An enquiry into the hermeneutic-dialectic method of inquiry

The Hermeneutic-Dialectic (HD) Method is analyzed in terms of such theory construction issues as theory vs. method, necessary evidence, and process vs. content. Traditional experimental procedure is also contrasted with what takes place in the HD method. It is held that problems with traditional research in psychology stem from theory and not method. Questions are raised concerning data interpretation in the present research, and how such findings are settled upon in the first place. The paper closes with a discussion of stereotypy as reflecting the natural propensity for human beings to reason predicationally. This discussion draws on the tenets of logical learning theory.     

Challenges and boundaries in implementing social return on investment: An inquiry into its situational appropriateness

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and social enterprises are increasingly under pressure to justify their use of resources and report their impact on society. Frameworks that monetize social value such as social return on investment (SROI) have emerged as a response. The existing literature highlights many benefits and technical challenges of SROI, but largely ignores strategic and organizational learning aspects. This paper explores the use of SROI in an NPO conducting cultural heritage preservation. By analyzing the challenges managers face in agreeing on a reliable (“correct”) computation of SROI and in assessing the validity and relevance (“appropriateness”) of SROI, we seek to understand the challenges and boundaries of SROI. Challenges with a reliable computation of SROI are identifying stakeholders, the choice of proxies, the time horizons, and deadweight factors. Challenges with an appropriate SROI calculation are comparability, subjectivity, legitimacy, and resource utility. We argue that SROI calculations might not be reliable or appropriate in organizations with fuzzy purposes, broad value creation goals, broad target groups, very individual or subjective proxies, strongly lagged outcomes, complex or unobservable causality, and with lack of legitimacy among stakeholders. Organizations should not trustingly adopt SROI without being aware of these limitations.     

Protective supervision: An inquiry into the relationship between child welfare and the court system

Protective Supervision, in most states, is defined in statute as an option in which the child is allowed to remain in the home of high-risk parents under the authority of the court, with supervision provided by the child protection system. Protective Supervision provides states an option to fulfill the federal mandate, as expressed in its guidance on the Child and Family Services Review, to assure that children are safely maintained in their homes whenever possible and appropriate. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of published work on this option. Further, the relationship between child protection and the judicial system, implicit in Protective Supervision, is rarely examined. In response to this dearth of information, an exploratory study was undertaken in Minnesota, funded by the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Data were derived from focus groups in every region of the state, with both child protection and judicial system participants. This study offers insights into the complicated nature of the partnership between two complex systems — child welfare and the court system. Currently, there is wide variation in how Protective Supervision is understood and practiced. However, where there is mutual respect between child welfare and the courts, Protective Supervision offers a useful tool.     

Exploratory brand switching: An empirical examination of its determinants

Exploratory brand switching is switching which arises due to some intrinsic desire for change or variety and which cannot be attributed to dissatisfaction with a previous or existing alternative. Four factors which are likely to influence such switching were examined using consumer self-reports and an experimental design methodology. The factors were Optimum Stimulation Level (OSL, an individual difference variable), brand awareness, monetary deal, and product class. Both homemaker and student samples were used. Results show that brand awareness has a fairly large impact on exploratory switching. Monetary deal has a consistently significant, though much smaller, effect. The influence of OSL is small and erratic. The results vary over product classes, but the relative influence of the factors appears to be generalizable to non-food household items such as cleaning products, paper products, and personal care items. Implications for marketers are outlined.     

Qualitative inquiry into women's menopause experiences in southeastern Iran

Menopause is defined as amenorrhea for one year. Signs and symptoms are categorized as physical and psychological changes, including depression, hot flushes and ageing. Woman's responses to menopause are governed by lifestyle factors. The purpose of this study was to determine how Iranian women experience menopause and hormone therapy. A qualitative inquiry was conducted through semistructured, in-depth interviews to explore study questions in 11 menopausal women. Participants had positive and negative menopause experiences. Negative menopause experiences are due to severity of symptoms. Menopause can be facilitated by increasing women's knowledge about this phase and ways to cope with it.     

A descriptive inquiry into the corporate communication profession in Europe

This paper explores the educational backgrounds, work activities, remuneration and job satisfaction of European communication professionals. Based on factor analysis of a sample of 1410 European communicators, five major work activities are identified: lobbying external constituencies, advising and reviewing policies, positioning the firm in the marketplace, and external and internal facilitation. Using analysis of variance between groups, we argue that some of the more technical work activities are predominantly conducted by female communication professionals, whereas managerial activities are predominantly performed by their male counterparts. As will be shown, while educational background does not differ between genders, salaries as well as job satisfaction do; likewise, there are differences in respect of educational background, salaries, and job satisfaction.     

Aversion to inequality in Italy and its determinants

The main goal of this paper is to estimate the preferences of the Italian society towards equity in order to verify whether preferences (i) have changed across the years, and (ii) can be related to specific socio-demographic characteristics. Introducing equity concerns in the implementation of economic policies is a fundamental problem faced by both economists and policy makers. This paper uses a social welfare function à la Jorgenson and Slesnick to estimate society’s aversion towards inequality by implementing a voting scheme for compiling individuals’ equity preferences into a social choice by majority rule. The results show that preferences are highly polarized toward a low and a high concern for equity aversion and that this concern is significantly related with several sociodemographic characteristics. Among them, income plays an important role with richer people tending to favor less equity. Results also show that preferences towards equity have changed across the years.     

Aversion to inequality in Italy and its determinants

The main goal of this paper is to estimate the preferences of the Italian society towards equity in order to verify whether preferences (i) have changed across the years, and (ii) can be related to specific socio-demographic characteristics. Introducing equity concerns in the implementation of economic policies is a fundamental problem faced by both economists and policy makers. This paper uses a social welfare function à la Jorgenson and Slesnick to estimate societys aversion towards inequality by implement in a voting scheme for compiling individuals equity preferences in to a social choice by majority rule. The results show that preferences are highly polarized toward a low and a high concern for equity aversion and that this concern is significantly related with several sociodemographic characteristics. Among them, income plays an important role with richer people tending to favor less equity. Results also show that preferences towards equity have changed across the years.     

The Social shaping of the economy: An inquiry

This essay aims to discuss the notion of the ‘social shaping of the economy’. The interest for such a question stems from the growing attention this concept has received in the recent sociological literature. The principal concern has been to look at the foundations of this concept and to identify viable developments of the debate. By discussing the regulative properties of the market, the author calls attention upon four arguments in support of the concept of the social regulation of the economy. On this basis, recent contributions are reviewed in an attempt to grasp conceptual and terminological clearness.     

A twice-told tale: a phenomenological inquiry into clients' perceptions of therapy

Typically, what we understand about therapy and the families we work with comes from the therapist's observations. This inquiry evolved out of the empirical data that indicate the dramatic importance of the client's perceptions to achieving a successful outcome. The research was guided by the understanding that it is vitally important for therapists and therapy researchers to listen to clients and to examine our practices and theoretical approaches in the light of the client's experience of them. This study is a phenomenological inquiry into the client's experience of therapy.     

SK-II China and its skin cream scandal: An extended analysis of the image restoration strategies in a non-Western setting

SK-II, a global luxury cosmetic and skincare brand of Proctor & Gamble (P&G), was sued by a Chinese consumer in 2005, which raised serious questions about SK-II's product safety and the credibility of its advertisements. This public relations debacle resulted in a dip in SK-II's performance in the China skincare market. The theory of image restoration discourse was applied in this case to analyze SK-II's public relations efforts to rebuild its prestigious brand image in China and to regain Chinese consumers’ trust. More rigorous image restoration strategies for multinational corporations (MNCs) in the Asian market were also discussed.     

Perceived Freedom and its Sociological Effects: An Inquiry into the Relationship Between Liberalism and Inequality

Abstract:  Individual freedom has been regarded as one of the most important criteria for a desirable society and life. Recently, the theories of liberalism and distributive justice have received increasing attention as a theoretical basis for tackling problems pertaining to socioeconomic inequality and poverty. However, few quantitative analyses focus on the meaning of freedom in the context of socioeconomic inequality and political order in an existing liberal-democratic society. In this paper, I construct a self-rated measure of freedom—the overall perceived freedom scale—and examine (1) whether socioeconomic inequality is related to inequality of freedom, (2) whether freedom is related to subjective well-being, and (3) whether freedom affects people's political attitude toward inequalities. Analyses using data from a 2005 Japanese national survey ( N  = 1320) reveal the following results: (1) people with higher personal income (not household income), higher education, and better health tend to perceive greater freedom, (2) people with higher perceived freedom are more likely to be satisfied with their life, and (3) individuals with higher perceived freedom are more likely to oppose the government's egalitarian policy, and their opposition is based on the liberal principle of freedom and self-responsibility. On the basis of these findings, the double-edged possibility of individual freedom and liberalism as an "enhancer" and "moderator" of socioeconomic inequalities and political conflicts is suggested.     

An example of preverbal determinants in a classical analysis

Ego psychology adds a valuable dimension to classical psychoanalytic theory and technique by illuminating some of the factors that shape the development of self and object representations. Insight into identity formation can, in some cases, uncover preverbal determinants that create obstacles to oedipal resolution. This is illustrated in an analytic case that reached an impasse during the termination phase, which was resolved when the preverbal component of this resistance was recognized and interpreted.     

In the flesh: a poetic inquiry into how fat female employees manage weight-related stigma

ABSTRACT

This paper engages with the question of how fat female employees manage weight-related stigma at work. We use poetic inquiry to show the reader how it feels for our participants to be stigmatized based on their size. We interviewed 22 women who self-identify as full-figured, fat, overweight, or obese. The results consist of six poems, five of which were written by us, the researchers. These ‘tri-voiced poems’ (Leavy 2010b) illustrate the spectrum of affective responses and stigma management strategies that our participants talked about, ranging from feeling anxious, super-smart, impeccable, and funny to rebellious and confident. The sixth poem was written by one of our participants and voices her first-person experiences and perspective. Our aim is to do justice in our writing to the emotions that circulated in the interviews and to make a political statement with regards to the stigmatizing practices in organizations related to size and health.     

Organizational innovativeness and its determinants in South Korean nonprofit human service organizations

This study compares the level of organizational innovativeness and its determinants in different types of nonprofit human service organizations. Based on theoretical conceptualizations of organizational innovation, it was hypothesized that community service organizations (CSOs) would be more innovative than residential service organizations (RSOs), and determinants of organizational innovation (such as organizations' characteristics, internal and external properties, and executive leadership) would influence innovativeness. Data from a survey of two types of human service organizations in South Korea (127 RSOs for children and 220 CSOs) revealed that the level of innovation in both types of organizations was not significantly different. The determinants of decentralization and formalization showed significant impacts on innovativeness in CSOs. Decentralization also had a significant positive effect on innovativeness in RSOs. However, executive leadership was a significant determinant of organizational innovativeness in CSOs only. Based on these results, administrative implications are suggested for the facilitation of organizational innovation in nonprofit human service organizations.     

Contemporary immigration: theoretical perspectives on its determinants and modes of incorporation

This article reviews conventional theories about different aspects of labor migration: its origins, stability over time, and patterns of migrant settlement. For each of these aspects, the authors provide alternative explanatory hypotheses derived from the notions of increasing articulation of the international system and the social embeddedness of its various subprocesses, including labor flows. A typology of sources and outcomes of contemporary immigration is presented as a heuristic device to organize the diversity of such movements as described in the empirical literature.