SIGN,SYMBOL, AND METALANGUAGE: AGAINST THE INTEGRATION OF SEMIOTICS AND SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

Dean MacCannell's proposal for a “rapprochement” between symbolic interaction-ism and semiotics, in which the “generality” of symbolic interactionism's conception the sign is “raised” to that of semiotics, is examined. By turning exclusively to Saussurian semiotics, MacCannell does not adequately reflect the distinction between “natural” and “arbitrary” representation in Peirce's semiosis that is the most fruitful link with Mead's symbolic interactionism. Consequently, MacCannell's argument at the level of terminology is flawed. Rather than merging, the perspectives might benefit from a radical rethinking of representation. This would involve preserving the distinction between the “natural” and “arbitrary,” while at the same time recognizing that in mass society “arbitrary” representation has become a kind of “second-order” (Barthes) indexical metalanguage of membership within which symbolic interaction may occur. As Baudrillard claims, “commutation of signs” has replaced “interaction of symbols,” yet strains against an unfulfilled symbolic demand. Efforts should be directed at generating a theory of representation capable of addressing the tension that produces this symbolic demand.     

Alternative measures of benefit for nonmarket goods which are substitutes or complements for market goods

Nonmarket goods include quality aspects of market goods and public goods which may be substitutes or complements for private goods. Traditional methods of measuring benefits of exogenous changes in nonmarket goods are based on Marshallian demand: change in spending on market goods or change in consumer surplus. More recently, willingness to pay and accept have been used as welfare measures. This paper defines the relationships among alternative measures of welfare for perfect substitutes, imperfect substitutes, and complements. Examples are given to demonstrate how to obtain exact measures from systems of market good demand equations.Thanks also to the very helpful anonymous reviewers for Social Choice and Welfare.Thanks to Professor Deb Brown, Purdue University, for her encouragement and help over the period in which this paper was written.     

Theories of Family Treatment

“Theory” in the social sciences may be defined as “Systematically organized, lawlike propositions about society and social life leading to hypotheses that produce a high rate of positive affirmation.”¹ No such theory exists in the subject area of “family”, generally much less in “family therapy”.     

Network models for social selection processes

We present network models for social selection processes, based on the p¹ class of models. Social selection occurs when individuals form social relationships on the basis of certain characteristics they possess. Similarity is a common hypothesis for selection processes, but one that is usually framed dyadically. Structural balance approaches move beyond dyadic conceptualizations and require more sophisticated modeling. The two-block chain graph approach of p¹ social influence models is adapted to allow individual attribute variables to be predictors of network ties. Using a range of dependence assumptions, we present a hierarchy of increasingly complex selection models, including models for continuous attribute measures, which in their simplest form may be assumed to be linear. The models have scope, however, for more complex functional formulations so that more specific hypotheses may be investigated by postulating a particular functional form. Our empirical examples illustrate how dyadic selection may be transmuted into structural effects, and how the absence of dyadic selection may still mask a subtle higher order selection effect as individuals “position” themselves within a wider social environment. In conclusion, we discuss the links between social influence and social selection models.     

Knowledge Management in Social Work–Towards a Conceptual Framework

SUMMARY

Knowledge management (KM) is receiving increasing attention in the human services such as social work. Social service organizations have started to use information and communication technology for knowledge management purposes with the aim of improving service efficiency and effectiveness. Existing KM studies, particularly in the commercial or industrial sectors, mainly focus on the reductionistic “knowledge-as-object” view, while other perspectives such as “knowledge-as-process” are less discussed. This paper argues that these mainstream conceptions of knowledge in KM do not fully fit with that of social work knowledge, and that a spectrum view may be more useful for future practice and inquiry in the area.     

Theories on Modernization of Japan Today

Abstract When examining the issues related to the theories on modernization of Japan up until now, we can distinguish three extremely important trends of thought. I would like to refer to those three trends as the “Post War Theories” (P.T.), the “American Theories” (A.T.), and the “Beyond Western Theories” (B.T.). “P.T.” emphasize the importance of modernization as democratization, meanwhile the “A.T.” emphasize the importance of modernization as industrialization. In the “B.T.”, post-modern debate is included. In the context of Japan, modernization should be defined as a process which has two equally important elements: democratization and industrialization. It is a process that originated in the West, but was accepted by non Western countries mixing with their own traditions transforming and organizing the “World System”. Theoretical reconsideration on the subject of “acceptance” has crucial importance in this case. We need also to start from the pre-modern period as the initial condition for modernization. Concerning the Japanese pre-modern era, we need to analyze the “Ie” (household) system as a social structure, and worldly attitudes as a spiritual or value structure, and finally the bureaucratic system as the intermediate element of the above two structures. Edo (pre-modern) society was a compound of “Ie” and a bureaucratic system. Because the bureaucratic structure functioned by the very law of the period. the bushi warriors were expected to promote their abilities in judicature, administration, policy planning and decisions, and then they tended to become like modern bureaucrats in their characters. Peasant society also had a similar system as mentioned above. Japan's “Ie” existed as a certain social unit called “Ie-Kabu”. From that, Japanese “Ie” came to have a structure where families were bound within public control apparatus instruments. Thus the control mechanisms of the government effectively functioned down to the common people's level through this apparatus.     

The Migration–Development Nexus and Organizational Time

While some migration research looks at how time influences individual migration trajectories, little attention has been paid to the ways in which temporal considerations influence migration and development. We propose the idea of “organizational time” and argue that bringing time into sharper focus calls into question how the categories of migration and return affect organizational change; reveals how the career stage at which migrants leave affects their ability to influence organizational change when they return, and shows how the role of senders and receivers of social remittances shifts over time. We draw on research on the impact of return migration and social remittances on institutional capacity building and policymaking in the health sectors in Gujarat, India to make these arguments.     

ANTIDUMPING ECHOING

This article documents that antidumping (AD) “echoing” (i.e., different countries sequentially imposing AD measures on the same product from the same exporter) is common practice among users of AD. We develop a dynamic game where two competing importers can impose AD measures on a third exporting country in one of two periods, if at all. Assuming that governments are politically motivated (favoring their import‐competing industry), AD echoing occurs only for intermediate values of a country's political‐economy parameter. This result is confirmed by our econometric analysis, demonstrating that countries' political‐economy‐driven AD actions are interdependent and should not be analyzed in isolation. (JEL F12, F13, F14)     

Social Movements and Patronage Politics: Processes of Demobilization and Dual Pressure

Why might social movements be highly contentious at one point in time and demobilize shortly after? Based on ethnographic fieldwork, this article examines the dynamics of demobilization of popular movements in a context of patronage politics. I argue that demobilization in these contexts results from relational processes creating a “dual pressure” stemming “from below” and “from above.” In social environments where patronage is pervasive, poor people develop survival strategies relying on clientelistic arrangements. They participate in a social movement organization (SMO) to voice their rights, but also to address pressing survival needs by gaining access to resources. These expectations of constituents create a pressure “from below” on leaders of an SMO, which respond by securing resources obtained through alliances with national political actors. In turn, these alliances create a pressure “from above,” because local leaders reciprocate this national support by eschewing the organization of collective actions. Drawing on data culled from 12 months of fieldwork on an Argentine peasant movement, this article inspects the interconnections between popular movements and patronage politics to refine our understanding of demobilization processes; contribute to discussions regarding the role of culture on contentious politics; and shed light on current demobilization trends in Latin America.     

Pachedu‐Zenzele in the Diaspora: Promoting Sexual Health Amongst Zimbabweans in England

Migrants have been found to be at enhanced risk for the Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV) in comparison with settled populations. As they migrate, they often bring with them their traditions and cultural values, which may influence the ways they access or make sense of health promotion interventions in the host country. In the diaspora, should they experience compromised citizenship, marked by an unresolved immigration status, some may need to remain invisible and this may include not accessing or presenting late for vital health care interventions. Addressing the needs of such invisible populations is key to health promotion work and paramount to public health interests. This paper describes how ever‐changing “traditions”, in particular the notions of Pachedu and Zenzele, were harnessed to develop ethically grounded sexual health care interventions amongst Zimbabweans in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. These interventions were delivered in mundane settings that formed some of the key everyday networks of this population. The reinvention of “tradition” for the purposes of delivering health and social care interventions has been one of the cornerstones of health promotion interventions in Africa, where the rates of HIV are some of the highest in the world. The concept of Pachedu harnessed confidentiality in the delivery of sexual health interventions with Zenzele calling for communal involvement in such initiatives. A key point that resulted in the success of this intervention was partnership work between statutory providers and the local Zimbabwean population throughout the project’s life span. Rather than being construed as passive recipients of health and social care interventions, local Zimbabweans and their statutory partners were engaged in mutual capacity building initiatives. Local Zimbabweans were also engaged and consulted throughout, from the conceptualization of the project, delivery, monitoring, and dissemination of the findings.     

Toward a Sociology of Nature

Although we often believe that nature stands apart from social life, our experience of nature is profoundly social. This paper unpacks this paradox in order to (1) explain sociology's neglect of the environment and (2) introduce the articles in this special issue on “the sociology of nature.” I argue that sociology's disinterest in the biophysical world is a legacy of its classical concern with tracing society's “Great Transformation” from gemeinschaft to gesellschaft: while early anthropologists studied “primitive” societies that allegedly had not yet completed “the passage from nature to culture” (Lévi‐Strauss 1963 : 99), pioneering sociologists presumed that industrialization and urbanization liberated “modern” society from nature and therefore focused their attention on “urbanism as a way of life” (Wirth 1938 ). As exemplified by the articles in this symposium, environmental sociology critiques the nature‐culture and town‐country dualisms. One of environmental sociology's core contributions has been demonstrating that nature is just as much a social construction as race or gender; however, its more profound challenge to the discipline lies in its refutation of the sociological axiom that social facts can be explained purely through reference to other social facts. “Environmental facts” are a constitutive feature of social life, not merely an effect of it.     

The Role of Social Workers in Welfare to Work Programs

Summary

Welfare to work is an important arena for understanding the changing nature of social policy and practice in Australia, the UK, Hong Kong, and the United States. This article discusses some key policy and practice issues in respect to social work professional training and practice. Welfare to work programs focus on “active” measures and stress the importance of “responsibilities” for all people of working age to support themselves through employment. The programs are being implemented in different ways across these different countries but in all cases the focus is increasingly on groups of people who may require substantial levels of assistance to meet their needs and to help them find and sustain employment.     

Small Town in Mass Society Revisited1

Abstract The case study of a small New York town that dramatized the thesis that the secular expansion of macro forces—urbanization, industrialization, bureaucratization—has permanently reduced the autonomy of all small communities is an example of a special type of discovery/persuasion strategy in the social sciences: the “opposition case study.” In contrast to the more rigorous “competitive test” or the atheoretical “negative case,” opposition case studies confront the dominant perspective with a qualitative illustration of a new theory in the context of a zero-sum game. When they are successful, opposition cases meet four criteria: the dominant view is immediately rendered obsolete; the origin of the new idea supports its plausibility; the new perspective is shown to be testable; and the new perspective quickly generates new lines of research. Small Town in Mass Society meets the first criterion, and may have been heuristic, but its probable origin in populist ideology undermines its testability.     

Return Migrations of African‐Americans to the South: Reclaiming a Land of Promise,Going Home,or Both?*

Abstract Using samples of census data from the University of Minnesota Population Center's “Integrated Public Use Microdata Series” (IPUMS), we describe trends in African‐American migration to the South across recent decades, and explore the applicability of the concept of “return migration” to various demographic patterns. Our findings suggest that the return movement contains multiple migration streams involving African‐Americans of higher socio‐economic status (compared with both origin and destination populations) moving to both urban and rural destinations. These patterns represent clear differences from the earlier 20^th century's “Great Migration” of African‐Americans from South to North. The recent return migration streams suggest that the South may be replacing the North as a “land of promise” for some upwardly mobile African‐Americans, and may also reflect what Carol Stack (1996) has termed a “call to home” as a motivating factor shaping recent African‐American migration to the rural South.     

CONGLOMERATES AND REGULATION

Conglomerates operating integrated productions in different regulated and unregulated sectors may benefit of scope economies. However, the precise size of these synergies is often unknown to both rival firms and regulators. We show that the conglomerate's private information on scope economies may negatively affect both the regulated and the unregulated sectors depending on the precise nature of competition (strategic substitutes or complements). We also unveil a novel effect of regulation that involves an informational externality to the conglomerate's rivals. Notwithstanding these complications, and independently of the nature of competition, we show that in our model it is desirable, as for welfare, to let the firm run integrated productions, unless diseconomies of scope may realize. (JEL L51, L43, L52)     

Knowing what is good for you: Empirical analysis of personal preferences and the “objective good”

This paper aims to test empirically if certain frequently used measures of well-being, which are regarded as valuable properties of human life, are actually desired by people. In other words, it investigates whether the “expert judgments” in social science overlap with social consensus on what the “good life” is. The starting hypothesis is that there is an overlap between these two in the case of basic needs. For the analysis, individuals’ self-reported life satisfaction is used as a proxy for “utility”, based on survey data, which includes about 30,000 individuals from 21 different European countries. The results indicate that the commonly used measures of well-being – labour market situation, health, housing conditions and social relations – significantly influence people's satisfaction, ceteris paribus. Next, the stability of preferences is tested using Hungarian data from the 1990s. The results indicate that there was only very limited change in the relationship between life satisfaction and basic measures of well-being despite the landslide of societal and economic transformation.     

SOURCES OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: THE EFFECTS OF INTERNAL LABOR MARKETS AND WORKER VALUES

Data from the 1991 General Social Survey and National Organizations Survey are used to assess how organizational commitment is structured by one “demand side,” organizational-based factor, firm internal labor markets, and one “supply side,” individual-based factor, the values/preferences of workers. Findings indicate that organizational commitment is best explained by the joint influence of these two factors rather than by their independent effects. Specifically, firms with internal labor markets are conducive to the development of high levels of organizational commitment to the extent that what they offer, namely, opportunities for career-status and long-term employment “fit” what workers desire: job security and possibilities for promotion with their current employer. We offer directions for future research that may shed additional light on the manner in which internal labor markets and the values/preferences of workers may structure organizational commitment.     

Do tests of nonverbal decoding ability measure sensitivity to nonverbal cues?

Compared to efficient decoders (who excel on tests of nonverbal decoding ability), inefficient decoders may (1) use a restricted repertoire of nonverbal cues; (2) use the same repertoire but be less sensitive to the cues; or (3) be more sensitive to cues of high informative utility and less sensitive to cues of lesser utility. Subjects were asked to identify romantic heterosexual couples in photographs. Potential cues were generated by think aloud protocols (Study 1); their presence and informative utility were determined through ratings (Study 2). Study 3 estimated cues' influence on “couple” decisions. Decisions were affected by all the informative cues (“proximity,” “contact,” and “context”) with efficient decoders being more sensitive to “proximity” than inefficient decoders. However, inefficient decoders weremore sensitive than efficient decoders to uninformative cues suggesting couples' similarity. Hence, the present test does not measure sensitivity (Hypotheses 1 and 2) but measures sensitivity-tuning (Hypothesis 3).     

ON THE EVOLUTION OF TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY IN LATIN AMERICA

Because of several policy distortions, including import‐substitution industrialization, widespread government intervention, and both domestic and international competitive barriers, there has been a general presumption that Latin America has been much less productive than the leading economies in the last decades. In this paper we show, however, that until the late 1970s Latin American countries had high productivity levels relative to the United States. It is only after the late 1970s that we observe a fast decrease of relative total factor productivity (TFP) in Latin America. We also show that the inclusion of human capital in the production function makes a crucial difference in the TFP calculations for Latin America. (JEL O11, O47, O54)     

The Aural and Moral Idylls of “Englishness” and Folk Music

The idea of “Englishness” is explored as an historical social construction that is subject to ongoing negotiation. Important features of “Englishness” are embedded in the sacralized symbolism of the “rural idyll,” which represents traditional English values. “Landscapes” and “soundscapes” are utilized to construct personal and national identities in periods of “revivalism.” By viewing English folk music through an interactionist framework, responses to the music build upon earlier collective works that have shaped traditional song. “Englishness” is problematized as either an inclusive, or exclusive, identity. Ideational artifacts thus provide a foundation for social action.¹