Producing Evaluative Knowledge: The Interactional Bases of Social Science Findings*

This paper examines the interactional underpinnings of social scientific research. Based on a detailed examination of a two-hour research interview, it describes aspects of the conversational practices through which social scientific knowledge is generated. Past critiques of interview research have been somewhat unilateral in their focus, typically examining how researchers impose understandings on their subjects' reports. This paper moves beyond the unilateral focus to describe how researcher and subjects interact to mutually develop procedures for doing the actual research and collaboratively assemble their product. The analysis treats evaluative knowledge as a locally managed, interactional achievement. It stresses the practical, in situ character of how knowledge is co-produced.     

Organization Formation as Epistemic Practice: The Early Epistemological Function of the American Medical Association

This research explores how social actors adjudicate knowledge claims within intellectual environments where epistemic standards are contested. Through the case study of 19th century debates over cholera in the United States, I examine the strategies deployed by orthodox and homeopathic physicians in the struggle over medical knowledge during this “epistemic contest.” The 1832 cholera epidemic ushered in a crisis for orthodox medicine, as epistemological standards for adjudicating medical knowledge claims became challenged and ill-defined. Failing to muster an effective cultural response to homeopathy, orthodoxy adopted an organizational strategy, forming the American Medical Association and offering professional membership as a proxy indicator of legitimate knowledge. The AMA created an organizational/intellectual space insulated from homeopathy, which translated into a concerted campaign to exclude homeopaths from government institutions and affected the nature of orthodox knowledge on cholera. This case reveals that epistemic contests are not waged by cultural means only; organizational practices form an integral part of actors’ repertoires in adjudicating epistemological claims in practice.     

Carnal Connections: On Embodiment,Apprenticeship, and Membership

This article responds to the special issue of Qualitative Sociology devoted to the author's book, Body and Soul: Notebooks of an Apprentice Boxer (vol. 28, no. 3, summer 2005). Four themes are tackled: the positioning of the inquirer and the question of social acceptance and membership; the dynamics of embodiment(s) and the variable role of race as a structural, interactional, and dispositional property; the functioning of the boxing gym as miniature civilizing and masculinizing machine; apprenticeship as a mode of knowledge transmissioin and technique for social inquiry, the scope of carnal sociology, and the textual work needed to convey the full-color texture and allure of the social world. This leads to clarifying the conceptual, empirical, and rhetorical makeup of Body and Soul in relation to its triple intent: to elucidate the workings of a sociocultural competency residing in prediscursive capacities; to deploy and develop the concept of habitus as operant philosophy of action and methodological guide; and to offer a brief for a sociology not of the body (as social product) but from the body (as social spring and vector of knowledge), exemplifying a way of doing and writing ethnography that takes full epistemic advantage of the visceral nature of social life. Response to the special issue of Qualitative Sociology on Body and Soul, vol. 28, no. 2, Summer 2005.     

Reframing Tri Hita Karana: From ‘Balinese Culture’ to Politics

This article takes issue with the uncritical way in which claims of ‘culture’, ‘tradition’ or ‘local knowledge’ are used in science and policymaking around the Balinese irrigators' association (subak). The growing problems of Balinese irrigated agriculture are increasingly framed in ‘cultural’ ways that are not neutral: such accounts of irrigated agriculture in relation to Balinese culture deeply influence the world of policymaking. In this article we discuss the emergence of Tri Hita Karana (THK; ‘the three causes of well-being’) as an ideology, scientific concept and policy concept in irrigated agriculture and the subak domain. We argue that this ideological concept is not simply ‘local wisdom’, ‘tradition’ or ‘culture’ but requires critical scientific scrutiny as part of wider processes of socio-political change. How is it mobilised? What does its growing popularity mean for our knowledge of Balinese irrigated agriculture, of policy processes directed at the subak and of the workings of policies in real-life contexts?     

Authorizing Family Science: An Analysis of the Objectifying Practices of Family Science Discourse

Contemporary objectifying practices in family science discourse, grounded in an objectivist epistemological framework, often deauthorize the scientific text and fail to frame the constructs in an explicit argumentative and theoretical context. Such practices contribute to the marginalization of theory and the acceptance of insufficiently analyzed empirical claims about families. Adopting an alternative set of objectifying practices, grounded in a constructionist epistemological framework that aims to fully authorize and advance its knowledge claims in an open, self‐reflexive, argumentative process will invigorate the importance of theory in the field and promote the production of more empirically justifiable and scientific knowledge claims about families.     

Hydraulic society and a “stupid little fish”: toward a historical ontology of endangerment

Endangered species are objects of intense scientific scrutiny and political conflict. This article focuses on the interplay among human-nonhuman relations, knowledge production, and the politics of endangerment. Advancing a historical ontology of endangerment, it highlights the role of transforming the nonhuman world in the coming to be of new objects of environmental knowledge. Such knowledge can provide the basis for credible claims of endangerment, facilitating mobilizations against the very human-nonhuman relations that produced it. An in-depth case study of the delta smelt, an endangered species of fish caught in the center of California’s “water wars,” shows how changes in the instrumentalization of the nonhuman environment can produce new knowledge of nature that allows actors to make claims and form coalitions that would be otherwise inconceivable. Because its sole habitat is the hub of California’s water delivery system, efforts to save the species from extinction have reduced flows to farms and cities, fomenting conflict between environmentalists and water users. This article demonstrates that the taxonomic classification of the delta smelt as a species and evidence of its decline arose directly from the reengineering of California’s rivers for extractive ends. Ironically, the knowledge on which environmental advocates relied was a product of the instrumental relation to nature that they sought to transform.

     

Disruption and the theory of the interaction order

Micro-sociological theory has traditionally stressed interactional pressures towards alignment: actors’ attempts to co-construct a shared definition of the situation. We argue that this model provides an insufficient account of the coordination of action and of the emergence of intersubjectivity among actors. To complement the focus on alignment, we develop a theory of disruption—a perceived misalignment of the dramaturgical structure of interaction in coordinating expected lines of action. We develop a theory of the interaction order that takes the interplay between interactional alignment and disruption as a foundational challenge both for sociology and for actors in their everyday lives. We focus on the practical ways in which actors negotiate both interactional breaches and wider relational ruptures, and how they differentiate between disruptions-of relations and disruptions-for them. By doing so, we connect the interaction order to a wider relational order, providing a bridge between micro-level interactionism and the sociology of culture.

     

Social Meanings of the Occult*

Data from a participant-observational study of the tarot are used to explore the social meanings of modern occultism and to examine certain rival contentions about these beliefs, practices, adherents, and the manner in which activities are or are not organized socially. Unlike collective behavioral audiences, which employ occultisms as a form of popular entertainment, the occult practitioners reported here participate in an “esoteric community” involving practitioner-client relations, social networks, and small cult-like groups. Although the occult tarot constitutes an elaborate theosophy, contemporary adherents selectively subscribe to these doctrines and they freely mix the occult, other esoteric teachings, and elements of traditional culture. When the tarot is used in a divinatory fashion as a service to the general public for pay, problems of legitimacy commonly arise. Occultists in the community deal with this problem by presenting themselves as “professionals.” Within the nominally pluralistic climate of American society, occultisms thereby become another path to dealing meaningfully with life's problems and expressing individual identity. Organized in terms of loose collections of practitioners and groups and supported by the larger cultic milieu, occult communities represent an adaptation to modern society which is likely to persist long after particular groups fail or particular individuals move on to other social scenes.     

Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder (Conversion Disorder) from an Interactional Approach: A Composite Case Study

Functional neurological symptom disorder, alternatively termed conversion disorder (FNSD-CD) (Although the DSM-5 utilises the term 'conversion disorder', practitioners and consumers consider this to be an outdated, unsubstantiated and often stigmatising term. In accordance with this, the current terminology used in the field is 'functional neurological symptom disorder'), involves symptoms of altered voluntary motor or sensory functions without identifiable nervous system disease or pathology. It is considered a psychiatric disorder and is, thus, listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th Ed.; DSM-5). As per the nosology of the DSM-5, the discrete behavioural or psychological syndrome or pattern observed in FNSD-CD is assumed to be a function of a problem of, or a disorder within, the individual. Accordingly, the psychiatric approach to FNSD-CD, as set out in the DSM-5, invokes an assumption common to the medical model which is that of lineal (i.e., straight-line) causality, namely, causal events are arranged in a lineal sequence. The interactional approach, however, which is a development of general system theory in the field of family therapy, offers an alternative approach to understanding psychiatric disorders. Specifically, this approach places the emphasis on the relationships between individuals and their reciprocal influences on – including their psychological and emotional wellbeing with – one another. It draws on the assumption of nonlineal (i.e., circular) causality, namely, causal events are arranged in a circular sequence. From an interactional approach, therefore, FNSD-CD is thought to be a function of a problem of, or a deficit within, the individuals’ relationship/s, rather than within an individual, per se. This article utilises a composite case study to investigate FNSD-CD from an interactional approach.     

The Emergent Organization: Improvisation and Order in Gulf Coast Disaster Relief

This article employs the interactionist concept of emergence to explore volunteer behavior in organizational settings after natural disasters. Through a several‐year ethnographic study of volunteer relief groups in the Post‐hurricane Gulf Coast, I examine how emergent social groups navigate situations where interactional norms, practices, and procedures are ambiguous, unclear, or in continual flux. Grassroots volunteer groups improvised organizational decision‐making and leadership structures to develop timely and appropriate responses to the post‐disaster environment. In particular, I focus on two distinct groups of volunteers whose response to these emergent interactional structures: improvisers embraced the ambiguity of group norms as an opportunity to innovate and express their creativity, whereas ritualists rejected the lack of structure and order characterized by the volunteer organizations.     

Interactional Synchrony in Conversations about Emotional Episodes: A Measurement by “the Between-Participants Pseudosynchrony Experimental Paradigm”

Interactional synchrony refers to the coordination of movements between individuals in both timing and form during interpersonal communication. Most previous studies in Western culture used a coding methodology and concluded that interactional synchrony occurred for positive episodes but not for negative episodes (e.g., Charny, E. J. (1966). Psychosomatic Medicine, 28, 305–315). In this study, we examined interactional synchrony using a between-participants pseudosynchrony experimental paradigm (Bernieri, F. J., & Rosenthal, R. (1991). In R. S. Feldman & B. Rime (Eds.), Fundamentals of nonverbal behavior (pp. 401–432). New York: Cambridge University Press). Sixty Japanese female university students viewed interaction clips and judged the level of perceived synchrony. The results show that interactional synchrony was perceived in negative episodes as well as in positive episodes. The degree of perceived synchrony was higher in positive episodes than in negative episodes.

Zinovy Zinik's Narratives of Cultural Dislocation

Abstract

The study examines Zinik's use of translation, theatre and misreading as metaphors for the act of border crossing in his novels and short stories. Through close readings of Zinik's novels The Lord and the Gamekeeper, The Mushroom Picker and The Russian Service, it is demonstrated that Zinik integrates these themes into his work with intent to expose novelistic conventions, confuse the boundary between art and life, and blur the roles of the author, reader and literary protagonist. Zinik's invitations to the reader to enter the worlds of his texts and experience cultural dislocation firsthand are continued in his recent short stories, which reflect the social changes and fluid cultural boundaries associated with globalisation. It is argued that, at the same time, Zinik's work reveals the limitations of conventional binary oppositions such as actor/audience and the utopian claims behind translation, interpretation and globalisation. Thus, it asserts the need to affirm new cultural symbols and practices through which individuals will shape transcultural identities as visions of a homogeneous global culture become more prevalent.     

The multiplicity of Hawaiian sovereignty claims and the struggle for meaningful autonomy

Abstract

There are multiple Hawaiian political claims and entitlements. Is independence appropriate for Hawai'i? Is it appropriate for Hawaiians? These two questions are not one and the same. In the movement today, there are multiple levels of ambiguity about these two claims – the right to indigenous self-determination under US domestic law and Hawai'i's right to self-determination under international law – as evidenced in the strategic invocation of both. The persistent maintenance of the dual claim reveals a particular sort of political ambivalence having to do with the dilemmas over the exercise of sovereignty in the 21st century. This article examines two different claims – one which is specific to Hawaiians as an indigenous people subjugated by US colonialism, and the other which is not limited to the indigenous and focuses on the broader national claims to Hawai'i's independence. Within this latter arena, there are two distinct lines of political activism and legal claims – one that calls for de-colonization protocols and the other that calls for de-occupation.     

A Thematic Guide To Bulimia Nervosa

This article offers a thematic guide to bulimia nervosa for both therapists and clients. It explores the relationship of common themes — developmental, interactional, sociocultural and behavioural — to the central issue of control. It uses examples from therapy sessions to highlight the themes as they emerge in therapy and to illustrate the ways in which the problem may be addressed.     

The Interactional Community: Emergent Fields of Collective Agency*

Social interaction is generally regarded as elemental to the notion of community. Within the broader discourse on community, the field‐interactional perspective is distinctive in its explicit focus on emergent social processes and community change dynamics. Wilkinson (1970) extended Kaufman’s (1959) early work on the interactional approach through an application of the social field concept to community action. In doing so, Wilkinson (1991) outlined several key linkages between social–symbolic interaction and community agency. Despite these promising beginnings, only a modicum of research has examined the theoretical or philosophical underpinnings of the interactional conception of community. This article explores the symbolic‐interactionist tenets undergirding the field‐interactional approach, most notably Mead’s (1934, 1938) discussion of generalized social attitudes and Blumer’s (1969a, 1969b) work on joint or collective action.     

FAIR ALLOCATION WHEN PLAYERS' PREFERENCES ARE UNKNOWN

Suppose an arbitrator needs to allocate an asset among two players, whose claims on the asset are incompatible. The allocation outcome is said to be fair if the arbitrator awards an outcome that brings the same utility payoff to the two players whenever the two players' claims are symmetric and the allocation set is symmetric. In conjunction with other natural axioms, this fairness requirement implies a unique allocation outcome for any claims problem. We propose a mechanism which can be used by the arbitrator to implement this allocation outcome, even when the players' preferences are unknown to the arbitrator. (JEL C78, D63, J52)     

Medically speaking: Mandative adjective extraposition in physician speech

Clinical recommendations are central features of physician‐patient interaction. Mandative adjective extraposition (MAE; e.g. it's important to …) is one of many linguistic forms used by physicians in providing recommendations. This study decomposes MAE, a relatively unexplored sociolinguistic variable, into features that contribute to its deontic interpretation. It establishes that MAE's component features convey different degrees of illocutionary force, whereby some forms are perceived to be more compelling (i.e. stronger) than others. It further suggests that said forms index confidence in physician speech. Utilizing a large U.S.‐wide corpus of medical consultations, it demonstrates that physicians use stronger MAE forms as they gain professional experience. Within specific practice settings, physicians' use of strong MAE forms is additionally constrained by patients' medical severity. Collectively, this evidence points to socialization into medical practice as the major social force impacting MAE variation across physicians' professional lifespans, pushing physicians towards authoritative‐sounding variants despite interactional pressures favoring indirectness.     

The Social Work Educator's Dilemma: The Academic vs. the Social Revolution

The chronic dilemma in social work education — between high standards of academic excellence and the demands of breadth and relevance — has been thrown into sharp focus by two major developments in the past decade One is an academic revolution, a vigorous drive toward a sound scientific base of professional knowledge; the other is a social revolution, which has challenged the field's claims of relevance to the urgent concerns of the urban crisis. The author proposes a synthesis of these two dynamic elements rather than a rejection of one or the other. He sees language as both complicating the problem and offering a possible solution.     

Challenging disenchantment The discreet charm of occult TV

Abstract

Occult imagery is widespread in the contemporary global mediaverse, including in TV programs such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Sightings, and The X-Files. This article considers the popular cultural presence of the otherworldly and the magical in relation to the strand of theorizing, beginning with Max Weber and taking a postmodern turn in Jean Baudrillard, that treats the cultures of Western modernity as disenchanted ones. In particular, it turns to Baudrillard's concept of seduction, which, while generating controversy in cultural theory circles, has had only a limited impact in media studies. The article argues that 'tele-visions of the otherworldly' constitute an enchanting challenge to modernist dis-illusionment, serve as a counterpoint to Baudrillard's 'obscene' media hyperrealism, and promote forms of imagination that, like magic realist literary fiction, undermine certain drives toward mastery associated with the dominant knowledge formations of Western modernity. TV's occult imagery can thus serve as the site of an unsettled and unsettling critical imagination, a skeptical popular subjunctivity.