Scaling up to Increase Community-Based Organization Voice

This is a collaborative, community-based study of the merger of two Chicago community-organizing groups seeking to expand their geographic base and political power. Although the merger enabled the new organization to increase and use its power, this case also illustrates the various ways the merger presented opportunities for the new organization to maintain effectiveness at multiple scales while sustaining strong internal democracy and connections to local residents. By consolidating and leveraging new and old political relationships, and by maintaining or increasing the civic benefits of organizing, this merger provides important lessons for organizing in diverse community settings.     

Building stronger weak ties among a diverse pool of emergent nonprofit leaders of color

This article explores theoretical underpinnings of social capital and strong and weak ties as they relate to relationships within, between, and among six cohorts of promising nonprofit leaders of color in a northwestern U.S. city. Using mixed methods, including network analyses, it considers the impact and potential of a university‐community collaboration to deliver a program to promising emergent leaders nominated for their talent and commitment to the work of their community‐based organizations, often in competition for limited resources. The article considers the program's implicit effect on relationships and reveals intersector connections among alumni. Findings show substantial alumni movement among organizations, increasing the potential for collaboration and mentoring relationships. We conclude with recommendations for programs seeking long‐term impact and discuss a series of unanticipated findings and the questions they engender, many critical as communities and organizations become more diverse and social needs do not diminish.     

MS,exercise, and the potential for older adults

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system. The average onset of the disease is 30 years of age, and it afflicts women more often than men (ratio of approximately 2:1). The symptoms of the disease include fatigue, motor weakness, heat sensitivity, reduced mobility, abnormal gait mechanics, and poor balance. These symptoms decrease cognitive and physical functional capacity of an individual and tend to result in sedentary lifestyle behaviors. A sedentary lifestyle among individuals with MS increases the risk of secondary diseases such as coronary heart disease and obesity, particularly as one ages. The effect of exercise in treating symptoms of MS has been under explored, perhaps due to the fact that exercise was thought to magnify MS-related fatigue and other symptoms. Recent research has challenged this notion, advocating exercise as an effective therapy for the management of MS, as well as maintaining overall fitness and improving quality-of-life measures. While the research shows clear benefits, the barriers to exercise participation among MS patients are significant. Recommendations for various forms of exercise are provided, along with strategies for overcoming barriers to participation.     

Exchange Relationships in Inshore Fisheries1

Research on the long‐term, informal exchange strategies of harvesters and dealers working in inshore fisheries has been important to theory surrounding economic exchange. In transaction costs economics, this research provides evidence for economic exchange governed by trust, and in exchange theory, it provides evidence for the emergence of cooperation and trust. In this article I examine the emergence of economic exchange relationships in the new sea urchin fishery. The research is ethnographic in nature, utilizing a variety of data sources including participant observation, in‐depth interviews, and existing quantitative data. I find that, just as experience or improved efficiency can have an impact on the emergence of trust between exchange partners, potential exchange partners can be deemed untrustworthy based on general characteristics unrelated to the particular individual. Once established, these assessments become part of the strategic context of exchange in the fishery.     

The Abative Effect: A New Term to Describe the Action of Antecedents that Reduce Operant Responding

The Analysis of Verbal Behavior - Behavior-analytic terminology concerning the so-called inhibitory effect of operant antecedents lacks precision. The present paper describes the problem with...     

Materialism, Agnosticism and God

The longstanding philosophical debate between idealism and materialism has recently entered the ontological terrain of critical realism (CR) and dialectical critical realism (DCR). This has been initiated by Roy Bhaskar’s most recent book, From East to West, which attempts an ambitious synthesis of philosophy, social theory and theology. On the one hand, Bhaskar’s attempt to root his philosophy and social theory in a ‘realist theory of God’ has found an echo within the CR and DCR research camp, some of whose members would urge us to take seriously the possibility of a ‘religious sociology’. On the other hand, Bhaskar’s abrupt ‘idealist turn’ has left many critical realists flabbergasted and horrified, particularly those working at the interface between realist philosophy and Marxist social science, especially since Bhaskar’s new philosophical trajec‐tory is radically at odds with the ‘synchronic emergent powers materialism’ outlined in his The Possibility of Naturalism. In response to this ‘split’ within the CR and DCR camp, the spectre of ‘realist agnosticism’ has been raised and defended by Mervyn Hartwig in this journal. Since neither science nor philosophy can settle the issue of what kind of stuff constitutes ‘rock bottom reality’, it is rational to be agnostic on the ‘ultimate question’, to deny positively affirming the claims of either one side or the other. Now this is the move that is resisted in this paper. My argument is that ontolog‐ical idealism is disputable on a number of grounds‐philosophical, scientific, ethical and political. In particular, I argue that objective idealism is unsupported by rational knowledge, is riddled with conceptual and logical defects, is contrary to the logic of scientific discovery, and is an obstacle to eudaimonia (human emancipation). Further, since realist agnosticism rests its case on the myth of infallible knowledge, and obviously stands or falls with the defensibility or other‐wise of objective idealism, this gives us ‘good enough’ reasons for accepting a thoroughgoing materialism as the ontological foundation of social theory.     

Voting by Mail: Turnout and Institutional Reform in Oregon*

Objectives. I test the impact of Oregon's vote‐by‐mail system on voter turnout. Methods. To determine the impact, I create a cross‐sectional time‐series regression model of state turnout in presidential elections from 1980 to 2004 and mid‐term elections from 1982 to 2006. Results. I find that Oregon's turnout increases by around 10 percentage points of registered voters in both presidential and mid‐term elections due to the voting‐by‐mail reform. Conclusions. These results suggest that one of the reasons that the United States has comparatively lower turnout is due to its more onerous voting procedures.     

Subjective Well-Being and Life Satisfaction in the Kingdom of Tonga

This paper describes an initial attempt to assess the subjective well being of a sample of 227 Tongans via self-report. Using items adapted from the Subjective Well Being Inventory (SUBI; Nagpal and Sell, 1985; Sell and Nagpal, 1992), participants rated their level of overall life satisfaction along with their perceptions of well-beingin a number of other more specific life domains. Results indicated that mean ratings of global life satisfaction were generally positive. A factor analysis of the remaining domain-specific well-being items indicated that items loaded on to one of two factors dealing with overall positive or negative evaluations of these life areas. Importantly, these scale items stressed the importance of social and kin relations in contributing to overall well-being. In terms of demographic variables, mature respondents reported greater levels of overall life satisfaction and well-being as compared to youthful respondents. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Child fatality review teams: a content analysis of social policy

Child fatality review teams (CFRTs) have existed since the 1970s; yet, a comprehensive understanding of their procedures, practices, and outcomes is lacking. This article addresses that gap in this study of CFRT state statutes. Findings indicate CFRT laws address nine areas of practice, from team composition, to purpose, to outcomes. Results also indicate that laws address prevention three times as often as investigation, but that both areas are related to state crime rates.     

Individualized Marriage and the Integration of Resources

In individualized marriages, spouses maintain independence in their relationship. In individualized marriages, do married couples manage their money in pooled accounts or do they keep separate accounts? We answer this question with the 2002 International Social Survey Programme (N = 18,587;31 country contexts) and examine how variation in the individualization of marriage is related to variation in resource integration within marriage. We make two contributions. First, we found that individualization matters. When couples understood and practiced individualized marriage, they were more likely to keep their money separate. The presence of individualized approaches to marriage and individualized alternatives to marriage within a country were also related to a higher likelihood of couples keeping money separate. Second, we found that integrating resources remained a constitutive part of marriage. Despite trends toward individualization and growing alternatives to marriage, most married couples continued to pool their money.