Recovering the social: globalization, football and transnationalism

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: GIULIANOTTI, R. and ROBERTSON, R., 2007. Recovering the social: globalization, football and transnationalism. Global Networks, 7 (2), pp. 166-186, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0374.2007.00163.x. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.In this article, we place the social and football (as a sporting realm) at the heart of social scientific analysis of globalization processes. Our theoretical framework sets out, in turn, the concepts of glocalization, with particular reference to what we term the 'duality of glocality'; transnationalism, notably its socio-historical aspects; connectivity, with particular reference to its antonym, 'disconnectivity'; and cosmopolitanism, with strong focus on what we term its 'thick' and 'thin' variants. We explore the interplay of these concepts and processes within three broad domains of the 'football world': supporter subcultures, sport journalism, and Japanese football culture. We conclude in part by arguing for greater exploration of sport's role in regard to global processes and of the interrelationships between the duality of glocality and the thick/thin variants of cosmopolitanism

EVI1 overexpression in distinct subtypes of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia

Item does not contain fulltextOverexpression of the ecotropic virus integration-1 (EVI1) gene (EVI1+), localized at chromosome 3q26, is associated with adverse outcome in adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In pediatric AML, 3q26 abnormalities are rare, and the role of EVI1 is unknown. We studied 228 pediatric AML samples for EVI1+ using gene expression profiling and RQ-PCR. EVI1+ was found in 20/213 (9%) of children with de novo AML, and in 4/8 with secondary AML. It was predominantly found in MLL-rearranged AML (13/47), monosomy 7 (2/3), or FAB M6/7 (6/10), and mutually exclusive with core-binding factor AML, t(15;17), and NPM1 mutations. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed to detect cryptic 3q26 abnormalities. However, none of the EVI1+ patients harbored structural 3q26 alterations. Although significant differences in 4 years pEFS for EVI1+ and EVI1- pediatric AML were observed (28%+/-11 vs 44%+/-4, P=0.04), multivariate analysis did not identify EVI1+ as an independent prognostic factor. We conclude that EVI1+ can be found in approximately 10% of pediatric AML. Although EVI1+ was not an independent prognostic factor, it was predominantly found in subtypes of pediatric AML that are related with an intermediate to unfavorable prognosis. Further research should explain the role of EVI1+ in disease biology in these cases. Remarkably, no 3q26 abnormalities were identified in EVI1+ pediatric AML.1 mei 201

The “Fall” of What? FIFA’s Public Viewing Areas and Their Contribution to the Quality of Public Life

Much conventional scholarship considers "the public" to be in decline in the modern Western world, following a range of cultural developments believed to encourage withdrawal into the private domain. Public Viewing Areas devoted to communicating live events may be interpreted as countering such a trend by attracting audiences to the public sphere. This article examines how the world governing body of association football, FIFA, recently aimed to achieve such an objective by broadcasting the 2010 World Cup at six designated international Fan Fest sites. Drawing on theories of "spectacle" and sociality, the implications of FIFA's initiative are interrogated by examining whether the environment and surveillance measures characterizing the "global spectacle" facilitated social interaction. In the process, established understandings of the "fall" and "quality" of public life are canvassed to propose how these collective fora might engender "meaningful" public communication beyond crowd assimilation through spatial co-presence and shared mediated imagery alone

Computer technology, large-scale social integration, and the local community

Computers and new communications technologies are widely expected to contribute to "decentralization" of society. While they may contribute to population deconcentration, however, they offer major increases in capacity for centralized control and coordination of social action. Computerization facilitates further development of large-scale bureaucratic organizations and, thus, at least potential economic and political centralization. The existence of such large-scale forms of social integration is not incompatible with face-to-face community life, as some dystopian visions have presumed. The issue is one of balance between indirect (organizationally and technologically mediated) relationships and direct primary and secondary ones. Renewed attention to variations in pattern and extent of social integration is needed as a complement to attempts to describe demographic and economic-functional changes in urban life. This calls for a conceptual framework that elucidates the roles of both direct and indirect relationships, and does not presuppose the exclusive virtue or eventual complete predominance of either. Such a framework is outlined briefly here and illustrated through discussion of possible social consequences of widespread telecommuting