Herbert Blumer and the Study of Fashion: A Reminiscence and A Critique

Recounting my late 1940s graduate student contacts with Herbert Blumer on the topic of fashion, 1 go on to assess his important contribution to the sociological study of fashion. Conceptually rich, the corpus of Blumer's writing on fashion is yet surprisingly small. His major opus on fashion, anticipated only in part by several of his earlier, less exhaustive writings on the subject, did not see print until 1969 with the publication of the justly famous Sociological Quarterly piece “Fashion: From Class Differentiation to Collective Selection.” There Blumer pursues two aims: (1) to challenge the then prevalent functionalist view of fashion as a “trickle down” symbolic mechanism for effecting social class differentiation, a view associated with such sociological eminences as Simmel and Veblen, and (2) to offer in its place his own quite original approach to fashion as a massive “collective selection” process wherein choices are guided more by the elusive lure of modernity than by invidious class tinctions as such. Prominent among the strengths of Blumer's position is the demonstrably greater empirical validity of “collective selection” as compared to “class differentiation.” Among its shortcomings are Blumer's slighting of a salient social psychological theme in Simmers dialectical approach to fashion and, more important, his failure to address in any sustained way the role of the fashion industry in the fashion process. The recently emerging, symbolic interactionist concept of social world offers a means for redressing this omission and for advancing further upon the ground opened by Herbert Blumer's still exciting breakthrough in the sociology of fashion.     

REVIEWS

Professional Books: Minuchin, S., & Nichols, M. P. (1993). Family healing: Tales of hope and renewal from family therapy.
Professional Books: Small, R. F. (1990). Maximizing third-party reimbursement in your mental health practice.
Professional Books: Shenson, H. L. (1990). The contract and fee-setting guide for consultants and professionals.
Professional Books: Lachkar, J. (1992). The narcissistic/borderling couple: A psychoanalytic perspective on marital treatment.
Professional Books: Charny, I. (1992). Existential/dialectical marital therapy: Breaking the secret code of marriage.
Professional Books: Brothers, B. J. (Ed.). (1991). Virginia Satir: Foundational ideas.
Professional Books: Kaufman, E., & Kaufmann, P. (1992). Family therapy of drug and alcohol abuse (2nd ed.).
Professional Books: O'Hanlon, W. H., & Martin, M. (1992). Solution-oriented hypnosis.
Professional Books: Bryant, D., Kessler, J., & Shirar, L. (1992). The family inside: Working with the multiple.
General Interest Books: Wolin, S. J., & Wolin, S. (1993). The resilient self: How survivors of troubled families rise above adversity.
General Interest Books: Baber, K. M., & Allen, K. R. (1992). Women and families: Feminist reconstructions.
General Interest Books: Thorne, B., with Yalom, M. (1992). Rethinking the family: Some faminist questions (rev. ed.).     

An Approach for Balancing Health and Ecological Risks at Hazardous Waste Sites

Human health and ecological risks must be balanced at hazardous waste sites in order to ensure that remedial actions prevent unacceptable risks of either type. Actions that are designed to protect humans may fail to protect nonhuman populations and ecosystems or may damage ecosystems. However, there is no common scale of health and ecological risk that would allow comparisons to be performed. This paper presents an approach to addressing this problem based on classifying all risks (i.e., health and ecological risks due contaminants and remediation) as insignificant ( de minimis ), highly significant ( de manifestis ), or intermediate. For health risks the classification is based on standard criteria. However, in the absence of national guidance concerning the acceptability of ecological risks, new ecological criteria are proposed based on an analysis of regulatory precedents. Matrices and flow charts are presented to guide the use of these risk categories in remedial decision making. The assessment of mercury contamination of the East Fork Poplar Creek is presented as an example of the implementation of the approach.     

Prior Placements of Youth Admitted to Therapeutic Foster Care and Residential Treatment Centers: The Odyssey Project Population

Two samples of youth in the child welfare system were compared—youth entering residential treatment centers (RTCs) and youth entering therapeutic foster care (TFC). Three questions were addressed: (1) Where were youth living prior to the current placement? (2) Had youth been treated in other systems of care? (3) How many prior placements did youth have? Time 1 data of the national “Odyssey Project” developed by the Child Welfare League of America were used. The^.measure utilized was the child and family characteristics form (CFC). Results revealed that youth admitted to RTCs were more likely to be entering from other systems of care and stepping down to the RTC while youth entering TFCs were more likely to be entering from within the child welfare system and stepping up to a higher level of care. The results have implications for improving clinical practice and for the development of a cross-system perspective on serving troubled youth.     

The instatement of order: state initiatives and hegemony in the modernization of French forest policy

Theories of France’s political integration, from Tocqueville to the present day, frequently disregard the political achievements of the nineteenth century state and assert that the infrastructures needed for effective governance were created during the absolutist period. Using the case of forest policy, one of the major policy domains for local and national regimes during the absolutist and nineteenth century periods, this study argues against prior accounts. It shows how the nineteenth century state, led by an elite faction of the bourgeoisie, gained infrastructural power by promoting its preferred policies as the only means of avoiding disorder and chaos. These policies advanced private property as the natural (hegemonic) form of land control. It was this project, rather than the earlier absolutist regime, that led to effective state authority over France’s territory and the achievement of the nation’s political integration. This study of forest policy provides an opportunity to evaluate state efforts to regulate economic and political life, as well as the resistance to these efforts that arose.     

EFFECTS OF SOLUTION FOCUSED THERAPY'S "FORMULA FIRST SESSION TASK" ON COMPLIANCE AND OUTCOME IN FAMILY THERAPY

This study investigated the immediate impact of a "solution focused" family therapy intervention on both the family and the therapist. Specifically, the study examined the differential effects of the formula first session task (FFST) recommended by de Shazer (1982, 1985), as well as the FFST plus solution focused therapy, as compared to a standard problem focused structural-strategic intervention. After one week, the groups receiving the FFST were significantly higher on measures of family compliance, clarity of treatment goals, and improvement in the presenting problem. However, there were no significant differences among groups on family optimism or on outcome after 10 sessions. The implications of these results are discussed.     

REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
PROFESSIONAL BOOKS: trepper, T. S., & Barrett, M. J. Systemic treatment of incest: A therapuetic handbook
PROFESSIONAL BOOKS: de shazer, S. Clues: Investigating solutions in brief therapy.
PROFESSIONAL BOOKS: O'Hanlon, W., & Weiner-Davis, M. In search of solutions: A new direction in psychotherapy.
PROFESSIONAL BOOKS: Whittaker, J. K., Kinney, J., Tracy, E. M.,& Booth, C. (Eds). Reaching high-risk families: Intensive family preservation in human services.
PROFESSIONAL BOOKS: Yuan, Y-Y. T., & Rivest, M. (Eds.). Preserving families: Evaluation resources for practitioners and policymakers.
PROFESSIONAL BOOKS: Maglin, N. B., & Schniedewind, N. (Eds.). Women and step-families: Voices of anger and love.
SELF HELP BOOKS: Lew, Mike. Victims no longer.
SELF HELP BOOKS: Davis, L. The courage to heal workbook.
SELF HELP BOOKS: Weinhold Barry K., & Weinhold, Janae B. Breaking free of the co-dependency trap.
GENERAL INTEREST BOOKS: Rubinstein, H. The oxford book of marriage
Videotapes: Family Systems Therapy with an individual: Condusting the frst two sessions
Videotapes: School's Out.