Effects of Chinese square dancing on older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

The present study aimed to explore the effects of square dancing on global cognition, depressive symptoms, balance, and quality of life of older adults with mild cognitive impairment. We studied 66 older adults with mild cognitive impairment in a large nursing home. Participants were assigned to the intervention group (n = 33) or the control group (n = 33), according to their residential floor, which was determined by coin tossing. The intervention group underwent a 12-week Chinese square dancing routine, while the control group maintained usual lifestyle (without square dancing). Outcomes were assessed at baseline and at weeks 6 and 12. The results showed positive effects of square dancing on all outcomes assessed, especially on depressive symptoms and quality of life-related mental well-being of the participants. This study showed that square dancing is a promising strategy for older adults with mild cognitive impairment and that long-term adherence can be beneficial.

Cabaret dancers: "Settle down in order to stay mobile?" Bridging theoretical orientations within transnational migration studies.

Adopting a transnational perspective has become essential in understanding the contemporary practices taking place across borders, especially with respect to migrants. In this article, I argue that we can distinguish two theoretical orientations within transnational migration studies: one theorizing the complexity of transnational processes and focusing on established migrants settled in host countries; and the second theorizing transnational practices on the basis of different but continuous forms of mobility. Using the example of cabaret dancers in Switzerland, I show how they develop a very specific form of transnationality, which corresponds at first sight to the second theoretical orientation. Some of them are genuinely "world travelers"­they work in erotic clubs in Switzerland, Japan, or Lebanon, go home regularly to visit their families, or continue their studies. As such, their transnational morphology is highly influenced by gender as well as by the (transnational) nature of the sex industry and the opportunities and legal structure in Switzerland. Nevertheless, to remain in circulation, the dancers need to develop a kind of mobility capital, which involves, paradoxically, becoming "sedentarized" to a certain degree in Switzerland. The article thus advocates a theoretical framework that better captures the experiences of settled as well as of circulatory migrants.

Exploring the motivations and fantasies of strip club customers in relation to legal regulations.

Strip clubs are a popular form of adult entertainment in the contemporary United States. Strip clubs are also highly embattled entertainment venues, based on assumptions about their associations with prostitution, drug use, and "negative secondary effects" in surrounding areas, such as increased crime rates and decreased property values. Based on participant observation in five strip clubs in one city and on qualitative interviews with 30 regular male customers of those clubs, this essay seeks to challenge assumptions about the kinds of encounters sought in and purchased in such venues. Instead of visiting strip clubs out of a desire to purchase sexual release with the dancers, I found that the regular male customers were seeking an atmosphere different from both work and home, personal and sexual acceptance from women and the pleasure of a sexualized encounter without the pressures of physical performance, and a form of leisure that offered a relative degree of "safety" as well as "excitement." Further, the men's own fantasies of identity, their understandings of marriage, and their commitment to a particular kind of monogamy influenced their choice of entertainment and the pleasure that they took in their encounters with the dancers. The essay discusses these motivations and their relational aspects and assesses strip club regulation in light of these observations and findings.