Muddying the Waters Does Not Have to Entail Erosion: Ecological Feminist Concerns with Purity

Ecofeminists call attention to the associations that have been made between woman and nature, which can operate as a source of both subjugation and resistance, exploitation, and inspiration. This paper expands upon feminist critiques of purity by phrasing these concerns in an ecological feminist perspective. This theoretical exercise of problematizing the ideal of purity sheds light upon the intersections of human and nonhuman oppression. Preservationist work has tended to employ the logic of purity by focusing on protection of the purity of the wild regions of the earth from the polluting forces of humanity. However, such approaches retain the troublesome nature/culture dualism. The author illustrates how attempts to fragment and radically separate people from the environment can prove to be highly dangerous. She connects the theoretical resistance to purity to the important activist work that is being done to expose environmental racism. Finally, she discusses how muddying the waters and resisting the logic of purity can offer a promising approach to pressing problems revolving around the intersections of human and nonhuman oppression.     

Qualitative immediacy and the communicative act

Qualitative immediacy (also termed quality in its philosophical sense and esthetic quality) is of fundamental importance within the pragmatic conception of meaning as interpretive act, and yet it has been virtually ignored by social scientists. The concept is traced through its foundations in Peirce's philosophy, its development in Dewey's theory of esthetic experience, and its relation to the general pragmatic conception of the self. The importance of the I in Mead's view of the self is seen as similar to Firstness in Peirce and esthetic experience in Dewey. Those turning to qualitative approaches ought to consider qualitative immediacy as a genuine addition to our understanding of human communication.I am grateful for helpful comments from Milton Singer, Kevin McMurtrey, Benjamin Lee, and Thomas Buckley, and for an opportunity to discuss this paper in the seminar on dialogue at the Center for Psychosocial Studies, Chicago. A postdoctoral fellowship (T32 MH 14668) at the Institute for Psychosomatic and Psychiatric Research and Training, Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, and the University of Chicago, provided time for the writing of this paper.     

The coming revolution of biotechnology: A critique of Buttel

Frederick Buttel was one of the pioneers in studying the social impacts of biotechnology, claiming originally that it will involve profound changes in social structure. Recently Buttel turned around his argument proposing that, rather than revolutionary, biotechnology is more a substitutionist technological form to be applied to declining sectors of the economy than an epoch-making technology. This paper provides both external and internal critiques of Buttel's new position based on the concept of the third technological revolution, looking at the impact of new technologies as a global and interrelated phenomenon, and not on an individual case-by-case basis. The concluding section suggests the necessity of bringing into the analysis those living in the Third World: 60% of this population lives from agriculture and will be affected by the deployment of agricultural biotechnologies, whether through substitutionism or through totally new products.     

Implementation of the Walrasian correspondence without continuous,convex, and ordered preferences

This paper consideres the problem of designing better mechanisms whose Nash allocations coincide with constrained Walrasian allocations for non-neoclassical economies under the minimal possible assumptions. We show that no assumprions on preferences are needed for feasible and continuous implementation of the constrained Walraisan correspondence. Further, under the monotonicity assumption, we present a mechanism that is completely feasible and continuous. Hence, no continuity and convexity assumptions on preferences are required, and preferences may be nontotal or nontransitive. Thus, this paper gives a somewhat positive answer to the question raised in the literature by showing that, even for non-neoclassical economies, there are incentive-compatible, privacy preserving, and well-behaved mechanisms which yield Pareto-efficient and individually rational allocations at Nash equilibria.I wish to thank J. S. Chipman, J. Jordan, M. Richter, H. Weinberger, the editor, and two anonymous referees for useful comments and suggestions. I am particularly thankful to L. Hurwicz who stimulated my interest in this problem and provided detailed comments and suggestions.     

An extended formulation of Arrow's theorem for k-social welfare functions

Past studies in social choice theory are generally based on the assumption that any two alternatives must be incompatible. We are concerned with the concept, k-social choice based on the assumption that just k alternatives out of p (1kp–1) are compatible. The purpose of this paper is to show an extended formulation of Arrow's theorem for k-social welfare functions.     

The Needle and the Damage Done: Research, Action Research, and the Organizational and Social Construction of Health in the “Information Society”

This paper critically reviews the actionresearch paradigm that has evolved over the last 50years within and outside The Tavistock Insitute, withreference to radical shifts in the social construction of medicine and health that are occurring as aresult of the transition toward the informationsociety. The medical domain has been chosen as anappropriate space within which to review the actionresearch paradigm because it bridges both the past andfuture of the Institute. The paper firstly considers theoriginal conception of action research andsociotechnical systems, and the role of consultants, in relation to Foucualt's analysis of powerrelations, social control, and dividingpractices. It then describes and analyzes recentdevelopments in the field of medicine and healthcareservice provision that, on the one hand, offer opportunities forincreased self-management and control by consumers overphysical, social, and emotional self-hoodand on the other could lead to further socialsurveillance and the domination and subjectification of theindividual. Drawing on recent work using innovativemodels of action research in the field of HIV/AIDS, thepaper concludes by discussing ways in which action research could harness developments ininformation and communication technologies to maximizeindividual and collective engagement in new forms oforganizational and social relations.     

Queering Identities: The Roles of Integrity and Belonging in Becoming Ourselves

This article presents a picture of the complexities and contradictions in the daily lives of people in the Seacoast area of New Hampshire who identify as, or are identified as, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender queer, questioning, and allied people (LGBTQQA). In this study, the author uses a grounded theory approach to focus on the Create Our Destiny conference. Clear patterns emerged, such as the importance of coming out, labels, and gender identity. A common theme underlying these areas was the tension people experienced between seeking a sense of belonging and maintaining their personal sense of integrity. This study shows that people in the Seacoast want to be fully and wholly themselves, or as the author represents their interests, to strive toward singularity. The author argues that striving towards singularity requires people to grapple with their unexamined codes and principles, such as those pertaining to compulsory heterosexuality and gender duality, by increasing and valuing self-awareness and reflexivity.     

Social factors in facial display and communication: A reply to Chovil and others

This paper discusses the Chovil (1991) study, questioning the assumption that the notion of facial display as communication is incompatible with that of facial display as readout of motivational/emotional response. It is argued that (a) the Chovil paper oversimplifies the view of the competition; (b) social factors can facilitateor inhibit expression depending upon the nature of the emotion being expressed and the expressor's personal relationship with the other; and (c) social factors produce strong social emotions, so that any manipulation of sociality must also manipulate emotion.Preparation of this paper was supported in part by NIMH grant MH-40753 to Ross Buck, and by the University of Connecticut Research Foundation.     

Theory at risk: Accounting for the excellence movement

Amidst widespread concern about educational crisis and the need for reform, the current excellence movement places a pronounced emphasis on rigor, standards, and a core curriculum of basic studies. At issue here is whether major macro-the-oretical perspectives can account for the emergence of this movement. Functional and Marxian theories do not meet this challenge well, especially insofar as they posit a tight, rational linkage between school and economy and downplay the institutional autonomy of the educational system. A status conflict approach, emphasizing middle class mobilization, offers greater insight, though it must be complemented with a recognition of constraints imposed by capitalist organization and the institutionalization of educational myths.     

Behavior Genetic Research on Gambling and Problem Gambling: A Preliminary Meta-Analysis of Available Data

A meta-analysis of family and twin studies on gambling and problem gambling was initiated in an effort to determine the probable role of genetic factors in high risk wagering. Two twin studies and 17 investigations employing the family history or family study method were included in this meta-analysis. A summation of the 19 studies produced a small but significant overall effect size (weighted = .10, unweighted = .13), with both family (weighted = .12, unweighted = .14) and twin (weighted = .06, unweighted = .05) studies achieving significant individual mean effects. Given the paucity of twin data, further analysis was confined to family studies and revealed a stronger familial effect for the sons of problem gambling fathers than for the daughters of problem gambling mothers and for more severe forms of problem gambling than for less severe forms of problem wagering, and was strongest for high severity problem gambling in males. The implications of these results are discussed.     

Disagreement point monotonicity,transfer responsiveness,and the egalitarian bargaining solution

This paper provides an axiomatization of the egalitarian bargaining solution. The central axiom used (together with some standard properties of bargaining solutions) in this characterization is a transfer responsiveness condition. First, it ensures that no transfer paradox can occur if bargaining power is transferred from one agent to another by decreasing one agent's and increasing the other agent's component of the disagreement point. Second, the extent of external effects of such a transfer is limited by requiring that agents not involved in the transfer neither gain more than the winner nor lose more than the loser of the transfer. Journal of Economic Literature Classification No.: C78.I thank William Thomson whose comments on an earlier version led to substantial improvements.     

Social affinity among top managerial executives of large corporations in Korea

Korea is a society subject to quite diverse social forces. Modernization should encourage reform, but the yoke of tradition restrains this tendency. This paper examines the patterns of preferential treatment of executives, based on family, school, and regional ties, by the owners of large Jaebol corporations in Korea. We found that about 21% of the total number of executive positions in the large corporations were occupied by individuals who had some type of family tie with the owners of the corporations. Also, there is a strong tendency of corporation owners to employ the executives of the same regional origin of birth as their own, but the affinity based on school ties was not as strong as that of regional origin. The findings of this study seem to support the arguments of previous studies that claimed a trust factor as a main cause of social similarity and affinity between the owners and executives in corporations.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, August 17–22, 1987, Chicago, Illinois.     

Risk Factors for Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Behavior Problems in Children and Adolescents Following a Home Fire

Based on a model of (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) PTSD by Green, Wilson and Lindy (1986), fifty-six children ages 6 to 17 years were interviewed at five months (T1) and 9 months (T2) after a fire in their homes. Outcome variables were PTSD and behavior problems. Major correlates of the outcome variables, include guilt at T1, worry about other family members at T2, and lack of satisfaction with family support at both times, as well as the attribution that another child did it. The stressor variable, present at the fire, became significant only at T2. The greatest variance in the PTSD scores occurred at T2 suggesting delayed onset or delayed reporting by children. Children may process traumatic events in a different cognitive fashion and in a different time frame than adults. Implications of these results are considered within the context of social work and nursing.     

GLB + T?: Gender/Sexuality Movements and Transgender Collective Identity (De)Constructions

In the United States during the 1990s, there emerged a new form of collective political organizing and action around transgender identity. In this essay, the author depicts the dynamics of transgender activism during the mid-1990s based on original research in the form of a postmodern ethnography of transgender activism. Using data from field research, interviews, and observation, the author illustrates the way that transgender activism was characterized by simultaneous claims to a shared transgender quasi-ethnic identity and the complications thereof. In particular, the author details transgender social movement processes of identity—both processes of collective identity construction and deconstruction—demonstrating that transgender politics are not simply identity politics nor deconstructive (queer) politics. Using constructionist social movement literature, the author argues that in sexuality/gender studies we must expand our understanding of identity politics in order to understand the simultaneity of constructions and deconstructions of identity and gender/sexuality movements today.     

Predatory,developmental, and other apparatuses: A comparative political economy perspective on the Third World state

Disappointment over the contributions of Third World state apparatuses to industrial transformation and the increasing intellectual dominance of neoutiliarian paradigms in the social science has made if fashionable to castigate the Third World state as predatory and rent seeking. This paper argues for a more differentiated view, one that connects differences in performance to differences in state structure. The incoherent absolutist domination of the klepto-patrimonial Zairian state are contrasted to the embedded autonomy of the East Asian developmental state. Then the internal structure and external ties of an intermediate state — Brazil — are analyzed in relation to both polar types. The comparative evidence suggests that the efficacy of the developmental state depends on a meritocratic bureaucracy with a strong sense of corporate identity and a dense set of institutionalized links to private elites.     

The development of a capacity for concern in antisocial children: Winnicott's concept of human relatedness

Winnicott's refreshing view of clinical practice includes the unique notion that delinquency is a sign of hope. Several of Winnicott's interpersonal concepts fit together to develop this thought: holding environment, capacity for concern, the use of the object, and hate in the counter transference. In this paper these four concepts are described and the case of a ten-year-old antisocial youngster is used to illustrate Winnicott's thinking and tie some of his illusive ideas into a difficult but familiar kind of practice situation. The therapeutic approach used was a mixture of case management and play therapy. What is different however is the way in which the therapist interpreted the youngster's behavior and stimulated his rich fantasy life.     

Theory,culture, and behavior: Object relations in context

The purpose of this article is to explore aspects of contemporary object relations theory in relation to sociocultural variations in family constellation, childrearing practices, and race and ethnicity. The theoretical framework for this exploration derives from Winnicott's concept of the potential space between person and environment as the location of cultural experience. The author argues that Winnicott's ideas provide a clinically useful way to think about transactions between the internal world of object relations and the external world of cultural diversity. The article concludes with some implications for social work practice.     

A Community Response to Tragedy: Individualized Services for Families

The murder of a 13-year-old young woman mobilized one community to initiate a wraparound service model for their most hard-to-reach families. These families struggled with parental substance abuse, youth at high risk, and associated complex needs cutting across existing categorical programs. The strength and empowerment based program, in which interventions were designed specific to each family, presented challenges in evaluating outcomes with traditional standardized instruments. This paper describes the project, its outcomes for families and youth, and the evaluation design that evolved to measure outcomes in a strength-based program with no uniform intervention.     

Counseling issues related to maternal substance abuse and subsequent sudden infant death syndrome in offspring

Recent reports linking maternal prenatal drug use to SIDS in offspring raise six specific issues related to professional intervention: (1) blaming addicted parents compounds the normal guilt experienced after SIDS; (2) low self-esteem often underlies drug usage; (3) punitive intervention by child protective agencies may lead to parental mistrust of health professionals, reducing access to help; (4) society's increasing tendency to criminalize drug use during pregnancy may expose women to prosecution if a SIDS death occurs; (5) the debate over monitoring at risk infants is further complicated if caretakers use drugs; and (6) recent articles have suggested that the majority of SIDS deaths may be the result of homicide, neglect, environmental hazards, etc. For addicted parents, a SIDS death increases the risk of social fragmentation and poses challenges to professional interventions.The destructive effects of the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome go far beyond the lost lives of infants. The psychiatric morbidity among surviving family members can be severe and prolonged. Professional counseling seems vital in the prevention and treatment of a disabling guilt that follows the death of a child. (Bergman et al., 1969)     

The Newhalf Net: Japan's “Intermediate Sex” On-Line

After English, Japanese is the most widely represented language on the Internet; yet, because Japanese is not widely spoken outside Japan, very little information exists in English about the ways in which the Internet is being used by queer communities in Japan. This essay looks at how one group within Japan's transgender community is deploying Internet technology. Japan's newhalf (nyuuhaafu) are transgendered men who consider themselves to be a third or intermediate sex, and they work in clearly-defined roles as hostesses, companions, and sex workers within Japan's extensive sex and entertainment industry. The contents of several newhalf Websites are analyzed, and their different applications are discussed. It is suggested that the Internet is being used to disseminate information about sexual services and identities that have a long history in Japan, rather than to encourage the development of more politicized sexual identities.