Traditional magic or European occultism? Commercial fortune-telling and magic in post-Soviet Russia and their relationship to Russian tradition

The article examines the vibrant commercial magic and fortune-telling industry in Russia today. Based on fieldwork in Petersburg conducted in 2006, supplemented by printed and, in particular, web material, it seeks to show that, despite the many similarities with its counterparts in Europe and North America, Russian fortune-telling and magic are clearly shaped by local traditions. In the context of the article, tradition is taken to include not just rural folk magic and divination, but also urban traditions of the late imperial period as well as those resulting from Soviet policies and practices. It emerges that as far as magic services are concerned, the range of services offered are those demanded by the client, largely stemming from folk tradition. By contrast discourse, approach and ritual often owe much to Western esoteric literature, and perhaps also to pre-Revolutionary occultism and the Soviet interest in psychics. In the case of fortune-telling, today’s professionals (gypsies apart) have adopted more complex and sophisticated ways of telling the future (tarot and astrology). Old ways of fortune-telling are so widely known that they must offer something different to clients. Tradition survives in many ways, sometimes transmuted, sometimes partial, but it makes the Russian magic and fortune-telling scene distinctive

Transhydrogenation of propyne with butane over a vanadia/θ-alumina catalyst

The transhydrogenation of propyne and butane was studied over a 1 % VO x /alumina catalyst at 873 K. In the absence of the vanadia, the alumina support was active for cracking and alkylation. However, the addition of the vanadia reduced the propensity for both cracking and alkylation and added dehydrogenation activity. When propyne and butane were co-fed over the catalyst there was a synergistic effect resulting in an increased conversion of propyne (81 cf. 26 % when fed alone); however, much of this increased conversion was converted to carbon deposited on the catalyst. Transhydrogenation of propyne to propene was detected with an enhanced yield of propene when the propane/butane mix was passed over the catalyst. Taking a yield based on propyne fed then the yield of propene increased from 1.2 to 5.0 %. The conversion of butane to value-added products was also enhanced with all the butane converted accounted for in the production of 1-butene, trans-2-butene, iso-butane and iso-butene

Traditional Magic or European Occultism? Commercial Fortune-Telling and Magic in Post-Soviet Russia and their Relationship to Russian Tradition

The article examines the vibrant commercial magic and fortune- telling industry in Russia today. Based on fieldwork in Petersburg conducted in 2006, supplemented by printed and, in particular, web material, it seeks to show that, despite the many similarities with its counterparts in Europe and North America, Russian fortune-telling and magic are clearly shaped by local traditions. In the context of the article, tradition is taken to include not just rural folk magic and divination, but also urban traditions of the late imperial period as well as those resulting from Soviet policies and practices. It emerges that as far as magic services are concerned, the range of services offered are those demanded by the client, largely stemming from folk tradition. By contrast discourse, approach and ritual often owe much to Western esoteric literature, and perhaps also to pre-Revolutionary occultism and the Soviet interest in psychics. In the case of fortune-telling, today’s professionals (gypsies apart) have adopted more complex and sophisticated ways of telling the future (tarot and astrology). Old ways of fortune-telling are so widely known that they must offer something different to clients. Tradition survives in many ways, sometimes transmuted, sometimes partial, but it makes the Russian magic and fortune-telling scene distinctive

ANTIBODY SYNTHESIS AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL : ANTIBODY-INDUCED SUPPRESSION OF 7S ANTIBODY SYNTHESIS

The specific suppressing activity of passively administered antibody on 7S antibody synthesis against sheep and chicken red blood cells has been investigated at the cellular level using the indirect hemolytic agar-plaque technique. 7S antibody production was found to be sensitive to antibody-induced suppression. No inhibitory effect of transferred antibody was seen until 48 to 72 hr after administration. This indicates that the action of antibody is not by direct suppression of synthesis of already committed cells but rather by removal from the system of the stimulus for maintenance of 7S synthesis. The sensitivity of the 7S system to inhibition decreases with time after immunization but significant specific suppression could still be obtained if transfer of antibody was delayed until 40 days after immunization. The present findings emphasize the role of antibody as a feedback factor during a substantial postpeak period of 7S antibody synthesis and suggest an important role of antigen in stabilizing the 7S antibody production

Ethnographic perspectives on youth justice supervision and the supervisory relationship

The supervisory relationship is said to be the key territory in which children draw meaning and benefit from their community supervision experience within the youth justice system. Yet the intricacies of the supervisory relationship and the nature of everyday supervision in which it develops are little researched. It is therefore critical to deepen our understanding of supervisory interactions if we are to identify what is and is not effective, and develop practices to best support desistance accordingly. I sought to do so by means of a 17-month ethnographic study in two youth offending services (YOSs), involving extensive participant observation, interviews with 26 children and 46 YOS professionals, as well as ‘following’ ten of the children during their ‘supervision journeys’. Drawing on both psychosocial and criminological theoretical windows, I examine the nature and meaning of everyday youth justice supervision to the children and professionals involved. Following introductory chapters which set the scene, the first data chapter comprises an in- depth examination of the children’s backgrounds and characteristics, and the implications of these for their engagement in involuntary supervision and the supervisory relationship. The second two data chapters consider the children’s and professionals’ perspectives, respectively, on what they perceive to ‘help’ in supervision; the chapters include discussion of the children’s narratives of offending, sanctions and ‘self’ and how these things impact on supervision. The final two data chapters provide an exposition of supervisory relationships, the constraints and enablers of their development, and what it meant to have a ‘helping’ relationship. I conclude that relationships with the greatest helping potential are characterised by two things: the human nature of their boundaries, insofar as they necessitate professional engagement that goes beyond the supervisory role; and reciprocity, premised on an attachment of mutual care and communication. The final chapter draws out implications of the research for theory, policy and practice. I argue that although the supervisory relationship is valorised by both children and professionals as the most helping aspect of supervision, its primacy in practice is militated against by structural, organisational, ideological, financial, political, social and cultural contextual factors. Viewed through the lens of the Taylor Review, a recent major government-hosted appraisal of the youth justice system, the findings give credence to its conclusions and suggest the need to reignite public discussion about whether youth justice services are best configured to support children’s desistance in the current context.The Dawes Trus