The purse and the butterfly: A mathematical psychology approach to the genome in the new reality

Abstract

George Lakoff 's theory of categories renews a global epistemological struggle over who best describes reality. Color perception becomes a prototype solution as Lakoff enlists the aid of anthropology and biopsychology to challenge claims from contemporary psycholinguistics, philosophy, mathematics and psychology. The problem is that the color perception prototype upon which Lakoff bases his metaphor is flawed in the same way and for the same reasons that Lakoff attacks conventional approaches and paradigms. This thesis is tantamount to embracing and extending Lakoff 's approach, but with judicious substitutions. Most important, morphogenesis (the development of the human embryo) is substituted for Lakoff 's biopsychology of the brain. In addition to the radical breakdown of logic, language and mathematics encountered by Lakoff, irreconcilable differences between diverse paradigms and diverse cultures add to the numbers of difficult problems.

Substituting Thom's morphogenesis mathematics for conventional mathematics resolves the problems with mathematics but distorts conventional logic, language and paradigms to the point of crashing. Supplementing Lakoff 's adaptation of anthropological prototypes with Maruyama's formulation of mindscapes is the first step toward resolving irreconcilable differences between diverse paradigms and cultures. Combining Maruyama's formulation of a morphogenic paradigm with Lakoff 's approach to categories precludes distortion by incompatible paradigms. Outsourcing logic to Eastern countries is the cost effective strategy for resolving reasoning problems. Finally there is the crucial problem of ecological validity, a problem not covered by Lakoff 's cognitive psychology.

Direct observations in natural environments and mathematical models that make natural environment predictions supporting the morphogenesis paradigm resolve the problem of ecological validity. Fashion fabrics and twilight color displays falsify predictions made by the color vision prototype. Falsification of this paper will rest primarily on the paper's prediction of demographic catastrophes that are to occur as a consequence of X chromosome intelligence.     

Too Much Fun: Toys as Social Problems and the Interpretation of Culture

Toys are a frequent subject of contemporary claims concerning social problems. Rooted in our culture's longstanding ambivalence regarding leisure and its concerns about children's vulnerability, claims about troublesome toys also reflect anxiety about children's increased susceptibility to non-familial influences, their growing access to toys, and an expanded toy industry, as well as an active social movement sector. Typically, these claims argue that toys represent undesirable values, and that children who play with the toys acquire those values. Parallel arguments may be found in claims regarding other forms of popular and material culture. Interactionists should be wary of making or accepting these claims, because rather than treating children's play as a topic (or empirical study, such claims locate meaning in objects, rather than actors.     

ECOFEMINISM,HEGEMONIC MASCULINITY,AND ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT PARTICIPATION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA,CANADA, 1998–2007: “WOMEN ALWAYS CLEAN UP THE MESS”

This article draws upon two waves of interviews with environmental movement members in British Columbia, Canada, in order to examine participants' interpretations of the relationship between gender and environmental politics. Four claims emerge from this analysis. First, our results support the notion that there is an affinity between environmental politics and feminism. Second, despite recent critiques of ecomaternalism and the dual subjugation of nature and women within ecofeminism, these discourses remain useful as interpretive resources for research participants. Third, while ecomaternalism is a recurrent theme, it appears to be declining in relative importance as a discursive resource. Finally, notions of hegemonic masculinity are becoming more salient as an interpretive framework. While the first two claims emphasize continuity in participants' interpretive framework, the latter findings describe shifts in participants' understandings of gender and environmental politics.     

Robert E. Park and the Theoretical Content of Chicago Sociology: 1920–1940*

Drawing on the entire body of Robert E. Park's work published in the period 1921–1944, this paper describes his general theoretical system at three points in time: in 1921, between 1922 and 1929, and from 1930 to 1944. Park refined and altered his general theory of society over this period partly because of ambiguities in his original 1921 formulation and partly because of pressure from changing social and intellectual milieux. Park is treated as the leading theorist of the Chicago School of Sociology, and this account of his theoretical system is used as a base for assessing the validity of five different contemporary claims about the theoretical contributions of the Chicago School of Sociology.     

Reconstructing Granovetter's network theory

We employ concepts from graph theory and cooperative game theory to reconstruct Granovetter's famous thesis concerning ‘the strength of weak ties’. In contrast to existing formal models related to this thesis, our approach captures the mechanisms Granovetter invokes in the derivation of his thesis. Notably, our model allows for an analytical distinction between the strength of ties and the value of ties – a distinction empirical research on the labor market has shown to be of great importance. We use our model to test the theoretical validity of Granovetter's thesis and to evaluate its robustness if implicit assumptions in Granovetter's argumentation are dropped.     

Herbert Blumer and the Study of Fashion: A Reminiscence and A Critique

Recounting my late 1940s graduate student contacts with Herbert Blumer on the topic of fashion, 1 go on to assess his important contribution to the sociological study of fashion. Conceptually rich, the corpus of Blumer's writing on fashion is yet surprisingly small. His major opus on fashion, anticipated only in part by several of his earlier, less exhaustive writings on the subject, did not see print until 1969 with the publication of the justly famous Sociological Quarterly piece “Fashion: From Class Differentiation to Collective Selection.” There Blumer pursues two aims: (1) to challenge the then prevalent functionalist view of fashion as a “trickle down” symbolic mechanism for effecting social class differentiation, a view associated with such sociological eminences as Simmel and Veblen, and (2) to offer in its place his own quite original approach to fashion as a massive “collective selection” process wherein choices are guided more by the elusive lure of modernity than by invidious class tinctions as such. Prominent among the strengths of Blumer's position is the demonstrably greater empirical validity of “collective selection” as compared to “class differentiation.” Among its shortcomings are Blumer's slighting of a salient social psychological theme in Simmers dialectical approach to fashion and, more important, his failure to address in any sustained way the role of the fashion industry in the fashion process. The recently emerging, symbolic interactionist concept of social world offers a means for redressing this omission and for advancing further upon the ground opened by Herbert Blumer's still exciting breakthrough in the sociology of fashion.     

Protecting Clients From Harm: The Role of Continuing Professional Education

Abstract

In the absence of professional regulation and in the context of a changing and competitive environment, the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) encourages member commitment to self-regulation and continuing professional education (CPE). Continuing professional education is promoted as the platform upon which the credibility of the entire profession of social work and the maintenance of high-quality standards of practice rest. High practice standards are integral to the protection of vulnerable people from potential unethical, inappropriate and harmful practice. The present article asserts that Australia's changing and competitive environment, driven by prevailing ideologies and policies, has an impact on social work practice and is harmful to vulnerable clients. In order to protect vulnerable clients from harm and to maintain high standards of practice, the AASW's CPE programme arguably needs to include topics that enhance professional knowledge of current ideologies and policies and their impact on social work practice and clients.     

“Its Own Kind of Torture”: Denial,Acknowledgment, and the Debate About Force Feeding at Guantánamo Bay

Social science research has revealed how U.S. political and media elites, as well as U.S. citizens, downplayed and denied allegations of torture during the country's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This research effectively applies and extends Stanley Cohen's ( 2001 ) typology of the rhetoric of denial. We lack, however, a typology of the rhetoric of acknowledgment. In this article, I synthesize studies of discourse of torture to develop just such a typology. I propose three rhetorical forms of acknowledgment, which parallel Cohen's forms of denial. Literal or factual acknowledgment includes claims to convince audiences that alleged incidents indeed occurred. Interpretive acknowledgment consists of claims to affirm that those allegations constitute serious human rights violations, such as cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or torture. Implicatory acknowledgment includes efforts to delegitimize torture. I then illustrate the use of the rhetoric of acknowledgment through a qualitative content analysis of newspaper coverage of force feeding at the United States' detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. This case allows me to extend our understanding of the rhetoric of denial and acknowledgment by revealing ways in which discourse around force feeding deviates from that around the United States' use of “enhanced interrogation” and torture.     

An Empirical Analysis of Image Restoration: Texaco's Racism Crisis

As in any social science, theory in public relations is advanced by making and testing predictions from that theory. This article reports the results of a study designed to test some claims advanced by image restoration theory, a theory that is being used and cited frequently in crisis management research. The experimental study subjects conclusions from a case study to empirical analysis. More precisely, claims about the effectiveness of various image restoration strategies used in Texaco's efforts to combat a racism incident are tested. The results suggest that many conclusions drawn from image restoration case studies should be taken only as tentative. The results recommend a more rigorous application of image restoration theory to unpack its utility for crisis management and public relations.     

Service user/survivor-led research in mental health: epistemological possibilities

This paper considers possible epistemologies for user-led and survivor research by drawing on four discourses: the mainstream English tradition, Canadian Mad Studies, critical theory more generally and feminist standpoint epistemology. It discusses general, universalising epistemologies, the extent to which these characterise the discourses at stake and the problems with knowledge claims that rest on such singular conceptualisations. The institutional and political concomitants are considered. The paper has an additional double aim: to engage with survivor scholarship around critical theory and to insert that scholarship into the field of critical theory itself in a novel manner.     

Gender Quotas – Controversial But Trendy

The recent introduction of electoral gender quotas all over the world represents an interesting new research area, since quotas touch upon so many central themes in feminist theory, political theory and policy analysis. The three articles on gender quotas in this cluster discuss ‘classic’ themes in quotas research such as quota discourses, implementation of different types of quotas in different electoral systems, and the effects of gender quotas. But the articles also contribute to expanding our research agenda with new lines of enquiry, such as attitudes towards quotas after the introduction of quotas; or the importance of mobilization around the demand for quotas in spite of poor results in terms of increasing women's representation. In this introduction to the three articles, it is argued that we need research into the question of why male dominated parliaments all over the world introduce gender quotas. It seems obvious that motives other than pure feminist ones are involved, since politics is after all a world of mixed motives, bargaining and compromises. Also, the introduction argues that there is a need for further developing our concepts and methods when studying the impact of gender quotas and the effect of women's representation in general. Different results may derive not solely from different cases, but also from the use of disparate criteria for this evaluation.     

Transferring friendship: girls' and boys' friendships in the transition from primary to secondary school

This paper seeks to explore the issues and concerns that impact upon girls' and boys' friendship groups as they transfer from primary to secondary school. Using the girls' and boys' own voices, we document the extent to which their existing social relationships are disrupted as they adapt to and engage with a new school setting. Through semi‐structured interviews and questionnaires conducted in the final year of primary school and the first year of secondary school, we identify students' concerns regarding their attitudes to friendship. We consider the extent to which account is taken of this aspect of children's friendships and explore and analyse commonalities and differences in their responses. We argue that the priorities of our student groups are different to those advocated by the school. We further attempt to examine how the girls and boys in our sample negotiate their new environment.     

What Labour Engenders1: Women and Men,Time and Work in the New Guinea Highlands

Debates over equality in New Guinea have raged for years. While people may subscribe to egalitarian values, this seems hollow to some observers in the context of relations between women and men, notably the sexual division of labour. Some even talk of men exploiting the labour of women. This paper considers the validity of these claims in the Was valley of the Southern Highlands Province, using data collected in a time-budget survey to document and assess differences between women's and men's activities. It also reviews ideas of time expended undertaking any activity, and the relevance of notions of work and labour to people's daily routines. It questions the propriety of introducing capitalism's preoccupation with labour. Differences in the activities of women and men, far from evidencing relations of inequality, are significant for such stateless political orders in eschewing hierarchical arrangements, where no one exercises control over resources or capital needed by others to secure livelihoods.     

A FAMILY-OF-ORIGIN SCALE*

While family-of-origin interventions are widely used, the theoretical assumptions upon which these techniques are based are largely without empirical validation. This paper reports on the development of a family-of-origin scale that may be used in such research as well as employed as an adjunct to therapy. The resultant scale attempts to measure self-perceived levels of health in one's family of origin. Presented are data pertaining to the scale's validity, reliability, and normative sample.     

More than a Façade: Somatic and Structural Determinants in Erving Goffman's Theory of the Perduring Self

This paper argues that Erving Goffman endorses the veracity of a perduring self. Culling the corpus of his work, recent findings in neurophysiology and cognitive science surrounding the autonomy and mutual determination of emotion, cognition, and social structure are drawn upon when unpacking his highly composite theory. Isolating Goffman's claims about the psychobiological underpinning of the emotionally sentient body and those pertaining to macro and micro‐structural determinants, the former, it is argued, champion the coherence of the self insofar as they link cathected feelings to individual desires and inclinations. The latter, conversely, complicate the picture by accentuating the social construction of emotions and the relationship between episodic cognitive operations and multifarious interpretive frames. In the end, however, it is shown that Goffman's macro‐structural account, far from being residual, discloses the consistency, and unity of the self occasioned by social proximity and general social norms.     

Reacting to Invasive Species: The Construction of a Moral Panic over Burmese Pythons

A variety of animals occupy the bad side of the Arluke‐Sanders (1996) socio‐zoological scale, including “invasives.” We contribute to the literature on animals and social problems by examining the societal reaction toward invasive Burmese pythons, focusing on the claims‐making process that culminated in the construction of a moral panic about these snakes. We seek to enhance sociological and public knowledge about social problems involving invasive species—a category of non‐human animals, plants, and organisms that attract significant scientific, political, and public attention. We draw from the work of, among others, Arluke and Sanders (1996), Nagy and Johnson (2013) and Jerolmack (2008) and argue that problematizing some animals, especially invasive species, involves the use of claims about ecological and physical harms. However, these claims do not come from the same sources or arouse similar responses. For strategic purposes, claims‐makers may rely on assertions that an animal is physically threatening, rather than ecologically threatening. They may emphasize the dangerousness or lethality of the animal to create fear and generate momentum toward a desired policy response, typically involving control or eradication of the animal. The goal is to restore the boundary between humans and nature which the animal's presence has disrupted.     

Mead's Theory of Emergence as a Framework for Multilevel Sociological Inquiry

This article explores Mead's theory of emergence. The essence of this theory is conditional interactionism. In this perspective, every social fact is an emergent arising out of preconditioned interaction between the acting unit and the social and nonsocial environment. Its nature is shaped by (1) the patterns, processes, and contents of the interaction, including their mediation by such factors as perception/meaning, reflective thinking, role‐taking‐based rationality, emotion, nonsymbolic power in use, and reality testing; and (2) the preexisting conditions of both the acting unit and the environment that underlie this interaction. I argue that Mead's conditional interactionism can be used as a powerful guide for sociological inquiry at all levels of research and that it has the potential to function as a metatheoretical approach to compete with both the objectivist/structuralist and the subjectivist/phenomenological traditions. Mead's theory of emergence is probably the greatest treasure we can unearth from his semineglected legacy.     

Can (and Should) We Construct an Evolutionary Psychological Theory of Institutions?

This article considers the question of whether, as a number of scholars have suggested, we can (or should) develop a theory of institutions from the perspective of evolutionary psychology (EP), construed broadly. To do so, the article reviews EP's core explanatory strategy and the main claims that have been made by proponents of an EP institutional theory, focusing on arguments about (1) welfare states and (2) “honor cultures” and the institutions associated with them. On the one hand, the article argues, there are both logical and empirical problems with current efforts to develop EP theories of these institutional domains. On the other hand, sociology's relative absence from the development of such theories contributes to these problems, and sociologists can learn from EP. Above all, insights drawn from EP may help us to construct better accounts of various institutions’ micro‐foundations. To this end, collaboration and exchange between EP scholars and sociologists is called for, and some suggestions are made about how this might be done most fruitfully.     

Common Causes:

This paper proposes that what we want is not a "reflective" but a reflerive feminist theory. The "reflecters" vs. "the reflected on" is one of the distorting dualisms entrenched in our rotten "discursive inheritance." We can examine the already impressive successes of feminist research to understand the reflexivity of feminist theory: how feminist theory itself has been "socially produced" as a result of the same kinds of causes which our theory claims function in history in general. This kind of reflexive theory makes clear that there can be no single, experiencing, knowing, acting, reflecting, female subject through whose experience we can understand politics and social life, for the sex/gender system is expressed only in historically and culturally specific ways. These differences in women's experience of the sexlgender system set specific goals for feminist analyses, theoretical categories, and politics of inquiry.     

Leaving Alinsu: Towards a Transformative Community of Practice

Wenger's portrait of Alinsu insurance claims processors as elaborated in Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity remains closely associated with the community of practice model. The enduring metaphor of Alinsu has limited the scope of Wenger's theory to relatively simplistic, closed, and reproductive systems. The model has both reproductive and transformative potential, and it is the latter that has been less widely taken up and developed. In this article I consider ways in which analyzing a different instantiation, the No Outsiders participatory action research project, can reinvigorate and broaden our understandings of the community of practice model and point the way toward the possibility of learning and practice communities that are more transformative and less reproductive.