Classical Statements on Geopolitics and the Aftermath of War

The relationship among geopolitical position, political legitimacy, and internal conflict has been rejuvenated as a topic of theoretical interest. This revival of interest has, to a degree, borrowed from earlier theories, but the implications of these earlier theories have not been fully explored. In this article the classical geopolitical statements of Herbert Spencer and Max Weber are modeled to highlight their continued relevance to sociological theories that address the relationship between geopolitics and internal societal processes.     

A multi-dimensional assessment of the health needs of homeless infants and pre-school children in Phoenix

The dual purpose of this study was to identify the comprehensive health needs of a selected group of homeless children in Phoenix, Arizona, and to utilize the findings in developing needed services. A non-random sample of 60 infants and pre-school children were given on-site physical, dental, developmental, behavioral, and nutritional assessments. The study included Medicaid's Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment procedures, complete oral screening, the Denver Developmental and Denver Articulation Screening Test, the Pre-school Behavior Inventory, and parental interviews. Fifty-eight of the 60 children screened needed further evaluation, treatment, or followup services. The most significant problems included low hematocrit readings, inadequate immunizations, and untreated medical and dental problems specific to this age group. Also identified were developmental delays and potential behavior problems. It is imperative that aggressive outreach and followup services be developed to reach homeless children and to insure that needed interventions are provided.     

The impact of positivity and transparency on trust in leaders and their perceived effectiveness

A critical challenge facing today's organizational leaders is gaining their followers' trust and having them view leaders as effective in addressing turmoil and change. Using a downsizing scenario as the context, this field experiment examined how a leader's positivity and transparency impacted followers' perceived trust, defined in terms of willingness to be vulnerable, and effectiveness of their leader. To test the hypotheses, 304 participants were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions of high (low) leader positivity × high (low) leader transparency. Results of our mixed methods study indicated both the leader's level of positivity and transparency impacted followers' perceived trust and evaluations of leader effectiveness. Besides limitations and suggestions for future research, we conclude with the practical implications that positive, transparent leaders may have on building trust and perceived effectiveness among their followers.     

Fertility planning status: united states, 1965

Data concerning the planning circumstances of the interval preceding each pregnancy, collected from a national sample of 4810 married women, are used to establish the fertility planning status of each respondent as one of five classes: (1) never-pregnant; (2) number failure; (3) at least one timing failure; (4) at least one timing success; (5) neither success nor failure. For the ever-pregnant women who intended no more children, 32 percent of the exposed were number failures and 62 percent of the rest were timing failures. For the ever-pregnant women who intended more children, 67 percent of the exposed were timing failures. Women not exposed to the risk of timing failure because they claimed to want all of their pregnancies as soon as possible had similar characteristics to women reporting failures; accordingly the reliability of their reports is suspect. The probabilities of failure are well-patterned by race, religion and education: higher for Blacks than for Whites; within the latter, higher for Catholics than for Non-Catholics; and inversely related to education, except among White Catholics. Although uniformly high, the proportions classified as failures are probably under-estimates of the true values for completed families, because of misreporting and continuing exposure to risk, subsequent to interview.     

The Genesis of Self in Early Childhood*

The works of Cooley, Mead, and Piaget on the genesis and emergence of self in early childhood are examined in light of recent research in developmental linguistics and assessed in terms of the author's own participant observation studies in preschools. Central to the emergence of self is the acquisition of language which is conceptualized as a conversation of gestures. Young children take the standpoint of others and present selves as early as one year of age. The level of reflexivity present in their behaviors is a function of the complexity of the situation and the degree of familiarity with the objects confronted in that setting. Naturalistic studies of early childhood are proposed.     

Faith, Reason, and Charisma: Rudolf Sohm, Max Weber, and the Theology of Grace

Charismatic authority has been central to twentieth-century politics and theory, yet confusion about charisma is rife. Max Weber's classic texts on this subject have been a major source of insight, yet key features of his analysis remain obscure–so much so that many scholars who call themselves Weber's disciples defend views opposed to his. For Weber, charisma is a social status; for many "Weberians," charisma is a personal quality. For Weber, charisma is a quicksilver, unstable form of authority; for his errant followers, it is an existential limit to democracy. One reason for this contradiction is that, influenced by the theologian Rudolf Sohm, Weber used the vocabulary of the theology of grace. Many readers, unfamiliar with the nature of Weber's debt to theology, have thought that Weber, like Rudolf Sohm, viewed charisma as a divinely given personal quality. In fact, however, Max Weber's sociology of charisma is radically opposed to Sohm's theology.     

Probabilities and Possibilities: The Strategic Counseling Implications of the Chaos Theory of Careers

The chaos theory of careers emphasizes both stability and change in its account of career development. This article outlines counseling strategies derived from this emphasis in terms of convergent or probability thinking and emergent or possibility thinking. These 2 perspectives are characterized, and practical counseling strategy implications are provided. In addition, an illustrative technique example is described. The authors conclude that the challenges of modern career development demand the complementary and the interactive use of both probability and possibility thinking strategies.