THE PERCEPTION OF MAN AND THE CONCEPTION OF SOCIETY: TWO APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY

The social sciences offer two distinct approaches to understanding society. One originated with the Scottish moral philosophers and shaped the discipline of economics. The other emerged from the French enlightenment and influenced the study of sociology. The two approaches are based on radically different perceptions of man and man's relation to society. This paper explores these alternative hypotheses and examines some major implications. It concludes that the hypothesis reaching back to the Scottish philosophers provides the basis for a unified approach in the social sciences.     

FINDING POLITICS IN THE SILLY AND THE SACRED: ANTI-RAPE ACTIVISM ON CAMPUS

Volunteers often describe what they do as nonpolitical. That is, they tend to construct their efforts as simultaneously above and below politics but rarely as explicitly within the realm of politics. Using data from field research at a campus antirape organization, I analyze these aspects of participants' efforts and consider how they are linked to politics. I argue that even actions which appear at first glace to be nonpolitical have political consequences for movements and movement participants. Constructing volunteers' efforts as apolitical, either above or below politics, has the consequence of limiting the transformative potential of volunteer and activist work. I conclude by discussing this and other consequences of avoiding politics.     

STRADDLING THE SACRED AND SECULAR: CREATING A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE THROUGH BELLY DANCE

Few studies examine spiritual experiences through seemingly secular activities. Who has spiritual experiences while belly dancing? How does belly dance become spiritual? Using surveys and interviews with 77 belly dancers in the United States, this study shows that belly dance is spiritual for people who consider spirituality important in their lives, have belly danced for many years, rarely attend worship services, and are not affiliated with Judeo-Christian religions. Belly dance becomes spiritual when dancers “let go” and experience various connections. The dance itself and the environment in which one dances facilitate spiritual experiences. Implications for spirituality are discussed.     

THE USE OF INTERACTIVE VIDEO TO DEMONSTRATE DIFFERENTIAL APPROACHES TO MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY

This article outlines the development of an interactive video system designed to demonstrate differential approaches to family therapy using identical therapy situations. The primary purpose of the project is to resolve some of the confusion many novice family therapists experience while being exposed to the numerous family therapy approaches. Technical aspects of the interactive video system are also outlined.     

ON THE VALUE OF INTEGRATING APPROACHES TO FAMILY THERAPY

This paper considers the strengths and weaknesses of an integrative approach to family therapy. An integrative approach can explain a broad range of human behavior, can shape intervention strategy in a manner appropriate to each case, can allow for treatment of a broad client population, can combine the strengths of each of the specific approaches, can promote objectivity in selection of strategies of change, and can permit easy expansion of the repertoire of techniques. The potential pitfalls basically revolve around the complexity of practice; in particular, the possibility of inconsistency of approach. With care, these pitfalls can be avoided. Integration is viewed as a viable alternative to school-specific practice in family therapy.     

ON THE VALUE OF INTEGRATING APPROACHES TO FAMILY THERAPY

This paper considers the strengths and weaknesses of an integrative approach to family therapy. An integrative approach can explain a broad range of human behavior, can shape intervention strategy in a manner appropriate to each case, can allow for treatment of a broad client population, can combine the strengths of each of the specific approaches, can promote objectivity in selection of strategies of change, and can permit easy expansion of the repertoire of techniques. The potential pitfalls basically revolve around the complexity of practice; in particular, the possibility of inconsistency of approach. With care, these pitfalls can be avoided. Integration is viewed as a viable alternative to school-specific practice in family therapy.     

THREE APPROACHES TO FAMILY THERAPY: A STUDY OF CONVERGENCE AND DIVERGENCE*

The literature on professional development suggests that the process of segmentation or specialization within a profession logically accompanies the aggregation, dissemination and application of new and expanding bodies of knowledge. The present study empirically examines the extent and dimensions of this process of segmentation within the family therapy movement by comparing the belief and action systems of 1000 experienced family therapists oriented to one of three major models of family therapy. Two theses are suggested which may explain the findings depicting a unique patterning of similarities and differences among the three models; each implying different directives and implications for the continued growth of the interdisciplinary practice of family therapy.     

INTEGRATING INDIVIDUAL AND SYSTEMS APPROACHES: STRATEGIC-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY

The existing literature on the integration of family and individual approaches, largely analytic in orientation, consists of models which, for the most part, are not brief in application. An alternative, brief model is presented which integrates an individual, cognitive-behavioral approach with a strategic approach at both pragmatic and theoretical levels. The Strategic-Behavioral model justifies the selective use of behavioral frames in strategic therapy and offers guidelines for their selective application.     

THE STATE OF THE FEDERAL BUDGET AND THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY: FURTHER EVIDENCE

Simultaneous monetary and fiscal policy reaction functions are derived and estimated for the 1969:2–1984.3 period. The results suggest that the Reagan administration has abandoned fiscal policy as a stabilization tool. Furthermore, although the average money growth rate declined in the Reagan administration, variation in the rate of money growth indicates that monetary policy has been used to combat unemployment. Finally, monetary and fiscal policies were not coordinated during this period. Rather, monetary and fiscal policy appear to be set by a Nash equilibrium in a non-cooperative game. In a Nash equilibrium, the policy chosen by each authority maximizes its payoff, given the policy choice of the other authority.     

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS AND THE IRISH QUESTION:

This article builds on theoretical work in the social movements literature that uses "master frames" (Snow and Benford 1992) to account for the cyclical clustering of social movement activity within certain historical periods. I identify "master frame alignment" as the dynamic process by which social movement actors rhetorically transform the master frames within a cycle of protest to make them resonate more clearly with a movement's unique social and historical situation. Just as frame alignment processes serve to link a movement organization's activities, goals, and ideology with those of a potential group of adherents, master frame alignment processes link the activities, goals, and ideology of a movement organization with those espoused within the broader symbolic atmosphere of the social movement. I present historical data from Irish newspapers and political documents to show how the Irish Sinn Féin movement, seeking self-determination during the early twentieth century, rhetorically reconstructed the master frames generated by the League of Nations in order to better exploit this particular window of political opportunity.     

DECENTERED MOVEMENTS: THE CASE OF THE STRUCTURAL AND PRECEPTUAL VERSATILITY OF THE RASTAFARI

Since the modus operandi of social movements varies across different social settings, their survival mechanism is not universally the same. All social movements, among other things, do not depend on formal organization. Whether a social movement adopts formal organization also depends on the metaphysics to which it adheres. An egalitarian movement, for instance, could be opposed to formal organization, as it amounts to replicating the structure of the establishment in which flat hierarchy is absent. Such movements, which rely on informal networks and provide greater interpretative leverage to their members, fall under the category of decentered movements. The study is intended to demonstrate the need and relevance of this alternative concept. The movement selected for this purpose is the Rastafari, the language of resistance of Jamaicans of African descent. This political religious protest movement, currently with dense cultural manifestations and despite structural and preceptual versatility that characterizes it has significantly exerted its influence not only in its place of origin, Jamaica, but also in other parts of the world. On the basis of the experience of the Rastafari, this article details the advantages of decenteredness over social movement organization for movements that find less accommodation in their respective societies. Data are derived from primary and secondary sources, including the writings of the movement articulators facilitators of the Rastafari.     

THE MYTH OF THE GRINGO CHIEF: AMAZONIAN MESSIAHS AND THE POWER OF IMMEDIACY

In this article, I investigate the sociocultural grounding and sociopolitical position of Randy Borman, the “gringo chief” of the indigenous Cofán people of Amazonian Ecuador. Born to North American missionary-linguists, Borman grew up in Cofán communities, attended school in urban Ecuador and the United States, and developed into the most important Cofán activist on the global stage. I consider him alongside other ethnically ambiguous leaders of Amazonian political movements, whom anthropologists have described as “messianic” figures. The historians and ethnographers who write about Amazonian messianism debate the relationship between myth and reason in indigenous political action. Using their discussion as a starting point, I propose the concept of “mythical politics,” a type of transformative action that concentrates enabling forms of socio-temporal mediation in the shape of individual actors and instantaneous events. I develop my approach through a discussion of the work of Georges Sorel, Georg Lukács, and Antonio Gramsci, three theorists who debate the role of myth in political mobilization. By applying their insights to the case of Borman, I explore the relationship between myth, mediation, and rationality in Cofán politics and political movements more generally.     

THE COLOR OF THE UNDERGRADUATE EXPERIENCE AND THE OCCUPATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF BLACKS AND WHITES: Evidence from Longitudinal Data

This study examines the impact of attendance at colleges with higher black enrollment on occupational attainment. The unique multipopulation LISREL models focus on blacks and whites, specify income and occupational self-direction as distinct dimensions of labor market accomplishment, and adjust for the possible confounding influence of college selectivity and precollege self-appraisals. Data from the NLS-72, augmented by selectivity and black enrollment data from other sources, are utilized. Findings largely support the hypothesis of within-race parity in occupational attainment. Black enrollment exerts nonsignificant effects on income among blacks and occupational self-direction in both races and slightly enhances income among whites.     

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: THE FRENCH CASE

This article provides a test of the secularization hypothesis, which argues that economic growth, industrialization, increased literacy, and low fertility decrease religiosity. It focuses on the elections of the secular politicians who voted in favor of the separation between Church and State in the French Parliament in 1905. If the secularization hypothesis is correct, these secular politicians should have been elected in the most developed areas of France at the turn of the twentieth century. Contrary to the predictions of the secularization hypothesis, we find that the support for secular politicians originated in the rural areas of France. (JEL Z12, D72, N43)     

FINANCE-INEQUALITY NEXUS: THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT

Financial development affects income inequality differently in the short and in the long term. Investigating OECD countries from 1870–2011, we find in the short run, an improvement in financial development tends to reduce inequality, while in the long run, more finance contributes to more inequality. The short-run effect concurs with theories advocating financial development increases the availability of financial services, primarily for the poor. However, this effect becomes nil within a few years. Results thus imply that policies aimed at reducing inequality through improving access of the poor to finance need to be carefully designed to ensure longevity of impact. (JEL O15, O16, D31, G20, E44)     

PIERRE BOURDIEU AND THE PERILS OF ALLODOXIA : NATIONALISM,GLOBALISM AND THE GEOPOLITICS OF INTELLECTUAL EXCHANGE

Working outward from the issues raised by Bourdieu in his essay ‘Passport to Duke’, the tension is explored between, on the one hand, the participation of intellectuals in a putatively public sphere of mutually respectful, transnational exchange and, on the other hand, the pull of those territorialized, nationalistic contexts in which intellectuals find themselves compelled to give concrete articulation to their professional desires for autonomy and solidarity. In the process, the paper touches on some of the ways in which Bourdieu's work - and Bourdieu's legacy - can help us cope more effectively with the confusions of a period in which, in an often overwhelming fashion, we are confronted with cultural challenges that arise out of the asymmetrical relations that inform the global interactions of nation-states. Crucial to my argument is Bourdieu's tendency, at various points in his final years, to speak of allodoxia where he might previously have spoken of misrecognition. By thus shifting attention toward the categorical mistakes that arise in the course of the movement from one national field to another - from one territorially-bounded framework of opinion and custom to another - Bourdieu, it is argued, elevates the problematic of misrecognition to a global level.     

TEACHING SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY: A COMPARISON OF TWO PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES

The use of experiential approaches to teach social welfare policy suggests that such methods may increase undergraduate social work students' knowledge of and skill in working on social and economic justice issues. This article compares 2 such methods using qualitative and quantitative approaches. The first teaches social welfare policy as a service learning course and the second integrates social welfare policy into the students' practicum experience. The authors conclude that both approaches are equally effective in helping students to increase their knowledge of policy concepts and may help students feel more competent in using policy-related skills.     

THE SUCCESS OF THE FED AND THE DEATH OF MONETARISM

We propose an explanation for the demise of monetarism in the United States. We show that optimal monetary policy would lead to zero correlation between monetary aggregates and inflation if the effect of monetary aggregates on inflation is known precisely and to negative correlations if there is coefficient uncertainty. From 1960 to 1982 the correlation of the monetary base and inflation was positive and so the variance in the growth rate of monetary base in the United States was clearly too large monetary base growth destabilized inflation. However, from 1983 to 2003 variations in monetary base growth were clearly stabilizing and could have been just right. ( JEL E52, E31, E32)