The clubs and bars of contemporary nightlife are held by supporters in the cultural industries and critics in social policy to be a zone of transgression where the state is powerless to intervene. However, closer inspection of the processes by which nightlife is regulated and incorporated into economic development strategies indicates a more differential approach to social control. Far from being deregulated, nightlife is still largely understood as a 'social problem' to be contained by law, policy and policing. However, the forms in which strategies of regulation are being redefined indicate renewed concerns by policy-makers with acceptable and unacceptable cultures. The duel impact of economic development strategies and licensing policies has been to reinforce particular cultural forms in nightlife spaces at the expense of others. This paper explores findings from a London case study and will attempt to pinpoint the ways in which the practices of economic development and licensing have thrown up barriers to cultural expression and racial diversity being realised in the city spaces of the night. It will argue that, far from being a solution to the perceived problems of the 'night-time economy', regulatory strategies reinforce the notion of nightlife as consumption against that of experimental and racially diverse cultures.

Nightlife has historically been identified as a social problem. In the contemporary context, however, this perspective competes with the promotion of the 'night-time economy' as a source of economic regeneration and extended licensing as a means to establish a more genteel 'café society'.However, these changes have concealed a reconfiguration of differentiating strategies. This paper explores this neglected issue through two cases studies, one based in London and one in Manchester, and examines the fate of black cultural forms, venues and licensees in contemporary nightlife. It will argue that, due to the historical criminalisation of black youth, music and residential areas, black cultural spaces have been subject to a process of exclusion in the new playgrounds of the night-time economy. The implications of this for social cohesion will be examined.3

Nightlife historically has been viewed as a social problem to be contained by licensing, policing and the management of supply. In the context of recent trends towards deregulation of hours and supply, fears have again resurfaced as to the detrimental impact of the 'night-time economy' on street disorder and violence, concerns that have focused attention on the Licensing Act 2003. Utilizing a case study of the regulation of nightlife in the London locality of Southview, this article will explore how there has been ongoing and renewed attention on the problems associated with the night-time economy centred on differentiating between risky and safe cultural and economic forms. The article will argue that the Licensing Act represents a consolidation of over a decade of regulatory change that has 'reordered' regulatory approaches to nightlife; one that has, in combination with other aspects of economic, social and cultural change, been productive of 'subcultural closure'. Copyright (c) 2006 The Authors. Journal Compilation (c) 2006 Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

This study compares the impact of a new vocational intervention, the Vocational Exploration and Insight Kit (VEIK), with the Self-Directed Search (SDS) and the Vocational Card Sort (VCS). Subjects were 103 undergraduate women. Results indicate that the SDS, VCS, and VEIK have small and similar effects on women's vocational behavior. Findings lend support to counselor-free techniques as appropriate and inexpensive methods of career exploration. The use of certain criteria for outcome studies of vocational interventions is also discussed.