Introduction: Canadian Anthropology in an International Context

L'anthropologie est sur le point de vivre un renouvellement sans precedent de personnel dans les départements des différentes universités canadiennes. Les articles de ce numéro spécial passent en revue les thèmes majeurs de l'anthropologie au Canada durant la dernière décennie: la recherche sur les Premieres Nations, un sujet qui a jeté les fondements de l'anthropologie canadienne anglophone; les changements dans la recherche ethnographique, illustrés par l'exemple de Terre-Neuve; le travail, la mondialisation et la culture locale; quelques difficultés pratiques de la recherche dans le domaine de la justice sociale; et les questions soulevées par la création d'une perspective environnementale dans l'anthropologie médicale. L'examen de chaque thème démontre que, malgré l“élan implacable” vers l'nterprétation étroite qui afflige certaines des sciences sociales au Canada depuis quelque temps, la génération sortante d'anthropologues a maintenu une approche relativement “holistique” envers leur domaine. Ils ont pu garder cette approche en faisant face aux dilemmes inhèrents à la recherche qualitative locale sur des questions nationales ou mondiales et en redèfinissant la portée de l'interprétation anthropologique. Quoique les thèmes développés relèvent surtout de l'anthropologie anglophone au Canada, notre introduction affirme que l'on peut déceler les mêmes thèmes dans l'anthropologie francophone. Anthropology in Canada is about to undergo an unprecedented turnover in department personnel and by way of review, this special issue presents articles on major themes in anthropology in Canada during the last decade. They include First Nations research, a foundational subject for anglophone anthropology in Canada; the changing face of ethnographic research, with Newfoundland as an example; work, globalization and local culture; some practical difficulties of research in the field of social justice; and issues inherent in creating an environmental perspective within medical anthropology. When each theme is examined it becomes apparent that in spite of a “relentless drive” toward narrowness of interpretation that has afflicted some social sciences in Canada, the departing generation of anthropologists has maintained a relatively open, “holistic” approach to their subject matter. They have done so by confronting dilemmas inherent in undertaking locale-based qualitative research on issues of national or global scale and redefining the scope of anthropological interpretation. While the subject matter developed here is confined to anglophone anthropology in Canada, this introduction argues that its counterpart can be found in francophone anthropology as well.     

The Question of Hegelian Influence upon Durkheim's Sociology

Durkheim is commonly viewed as the founder of sociology as an empirical or even a positivist, empiricist discipline. The connection between empirical sociological theory and Marxist, Weberian, symbolic interactionist, phenomenological, hermeneutic, and other tendencies is illuminated by viewing the parallels between Durkheim and Hegel. These parallels should not obscure important contrasts, but they include a large number of the most distinctive doctrines of the two theorists. The comparison illuminates relationships within sociology as well as relationships between sociology and such other disciplines as philosophy, history, literary criticism, jurisprudence, theology, or ethics. The importance within Durkheim's milieu of figures who were deeply influenced by Hegel shows that Hegel's influence on Durkheim should not be obscured by current views of Durkheim as a positivist in the tradition of Comte.     

Individual Differences in Women's Salivary Testosterone and Estradiol Following Sexual Activity in a Nonlaboratory Setting

Objectives: The current study evaluated women's salivary testosterone and estradiol levels before and after exposure to sexual stimuli in a U.S. sex club. Methods: Behavioral data and salivary samples were collected from 19 women during semistructured interviews. Results: Findings demonstrate substantial individual differences in the magnitude and direction of women's hormonal changes following sexual activity. Conclusions: In an age of individualized medicine, these findings highlight the need to better understand factors shaping variation in physiological responses to sexual activity. Findings contribute to a relatively small and contradictory literature on women's hormonal responses to sexual stimuli.     

Introduction: The Puzzle of Incorporation and Solidarity

Multiculturalism is often vilified and misconstrued, and a multicultural backlash is evident. This special section attempts to move beyond the polemics by offering sociological insights into the current impact of multiculturalism and the challenges this mode of incorporation faces in addressing religious and racial diversity. This introduction sketches efforts aimed at offering distinctly sociological analyses of multiculturalism, in contrast to more normative philosophical accounts. It then offers brief overviews of the three substantive articles that follow: Irene Bloemraad on the significance of citizenship for multiculturalism; Rhys Williams on religious diversity; and Douglas Hartmann on the racial divide.     

Comparing the Monetary and Living Standards Approaches to Poverty Using the Australian Experience

This paper compares the monetary and living standards approaches to poverty using Australian data for the period 2006–2017. The aim is to highlight the conceptual and empirical strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches and identify the similarities and differences that emerge when both are applied to examine what happened over the period and to a limited degree, why. The acknowledged limitations of estimating poverty rates by comparing household income with a poverty line have to a degree been addressed by developments in deprivation research that have generated estimates that are more directly related to living standards, more democratic and more credible. But this approach also has limitations, so its growing popularity need not signify the end of poverty line studies. This paper compares the two approaches, with specific attention paid to ensuring that the estimates are internally consistent over time and comparable at a point in time. Both show a consistent pattern of modest improvement in social disadvantage over the period examined, but they reveal different aspects of change. The monetary approach highlights the role of housing costs in driving changes in poverty, while the more nuanced explanation generated by estimates of deprivation provides detailed insights. The results suggest that each has a positive role to play in better understanding the nature of poverty and identifying the factors driving change over time.

     

Salience,Valence, Context,and Integration: Conceptualizing the Needs of Sexually and Gender Diverse Youth in P–12 Schools

A framework for conceptualizing the needs of lesbian, gay male, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and other sexually and gender diverse youth is essential for guiding service delivery throughout educational settings. Review and synthesis of the literature reveals that integrating assessment of the salience, valence, and context of issues related to sexual and gender diversity facilitates affirmative practice at the individual student, group, and school-wide levels. The authors describe the components of the salience, valence, context, and integration (SVCI) model with emphasis on practical application. The theoretical and empirical support for each component of the model is also discussed.     

Eliciting decision weights by adapting de Finetti’s betting-odds method to prospect theory

This paper extends de Finetti’s betting-odds method for assessing subjective beliefs to ambiguous events. Thus, a tractable manner for measuring decision weights under ambiguity is obtained. De Finetti’s method is so transparent that decision makers can evaluate the relevant tradeoffs in complex situations. The resulting data can easily be analyzed, using nonparametric techniques. Our extension is implemented in an experiment on predicting next-day’s performance of the Dow Jones and Nikkei stock indexes, where we test the existence and nature of rank dependence, finding usual patterns. We also find violations of rank dependence.