What is Real and What is Realism in Sociology?

In the physical sciences a realist ontology rests on our ability to demonstrate the actual and real nature of material entities. Realist metaphysics of social entities, most influentially Bhaskar's critical realism, attempt to provide a related philosophical foundation for the social sciences. This paper examines the central issue of what is real about society it concludes that social relations and the organisations they constitute do exist and discusses the conditions of their demonstration. Realist interpretations of Bourdieu's theories are given particular attention in an argument that accepts the necessity of social realism but remains cautious about the development of methodologies able to provide effective demonstration.     

Gender and health among older people: What is the role of social policies?

The study investigated how social policies moderate the association between gender and health among older people across European countries. The study is the first to take a comprehensive view on the role of social policies in connection with gender inequality in health among older Europeans. The association between gender and poor self‐rated health and limiting long‐standing illness was investigated in a multilevel framework. Cross‐level interaction effects showed that more generous minimum pensions, higher spending on eldercare and a higher degree of eldercare formalisation are associated with relatively better health among women, while more generous standard pensions are associated with relatively better health among men. The conclusion is that policies directed towards older people are not gender neutral; rather they are likely to affect men and women differently. By shaping the distribution of resources as well as of unpaid work, social policies can contribute to either strengthening or weakening the link between gender and health.     

Reflections on the history of the Royal Society Te Apārangi

This paper uses the author’s own recently published history of the Royal Society Te Apārangi (the Royal Society) to reflect on the history of the organisation from a social sciences perspective. The Royal Society’s organisational ‘reinvention’ of itself has reflected the changing place of science and other forms of knowledge in New Zealand. The shift from the nineteenth-century amateur pursuit of knowledge to science as a specialised professional occupation resulted in the reshaping of the organisation at the turn of the twentieth century. There was a further reconstitution of the Royal Society in the 1960s; its structure no longer corresponded to the changes that had taken place in science during the twentieth century. Following the restructuring of science in the 1990s and the increased recognition that different forms of knowledge were integrated and embedded in society, the Royal Society reinvented itself once more with the inclusion of the social sciences and the humanities within its remit.     

What is Loss Aversion?

A behavioral definition of loss aversion is proposed and its implications for original and cumulative prospect theory are analyzed. Original prospect theory is in agreement with the new loss aversion condition, and there utility is capturing all effects of loss aversion. In cumulative prospect theory loss aversion is captured by both the weighting functions and the utility function. Further, some restrictions apply for the weighting functions involved in the latter model.We are indebted to Michèle Cohen and Peter Wakker for helpful comments. The suggestions of an anonymous referee have improved the presentation of the paper.     

What is moral sanctity? Sanctity in the moral worldviews of U.S. political liberals

The moral worldviews of liberals and conservatives in the United States have been extensively studied in the political sphere, revealing the peripheral role of sanctity in the worldviews of liberals. This paper provides a commentary on this previous research and then presents a qualitative study that seeks to explore liberals’ personal meanings of sanctity from a more grounded approach. Liberals’ personal experiences of sanctity involved bodily contamination, interpersonal breaches, and lack of self-control. To further interpret these findings, we situate them in the context of two constructs measured quantitatively, namely, moral perceptions of sanctity violations and transcendental self-concepts. Results suggest that overall, certain forms of sanctity are meaningful within liberals’ moral understandings, but these sanctity concerns may obtain their significance alongside other moral concerns. Findings help to illuminate what moral sanctity means to political liberals in the United States and the multiple ways that sanctity can be moralized by different groups.     

What to Make of the Liberal Paradox?

Sen's Liberal Paradox has received a good deal of attention in the literature. However, it is worth re-opening the discussion since the solutions offered so far have serious problems and since there is more to say about the nature of the problem displayed by the Liberal Paradox. I propose a new solution to the paradox in the following sense: First, I argue that its range of applicability is not very broad. Second, there is nothing paradoxical about a conflict of the principles involved in the Liberal Paradox. (Nagel's thesis of the ``fragmentation of value' is important to make this point.) Third, I make a recommendation about how to remove conflicts when they occur in a restricted class of cases. For the other cases, no recommendation of similar appeal is available. But in the light of the first point, the availability of a generally applicable recommendation was not to be expected.     

Where is the Fed in the distribution of forecasters?

Previous research comparing the Fed's Greenbook forecasts with a median forecast from a private-sector panel has found that the Fed's forecasts are superior. These comparisons potentially miss information from other parts of the distribution of forecast errors. We compare the Fed's forecast errors to the upper and lower quartiles from the Survey of Professional Forecasters’ forecast errors and find that errors in the lower quartile are significantly smaller. We further investigate whether the forecasters who produced those forecast errors can be identified ex-ante and find that while possible the practicality of this finding is limited due to forecaster turnover.     

Gender Jeopardy: What is the Impact of Gender Differences in Political Knowledge on Political Participation?*

Objective. We explore whether observed sex‐based differences in political knowledge have an impact on men's and women's participation in six different political activities. Methods. Utilizing ANES data from the five presidential elections between 1984 and 2000, we employ logistic regression to estimate the likelihood of voting, influencing a vote, attending a political meeting, working on a political campaign, wearing a political button, and making a campaign donation. Results. At lower levels of political knowledge, women's lower political knowledge depresses their participation in politics. The participation gap disappears at higher levels of political knowledge for three participatory acts: attempting to influence a vote, attending a political meeting, and donating to a political campaign. Furthermore, at higher levels of political knowledge, women are more likely than men to vote, wear a political button, or work for political campaigns. Conclusion. Our analysis reveals that political knowledge differentially affects men's and women's political participation. These findings complement existing scholarship that finds women hold themselves to a higher standard before engaging in political activities such as running for elected office.     

Steps to the redefinition of ‘oral history’: Examples from Africa

Gwyn Prins, The Hidden Hippopotamus. Reappraisal in African History: The early colonial experience in Zambia (1980), xvi+319 (African Studies Series 28, Cambridge University Press, £20.00).

Joseph C. Miller (ed.), The African Past Speaks: Essays on Oral Tradition and History (1980) xii+284 (Dawson, Folkestone and Archon, Hamden, £17.00).     

After Safety,What is the Goal of Child Welfare Services: Permanency,Family Continuity or Social Benefit?

Child welfare services have multiple goals, including child protection, family continuity, and achievement of legal permanency so children can end their involvement with child welfare services and have a lifetime family. These goals are not all achievable to the same extent in all cases. American child welfare policy has, in the last few years, become more definitive about the priority of child protection above family preservation. Now, situations which involve safety risks that are too great do not require any efforts at reunifying children to their biological homes. Less clear in American child welfare policy and practice is the value to be placed on other factors – particularly when a child cannot return home and will need an alternative adoptive family. Practitioners often emphasize family continuity – that is, the opportunity to maintain contact with the biological parent and extended family members – as a key decision making consideration. Yet, family continuity does not necessarily predict a successful transition to adulthood that is healthy for children or provides social benefits to the community. This paper explores the rationale for expanding child welfare decision making criteria by adding longer-term outcomes and the likelihood that children will eventually generate social benefits.     

How sustainable is the macroeconomic impact of foreign aid?

This paper examines how long the impact of foreign aid on growth lasts in recipient countries. An econometric technique is adopted which recognises that the impact of aid in the current year is a function not just of the current aid received but also of the aid received in previous years. Results indicate that foreign aid has a half-life of two years. In other words, half of the total impact of aid on growth is experienced within two years of its disbursement. Aid loans are found to have longer half-lives than their grant counterparts. Policy implications are discussed.