Breaking the in‐group out‐group: shifting boundaries in transnational partner choice processes of individuals of Moroccan,Tunisian, Algerian,Turkish, Punjabi Sikh,Pakistani and Albanian descent in Belgium

The ongoing popularity in some second and third generation migrants in Western Europe of marrying a partner from the countries of origin of their (grand)parents is considered to be problematic for micro and macro level societal integration of some migrant populations. Partner choice and marriage practices in migrant communities are problematized in public, media and political discourses by discriminating them from marriage practices in the ‘native’ population on the basis of three related dichotomies: (1) agency versus structure, (2) us versus them and (3) romantic versus instrumental marriage intentions dichotomies. By means of in‐depth qualitative research methodologies on the partner choice processes of women and men of Turkish, Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Punjabi Sikh, Pakistani and Albanian descent in Belgium and an intersectional theoretical approach, this article aims to deconstruct popular and simplifying dichotomous representations of partner choice processes in these migrant populations. Our study reveals how religious, gender and social class boundaries are stretched to meet personal/individual desires and preferences. Individuals do experience social restrictions when it concerns social group boundaries and the potential partners that they can look for. At the same time individuals are never fully determined by their social environment, they creatively develop strategies to by‐pass certain restrictions and to some extent are able to meet their personal needs while being sensitive to the desires of their social environment.     

Virtual Reality: space of negotiation

This paper explores issues of embodiment and representation in relation to Virtual Reality technologies and focuses in particular on the questions that arise in a technologically enforced negotiation between the virtual and the real. My exploration introduces two of my virtual environments, presenting the experimental, provocative playground spanned by such technologies. The sensory involvement of participants in these dynamic, virtual spaces enables me to produce performative realities, in which the boundaries between the Self and the allegedly Other are of a liquid nature. Virtual Reality technology can thus be considered as a ‘thinking apparatus' that not only allows but also provokes to explore the transformation of the real, the body and the Self through the concept of the virtual.     

Unter der Fahne des Kalifats

Ever since the proclamation of a caliphate by the so-called “Islamic State” in June 2014, the strategic communication of the terrorist organization has become the subject of public and scientific interest. A focal point of discussion lies at the skillful use of social networks by the “Islamic State”. So far, research has focused primarily on quantitative aspects of agenda setting and has neglected the visual character of terror communication and the specific functions of visuals. The article deals with a selection of video messages of the “Islamic State” that address life in the IS-capital of al-Raqqah. Based on a visual frame analysis the article discusses central topics and visual frames and questions their importance for further research on strategic terrorist communication.     

Status Loss Due to Ecological Success. Landscape Change and the Spread of the Rabbit

This article focuses on the early modern history of the rabbit in England, France, Flanders and Holland, as a case in the long-term dynamics between society and nature. How and why did the rabbit spread and what was the role of humans? Deforestation, the spread of agriculture and the set up of warrens were key elements that created a new habitat for the rabbit. Investments in promoting rabbits were market driven. The rabbit provided a welcome resource of fur and meat after many furry wild animals had become extinct as a result of hunting and habitat destruction. Once the rabbit became wild it turned into a pest. Extensive damage to crops and disastrous sand drift were unforeseen and undesired results. Ultimately, the ecological success of the rabbit was the cause of its loss of status.     

Interrelation between empathy and friendship development during (pre)adolescence and the moderating effect of developmental language disorder: A longitudinal study

The association between empathy and friendship quality in children and adolescents is well established, but longitudinal studies are lacking. Because social interactions typically involve language, these relations might be moderated by children's communication problems. The current study examined the interrelation of friendship quality (positive and negative) and empathy (affective, cognitive, and prosocial motivation) development of 317 children (8–16 years old) at three time points across 18 months. Of these children 112 had a developmental language disorder (DLD). Results confirmed a bidirectional relation between empathy and friendship quality across time. Cognitive empathy and prosocial motivation contributed to the development of more positive friendship features in children with and without DLD. For children with unstable friendships, more cognitive empathy was related to fewer negative friendship features. Positive friendship features in turn contributed to higher empathy on all three aspects. Negative friendship features were related to higher affective empathy and lower prosocial motivation in both groups, but did not predict empathy development across time. These results imply that positive friendship features are important for development of empathic skills and vice versa that empathy enables children to grow in friendship quality in children with and without DLD.     

Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien als Instrumente f��r Women��s Empowerment

This paper discusses conditions of ICT-use of women in sub-Saharan Africa with regard to possibilities for a shift of structures of social inequality and gender discrimination. In a first step, the concept of empowerment is defined. From a feminist understanding, women??s empowerment is a bottom-up process, challenging inequality, isolation and subordination of women. It entails understanding the dynamics of internalized social norms and societal structures. In a second step, the article criticizes technological determinism and reconsiders the concept of a digital divide. The concluding thesis of the paper is: Information and communication technologies (ICT) can not initiate processes of empowerment. For there to be sustainable change, women have to be agents of their own processes and grounded in their ??power within??.     

Scars in disability culture poetry: towards connection

In this article I present a sample of US disability culture poems and their treatment of scars in order to re-evaluate the status of the wound in disability culture. I argue that instead of becoming a sign of melancholic identification with a victim position, these scar poems speak with a different imaginary, one that aims at connection rather than isolation and a focus on the individual body. With this the article adds to our understanding of disability culture aesthetics.     

Zugedeckt. Aufgedeckt? Familienbiographische Verstrickung als Problem bei der Behandlung des Nationalsozialismus — Erfahrungen in der Kollegialen Beratung

The following essay describes the work of a group of advice among professional colleagues. The group was founded ten years ago. The background of this foundation is that all group members work with the topic National Socialism. Some work in research, some in instruction (e.g. research-institutes, memorial sites, schools). In the group of advice among professional colleagues the family biography was a central topic. The thesis is, that via the confrontation with the familiy-biography, less projections are made and a higher professional level is reached.