classes subissent une poussée, avec des grèves violentes et le développement des organisations représentatives de la classe ouvrière. S'y ajoute l'insécurité statutaire des dirigeants du rugby qui sont issus des écoles de l'élite (lespublic schools), mais pas des plus hautes, et qui cherchent à étayer une position qu'ils sentent menacée à travers l'affirmation d'une éthique de la gratuité. Ainsi recontextualisées dans l'histoire sociale anglaise, la scission des deux rugbys et la formalisation d'un ethos amateur prennent toute leur signification sociologique.La separación de los dos rugbys. La separación entre rugby a XV y rugby a XIII en Inglaterra a fines del siglo XIX es un ejemplo que ilustra la interdependencia entre relaciones propias al mundo deportivo y el estado de las relaciones sociales. Si el rugby es el único deporte que conoce una escisión entre aficionados y profesionales (a la diferencia del cricket y del fútbol), es por que las cuestiones de la "monetización" del juego, de la abertura de las competiciones a los clubes con reclutamiento popular, y del control de la organiza- ción deportiva, conocen una agudeza máxima en el momento preciso - los años 1980 - cuando las tensiones entre clases experimentan un aumento, con las violentas huelgas y el desarrollo de las organizaciones representativas de la clase obrera. Se agrega a ello esta inseguridad estatutaria de los dirigentes del rugby que provienen de las escuelas de la elite (las public schools), mas no las más altas, y buscan afianzar su posición que sienten amenazada a través la afirmación de una ética de la gratuidad. Así recontextualizadas en la historia social inglesa, la escisión de los dos rugbys y la formalización de un ethos aficionado toman su entera significación sociológica.Dunning Eric, Sheard Kenneth. La séparation des deux rugbys. In: Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales. Vol. 79, septembre 1989. L’espace des sports-1. pp. 92-107

Pharmaceutical Pill Counting and Inspection Using a Capacitive Sensor

A capacitive sensor for high-speed counting and inspection of pharmaceutical products is proposed and evaluated. The sensor is based on a patented Electrostatic Field Sensor (EFS) device, previously developed by Sparc Systems Limited. However, the sensor head proposed in this work has a significantly different geometry and has been designed with a rectangular inspection aperture of 160mm × 21mm, which best meets applications where a larger count throughput is required with a single sensor. Finite element modelling has been used to simulate the electrostatic fields generated within the sensor, and as a design tool for optimising the sensor head configuration. The actual and simulated performance of the sensor is compared and analysed in terms of the sensor performance at discriminating between damaged products or detection of miscount errors