Veblen and darwinism

The aim of this article is to show how Veblen understood and applied Darwinian principles to his analysis of the evolution of socio-economic institutions. At the core of Darwinism is a commitment to causal explanation, which Veblen adopted while not undermining his appreciation of the distinctively purposeful nature of human action. In addition, Veblen applied the Darwinian principles of variation, inheritance and selection to institutional evolution. However, despite his achievement, he did not develop an adequate or systematic theory in this area.     

SHORT REVIEWS

Books reviewed in this article: Paul Demeny and Geoffrey Mcnicoll (eds.), Encyclopedia of Population Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russell Hochschild (eds.), Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Agriculture: Towards 2015/2030: An FAO Perspective and Summary Report Jeanne X. Kasperson and Roger E. Kasperson, Global Environmental Risk Richard Lynn, Eugenics: A Reassessment Douglas W. Maynard, Hanneke Houtkoop‐Steenstra, Nora Gate Schaeffer, and Johannes van der Zouwen (eds.), Standardization and Tacit Knowledge: Interaction and Practice in the Survey Anthony M. Messina (ed.), West European Immigration and Immigrant Policy in the New Century     

Distribution of angles between unit vectors and the multiple comparison problem for unit vectors

We suppose that L x i = Fq(μi, KiK) for i=1,...,p, where the independent Fisher distributions on the unit sphere in Rq have modal vectors μi and known concentrations KiK, where K will be large—in fact, to obtain asymptotic distributions, we will let K tend to infinity. The term x'iXj=cos 0ij estimates cos 0ij= μiμy. The asymptotic joint distribution of the terms will be studied when all the vectors μi μ are distinct, and for the special case when all the vectors μi=μ, so that all the terms are zero. These very different results have a variety of applications as well as being interesting in themselves. One of these applications is the 'multiple comparisons problem' for unit vectors. However, it was found necessary to give here a different way of solving this problem.     

SHORT REVIEWS

Books reviewed in this article: Chris Beyrer, War in the Blood: Sex, Politics and AIDS in Southeast Asia Caroline H. Bledsoe et al. (eds.), Critical Perspectives on Schooling and Fertility in the Developing World Donald J. Hernandez and Evan Charney (eds)., From Generation to Generation: The Health and Well-Being of Children in Immigrant Families Nana Poku and David T. Graham (eds.), Redefining Security: Population Movements and National Security Jyoti Shankar Singh, Creating a New Consensus on Population Jael Silliman and Ynestra King (eds.), Dangerous Intersections: Feminist Perspectives on Population, Environment, and Development; A Project of the Committee on Women, Population, and the Environment Michael S. Teitelbaum and Jay Winter, A Question of Numbers: High Migration, Low Fertility, and the Politics of National Identity United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Monitoring 1997 Anthony Young, Land Resources: Now and for the Future     

Learning from genocide? A study in the failure of Holocaust education

The importance of learning lessons from the Holocaust and from the mass slaughter in Rwanda was recognised in the theme underpinning Britain's Holocaust Memorial Day in 2004. This article is principally concerned with the lessons learnt from the Holocaust by a culturally diverse group of students aged 14 to 16. They all attended schools in an outer London borough and were interviewed after taking part in a local event held to mark the 2004 commemoration. The article concludes with a discussion of the main findings of the investigation.     

Children in self-care: An examination of research confounds

Families using self-care, in-home, and out-of-home child care arrangements were compared on a number of demographic variables. Certain variables (e.g., family income; marital status) were, as expected, related to the type of child care in use. However, one unexpected trend also was identified: regardless of the type of child care arrangement reported by parents, as the age of children increased across the out-of-home, in-home, and self-care family groups so too did the number of hours children spent at home alone. This trend is discussed in relation to two confounding areas of which researchers should be aware when conducting school-age child care needs assessment surveys and conducting self-care studies: (a) the context within which the self-care decision is made; and (b) the reasoning that goes into making the self-care decision.     

Local Understanding of Fish Consumption Advisory Risks in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: The Role of Structure,Culture, and Agency*

Abstract Fish consumption advisories fail to adequately help communities address the benefits and risks of eating potentially contaminated fish. We engaged community members and relevant institutions in identifying and implementing more effective risk communication in Michigan's rural Upper Peninsula. In 2004–2005, we collected data in four Michigan counties through focus groups, community dinners, public meetings and angler interviews. Residents express a strong affinity toward eating Great Lakes fish, though a minority of participants have read the official fish advisory. Participants lack an understanding of how bioaccumulation affects consumption risk depending on the type of contaminant. We attribute the situation to conditions of post‐normal risk that emerge through interaction of the structural dimensions of science and bureaucracy with a strong natural resource‐based culture that affects the agency of residents. The implications loom large as Michigan's Department of Community Health no longer distributes hard copies of the Michigan Fish Advisory.     

Understanding Adolescence Today: A Review

SUMMARY. Much has changed in our understanding of adolescence over the last three decades. In the first place the very definition of this stage has become more uncertain, both at the point where childhood ceases, and at the time when it merges into adulthood. Second, there has been an enormous increase in the amount of empirical research available. This has had the effect of modifying - even transforming - some traditional notions of adolescence. Thirdly, a greater awareness of gender and race has enabled us to move beyond the white male dominated views of the teenage years which went unchallenged for some considerable time. Lastly, changes in legislation and youth policy in the United Kingdom have had a major impact on practice, and on the way professionals work with young people. This article reviews some of these changes, and attempts to reflect on our understanding of adolescence in the 1990s.     

Professionals' attitudes towards men in early childhood education: A national study

A national sample of women and men working in early childhood education was drawn from the membership of the National Association for the Education of Young Children in order to assess their attitudes toward the suitability, professional practice, and administrative capabilities of men in early childhood education. Men and women were found to hold similar views toward the capabilities and roles of male preschool teachers across all these areas. The general lack of polarity of attitudes between men and women on many popularlyheld beliefs about men in the early childhood field is discussed in relation to previous alleged stereotyped attitudes toward male preschool teachers.