A major shift in research methodology from technical to more contextual and pragmatic approaches, this thorough resource incorporates new trends while also providing comprehensive coverage of the full range of established research approaches and techniques, skillfully combining epistemology, methodology, statistics, and application in a volume that is both sophisticated and practical. Placing a greater emphasis on interdisciplinary and applied research skills, this guide encourages the concurrent use of qualitative and quantitative methods and explores such complex topics as ethical issues in social science research; inferential statistical methods; and Marxist, feminist, and black scholarship perspectives.

Description

This fascinating new book explores the myriad aspects of biological theories of sexual preference. Sex, Cells, and Same-Sex Desire describes, reviews, and questions recent biological research on sexual preference from the point of view of knowledgeable scientists and of scholars in the social sciences and humanities representing the emerging field of gay studies. The issues involved have a vibrant history, are wide-ranging, and remain the objects of much controversy. This book demystifies biological research on sexual preference and makes it accessible to readers unfamiliar with biological and medical research. Sex, Cells, and Same-Sex Desire is divided into several sections, each of which is introduced by an explanation of key concepts and terms found in that section. The book begins with a discussion of the history of biological theories and sociocultural concepts of gender and sexuality. The next 3 sections explore specialized areas of biological science and related issues: genetics and evaluation, hormones and the endocrine system, and brain physiology and structure. A final section discusses social stigma, science, and medicine. A glossary of terms used by the authors is included, so readers may look up those that may be unfamiliar.

Marketing practitioners have begun to target gays and lesbians as consumers, although little is known about their buying behavior, expectations in consumption, or of their treatment in the marketplace. Gays, Lesbians, and Consumer Behavior is the first attempt at presenting the roles, treatment, and expectations of gays and lesbians as consumers in the marketplace. It asserts that homosexuality often entails a fully elaborated lifestyle, many details of which revolve around, and reflect differences from, mainstream society. These findings are of practical value since consumers, businesses, channels of distribution, and media forms are all segmented, addressing a diversity of attitudes and behaviors and reaching consumers through targeted marketing. In Gays, Lesbians, and Consumer Behavior, Editor Daniel L. Wardlow brings together research which builds upon the theoretical and empirical bases of consumer behavior. Each chapter contributes to an understanding of consumption in the gay and lesbian subculture and raises a series of questions and ethical concerns to guide future research in this area. Chapters center on the four broad themes of consumption rituals, presentation through consumption, discrimination and tolerance, and application and accommodation. Specific topics covered include: ritualistic consumption in a sub-cultural context lesbian consumption of lesbian imagery discrimination issues in retail customer service and hotel reservations effects of homosexual imagery on advertising gift-giving behavior among homosexuals using marketing in HIV/AIDS prevention counseling market profiling and strategy suggestions accommodating gays and lesbians as consumers in the marketplace The research presented in Gays, Lesbians, and Consumer Behavior draws from a diverse collection of academic disciplines and fields of inquiry to present a glimpse at the consumption behavior of gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals, and at the marketing response to these different populations. As a pioneering effort, Gays, Lesbians, and Consumer Behavior’s scope is not comprehensive, but deliberately broad to allow researchers to delineate avenues for subsequent research. Many of the chapters are empirical or descriptive in nature and contain insights for academic and practitioner alike. Academics in marketing, psychology, sociology, consumer behavior, gay and lesbian studies, and cultural anthropology will find this a valuable addition to their reading material. Marketing, advertising, and retailing professionals will be able to put the information and findings to practical use as they aim to reach more consumers and broaden their audience.