Building an economic field with supranational supports? Lessons from wine production in Romania

In empirical studies of the real estate market, Pierre Bourdieu shows that the structuring of the ‘economic field’ is closely linked to that of the ‘bureaucratic field’. Through its regulatory activity, government plays a part in the legitimation of particular forms of economic activity as well as in the construction of the resulting hierarchies. This analytical framework is generally applied at the level of the State. Our point is to extend the scope of that analysis. An extension of the bureaucratic field can be characterized if one takes the view that international and supranational administrations play an active role in the organization of economic activities. In order to assess the relevance of this interpretative standpoint, light is shed on the case of the Romanian wine-making economy. The aim is to study a sectoral policy over which the European Commission has recently taken control and to measure its effects within a new Member State. This perspective is even more informative because Romanian wine production is being restructured: new operators have made their presence felt over the last decade, while the national government has lacked the means to make a determined effort to place these operators within a hierarchy. The Commission offers support to various agents who speak on behalf of Romanian ‘wine-making interests’ and influences the directions taken by conflicts between these interests. At the same time, it maintains a structural contradiction which prevents the formation of an economic field in the full sense of the term: the points at issue are defined in such a way as to conflict with the shape of any stable coalition between the dominant agents. The demonstration is supported by qualitative data collected during field studies carried out in 2010 and 2011.     

Life Experiences and Vulnerabilities of Homeless Women: A Comparison of Women Unaccompanied Versus Accompanied by Minor Children,and Correlates With Children’s Emotional Distress

The histories and service needs of 2 groups of homeless women, those unaccompanied by minor children (n = 46) and those accompanied by minor children (n = 22), were compared, on the basis of their responses to a biennial survey of homeless people in a midsize city in the southeast United States. Mothers of children aged 2-10 also completed a measure of stress symptoms for their children (n = 20). Irrespective offamily status group, problems such as substance abuse, history ofmental illness, health problems, chronicity of homelessness, and crime victimization tended to cluster together. The findings also suggest that declining and/or inadequate levels ofpublic benefits, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, and Medicaid-funded health care in particular, have adversely affected the 2 groups, particularly families with children. The young children in this sample experienced elevated levels ofstress, and significant associations were found between children’s stress levels and certain riskfactors oftheir mothers. Implications for service delivery are discussed.     

Theorizing the US Racial State: Sociology Since Racial Formation

This article reviews theoretical developments in the sociology of the US racial state since the publication of Michael Omi and Howard Winant's groundbreaking Racial Formation in the United States. After briefly outlining their theory, it surveys the still diminutive literature and concludes by pointing to promising future directions, drawing on insights from other disciplines and incipient stirrings from within sociology. Destabilizing the unquestioned assumption that the United States is and has been a nation‐state, the article reconceptualizes it as an empire‐state. This turn establishes a firmer footing for the claim that the United States is intrinsically a racial state and yields a generative framework for reconsidering and stimulating scholarship toward more effective analysis and critique.     

Ambiguity of gender identity fantasies and aspects of normality and pathology in hypopituitary dwarfism and Turner's syndrome: Three cases

Three cases of short stature females are presented, two with, gonadal dysgenesis and one with hypopituitarism, all about the same age, social class, and intelligence. One of the subjects with gonadal dysgenesis was normally functional; the other depressed, but she became functional after psychotherapy. The patient with hypopituitarism was poorly adapted and failed to change on brief effort at psychotherapy, discontinuing treatment. Evidence is drawn from transference and observational material that disturbances in the mother‐child relationship may lead to persistence of unreasonable wishes to grow physically. This leads to a split in the ego which prevents adaptation to small stature because it is not acceptable to the patient. In the case which was successfully treated, it is shown that the acceptance of the defective self led to restoration of ego functions adaptive to small stature.     

Knowledge generation and governance in management research

We consider how historical developments led to an emphasis on positivistic research approaches in business schools, and we explain how alternative assumptions could be the basis for academic management knowledge. We then discuss the governance structures journals use to determine which articles to publish and how reviewer motivations may influence these processes. Given this academic research and publishing context, we argue that it is not surprising that management research relevant for management practice receives little support. We propose changes to encourage more innovative research that offers stronger ties between management research and practice.     

The American Community Survey in counties with “seasonal” populations

The U.S. Census Bureau designed the American Community Survey (ACS) to provide annual estimates of social and economic characteristics for states, counties, municipalities, census tracts, and block groups. Because of its April 1 reference date, in northern nonmetropolitan counties with substantial seasonal population fluctuations the decennial census provides a statistical representation of the demographic and social characteristics of the population at a time when the population is close to its annual minimum. The year-round monthly ACS sample survey has the potential to provide local communities with an unprecedented understanding of the average population characteristics over the course of a year. In the future, the ACS even has the potential for providing social and economic characteristics of the population by season. This paper examines four ACS pilot data collection counties, Oneida and Vilas Counties in northern Wisconsin, and Lake and Flathead Counties in northwest Montana. We hypothesize that the ACS will reflect a resident population over the course of the year that is different from the traditional April 1 decennial census population. While the ACS holds much promise, our research uncovered some sampling problems that are not yet fully resolved. In addition, our analysis was not able to examine ACS estimates for minor civil divisions (MCDs), which are functioning governmental units in many states. The fact that these MCDs often have very small populations, together with the fact that estimated standard errors at the much larger census tract level in these counties are disconcertingly large, raises (currently unanswerable) questions concerning the eventual statistical quality of ACS estimates for small MCDs. Consequently, the adequacy of the ACS as a replacement for the census long form may depend on the ability of the Census Bureau to effectively address the concerns presented in this analysis.     

Spatial and temporal residential density patterns from 1940 to 2000 in and around the Northern Forest of the Northeastern United States

Over the past 60 years, housing growth has outpaced population growth in the United States. Conservationists are concerned about the far-reaching environmental impacts of housing development, particularly in rural areas. We use clustering analysis to examine the pattern and distribution of housing development since 1940 in and around the Northern Forest, a heavily forested region with high amenity and recreation use in the Northeastern United States. We find that both proximity to urban areas and an abundance of natural amenities are associated with housing growth at the neighborhood level in this region. In the 1970s, counterurbanization led to higher rates of growth across rural areas. The Northern Forest now has extensive interface between forest vegetation and residential development, which has the potential to profoundly alter the ecological and social benefits of these forests.