The violence of materialism in advanced industrial society: an eco-sociological approach

The main argument to be developed in this article is that such phenomena as war, vandalism and urban ‘terrorism’are not isolated events, but reflect the values and beliefs embedded in the deep institutional structure of advanced industrial societies. It will be argued that in such societies, however politically patterned, there is a universal, and virtually unequivocal, acceptance of economic growth and expansion as the prime objective to be pursued. As such economic expansion depends on advances in scientific and technological knowledge the control and manipulation of nature is given full legitimacy. This attitude towards nature is seen as a central feature of the industrial culture as a whole and reflects the dominance of material over other human values. And it is the asymmetry between these value systems which predisposes the industrial culture to violence and instability: in short it gives ideological support to the use of violence in the resolution of problems, whether these be of a political, social or economic nature. It will be contended that there is a clear need to go beyond the traditional marxist analysis of capitalism in order to show how the institutional structure of advanced industrial societies plays a part both in stimulating and reproducing the ideology of violence notwithstanding considerable differences in the political arrangements in such societies. It follows from this that what is required is a broad theory of industrialization, rather than specifically of capitalism. As Illich argues     

The sociological perspective and policy analysis: A case study approach

Case studies are widely used in law, medicine and business schools. In this paper an example of how the case method can be used in complex organization, industrial sociology or political sociology classes is presented. The case method also lends itself to an applied approach challenging the student to use a sociological perspective in policy analysis. The utility of the case method for instructors using an applied approach is demonstrated.     

The systems approach to international migration: an application of network analysis methods

"The objective of this article is to apply formal network analysis to the systems approach [to the study of international migration]. Network analysis will allow two of the four methodological issues to be considered. First, clique and centrality analysis methods will be used to examine the definition and development of ties within an international migration system over time. Second, quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) regression techniques will be used to address the influence of macro factors on international migration flows....[We use] the European Union as a network of migration interest...." (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA)     

Walking the tightrope: developing a systems approach to balance safety and mobility for an aging society

In an aging population, safety and mobility are often viewed as being in conflict, when in fact they are two values that must be reflected equally in transportation policy. The challenge for policy makers and for society is to emphasize and optimize both. To achieve this, a comprehensive systems approach to driver health, personal decision-making and planning, community and transportation systems construction, vehicle design, and licensing regulations is needed. Such an approach requires crafting policies based on conceptualizing the issue as a continuum of resources facilitating safety and mobility regardless of driving status. The discussion that follows reviews components of the issue and suggestions for developing a comprehensive approach.     

The capacity to parent: A self psychological approach to parent—child psychotherapy

Clinicians who work with dysfunctional parent-child relationships face the dilemma of evaluating and effectively treating the psychopathology of parenting, which is often elusive and difficult to extrapolate from behavioral reports or social statistics alone. Fundamental concepts of the self psychological theory of development, particularly empathy and the self-selfobject matrix, are especially useful for elucidating the complexities of parenting because they explain the psychological components of the interaction as well as its intrapsychic significance. These concepts will be applied to the process of parent-child psychotherapy. A case is presented to illustrate the explanatory advantages of a self psychological conceptualization.This work was conducted while both authors were employed as CoDirectors, Infant Development Project at the Juvenile Protective Association, Chicago, Illinois.The Infant Development Project is funded by a grant from the Kate Maremont foundation, Chicago, Illinois.     

Approaches to civil society in authoritarian states: The case of China

Both civil society in China and research on Chinese civil society have developed profoundly over the last three decades. Research on Chinese civil society can be classified into two categories: a structure‐oriented approach and an agency‐oriented approach. Both approaches acknowledge the state's dominant position in restricting the political space for civil society engagement, but they differ in their understanding of state–civil society relations. A key concern within the structure‐oriented approach is to analyze how the autonomy of civil society organizations is shaped by their structural position vis‐à‐vis the state. Agency‐oriented scholars, on the other hand, reject the analytical focus on structural autonomy. Instead, they build on a more nuanced understanding of the authoritarian yet nonmonolithic context in China and analyze how civil society organizations develop specific strategies to be able to operate within their restricted political space. In particular, agency‐oriented scholars have analyzed two ways in which organizations exercise agency: by strategically developing formal or informal ties with state actors and by bringing their engagement into the public sphere to raise awareness and express their voice. What could be further developed in the agency‐oriented approach is, however, a deeper understanding of the political dimensions of civil society agency.     

The Madoffization of Irish society: from Ponzi finance to sociological critique

Financialization and neoliberal policy created the Celtic Tiger. This economic ‘miracle’ furthered creditors’ and property developers’ speculative interests, leading to an unstable financial pyramid that eventually imploded in 2008 with catastrophic consequences for Irish society. Using the sociological imagination as social critique, this paper offers a lens on fictitious capital and Ponzi finance in the context of Ireland's boom and bust. Critique is advanced using the Madoffization of society thesis, a sociological heuristic that draws formal comparisons between Bernie Madoff's US$65 billion Ponzi scheme, which collapsed in 2008, and financialized capitalism. The Madoff case exhibits five main elements or forms which, it has been argued, underlie the varying content of life on a much broader scale: accumulation by debt expansion, mass deception, efforts to maintain secrecy and silence, obfuscation, and scapegoating. In conclusion, a crucial difference between the Madoff case and the Madoffization of Irish society is underscored. Discussion also moves from critique to hope amidst calls to renew sociology and transform financialized capitalism.     

Paired comparisons analysis: an axiomatic approach to ranking methods

In this paper we present an axiomatic analysis of several ranking methods for general tournaments. We find that the ranking method obtained by applying maximum likelihood to the (Zermelo-)Bradley-Terry model, the most common method in statistics and psychology, is one of the ranking methods that perform best with respect to the set of properties under consideration. A less known ranking method, generalised row sum, performs well too. We also study, among others, the fair bets ranking method, widely studied in social choice, and the least squares method.     

A new approach to motivation: Four-drive model

ABSTRACT

This article presents a new approach to the field of motivation. To start, it reviews the previously available literature in the field and analyzes some of the more popular theories and finds the gaps. A new model is put forward, which aims to cover the relevant parameters—as well as to plug the identified gaps. The model proposes four types of drives—sensual, material, emotional, and spiritual. A quantitative study was done to validate the proposed theory and to have a better understanding in identifying the socioeconomic parameters that are significant in predicting which drive is likely to dominate in a person. Using the proposed theory and the results from the quantitative analysis, a model for motivation is proposed. This research is part of an ongoing research effort to test, validate, and generalize the proposed model.     

A general equilibrium approach to tourism and welfare: The case of Macao

Macao has been witnessing spectacular economic growth in recent years. The ongoing boom is mainly driven by rapid tourism growth reflected in massive tourist arrivals and foreign capital inflow. Although Macao is praised as an ‘economic wonder’, serious externalities have emerged, raising concerns about the sustainability of the city's long-term development. Using a modified simple general equilibrium model, this paper shows how economic, social, environmental and political externalities accompanying rapid tourism growth may possibly reduce the net welfare of host communities. The paper concludes that comprehensive tourism policies leading to a sustainable development should be developed in a broader social framework.     

A holistic approach to stakeholder management: A rhetorical foundation

The day-to-day concerns of managing stakeholders are a critical matter for public relations practitioners and scholars alike. “Stakeholder theory” subsumes the knowledge base about stakeholders, who are individuals and groups who affect or are affected by an organization's actions. This article argues that a holistic view of stakeholder management rests on rhetorical grounds and concerns answering three fundamental questions: (1) How are stakeholders created? (2) How can relationships with stakeholders be maintained? and (3) How can relationships with stakeholders be improved? Example cases are used to demonstrate how retrospective analysis reveals the effectiveness of stakeholder management approaches. Ultimately and most important, the combination of theory and case analyses are synthesized into a prospective approach to stakeholder management that organizations may use during strategic planning.     

Strategic risk communication: Adding value to society

The purpose of this paper is to provide a concise summary of the evolvement and the current state of risk communication research and draw insights from a decade of risk communication studies [Heath, R. L., & Abel, D. D. (1996). Proactive response to citizen risk concerns: Increasing citizens’ knowledge of emergency response practices. Journal of Public Relations Research, 8(3), 151–171; Heath, R. L., & Palenchar, M. (2000). Community relations and risk communication: A longitudinal study of the impact of emergency response messages. Journal of Public Relations Research, 12(2), 131–162; Palenchar, M. J., & Heath, R. L. (2002). Another part of the risk communication model: Analysis of communication processes and message content. Journal of Public Relations Research, 14(2), 127–158; Palenchar, M. J., & Heath, R. L. (2003a). Protracted strategic risk communication: A longitudinal analysis of community's zones of meaning. Paper presented at the conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Kansas City, MO; Palenchar, M. J., & Heath, R. L. (2003b). Strategic risk communication: A longitudinal analysis of a community's emergency response awareness and practices. Paper presented at the conference of the National Communication Association, Miami, FL; Palenchar, M. J., & Heath, R. L. (2006). Strategic risk communication campaigns: Some insights from the culmination of a decade of research. Paper presented at the conference of the International Communication Association, Dresden, Germany; Palenchar, M. J., Heath, R. L., & Dunn, E. (2005). Terrorism and industrial chemical production: A new era of risk communication. Communication Research Reports, 22(1), 59–67]. A meta-analysis of the authors’ research based on qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, including professionally conducted telephone interviews, focus groups, in-depth interviews and ethnography, suggests that strategic risk communication based on the concept that ideas and meaning count, transparency, building trust through community outreach and collaborative decision making, acknowledging uncertainty, and narrative enactment are fundamental communication guidelines for good organizations communicating well; keys for risk communication if it is to add value to society.     

A packaged learning process: The consolidated approach

Social work educators do not have the luxury of teaching one concept at a time. With this in mind, the authors present a method of combining different content areas within one teaching exercise. Practice faculty can combine several concepts by using case studies to teach assessment skills and treatment issues of populations-at-risk. By assigning students an assessment of a case study character who is a member of a population at risk, the lecturer teaches a new skill and in the process students acquire additional knowledge about that population. The techniques use: (1) a genogram and an ecomap assessment of a woman in a short story; and (2) a problem-solving schematic assessment of a woman in a case study. The teaching techniques involve four steps: individual assignments, small group analysis, class assignments, and full class discussion. Class discussions revealed that students did gain knowledge of women's issues while acquiring practice skills. These strategies are appropriate for use in foundation or advanced social work curricula.     

Autobiographical interviewing and narrative analysis: An approach to psychosocial assessment

Use of an autobiographical interviewing approach in the psychosocial assessment process allows the clinician efficient access to rich diagnostic material in a way that is comfortable for the client. This approach invites rather than discourages storytelling and is consistent with recent interest in narrative perspectives on assessment and treatment. This article describes the use of the autobiographical interview with a chemically dependent woman and details three analytical approaches for understanding the self-narratives which result.