The Organizational Niche

Although the concept of niche has been extremely useful in sociological theory and research, some aspects of the concept have not been clearly developed. This article advances a theoretical reconstruction of the concept of niche, with special application to organizations. The proposed formal model unifies several active lines of sociological theory. It also extends the notion of the niche from the realm of behaviors to apply to the rules coding social identities and organizational forms. The reconstruction gives deeper insight into the niche of an organizational population as well as individual organizations. Finally, the model analyzes the (thus far) tacit assumption that niches are convex, examines the implications of convexity for commonly used measures of niche width, and provides a general sociological argument for the predominance of convex niches.     

The Trend in International Health Inequality

Estimates of average life expectancy for 169 countries are used to compute the trend in between‐country health inequality from 1980 to 2000. Results show that inequality in the distribution of life expectancy across countries declined in the 1980s, but then increased through the 1990s. The recent turnaround in between‐country health inequality is significant because it reverses a long‐term trend of declining inequality across countries that began in the first half of the twentieth century. The primary cause of rising inequality across countries is declining life expectancy in sub‐Saharan Africa, largely owing to HIV/AIDS. Life expectancy in sub‐Saharan Africa holds the key to the future trend in between‐country inequality.     

ANZJFT Symposium: What are the Core Learnings of Family Therapy?

Five experienced Australian and New Zealand family therapists and trainers seek to answer the question: ‘What key concepts and core learnings should be part of any family therapy training course?’ They debate the usefulness of making ‘shopping lists’ of core concepts, the importance of considering trainers' and trainees' contexts in the formation of their values and perspectives, and the distinctive role of Family of Origin work in training, clarifying central themes. Three experienced trainers respond to the issues raised.     

Recent Trends in Metropolitan-Nonmetropolitan Fertility1

Abstract Although decline and convergence in metropolitan (metro) and nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) fertility levels are longterm trends, a detailed analysis of the period since 1970 shows a pattern of exceptions and conditions which underscore the need for giving continued attention to differences by residence. There was a divergence of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan fertility rates in the 1970–1980 decade, but the renewed convergence since 1980 has made an important contribution to the turnaround reversal of metropolitan-nonmetropolitan population change. This recent rate convergence is not a simple coming together of the age-specific rates, but the balancing of changes in opposite directions for younger and older women. Metro-nonmetro differences widened in favor of nonmetro for women 20–24 years of age and in favor of metro for women over 30 years of age. The apparent catching up of postponed first and second births is found primarily among metropolitan women over 30 years of age.     

Para-Modern Family Therapy: Deconstructing Post-Modernism

As in the arts and humanities and other social sciences, post-modernism is quickly gaining orthodoxy in family therapy. This paper presents a social-realist and deconstructive critique of recent post-modern thought in family therapy. From the perspective of the French philosopher Jacques Derrida, it suggests that family therapy is neither modern nor post-modern, but both/and these alternatives, that is, para-modern. In deconstructive thought, philosophical dualities like realism/social constructionism, cybernetic/post-cybernetic, systemic/narrative co-exist in an absurd double logic. Like writers of literature, the para-modern family therapy ‘puts forward’ a theory or method not as an ideology of truth, but as a play of irony. She/he works simultaneously inside and outside family therapy discourse, open to a wide range of images and metaphors.     

Harry Johnston's New Boot: The Uganda Agreement and Ideas of Development

As an early development practitioner, Harry Johnston came to Uganda intending to develop a socially responsible capitalism – his ‘new boot’ for the Baganda. He negotiated this intent into the 1900 Uganda Agreement and expected that, once implemented, these conditions would lead naturally to the desired ends. What happened was something quite different. Baganda chiefs negotiated their own goals into the Agreement, and their actions, along with those of Baganda farmers and workers, produced very different results than that which Johnston envisioned. In effect, his intent to develop was subsumed by the contingent process of development. While interesting in itself, this story informs recent development debates. Some post‐development theorists, while attempting to provide a practical alternative to modernist development, appear to incorporate assumptions similar to those under which Johnston operated. However, if these laudable attempts are to succeed, they must learn from Johnston's experience and account for development's contingent nature.