A recently published dataset of Middle East and North Africa (MENA)–focused scholarship in journals selected to represent the disciplinary “core” of political science sheds empirical light on key publishing trends, from the balance between quantitative and qualitative studies to the growth in experimental and “large-N” statistical methods. Cammett and Kendall’s (2021) analysis shows that between 2001 and 2019, MENA-focused studies declined as a share of publications but that slightly less than half of that work is qualitative. However, the definition of qualitative research that the study uses significantly overstates the number of such articles in the Cammett and Kendall dataset. Our analysis rectifies this, distinguishing among research studies that use qualitative evidence, qualitative methods, theoretical traditions, and paradigms (i.e., positivist/post-positivist). This yields a more accurate and significantly starker picture of the marginality of MENA qualitative research in core politics journals. These results raise the question of why methodologically sophisticated scholarship outside of the “top journals” has not been published there.

Traditional science classroom activities rely on topics and experiments that are distant from the forefront of scientific research. As a result, students view science as stagnant and far removed from real life. Through a National Science Foundation-funded Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program, we at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) work with secondary teachers to transform cutting-edge research in nanoscale science and engineering into curriculum that is appropriate for middle- and high-school classrooms. This benefits everyone involved: teachers learn about innovative science and the process of research; UW MRSEC personnel learn about science education and the state of today's schools; and students get to test and engage with new curriculum about breakthrough research. This past summer our RET participants conducted research on and developed curriculum about “smart” papers with microencapsulation technology, fuel cells, nano biosensors and liquid crystals, glassy metals, and Wells models.

This paper draws on empirical research into the recruitment, training, and management of female flight attendants, working primarily in the transatlantic business travel sector of the contemporary airline industry. We argue that whilst the ‘ skills’ which flight attendants are required to deploy are denied, being treated as somehow inherent abilities and thus neither trained nor remunerated, they are nevertheless managed in a directive way. This management involves, in particular, a focus on a flight attendant’s figure, and ‘dieting’ – what Naomi Wolf has referred to as ‘the essence of contemporary femininity’ (Wolf 1990:200) – as a recruitment, training and managerial strategy. The work of a female flight attendant involves adhering to culturally prescribed norms on femininity as well as organisational regulations governing her figure – its presentation and performance – whilst undertaking work which involves, at least in part, serving food to others. We conclude that this aspect of the work of flight attendants is thus ‘a symbolic representation of the subordination of women . . . a concrete expression of their position as servers and carers of men’ (Charles and Kerr 19 88:84).