bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Three Faces of Love: College Students' Perception of the Spouse, Date and Cross-sex Friend
Authors: Basu Jayanti , Ray Rajyasri
Published: March 2007

The present article explored the perception of spouse, date and cross-sex friend among the college-going youth. Six demographical, 14 physical and 25 psychological characteristics were selected from a larger number of traits generated in a preliminary study on 200 college students. In the final study these traits were presented to 240 college students who rated them in terms of their desirability in either a spouse, or a date or a cross-sex friend. Responses to the demographical variables were obtained on a multiple-choice response format with qualitative categories. The physical and psychological characteristics were assessed through responses to the items on five-point Likert-type scale. Results indicated that women put greater emphasis on demographical features and psychological characteristics, while men emphasised physical traits. Perception of the wife by the men was a combination of sex object and nurturing object, while a date was a companion without much commitment. For the women a husband and a date possessed overlapping characteristics, dates having greater sexual appeal. Cross-sex friends for both sexes shared some characteristics of spouse and date in less intensity. Results have been interpreted in terms of the evolutionary versus learning model of love.
Towards Methodological Rigour in the Study of the Family: Problems and Prospects
Authors: D'Cruz Premilla , Bharat Shalini
Published: March 2007

The multidisciplinary knowledge base that contributes to our understanding of the family does not facilitate methodological rigour. This is so because the methodology of the contributing disciplines does not always do justice to the unique features of the family, leading to a lack of "methodological understanding" (Brown & Kidwell, 1982: 852). Recognising the need to develop an independent methodology to study the family, experts in the field have put forward various alternatives. While many of these alternatives are neither new nor flawless, their proponents believe that they are the better methods that family researchers should adopt when conducting research on the family. This article discusses methodological shortcomings that are commonly found in the study of the family, highlighting the need for and the relevance of addressing them. Methodological alternatives are then described and critiqued, and suggestions for enhancing their sharpness advanced.
Culture as a Psychological Construct
Authors: Tripathi L.B.
Published: March 2007

The multiple meanings of the ill-defined and amorphous notion of "culture" have been analysed. Diverse and vague definitions of culture and complete lack of agreement regarding its meaning led some scholars to de-emphasise the quest for psychological universals. Historically, the rise of cross-cultural psychology was due to certain profes sional conditions such as the availability of funds for large-scale projects and mobility of scholars from one culture to another. This professional opportunity spawned ill- conceived specialties of cross-cultural psychology and indigenous psychology, based on hasty and invalid assumptions. An effort has been made to highlight the need to go back to this search for universals which play a very significant role in the development of and determining human behaviour.
Situational Preference for Different Types of Individualism-Collectivism
Authors: Verma Jyoti
Published: March 2007

One hundred and fifty postgraduate students of Patna University responded to 16 scen arios followed by four alternatives, indicating dominant preference for different typres of individualism-collectivism that is, Horizontal Collectivism, Horizontal Individualism, Vertical Collectivism, or Horizontal Individualism. The observations were compared with the findings of an earlier cross-cultural study by Verma and Triandis (1999), who used the scenarios for measuring the dominant cultural dimensions of American and Indian students. In the present study, minor changes were made for making the situ ations appear more familiar to the Indian respondents. The results proved that the four types of individualism-collectivism were significantly different but there was no significant difference in the percentage of respondents who preferred to choose these in the two studies. Furthermore, the most and the least preferred types were Vertical Collectivism and Vertical Individualism respectively. It appeared that the students pre ferred to be collectivist in social interactions, in matters concerning the pleasure of friends and seniors and in maintaining family ties. However, in situations with direct reference to their personal and individual causes, they preferred to take an individualist stand. Taken in totality, the scenarios appeared to be a reliable instrument for measur ing the preference for dominant cultural dimensions.
Forging an Environmental Supports Bank for Vocabulary and Verbal Reasoning Testing in Zimbabwe
Authors: Jordan Josephine
Published: March 2007

This paper describes the construction and validation of a bank of environmental supports for vocabulary and verbal reasoning tests in English in Zimbabwe. The bank exploits advances in corpus linguistics to provide systematic information on word usage in Zimba bwean school textbooks. Correlations with ranked item difficulties of existing texts confirmed the validity of the bank for vocabulary tasks, which was higher for a sample from less privileged schools. The bank showed less capacity to support the verbal reasoning task. At this juncture it is not possible to discern whether the fault lies with limitations of the bank or with the artificiality of the task.
Stereotypes an d Intergroup Attributions in New Zealand
Authors: Lynskey Michael T. , Ward Colleen , Fletcher Garth J.O.
Published: March 2007

This study extends Hewstone and Ward's (1985) work on ethnocentrism and examines intergroup stereotypes and attributions in Maori and Pakeha adolescents in New Zealand. A group of 175 secondary school students participated in the two part study. In' the first session subjects evaluated Maori or Pakeha stimulus persons on a series of 16 descriptor traits. In the second session subjects generated causal attributions for the positive and negative behaviours of Maori or Pakeha target persons in hypothetical scenarios. Results revealed that Pakeha subjects evinced a group serving bias in stereo types, and to a lesser extent, in attributions. Maori subjects, by contrast, demonstrated a weak tendency to favour Pakehas in both conditions. There was little support, however, for the proposed link between stereotypes and attributions. The results are discussed in terms of the methodological features of the study with particular emphasis on the influence of priming.
Psychosocial Com peten ce in Developing Countries
Authors: Tyler Forrest B.
Published: March 2007

This paper employs the concept of individual psychosocial competence to provide an organising framework for understanding the multiple ways in which people exercise choice and autonomy in conducting their lives. The components of psychosocial com petence are discussed with a focus on the nesting contexts of overall life milieus which define ethnic validity imbeddedness and the parameters of an individual's life. Illus trative research reflecting different points in the human life span are presented. Evidence is found for consistency in the patterns of competence in the different cultural, racial, religious and age groups investigated. The studies demonstrate the role of ecological and life stage variables in psychosocial functioning and the usefulness of the ethnic validity based psychosocial competence framework for understanding mastery and well-being in different societies and cultures.
Traditional Indian Personality Concepts and the Unrealised Potential for Paradigm Shift
Authors: Naidu Radha Krishna
Published: March 2007

A brief description of the Samkhya view of buman personality is presented to bighlight the power and flexibility of this transpersonal approacb to accountfor a very wide range of psychological phenomena. It is pointed out that the non-emergence of this "wide- band"transpersonal approacb in modern Indian psychology is a bistorical enigma and the likely reasons for this paradox are discussed. Finally the dual epistemic status (descriptions and inferences) of the traditional Indian transpersonal statements is pointed out.
Projective-Inventory: An Indigenous Approach to Personality Assessment
Authors: Puhan Biranchi N.
Published: March 2007

The paper aims to present a theoretical model of projective-inventory (P-I) method of personality assessment and provide empirical findings in the area. This method integrates the positive psychometric aspects of both projective and self-report inventories to achieve scoring objectivity and greater reliability and validity of trait scales (Puhan, 1982). Accordingly, real-life episodes are presented to the subjects as structured projective stimulus situations with three or four interacting characters who may be placed at differentpoints on the trait continuum . Each episode is followed by a number of statements relating to the activities of the characters which are "Agreed" or "Disagreed" by the subjects to ensure objectivity in scoring. The P-I method is satisfactorily evaluated against the requirements of convergent and discriminant validity and has been used to develop a nu mber of personality scales. The paper also presents data of several empirical studies indicating minimal influence of social desirability on projective-inventory scores. The P-I method is described as a trait-in-state approach to personality assessment as it samples situations from a wide range of possibilities and accommodates the trait-state controversies in the area. Besides, it is argued that the utilisation of real-life episodes in the P-I method brings the context back to the testing situation through its narratives to which Indians are quite accustomed. Considering its origin from an Indian anecdote and su itabilityfor India npop ulatio n where social desirabilityposes fargreater challenges for inventory scores, the P-I is described as an indigenous method of personality assessment. Thepaper also calls for the development of scales to measure different contemporary Indian traits utilising the P-I method.
Siddiqui-Shah Depression Scale (SSDS): Development and Validation
Authors: Siddiqui Salma , Ali Shah Syed Ashiq
Published: March 2007

The purpose of the study was to develop and validate a self-report scale to measure depression in both clinical and non-clinical Pakistani populations. The 72 items obtained from university students were judged for their relevance to depression by psychiatrists and clinical psychologists. An approximate 50% consensus among judges was taken as the selection criterion. The 36 items so obtained were split into two equivalent halves and tested on clinical as well as non-clinical populations. The split half reliabilities of the scale with Spearman-Brown correc tion were r = 0. 79 and r = 0.84 for the clinical and r = 0.80 and r = 0.89 for the non-clinical samples respectively. The Alpha coefficients for the clinical and non-clinical samples were 0.91 and 0.89 respectively. The scale correlated sig nificantly with Zung's Depression Scale, r = 0.55 (p < .001) and psychiatrists' rat ings of depression r = 0.40 (p < .05). The scale showed a significant correlation with subjective mood ratings for the clinical group r = 0.64 (p < . .001) as com pared to the non-clinical group r = 0.14 (p: n.s.). The scale also demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity. The percentiles and cut-off scores for the clinical as well as non-clinical groups have been determined.
Poor Women as Economic Agents: The Neo-Liberal State and Gender in India and the US
Authors: Vasavi A.R. , Kingfisher Catherine P.
Published: March 2007

Drawing on neo-liberal economic norms, India and the US are increasingly marking and constituting women in poverty as new economic agents. Though based in vastly different socio-economic polities, poor women in both countries are subject to state- led agendas that seek to alter their economic conditions and their subjectivities. Discourse in the US seeks to shift women from welfare to that of workfare and thereby integrate them into the normative structures of dual-parent families. In India the state draws cn the rhetoric of enabling economic empowerment and yet fails to provide the required structural support. Details from the various programmes in the two countries and their impact indicate the extent to which there is a 'serial collectivity' between women in the two countries who share similar shifts in their identities, cul tures and life conditions despite being located in vastly different structural conditions.
Gender and International Politics: The Intersections of Patriarchy and Militarisation
Authors: Chenoy Anuradha M.
Published: March 2007

The policies of globalisation and militarisation are lending a muscular discourse to international politics, which provide continuity to the principle of patriarchy and privilege, especially during times of threat and conflict. This kind of politics has a structural impact on society because it endorses traditional gender roles and places people in binary categories like 'with us' or 'against us', 'civilised' and 'uncivilised', 'warriors' or 'wimps'. The militarist discourse marginalises opposition, diversity and difference, and with this the value of force as part of power is privileged, and militant nationalism exaggerated. Each local culture has its variant of the muscular discourse. As women try and increase their agency, the perception is that when women accept militarist notions of power it is easier for them to become part of national security and state institutions. This is a major challenge to feminist culture and thinking.
Technological Capabilities of the Chemical Industry in Brazil and Venezuela: A Comparative Taxonomy
Authors: Mercado Alexis
Published: March 2007

This study compares the technological experience of two important chemical industries of the region (Brazil and Venezuela). First, a brief description of the evolution of both industrial complexes is presented, showing the influence of key socio-institutional factors in this process. Second, a general comparison is made in order to observe the differences in the entrepreneurial culture of both industries, a fact that is reflected in particular trajectories of technological learning. Finally, a comparative taxonomy allows the classification of firms in terms of their learning levels, confirming the relationship between production integration level and the development of innovative capacities of the firms. This methodological approach gives a reasonable idea of the competitiveness of each industrial complex.
The Humanisation of Nature in the Middle Ages
Authors: Barros Carlos
Published: March 2007

This essay argues that unlike the ideology of economic production and accumulation, which is the driving force of modern secular society and which establishes adversarial relations between man and nature, medievel society was guided by the ideology of reli gion, where nature was perceived as the manifestation of God; hence violence against nature was tantamount to violence against God. This created an ambience of both tension and harmony between man and nature, an equilibrium that, on the one hand, humanised nature, and on the other, prevented man from plundering it.
Experiencing Strangeness: Monstrous Peoples on the Edge of the Earth as Depicted on Medieval Mappae Mundi
Authors: Münkler Marina
Published: March 2007

This essay argues that the monstrous peoples depicted on the edge of the œcumene in medieval maps of the world are not the expression of a medieval preference for the bizarre or fantastic, or the reflection of a mythically oriented consciousness. Rather, they need to be ap proached as a genuine confrontation with the strange or the alien. Drawing on insights from sociological theory, the essay suggests that as liminal figures, the monstra articulate a transcendence inherent in strangeness; at the same time they help define the borders ofgenus humanum, hence in the end to define what is one's own.
Rome and the Comparative Study of Tributary Empires
Authors: Bang P.F.
Published: March 2007

This paper seeks to bring the separate fields of Roman, Mughal and to some extent, Chinese and Ottoman studies into dialogue. It argues that archaic or tributary empires have much in common and could usefully be made the subject of cross-disciplinary comparisons. Dis cussion is centred on exploring problems in our understanding of patrimonial authority and of the complex trading systems arising in connection with these empires. The paper argues that these phenomena need to be lifted out of the modernisation perspective which they are habitually treated within.
The Inquisition and the New Christians: The Case of the Portuguese Inquisition of Goa
Authors: Ginio Alisa Meyuhas
Published: March 2007

The social notion of the New Christians, common in the Iberian penin sula of the fifteenth century, was transferred by the Spaniards and Por tuguese from their historical medieval Mediterranean world to their newly founded settlements in those African, Asian and American lands which had been discovered by them and subsequently brought under their respective rules during the early modern age. Notwithstanding the utterly different circumstances of life, climate and culture, as much as the advance of time, we witness a similar process at work: the institu tional structure of the Inquisition; its modus operandi; its unchal lenged power and authority over both the living and the dead; and, the typical charges brought against those New Christians considered here tics and enemies of the Christian faith.
Tradition and Transition: The Performing Arts in Medieval North India
Authors: Trivedi Madhu
Published: March 2007

The performing arts in medieval India kept pace with changing socio- cultural environment and patronage patterns. This led to the synthesi sation of Indian and Turko-Persian performance practices at the court as well as folk levels and the emergence of a common music culture from the thirteenth century. New musical forms emerged, even as tra ditional genres remained in vogue. The medieval centuries witnessed fluctuations in the fortunes of several performance forms and their practitioners. The qawwāls became repositories of synthesised Indo- Persian traditions, but theatre artistes suffered neglect through most of the period. The eighteenth century, however, became the century of the courtesans. Lucknow in the nineteenth century turned into a dynamic centre of experimentation. A new scenario began to take shape after the traumatic events of 1857.
Approaches to Preventing HIV/AIDS in Youth: A Hope for the Future
Authors: Rice Marilyn , Farquhar Stephanie A.
Published: March 2007

About 50 per cent of new HIV infections affect young people between the ages of 10 and 24. It is clear that the youth represent an important component of the current trends in the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This paper presents four key approaches that have been successful in achieving effective HIV/AIDS prevention outcomes among the youth: emphasising youth involvement in programmes; focusing on multiple levels of intervention and multiple channels of communication; integrating HIV prevention into broader reproductive health programmes; and developing national advocacy programmes and policies to prevent HIV/AIDS in young people. Examples from various countries are presented to illustrate the application of the four approaches and what their results are when applied in the context of HIV prevention programmes for youth. Consistency in regulations and policies across sectors leads to developing approaches and activities that are compatible and youth-friendly. Establishing a unified national youth health policy can be effective in supporting healthy sexuality and reproduction in youth, particularly related to HIV and STI prevention.
Community Perception of a District Health System
Authors: Babu B.V. , Chhotray G.P. , Hazra R.K. , Satyanarayana K.
Published: March 2007

The outreach of health care delivery by the network of primary health centres (PHCs) to cater to the needs of community was assessed in Khurda district of Orissa as viewed by the community. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were employed. Regularity of visits by the health workers was reported to be very low. Heads of household felt that though the services of health workers were relevant to their needs, they were not satisfied with the services provided. A majority of the respondents also had a similar perception. No gender bias was noticed with respect to these issues. The perception of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households and focus groups indicated that these disadvantaged sections desire greater attention towards their needs. They said they were discriminated against when it came to providing health services at the doorsteps of the households and the examination of their family members in their house. The overall perception of the people revealed that there was a need to strengthen and reorient the health care delivery system and to make it more responsive to the felt needs of the community.
Which Way to Turn? Inadequacies in the Health Care System in India
Authors: D'Cruz Premilla , Bharat Shalini
Published: March 2007

The public, private and voluntary health sectors together contribute towards the provision of health care in India. All these play significant roles in influencing the health status of the Indian population. But their contribution is not without shortcom ings. Indeed, it is largely their inadequacies that account for the limited improvements in the health status of the Indian people. Unfortunately, the chances that the recognition of these pitfalls and their implications will be translated into action and change are very few, given the present influence of the structural adjustment programme on the social sector. On the contrary, the situation is expected to worsen. This paper provides a perspective on India's health care system in the post-independence period In describing India's public, private and voluntary health sectors, it highlights some of the reasons behind the marginal improvements in health status in the country.
HIV/AIDS in India: Problem and Response
Authors: Mohammed Shaukat , Panakadan Salil
Published: March 2007

The current prevalence of HIV in India is estimated to be around 4. 6 million infections, 74.8 per cent of those infected being men and 85.3 per cent of infections occurring through the sexual route. Analysis of data from biological and behavioural surveillance from across the country brings out the fact that the epidemic is heterogeneously distributed and is spreading not onlygeographically, but also shows increasing rates in different risk groups, while continuing to affect the general population.

The epidemic is in an advanced stage in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kar nataka, Manipur and Nagaland. Nationwide efforts have been initiatedduring the last decade through a comprehensive National AIDS Control Programme. The response has been participatory, multi-sectoral, evidence based and with a number ofsuccess stories. This gives us hope that a sustained high-quality response will contain and manage the epidemic and its consequences.
Mapping Cultural Diversity within India: A Meta-analysis of Some Recent Studies
Authors: Panda Abinash , Gupta Rajen K.
Published: March 2007

Cross-cultural comparative studies mostly have been based on the assumption of cultural homogeneity that equates culture with nation. This assumption overlooks the cultural diversity that might exist within a nation. This article is based on the review of four empirical studies conducted by J.B.P. Sinha and his associates focusing on cultural diversity within India. A review of these studies revealed seven pan-Indian cultural preferences: (a) collectivist orientation; (b) respect for status and power; (c) primacy of personalized relationship; (d) desire to be embedded in an in-group; (e) familism; (f) context-sensitive (situational) behaviour; and (g) cynical view about others. However, it also revealed location-specific cultural preferences. The authors have analyzed these preferences, extracted from the findings of these studies for those locations which have been covered in more than one study, to present an holistic picture of the culture of each location. Sinha and his associates view cultural differences among various locations as a consequence of different degrees of infrastructural development in those locations. The authors are inclined to argue that cultural change is context sensitive and depends on the historical and cultural legacy inherited by a location. They argue for an evolutionary-emic approach to study cultural diversity within India.
An Investigation into the Economics of Extending Bank Powers
Authors: Rajan Raghuram G.
Published: March 2007

Policy-makers in many countries earnestly debate the extent of powers that commercial banks should be allowed. In contrast, some economists declare such a debate futile. Commercial banks should be allowed all powers, and competition will ensure they will adopt only those ones that they can perform competently. In other words, they argue, so long as competition is not arti ficially restricted, efficient institutions will emerge. This paper shows that unrestricted competition does not necessarily lead to efficient institutions if the markets in which institutions compete are not naturally competitive. Therefore, the debate on what powers banks should have is relevant even from an efficiency point of view. More evidence is needed to convince policy- makers, especially in developing countries.
THE MAKING OF THE IOC ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AS THE THIRD DIMENSION OF THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT
Authors: Cantelon Hart , Letters Michael
Published: March 2007

The Winter Olympics at Nagano, Japan, in 1998 marked the first Games at which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had a clearly articulated environmental protection policy that was to be followed by the organizing committee. This article attempts to explain the conditions under which this policy came to be, arguing that it was the widespread environmental damage at the 1992 Albertville and the Savoie Region Games, and the subsequent environmentally conscious Green Games of Lillehammer, Norway (1994), that were the historical benchmarks for the development of this policy. The importance of human/environment interaction in the creation of global sport policy is developed and demonstrates the primacy of local initiatives (Albertville, Lillehammer) upon transnational global concerns (IOC environmental policy), an example of the so-called disjuncture debate. The IOC declaration that environmental protection has become the third dimension of the Olympic movement, alongside sport and culture, is problematic; the IOC policy statements suggest that the IOC led in the development of environmental protection. The authors argue that, after Albertville, the IOC was pressured into developing an environmental policy but had little understanding of how to address this global issue. The Norwegian people, with their long-standing and well-developed respect for nature, provided an example that the IOC embraced. The local initiative of Lillehammer has become the global policy that all future Olympic Games organizing committees must follow if they are to win the bid to organize an Olympiad.
SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND SPORT DEVELOPMENT
Authors: Burnett Cora
Published: March 2007

Drawing on the body of knowledge of social impact research, this article offers the rationale, methodology and results of the social impact of the junior component of the Australia-South Africa Sport Development Programme. Academics from different disciplines developed and refined a multidimensional, flexible impact assessment tool for the research that was undertaken in the Northern Province and the Eastern Cape in 1999. The Programme that was fed through the educational system in contexts of poverty was monitored and assessed in relation to individual and core sociological indicators at macro-, meso- and micro-levels. The change that was indicated by the presenters (school teachers), participants (children) and other national and regional stakeholders portrays perceptions and experiences of `social change' in terms of ideology, socialization, empowerment, equity and access to participation and decision-making against the background of material constraints and the manifestations of poverty.
AMONG THE THUGS
Authors: Hughson John
Published: March 2007

This paper reviews contemporary scholarship on football subcultures which may be described as `new ethnographies'. The key authors discussed are Gary Armstrong and Richard Giulianotti. It is argued that their studies of `hooligans' articulate with other current ethnographic work, and provide insights into the social identities of supporters which have not been visible within scholarship to date. This is not to dismiss the value of other research but to highlight the innovative nature of Armstrong's and Giulianotti's contributions. The paper also argues for the importance of recognizing the distinction between academic ethnographies and `native' accounts when studying football subcultures.
TALKIN' TRASH AT HARDWICK HIGH
Authors: Eveslage Scott , Delaney Kevin
Published: March 2007

Trash talking has been the subject of considerable social commentary and criticism in the past few years. Media constructions of the phenomenon claim that it has filtered down from the world of professional sport and now influences the conduct of young athletes. We use an empirical study of high-school basketball players to show that in order to be more fully understood, trash talking needs to be connected with `insult talk', which preceded the former. We document the factors that help insult talk flourish at Hardwick High and argue that trash talking is a more complex phenomenon than is usually presented in media portrayals.
RESOCIALIZATION AND CONTINUITY OF INVOLVEMENT IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG ELDERLY JAPANESE
Authors: Chogahara Makoto , Yamaguchi Yasuo
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to examine which determinants discriminate between resocialization and continuity patterns of physical activity among elderly Japanese. Information was collected through face-to-face interviews with two groups of elderly Japanese: one that was inactive in middle age and became active after retirement (resocialization group), and another that was active both in middle age and after retirement (continuity group). Discriminant analysis (Hayashi's Quantification Theory II) was used to compare these two groups in four personal and contextual dimensions: personal attributes, socializing situation, socializing agent, and cognitive involvement. The findings indicated that socializing agents such as friends and leaders influenced the resocialization group more than the continuity group. Conversely, the continuity group was more affected by activity programs than the resocialization group.
GENDER, SPORT AND THE BODY POLITIC
Authors: Mikosza Janine M. , Phillips Murray G.
Published: March 2007

This article compares the Golden Girls of Sport calendar, which was ostensibly launched to provide Australian women competing in the 1996 Olympic Games with greater access to the media, with a special issue of black+ white magazine, titled The Atlanta Dream, which featured Australian men and women competitors at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. The two publications are analysed in the context of gender theory, with particular focuses on the social construction of gendered bodies and the different ways that femininity and masculinity are represented in the mass media.
Planning for the International Quality Review Process
Authors: Malo Salvador , Valle Rosamaria , Wriedt Karin
Published: March 2007

ThA article describes the way in which the International Quality Review Process (IQRP) contributes to the review of the international activities of a large, complex university and the formulation of a policy proposal for such activities. The National University of Mexico (UNAM) is one of the largest and most complex universities in the world and the most importanthigher education institution in the country. The article begins with a general description of UNAM in the context of the Mexican higher education system, the background to its international activities and the reasons behind the university s interest in the International Quality Review Process (IQRP). It describes the steps involved in the process, as well as the difficulties faced and the results obtained, in both the quality review process and in its incorporation into University life. The document ends with a description of the actions deemed necessary to consolidate an institutional policy of international activities in the near future.

The article is a pre-publication of a chapter in the OECD-book Quality and Internationalisation in Higher Education', 1999 (Jane Knight and Hans de Wit, editors)
HAYEK
Authors: Kerstenetzky Celia Lessa
Published: March 2007

Friedrich A. Hayek's critique of rationalism is often deemed inevitably to lead to conservative conclusions regarding designed change in the social world. Indeed, Hayek produced plenty of arguments to discourage state intervention. After spelling out the main elements of his cognitive view of society with its typical stress on the limited role of reason, I elaborate on his multiple argumentative strategy against intervention to argue that the convincing premises of Hayek's thought, his social epistemology, in particular, (i) have no necessary connection with his normative and political convictions and (ii) are, in fact, at odds with the conclusions, leading to challenging these convictions.
The World Language Problem
Authors: POOL JONATHAN
Published: March 2007

Antagonists in the ancient controversy over world multilingualism agree that a successful artificial language must overcome a coordination problem: to motivate learners when few speak the language. It is believed that a take-off point must be reached, after which the spread of such a language would be self-sustaining. This problem may also frustrate other linguistic and nonlinguistic innovations. The dynamics of recruitment and defection, however, render a take-off point analysis dubious. A simple model of artificial language evolution supports this doubt. Despite low learning cost, universal competence in an artificial language, if achieved, might be unstable. More generally, any degree of penetration by an artificial language, from 0% to 100% of the world population, might be stable. The results help interpret the fact that the artificial language movement is small yet stable, frustrated yet complacent, and convinced that language choice is a social dilemma that needs coordination to prevent a deficient outcome.
Views on the Relevance of Game Theory
Authors: FRIEDMAN JAMES W.
Published: March 2007

This article comments on the works by Michael Hechter, Gordon Tullock, and Aaron Wildavsky that are critical of game theory. Although most of the points raised by the authors have merit, some are not relevant to game theory (as opposed to the misuse of game theory within social science). Those points pertaining to game theory vary in importance from quite central to exceedingly peripheral.
On the Usefulness of Game Theory for the Resolution of Real-World Collective Action Problems
Authors: RAUB WERNER , VOSS THOMAS , WEESIE JEROEN
Published: March 2007

An important task in the application of game-theoretic rational choice models to collective action problems consists in linking elements of the social structure to abstract concepts used in the modeling of game situations. Michael Hechter correctly identifies three major research areas in game theory (equilibrium selection, incomplete information, imperfect information) where such links are needed. However, we disagree with most of his conclusions on the problem situation in these areas.
Gambling in a Malthusian Universe
Authors: POLLOCK GREGORY B. , LEWIS KEITH A.
Published: March 2007

Prospect choice is generally viewed as a game against nature. This article models prospect choice as an n- person game where each subject assumes that n- 1 others will be exposed to the same decision problem (prospect choice set) as self; the goal is not to “beat nature” but to do relatively better than rivals exposed to the same problem. Preference becomes strategy choice in n- person Nash equilibrium. When symmetric pure strategy equilibria do not exist, choice is a symmetric randomized equilibrium; here, uncertainty (probabilistic response) becomes a method of dealing with uncertainty in nature. The approach produces, qualitatively, several empirical expected utility paradoxes (the certainty effect, intransitive cycles, and one form of reflection), and an evolutionary game-theoretic extension accounts for all the phenomena revealed by the research of Kahneman and Tversky.
Economic and Sociological Explanations of Gender Inequality
Authors: JACOBS JERRY A.
Published: March 2007

This commentary discusses theoretical and methodological issues that arise in the articles by Brines and Fiorentine. It commends Brines's careful tests of three models of the household division of labor but criticizes some of the principal tenets of the economic model of the household division of labor that Brines tests. It also criticizes a number of Fiorentine's generalizations about the state of the sociological literature on gender stratification although noting that there are intriguing issues to be pursued in the area of the differential attrition of women from male-dominated fields before and after they enter the labor force. The commentary concludes with a call for more rigorous development of sociological theories of gender inequality.
Rational Choice Marxism and Social Class Boundaries
Authors: MILLS COLIN
Published: March 2007

Rational Choice Marxism (RCM) is an increasingly influential strand of thought in an increasingly post-Marxist world. Part of its interest is the attempt of some thinkers to move beyond the exegetical debates that have often passed for Marxist social science. This article attempts an assessment of how fruitful this shift of focus has been in one area where there is significant overlap with the interests of more mainstream social scientists, the conceptualization of social class boundaries. The conclusions are mainly negative and it is pointed out that rational choice discussions of class need not necessarily take an explicitly Marxist form. The article ends with a construal of a relatively familiar sociological class schema in terms that should be congenial to rational choice theorists.
Self-Censorship in Public Discourse
Authors: LOURY GLENN C.
Published: March 2007

Uncertainty about what motivates “senders” of public messages leads “receivers” to “read between the lines” to discern the sender's deepest commitments. Anticipating this, senders “write between the lines,” editing their expressions so as to further their own ends. I examine how this interactive process of inference and deceit affects the quality and extent of public deliberations on sensitive issues. A principle conclusion is that genuine moral discourse on difficult social issues can become impossible when the risks of upsetting some portion of one's audience are too great. Reliance on euphemism and platitude should be expected in this strategic climate. Groups may embark on a tragic course of action, believed by many at the outset to be ill-conceived, but that has become impossible to criticize.
Rationality and Socialist Collective Farming
Authors: CHANG KYUNG-SUP
Published: March 2007

The incentive and monitoring problems in Chinese collective farming are theoretically reformulated so that the uneasy position of collective managers concerning the adequate levels of work compensation and collective accumulation can be taken fully into account in determining the quantitative intensity of labor mobilization. It is argued that there was a motive for collective managers not to engage themselves in excessive mobilization of peasant labor if they were at all concerned about maintaining adequate wage levels, collective accumulation, and even their own income and positional benefits. The rationality of the managerial behavior on Chinese collective farms should thus be judged in view of the specific conditions imposed by the state on peasant interests.
Gifts with Strings Attached
Authors: Sally David
Published: March 2007

Julian Simon attempts to model the homology between intertemporal and interpersonal allocations of resources, that is, saving and gift giving However, he sacrifices too much in his attempt to fit the relevant phenomena into his proposed analytic framework A more convincing model than Simon's would include two elements he explicitly avoids: auxiliary psychological phenomena (such as enjoyment of the act of pledging itself) and the analysis of strategic intentions (such as Adam Smith s understanding of the sources of sympathy).
AN ECONOMIST'S VIEW OF AUTHORITY
Authors: Hart Oliver
Published: March 2007

A recent economic literature analyzes institutions, such as firms, in terms of incomplete contracts and property rights. The paper begins by briefly summarizing this literature. The paper goes on to argue that the incomplete-contracting approach can elucidate the meaning of authority. The paper takes the point of view that someone has authority in an economic relationship because they control some non-human assets in the relationship, rather than because they control people directly. The advantage of such an approach is that it avoids a thorny question that arises when authority is defined with respect to human assets: what ensures that, if A has authority over B, B does what A wants? The paper also argues that authority may have little to do with communication: an employer may have authority over an employee even though the employer may act on information provided by the employee.
EXPLAINING EDUCATIONAL DIFFERENTIALS
Authors: Breen Richard , Goldthorpe John H.
Published: March 2007

In this paper we seek to provide an explanation of three widely documented empirical phenomena. These are: (i) increasing educational participation rates; (ii) little change in class differentials in these rates; and (iii) a recent and very rapid erosion of gender differentials in educational attainment levels. We develop a formal mathematical model, using a rational action approach and drawing on earlier work that seeks to explain these three trends as the product of individual decisions made in the light of the resources available to, and the constraints facing, individual pupils and their families. The model represents children and their families as acting rationally, i.e. as choosing among the different educational options available to them on the basis of evaluations of their costs and benefits and of the perceived probabilities of more or less successful outcomes. It then accounts for stability, or change, in the educational differentials that ensue by reference to a quite limited range of situational features. So, both class and gender differences in patterns of educational decisions are explained as the consequence of differences in resources and constraints. We do not, therefore, invoke `cultural' or `normative' differences between classes or genders to account for why they differ in their typical educational decisions (though we have something to say about the role of norms in such an account). Because the model is presented mathematically, testable corollaries are easy to derive as are other implications of our model for patterns of relevant behaviour.
SOLIDARITY BETWEEN PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS
Authors: Leeuw Frans L.
Published: March 2007

Social cohesion and integration is not only a classical problem of sociology but also of government. Governments implement policies and establish public sector organizations to solve this problem. As the number of such organizations increases, the question arises of how to ensure that their activities are geared to one another, i.e. how to attain cohesion between corporate actors in society. In the paper four answers to this question are reviewed; (i) new public management, which centers on market-type mechanisms that devolve greater responsibility to operating managers, and create more autonomy for public sector organizations; (ii) direct supervision by central government through hierarchy, rules, regulations, standard operating procedures and bureaucracy; (iii) investing in auditing with a focus on developing and using performance indicators; and (iv) investing in and managing with social capital. The empirical focus is on the Netherlands.
THE INDIRECT EVOLUTIONARY APPROACH:
Authors: Güth Werner , Kliemt Hartmut
Published: March 2007

Besides opportunistically rational choice, emotion and commitment to norms influence human choice behavior. Traditionally economists have opted for the rationality side while sociologists worked the other side of the street. By pursuing an indirect evolutionary approach one can integrate the two polar extremes to some extent in one model. To that end preferences on which rational choices depend are treated as endogenous to an evolutionary process. In this process, choices are not motivated by objective evolutionary success, yet objective evolutionary success depends on the choices made, which in turn depend on subjective preferences. Success feeds back on subjective preferences, and so on. How this argument may be pushed to the point where rationality itself is treated as adaptive is illustrated in an indirect evolutionary treatment of preference formation in a very elementary yet fundamental game of trust.
Perinatal Care: Cultural and Technical Differences between China and the United States
Authors: Liu Hao Guan , Moore Jayne F.
Published: March 2007

A comparison of perinatal care in the U.S. and China is presented. Perinatal care has made tremendous achievements in both countries since mid-century. However, the outcomes in the two cultures are different due to the different focus on caring concepts, the strengths of a nursing philosophy, and the emphasis on the nursing role in maternal care. Perinatal family in the U.S. will have advantages in perinatal education, physical facilities, and a philosophy of care. North American women have greater access to early prenatal and continuing care, and less infant mortality. Chinese women have less access to qualified nursing services, higher infant mortality rates, and limited perinatal education. Overall, Chinese perinatal care is far behind that which is found in the U.S. This comparison analyzes the strengths and weaknesses in both cultures with a focus on change that will produce healthier and more consistent optimal outcomes.
The Culture of War: A Study of Women Military Nurses in Vietnam
Authors: Scannell-Desch Elizabeth
Published: March 2007

Many books and studies have described the male Vietnam War culture, whereas similar literature about women is almost nonexistent. This study describes the culture of war nursing as experienced by 24 U.S. women military nurses. Data were generated using a core question and in-depth interviews. Phenomenology served as the research method, incorporating data analysis procedures of Colaizzi and Lincoln and Guba. Nine theme categories were identified to describe the culture of war nursing. Core values of the military culture were threaded throughout descriptions, and activities to make their environment more homelike embodied the positive values of their culture.