An Empirical Assessment of the Goals of Family Therapy*

This study is an empirical assessment of the goals of family therapists. A list of goals was developed based on a theoretical clustering of the family therapy literature into the dimensions of communication, cohesion, and adaptability. Three hundred ten clinical members of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) responded to a questionnaire about their use of these goals in family therapy. The findings indicate that the goals employed by this sample seem to reflect ideas from the literature which are not the property of any one “school” of family therapy. The goals that were rated and ranked highest included encouraging family members to relate caringly, responsibly, and creatively in negotiating their differences. Goals that were rated and ranked lowest included the more advanced or technical communication skills and some cohesion goals that may be interpreted as related to institutional aspects of family life.     

Women in Retirement: A Review and Critique of Empirical Research Since 1976

This article reviews empirical research on women in retirement since 1976. The articles studied are categorized into four main areas: Women's Attitudes and Orientations Toward Retirement, Women's Preparation and Planning for Retirement, Women's Retirement Timing: Factors Related to Decisions to Retire, and Women's Adjustments to and Experiences in Retirement. Omissions and problems in the literature are identified and examined. Special attention is given to theoretical and methodological issues. The authors suggest new emphases and directions to strengthen research in this area.     

Conventional versus Alternative Agriculture: The Paradigmatic Roots of the Debate*

Abstract Analysts have described conflict between the economically dominant industrial sector of society and the environmental movement as representing competition between two opposing worldviews or social paradigms. There appears to be a similar schism developing in agriculture. The conventional paradigm of large-scale, highly industrialized agriculture is being challenged by an increasingly vocal alternative agriculture movement which advocates major shifts toward a more “ecologically sustainable agriculture.” Some have suggested that alternative agriculture represents a fundamentally new paradigm for agriculture. This paper seeks to clarify and synthesize the core beliefs and values underlying these two approaches to agriculture into a “conventional agriculture paradigm” and an “alternative agriculture paradigm.” The writings of six major proponents of alternative agriculture are compared with those of six leading proponents of conventional agriculture to document the major components of the two agricultural paradigms. The two sets of writings reveal dramatically divergent perspectives on a wide range of agricultural issues. The competing paradigms can be synthesized into six major dimensions: 1) centralization vs. decentralization, 2) dependence vs. independence, 3) competition vs. community, 4) domination of nature vs. harmony with nature, 5) specialization vs. diversity, and 6) exploitation vs. restraint. The emerging controversy over “low-input, sustainable agriculture” (LISA) illustrates the paradigmatic gulf between alternative and conventional agriculture, as well as the pitfalls facing alternative agriculturalists as they attempt to replace conventional agriculture as the dominant paradigm.     

The Social Lives of the Elite: Friendship and Power in Pakistan

The ways in which elite individuals perpetuate their power and privilege and so reinforce existing social inequalities within developing country contexts are analysed in this article. I argue that in highly politically and economically unstable environments, socialising between the uppermost bureaucratic, political, military and business elite serves to create intimacy and obligation between individuals who may be functionally useful to one another, and strengthens and reinforces elite privilege. In examining the motivations that drive the ways in which elites socialise, I contend that the blending of affective and instrumental relationships is reflective of the deep insecurity experienced by elites in contexts where they cannot expect their power and privilege to be upheld by the state.     

The World System and World Trade: an Empirical Exploration of Conceptual Conflicts*

Within the growing number of analysts who employ the world system perspective on national development, theoretical disagreements have evolved which may only be settled by examination of available data. Using an adaptation of the network metaphor, this paper blockmodels the world trade system in order (1) to demonstrate a single mode of international exchange in the world system instead of the competing capitalist and communist modes proposed by some, and (2) to illustrate the unique position of the middle level of nations in a three tier world system—a position sometimes denied. Implications for the competing world system theories and world development itself are presented.     

From Canadian Corporate Elite to Transnational Capitalist Class: Transitions in the Organization of Corporate Power*

Cet article se penche sur un programme de recherche qui a consigné les transitions qui ont été effectuées dans l'élite de l'entreprise canadienne et qui a enquêté dernièrement sur la formation d'une classe capitaliste transnationale. Le programme s'est concentré sur l'organisation sociale du pouvoir des grandes sociétés sous ses aspects à la fois cumulatifs et hégémoniques, telle qu'elle a été retrouvée par le réeseau des conseils d'administration interdépendants dans les plus grandes entreprises. Des événements récents au Canada illustrent les transitions qui semblent indispensables a la forme financière de l'accumulation et aux « politiques axées sur le marché» caractérisant le capitalisme néolibéral Dans l'ensemble, l'analyse du réseau démontre que la classe capitaliste transnationale ne se trouve qu'à l'état naissant malgré l'organisation sociale fournie par les réseaux internationaux et les groupes de planification de politiques mondiaux. This article reflects on a research program that has mapped transitions in the Canadian corporate elite and has more recently investigated the formation of a transnational capitalist class. The program has focussed on the social organization of corporate power in both its accumulative and hegemonic aspects, as traced by the network of interlwkmg directorates among the largest fms. Recent developments in Canada exempw transitions that seem integral to the fmancialized form of accumulation and the “market‐driven politics” that characterize neo‐liberal capitalism. Globally, network analysis shows the transnational capitalist class to be only nascent, despite the social organization provided by transnational interlocks and global policy‐planning groups.     

A Review of the Current State of Negotiated Order Theory: an Appreciation and a Critique*

It is argued that the theory of negotiated order, which has remained largely submerged within a series of fairly specific “grounded” case studies of occupations, professions, and complex organizations in the health field, has a number of attractive qualities to it. As such, it represents one of the more exciting recent developments in the study of organizations The present paper examines the more recent historical origins of the theory, summarizes its major points, and critically assesses its strengths and weaknesses. Since most of the substance of the theory is found in studies of health professionals working in hospital settings, the examples used here are also derived from this particular body of literature. Some future possible directions which we believe will improve the overall explanatory power of the perspective are presented in the concluding section.     

The Importation Model Perspective on Inmate Social Roles: an Empirical Test*

Two theoretical models have emerged to account for variations in the response to imprisonment among inmate populations. One, the “deprivation model,” focuses attention on the pressures and deprivations which confront the inmates. The other, the “importation model,” critiques the closed-system orientation of the deprivation model and suggests that the scope of an adequate explanation must give systematic attention to factors beyond the immediate prison situation. This study provides empirical tests of several major propositions implied by the importation model. Based on the analysis of data obtained from 276 adult felons confined in a maximum security institution, the analysis clearly shows that adaptations to imprisonment are in part attributable to such extraprison influences as social class, preprison involvement in criminal behavior, frequency of contacts with individuals in the free society, and the quality of the inmates' perceptions of their postprison life-chances. These findings illustrate the necessity of broadening the scope of explanatory models in this area.     

The Power and Morals of Policy Makers: Reassessing the Control Gap Debate1

For more than 15 years, there has been a lively debate among migration scholars in Europe and North America about how to explain “why liberal states accept unwanted migration.” This paper assesses existent hypotheses in the “most‐likely” case of the making of Dutch family migration policies. This empirical test raises serious doubts as to the validity of the broadly shared assumption that national policy makers have lost the power to regulate migration flows. Accounts that focus on the mechanisms of domestic politics do yield valuable insights, but fail to capture the crucial role of immaterial values in the decision‐making process.     

Sex and Deviance: an Assessment of Major Sociological Variables*

This paper empirically examines the claim that many theories of deviance only have utility for explaining deviance committed by males because their conceptual development was tainted with inattention to females. Five variables representing the essence of major theories of deviant behavior are measured for a self-report sample of 1993 cases. Each variable is tested to determine how well it can account for deviance among females compared to males. In volume of deviance more males than females were classified as deviant but the underlying processes which the five theoretical variables address operated equally for members of both sexes. These findings support the position that the processes by which females come to commit deviance is similar to the processes for males. The findings suggest that exclusive focus on females is unlikely to yield more adequate explanations of female deviance.     

Character Contests and Violent Criminal Conduct: A Critique*

Goffman's theory of violent criminal behavior, which is based upon the complementary notions of “character contest” and “stake in conventional institutions,” is relatively unique in that it makes problematic both the violent criminal act and actor. However, the explanation Goffman's work provides is inadequate for three major reasons. First, mutual consent among the conflicting parties to use violence to settle their dispute rarely occurs in violent criminal acts. Secondly, the meanings with which most violent criminal acts are imbued are different from that of a character contest. Finally, violent people cannot be distinguished from non-violent ones merely on the basis of whether or not they have a stake in conformity. Thus, a more accurate and adequate theory of violent criminal behavior which takes into account both the nature of the violent criminal act and actor is needed. The outlines of such a theory are briefly described.     

Universal Expressive Needs: A Critique and a Theory*

This article proposes a theory of expressive needs common to all human beings, which grow out of biologically based “coarse emotions”: grief, fear, anger, shame, joy, and love-attachment. In order to locate the new theory within the framework of existing thought on the relation between culture and biology, I classify, in a provisional way, the major theorists as belonging to one of the following schools of thought: instinctivist, culturist, or humanist. The weakness of each of these positions is outlined, and the way the new theory corrects the weaknesses is described.     

Post-Marxist Project: An Assessment and Critique of Ernesto Laclau

The writings of Ernesto Laclau are an important contribution to various efforts over the last decade and a half to move beyond or resolve a theoretical impasse in Marxist thought and analysis. In Hegemony and Socialist Strategy , co-authored with Chantelle Mouffe and published in 1985, Laclau seeks to establish a post-Marxist form of analysis that takes a theoretical position within Marxism. It is argued that post-Marxism as formulated by Laclau is an abandonment, not a renewal, of Marxist thought and that as such it is part of a long tradition of idealist anti-Marxist criticism that should be rejected for its theoretical flaws and misplaced criticism.     

Entering the Political Elite in Canada: The Case of Minority Women as Parliamentary Candidates and MPs*

Cette recherche analyse les femmes des minorités ethniques comme nouveau groupe social visant à accéder à l'élite politique. Elle est axée sur les conséquences liées à leur appartenance à une «double minorité». L'analyse examine deux modèles de cheminement de carrière qui offrent des caractérisations alternatives quant aux obstacles de recrutement auxquels se heurtent les nouveaux groupes sociaux et qui créent des attentes différentes quant aux ressources détenues par les femmes des minorités, comparativement à celles des groupes plus établis. Les résultats principaux, fondés sur un sondage canadien de 1993 sur les candidats parlementaires et completés par de l'information sur les députés, appuient davantage le modèle de «compensation» et, en général, semblent indiquer que l'inégalité continue de caractériser le processus d'accès à l'élite politique. This study examines minority women as a new social group seeking access to the political elite, emphasizing the consequences of their “double minority” status. The analysis considers two career path models that make alternative characterizations about the recruitment barriers faced by new social groups and that yield different expectations about the resources held by minority women compared with more established groups. The main results, based on a 1993 Canadian survey of parliamentary candidates, supplemented by information on MPs, indicate more support for the “compensation” model and, generally, suggest that inequity continues to characterize the process of political elite access.     

The Dacha Debate: Household Agriculture and Labor Markets in Post‐Socialist Russia*

Abstract The paper examines the relationship among household agriculture, wages and household structure using panel data on urban households from 1994–2003. Experts using cross‐sectional data differ on whether Russian “dachas” or garden houses are a survival strategy that households use in times of economic difficulty or a hobby of the more affluent. This analysis uses time‐series data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) to assess the effect of household status on the likelihood of participation in agriculture in subsequent years. These data show that households turn to gardening after the onset of economic uncertainty. Estimates of the value of the harvest from dacha gardens suggest that they are profitable and that households make economic calculations. Finally, the regional labor‐market participation rate is modeled as a function of garden land to show that where gardens are more prevalent, labor markets allocate a smaller fraction of the working‐age population.