Let's not get tied into knots: a response to Newman, (2018)—Vygotsky,Wittgenstein and sociocultural theory

The September 2018 issue of this journal included an article by Newman, (2018) that challenges research carried out on second language acquisition (henceforth, SCT‐L2) informed by the psychological theory proposed by L. S. Vygotsky. We would like to respond to Newman's critique, which he problematizes as three “knots” that he then undertakes to untie through analysis of Vygotsky's writings contained in Vygotsky's two most popular works, Thought and Language and Mind in Society. We first summarize Newman's knots and his approach to untying them. We then present our response to each of these in turn.     

Characteristics of the Social Support Networks of Maltreated Youth: Exploring the Effects of Maltreatment Experience and Foster Placement

Little is known about the social support networks of maltreated youth or how youth in foster care may compare with those who remain with their parent(s). Social network characteristics and perceived social support were examined between (1) maltreated and comparison youth, (2) maltreated youth who remained with their biological parent, those with a foster parent, or a those with a kin caregiver, and (3) youth in stable placements and those who have changed placements. Data came from a sample of 454 adolescents (241 boys, 9–13 years old at enrollment) who took part in a longitudinal study of child maltreatment. Participants completed three assessments approximately 1 year apart. Results showed that on average, maltreated adolescents named significantly fewer people in their network than comparison adolescents. At Time 2, comparison adolescents reported more same‐aged friends. In the maltreatment group, youth with a foster parent reported significantly more older friends than maltreated youth with a kin caregiver. Fewer maltreated youth named a biological parent on the social support questionnaire at all three time points. More youth in kinship care described their caregiver as supportive than those in foster care. These findings indicate that despite heterogeneous placement histories, social support networks among maltreated youth were very similar.     

Integrating Internet-Based Distance Guidance With Services Provided in Career Centers

The Internet has evolved so rapidly that there is little information on integrating Internet-based distance guidance opportunities with resources and services provided by existing career centers. In this article, the author describes career centers and then explores the need for career centers in the information age, the types of Internet web sites, the functions of an integrated web site in promoting cost- effectiveness, options for integrating user needs, the role of instructional design in web site development, cost-effectiveness and staff collaboration, web master responsibilities, Internet web site implementation, staff training, and ethical issues. This article is based on a paper presented at a seminar titled, “Guidance in Open Learning Environments in the Finnish Polytechnics” at Espoo-Vantaa Polytechnic, Vantaa, Finland, 1998.     

Louis Sullivan, architectural modernism, and the creation of democratic space

This article examines the architectural thought of Louis Sullivan, commonly regarded as the prophet of architectural modernism and the inspiration for the stark Chicago-style skyscraper. Sullivan regarded sociology to he the most urgent of the disciplines as America sought to realize its democratic promise. Animated by certain understandings of self and community that would later define the Chicago School of Sociology, Sullivan saw himself as a kind of social engineer whose architecture would generate democratic space and encourage authentic interaction. Chicago was his laboratory where he fervently called for the escape from the fetters of tradition in order to give form to a democratic present. While the movement he helped inspire reshaped the landscapes where humans labored and lived, few today would confuse the architectural space of a skyscraper, or architectural modernism in general, with the cultivation of authenticity; even fewer would confuse modernism and the sky-scraper with the fulfillment of democracy. Sullivan’s unbridled hopes lor the future have been quelled by postmodern criticisms of the spatial dynamics he espoused. It is argued that this dramatic sea change was a function of a fundamental Haw in Sullivan’s social theory. Following Leo Strauss, it is argued that implicit in Sullivan’s famous dictum“form follows function” was the collapse of the distinction between the real and the ideal. This undermined Sullivan’s voice while framing his sense ol democracy in strictly processional terms. In the end, Sullivan sought an architecture according to which control over circumstance served no higher purpose save control, an architecture whose escape from the past concealed from view the kind of direction that could lend meaning to the control Sullivan was desperate to secure. It is suggested that sociologists are not unlike Sullivan, and that their calls for autonomy and empowerment speak to process and movement rather than ends or destinations. A version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, August 1998, San Francisco, CA. He is currently working on a critique of value-driven and value-neutral sociologies from the perspective of Leo Strauss. I am indebted to Harold Bershady, Natalie Slavens Abbott, Mark Hutter, Hui Huang, and Tony Sommo for their critical comments and suggestions.     

Fear

Qualitative Sociology -     

Unionization and faculty salaries: New evidence from the 1990s

The literature on how unionization affects faculty salaries and compensation is inconclusive. I use the 1993 National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty to investigate how collective bargaining affects faculty salaries. Union representation significantly alters the returns to individual and institutional characteristics, and unionized faculty receive a premium of between 7 and 14 percent, an earnings differential that is substantially larger than those found in most earlier studies.