bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Managing Economic Crisis: A Human Factors Approach
Authors: Aus-Thai Project Team  , Carr C. , Long Gillian , Bolitho Floyd H.
Published: March 2007

Managing economic crisis will require organisational and regional cooperation, based upon shared and mutually respectful understandings of the causes of, and solutions to, economic turbulence. In the wake of the 1997-98 Asian economic crisis, and following extensive collaboration between Thai and Australian behavioural scientists on the structure and content of an appropriate item pool, 252 citizens of Darwin, Australia's nearest urban neighbour, and 400 citizens of Bangkok, from the epicentre of the crisis, gave their views on the causes of economic crisis using a 39-item, three-factor Likert-style survey instrument. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied separately to each country data set, and in each case implied the presence of three latent variables (Jareskog GFI for Darwin and Bangkok respectively = 0.818 and 0.835). These latent variables comprised (1) economic misman agement/management; (2) government ineptitude/corruption (1 and 2 being closely inter related) ; and (3) a more distinctive, "human "factor, where economic crisis is attributed to purely behavioural factors such as lack of motivation, lack of discipline, and lack of social responsibility. Greater direct experience of economic crisis was consistently associated with more endorsement of all three factors, a finding that is broadly consistent with recent HD initiatives in Thailand and elsewhere in the region, towards greater inclusion, in development policy initiatives, for managing economic crisis, of the human factor (UNCTAD, 2000).
Psychosocial Barriers to Female Leadership: Motivational Gravity in Ghana and Tanzania
Authors: Akuamoah-Boateng Robert , Bolitho Floyd H. , Carr Stuart C. , Chidgey Jane E. , O'Reilly Bridie , Phillips Rachel , Purcell Ian P. , Rugimbana Robert Obadiah
Published: March 2007

Women continue to be underrepresented in management globally, including the so-called "develop ing" countries, where gender diversity is especially crucial to business development. From Ghana, 120 experienced employees and 83 future managers from Tanzania's University of Dar-es-Salaam, read scenarios depicting male or female achievers, and predicted what proportions of co-workers and bosses would display encouragement, discouragement, or apathy. In Ghana, male respondents predicted encouragement from males towards male and female achievers but discouragement from females towards female achievers, while female respondents predicted more discouragementgenerally. In Tanzania, male respondents also predicted discouragement from females towards female achievers, while female respondents predicted the exact reverse. Such similarities and differences, across culturally diverse contexts in West and East Africa, highlight both global and local barriers to women in development.
Child Rearing in Turkey and an Intervention Research
Authors: Kagitcibasi Cigdem
Published: March 2007

This paper has two main parts. The first part is a general portrayal of attitudes toward children and related child rearing behaviours in Turkey. There is a focus here on problems of child development in the context of lower socio-economic development. The second half presents an intervention study conducted in low income urban areas of Istanbul to alleviate some of these problems and to foster the overall development of children. This research is discussed as an example of an intervention to break the cycle of disadvantage that has implications for application in other places, also. It needs to be recognised that many of the problems encountered in child rearing and child development are not unique to the Turkish case but are common in contexts of low levels of socio-economic development. Therefore social class (variation) figures more largely than culture in the orientation adopted here.
History and Present Status of Professional Psychology in Zambia
Authors: Peltzer Karl , Bless Claire
Published: March 2007

The paper discusses the problems and prospects in the application of psychology in an African country, viz., Zambia. Lack of comprehensive policy of the government on manpower development, training and finance, and lack of coordination and fragmentation of research activities between the different departments, institutions and associations have been analysed. There is also the problem of lack of sensitivity to the cultural realities. Priority research areas of psychology in Zambia have been identified.
The Post-Modern Being in Psychology
Authors: Sinha Yoganand
Published: March 2007

The paper burrowing into the philosophy of social sciences reveals some of the deepest assumptions about man, the epistemological foundation upon which earlier works were based. It argues that these are less solid, less fixed and less final, than what they were supposed to be. In short the bottom seems to fall through, leaving us with some cognitive nervousness about what and how to study human phenomena. How ever, it is argued that as one stands today, there is an awareness that social sciences should have aims, ambitions and methods of studying which are different from those of the natural sciences. It is now legitimate to examine oneself, others and values as a part and parcel of the study of human phenomena. This openness is seen as having exciting and enriching possibilities in human sciences. The creative flexi bility and the ever changing human being is once again claiming centrality in social sciences.
A Cross-cultural Perspective on Cognitive Development Theories used in Indian Settings
Authors: Mishra Ramesh C.
Published: March 2007

Cross-cultural applications of developmental theories have raised a number of is sues related to the developmental status of children in Third World countries. This paper analyses the outcomes of research carried out with children in the Indian setting using some major theories of cognitive development. It is argued that group differences in testperformance are most likely to be interpreted as "deficits" if one fails to analyse the context in which children are brought up. On the other hand, differences in testperformance can be meaningfully understood and interpreted by adopting an ecocultural perspective.
Leadership Values: Insights from Ashoka's Inscriptions
Authors: Bhatta C. Panduranga
Published: March 2007

An attempt has been made in this article to re-examine the inscriptions of Ashoka, an ancient Indian king, who was a great leader, well known in history, who had the courage, confidence, vision and will to provide an administration based purely on genuine human values. As evidenced in his inscriptions, 'effective leadership' depends not on preaching moral values but on practising them, and modifying life and leadership styles accordingly. Ashoka believed that the success of a true leader is directly related to the maintenance of purity in public life and harmony in domestic affairs.
Management by Human Values: An Overview
Authors: Ahmad Abad
Published: March 2007

The paper highlights the importance of cultivating several trans-cultural human values, and controlling many such dis-values in order to stem the qualitative rot in corporate management. Rights-without-duties refers to an untenable state of affairs. If this is not recognized the free market model may itself be aban doned. According to the author, hierarchical need models of motivation, or contingency theories of leader ship have only temporary superficial effect. Instead, the fundamental psychological principles of the Gita and the Isha Upanishad are deeper and foolproof. The author strongly argues for management with ethics, science with human values, and technology with a conscience. Enlightened managers must acquire wisdom, he concludes.
Hopes, Tensions and Complexity: Indian Students' Reflections on the Relationship of Values to Management Education and Future Career Options
Authors: Siememsma Fran
Published: March 2007

This case study was undertaken to explore the way in which postgraduate management students relate their personal values to their current education and future career aspirations. The research primarily focused on the perceptions of students taking an elective offered by the Management Centre for Human Values at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC). Students' attitudes toward western postgraduate manage ment programme were elicited using interviews and group discussions. Part A of the paper had presented the aiverse range of attitudes analysed under the themes ofgender; personal identity; age and status; ethics, religion and spirituality; profit and wealth: as well as consumerism and environmentalism. Part B extends this exploration by direct quotes from students to illustrate their experience of tension and ambiguity, as they anticipated moving from an academic to a business role.
Science and Technology Policy for Development: China's Experience in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century
Authors: Gu Shulin
Published: March 2007

This article draws out the process by which China developed its science and technology policy for economic and social development in the second half of the twentieth century. The two sections following the introduction discuss science and technology policy respec tively in the first period of economic development, which was from the 1950s to 1978, and in the second period, which started in 1978 and continued in the 1990s. The last section summarises the discussions in the previous sections, and points out some major chal lenges that the science and technology policy of China might encounter in the years of the new century.
Science: A Controversial Commodity
Authors: Baskaran Angathevar , Boden Rebecca
Published: March 2007

This paper argues that science as an activity in developed countries has in recent years undergone a radical shift from its traditional Mertonian form to a new. commodified variant. The impetus for this change has been the funding decisions of governments. As a result, science has been 'captured' by the private sector and, consequently, public trust in and understanding of science has diminished. These argumenis are explored by setting out the two models and then explaining the process of change by reference to universities as examples. The paper then presents two case studies, one of genetically modified organisms and the other on mobile phone safety, to illustrate the breakdown in public understanding and acceptance of science.
The Social Construction of Leprosy in Colombia, 1884-1939
Authors: Obregón Diana
Published: March 2007

Colombian physicians saw leprosy as an important area of inquiry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In order to convince the government of the need to wage a battle against the disease, physicians unfolded a rhetoric where nationalist considerations as well as exaggeration played a principal role. They accepted the conclusions adopted at international conferences on leprosy, and adopted segregation as the only way to prevent the spread of the disease. The racist image of leprosy as an extremely contagious disease inflicting inferior peoples, arose from the imperialist expansion of Europe and the United States in the late nineteenth century when Westerners discovered leprosy in their colonial territories. Between 1903 and the 1930s the Colombian government imposed several regulations ordering the isolation of the sick, and established special institutions for lepers. Around this time, isolation continued to be the main strategy to manage the disease, but medical rhetoric began to change. Doctors regarded leprosy as a curable disease and rejected compulsory isolation. The emphasis shifted to prevention and research. This new approach was connected with liberal ideas that were dominant at that time in Colombia.
Migration of Scientists and the Building of a Laboratory in Argentina
Authors: Kreimer Pablo
Published: March 2007

The objective was to demonstrate how, as witnessed in the particular case of one molecular biology laboratory in Buenos Aires, different types of scientific migration emerged, such that they were responsible for the very constitution of this laboratory. To this end, a brief description of the historical background of the scientific community in Argentina, its political-institutional context, and the successive migrational periods which have been produced in the country will be presented. Before discussing this particular case, three 'ideal types' which may be useful in understanding the different types of migration embarked upon by scientists will be described.
Keeping the Judge in Mind: Representations of Justice in Late Medieval Sermons
Authors: Hubrath Margarete
Published: March 2007

The essay argues that the communicative functions of the German sermons of Berthold von Regensburg cannot be limited to the central aspect of spiritual welfare. These sermons also fulfil an important role in establishing legal maxims: behind their theological form, the texts mediate social and legal norms to be followed in everyday life.
Violence, Gastronomy and the Meanings of War in Medieval South India
Authors: Ali Daud
Published: March 2007

This essay argues that the imagery of battle in Cayankontā r's twelfth-century poem, the Kalinkattupparani, composed at the court of Kulō ttunka Cō la, may tell us little about the practicalities of warfare in medieval India, but it does help us understand the meaning of war for medieval south Indian courts. Its imagery, corroborated by inscriptional accounts, at first suggests linkages with earlier notions of agonistic sacrifice, but on closer examination, as this essay demonstrates, it produces a world of feasting, death and laughter that occupies a more contrary and autonomous space within conceptions of sovereignty in early medieval India.
Omnia permixta sunt: Where's the Border?
Authors: Peters Edward
Published: March 2007

Current scholarly interest in borders and frontiers takes many forms, sometimes applying anachronistic standards to medieval conceptions and practices. This essay reviews much of the recent scholarship, beginning with a review of Lucien Febvre's famous article of 1928, and then considering Roman and early European concepts of edged space, emphasising the re gional character of medieval borders, the divisions of kingdoms and politi cally subordinate spaces, and concluding with a critique of treating medieval conceptions of space symbolically, arguing instead that medieval rulers may have extrapolated local awareness of borders to the larger political frontiers of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
In the Business of Kāma: Prostitution in Classical Sanskrit Literature from the Seventh to the Thirteenth Centuries
Authors: Shah Shalini
Published: March 2007

In analysing prostitution, represented in classical Sanskrit literature, this article critiques the image of the prostitute as the perfidious whore whose sexuality threatened patriarchal structure as well as afeminist counter-discourse portraying her merely as a victim of patriarchal oppression. The case is made for treating prostitutes as social agents with relative autonomy, within patriarchy's parameters, to a large extent based on their conscious commodification of kāma to gain complete control over both artha and dharma, the other two ends of human life. It also takes into account the space for love and pleasure in the work of the prostitute.
The Internal Exile of Medieval English Jewry
Authors: Brown Reva Berman , McCartney Sean
Published: March 2007

The history of the Jewish community of medieval England was relatively brief The chronicler William of Malmesbury states that the Jews of London were brought from Rouen by William I (the Conqueror) as part of a policy of stimulating commercial development. They worked mainly as financiers until they were expelled from England by Edward I in 1290. Their status was unique in that they were protected by, and 'belonged' to, the Crown. Their presence was both tolerated and resisted to the point of violence. The paper highlights the ways in which, throughout their period of residence, the Jews were in England, but never of it, existing in a state of internal exile.
Children's First-names in Italy during the Late Middle Ages
Authors: Klapisch-Zuber Christiane
Published: March 2007

The system of assigning multiple first-names which spread in Tuscany from the end of the fourteenth century onwards constitutes an excep tion in contemporary Europe. Its orientation and rationale therefore merit detailed examination. The concern to bring together familial tra dition and respect for the saints within the first-name of a baptised infant clearly influenced the first two first-names conferred upon the newborn child. However, the appearance of an additional first-name, one which established a link with a local saint, Romolo, and which was, after 1470, systematically given to every baptised child in Flor ence and later in all Tuscany under Florentine jurisdiction, responded to a new exigency: the need to affirm the political and civic identity of every child.
Development of an HIV Model and Its Simulation
Authors: Chaturvedi D.K. , Singh Pritam , Mohan Man , Gaur S.K. , Mishra D.S.
Published: March 2007

This article discusses model development for HIV-infected populations using the sys tem dynamics technique. The technique has an advantage over conventional model ling techniques as it is dependent more on causal relationships that involve qualitative and quantitative variables to model socioeconomic problems of a complex nature. The model has been simulated and the results have been compared with the available data.
A Review of the Occupational Health of Women
Authors: Kaila H.L.
Published: March 2007

This article is a-review of Indian studies on occupational health of women, including a recent comprehensive study of the health of women in organisations based on a sample of 730 women and 80 medical doctors/welfare personnel from various locations in Mumbai. This review highlights the physical and men tal health problems of women at workplaces and suggests control measures.
Evolving Health Care Quality: Lessons and Action Steps
Authors: McLaughlin Curtis P. , Kaluzny Arnold D.
Published: March 2007

After more than a decade, Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) in the US is un dergoing a metamorphosis. CQI is being subsumed in a movement that focuses on clinical performance improvement under a number of titles: evidence-based medi cine, case management, disease management, and patient-centred care. Perhaps this is the sincerest form of flattery for an effort built on the industrial concepts of Total Quality Management, but there is more than that at stake. It is a new social contract for practitioners, and a response to both success and oversimplification. While this is taking place in a resource-rich environment, there are lessons to be learnt for both resource-rich and resource-constrained environments. Based on the experience to date, specific action steps are presented to facilitate the implementation process.
Family Planning Targets and Quality of Services: Workers' Perspectives and Dilemmas
Authors: Simmons Ruth , Ghiron Laura
Published: March 2007

This paper uses data from in-depth group interviews with family planning workers in Bangladesh to demonstrate both the dysfunctional influence of family planning targets on quality of care as well as the strong connection between targets and the manage ment system. The findings show that the presence of targets influenced the advice and information workers provided, pushing them towards long-term methods such as steril isation and the IUD rather than helping clients select methods most suited to their needs. The paper then shows the connection between the target system and the struc ture of official and unofficial incentives, the pattern of supervision, the system of accountability and a hierarchically organised and gender-biased organisational cul ture. The authors argue that unless these underlying managerial determinants of qual ity of care are addressed, the hope for reaching the goals of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) will remain illusory.
Changes in Employment Security in Asia
Authors: Lee Adam , Kuruvilla Sarosh
Published: March 2007

Much attention has been focused on the decline of traditional employment structures in the advanced indus trial countries. Lesser attention has focused on this issue in Asia. In this comparative article, we examine the changes in employment security in China, India, Japan and South Korea. We focus on the historical develop ment of the employment security social contract in these countries, noting the institutional features that gave rise to it in each country. We then examine the resilience of employment security norms under recent eco nomic pressures. We find that there has been substantial erosion in employment security during the nineties in all four countries due to both increased competition and economic liberalization, although there is some variation in both the rate of erosion as well as the prospects for revival of the social contract. We assess the possibilities of a revival in this particular social contract, and the impact of the erosion on unorganized workers.
Are You Aware how Your Personality Type Affects Your Behaviour?
Authors: Chauhan S.P. , Chauhan Daisy
Published: March 2007

Understanding how others function is the first step towards having good interpersonal relations in the work environment. Organizations consist of people who differ from one another in almost every dimension possi ble. Diversity certainly is a challenge that is here to stay. To manage the diversity it is of utmost important to understand personality and related behaviour. Equally important is to understand one's own personality type. A study of personality type becomes relevant when we find that an individual's functioning is affected by how he relates to the world (extrovert or introvert), how he processes information (intuition or sensing), evaluates the environment (judging or perceiving) and finally makes decisions (thinking or feeling). In the present article, an attempt has been made to understand personality types and the relationship of different personality types with role efficacy. It was found that the majority of the respondents belonged to the ESTJ (Extroverted-Sensing-Thinking-Judging) personality type. Between introversion and extroversion, majority of the managers were found to be extroverts. An important finding of the study was a positive relationship between the ESTJ, types of personality with role efficacy and negative relationship of introversion, intuitive ness, feeling and perceiving with role efficacy. Further, an attempt has been made to address some of the issues associated with personality types and job-fit.
FROM THE PROFANE TO THE SACRED
Authors: Light Richard
Published: March 2007

As an attempt to address the paucity of research on sport in Asian settings, this paper uses a case-study approach to examine young Japanese men's participation in pre-game rugby rituals. Drawing on Durkheim's seminal work, it is argued that the pre-game ceremonies have much in common with rituals conducted in similar western settings. However, many of the ritual activities were performed in distinctly Japanese ways, suggesting that they also express and confirm dominant local values and mark rugby as a discrete cultural practice.
Seeking Identities
Authors: Stevenson Christopher L.
Published: March 2007

Prus's model of career-contingency has been useful in examining the careers of elite athletes. But is this interactionist perspective useful in helping us understand the ways in which non-elite athletes (masters swimmers) become involved in and continue their involvement in their athletic careers? Data from interviews with masters swimmers ( N = 29, recreational and competitive, of both genders) illustrate how their swimming involvements began through the processes of `seekership' and `solicited recruitment'. These involvements were then deepened through the processes of `conversion', `entanglements' and `reputations and identities'. These processes are understood from an interactionist perspective, which assumes that an individual is an active, self-reflexive actor, and is central in making decisions whose outcomes (intended and unintended) determine the course of his/her involvements in any number of activities.
`GOOD BLACKS' AND `BAD BLACKS'
Authors: Wilson Brian
Published: March 2007

This paper analyses portrayals of African-American basketball players in the Toronto media. It was found that the media tended to stereotype African-Americans as either `good' or `bad' blacks, although there were oscillating variations on this theme. Suggestions are made for conducting similar research in other contexts.
RE-CREATION AND CONNECTIONS IN AND WITH NATURE
Authors: Humberstone Barbara
Published: March 2007

This article explores the politics of nature and sport. Despite the impact of feminisms on sociology of sport discourses, feminist perspectives have been all but silent on environmental issues, drawing attention to nature merely as signifier but rarely as substance. In view of the environmental crisis, this article critiques feminist approaches to sport for disregarding ecological feminist discourses and argues that only a synthesis of ecological and feminist theories can be transformative. The socio-ecological ethical approach to sport is critiqued for its androcentricity and failure to recognize the significance of the double oppression of women and nature. Further, it is argued that nature-based sports may provide space not only for the reaffirmation of hegemonic masculinities but also for alternative gender identities and counter-cultures which may benefit nature. Evidence is presented to suggest that forms of nature-based sports and alternative movements may act as catalysts for both an individual and collective rethinking of human relations with nature (human and non-human). Finally the article calls for a linking of ecological and feminist approaches, which acknowledges plurivocal discourses and is grounded in interpretative research.
Learning How They Learn: International Adult Educators in the Global Sphere
Authors: English Leona M.
Published: March 2007

This article reports on qualitative life historyresearch conducted with 13 women who have been doing international adult education work, in contexts as varied as Asia and Africa. Of these women, 9 are from Canada, and 4 are working in their home contexts in Asia and Africa. The researcher examined the data to determine the informal and incidental learning in their lives as well as the conditions that supported or limited this learning. Themes include (a) learning one’s own limits, (b) learning about hope, (c) learning to negotiate the complex politics of identity, (d) heightened awareness of injustice, and (e) lack of fit when theyreturned. Aspects of informal and incidental learning theoryare used to examine the informal learning that occurred and to explore the adult-learning implications for international development agencies.
Rethinking Perspectives on Educational "Exchanges with Japan
Authors: Heginbotham Stanley J.
Published: March 2007

U.S.-Japan student exchanges provide a valuable window through which to view the changing nature of cross-national student flows in higher education ad part of broader changes in international education. The author explored dome ways in which the current organization and emphases of international education in the United Stated were shaped by concerns and funding patterns associated with national interest during the Cold War and a discussion of how these historical roots and recent trends generate diverse perspectives on U.S. -Japan student flows. He ends by suggesting dome approaches to the `problem "of the asymmetry in flows that may be helpful to those involved in or concerned with this phenomenon.
EXPRESSIVE VOTING
Authors: Schuessler Alexander A.
Published: March 2007

For more than 40 years, rational choice theorists have noted that some voters may be expressively motivated. Their approaches generally have lacked a theoretical foundation with which such expressive motivation could be justified, and formalization typically has not gone beyond adding a non-instrumental utility term in a model of instrumental returns. I draw on social theory and anthropology to provide a microfoundation for expressive voting and propose an `economy' of expressive incentives, seeking out equilibrium conditions. This approach generates predictions about voter choice and turnout that are consistent with empirical evidence of electoral behavior.
TRUSTING INDIVIDUALS VERSUS TRUSTING INSTITUTIONS
Authors: Goodin Robert E.
Published: March 2007

Hume is right: assuming the good will be good regardless, `institutions designed for knaves' will unambiguously increase contract compliance. But what if the establishment of public enforcement institutions undermines private virtue? Using a deliberately stylized model, this article traces several scenarios in which demoralization might occur. The aim is to calibrate the tolerances of the trust system, showing just how bad that demoralization would have to be before we would be better off simply trusting private individuals to honor their contracts autonomously rather than commissioning public institutions to enforce them.
THE RATIONAL PEASANT IN CHINA
Authors: Keister Lisa A. , Nee Victor G.
Published: March 2007

A central component of economic development is the reallocation of household labor, typically from subsistence agriculture to nonfarm employment. This occurred in the advanced market economies during the Industrial Revolution, contributing to increases in agrarian and industrial productivity and raising standards of living dramatically. A similar process began in China in the first decade of economic reform and has been central to the development of China's rural and urban economies. Despite its broad social implications, the process by which rural households allocate labor is not well understood. In this paper, we examine the strategies rural households used in the early stages of China's economic reform as they adapted to fundamental changes in the institutional structures of the nation's agrarian economy. Using a large, national sample, we explore the degree to which households diversified labor efforts across types of non-farm work. We find that peasant households allocated labor to non-farm work only after subsistence needs were met. We also observe that peasants generally responded to local and regional opportunities but that political capital, human capital, and cohort effects accounted for differences in household responses.
Revealed Preference and External Reference
Authors: Dowding Keith
Published: March 2007

Amartya Sen claims that the standard axioms of rational choice theory are not subject to `internal consistency'. That is, in order to discover whether someone behaves inconsistently or irrationally one must look beyond the choice function to the actors' motivations. This is true. Intentional explanations require reference to the environment or context in which choice takes place. However, rather than being inconsistent with standard von Neumann-Morgernstern accounts of utility and with revealed preference analysis, as Sen maintains, such externalist arguments show the standard accounts are necessary for intentional explanation.
A Rational-Choice Explanation of Composition Effects in Educational Research
Authors: DE VOS HENK
Published: March 2007

The study of compositional effects is a central interest of sociologists in the field of educational research. In particular, the positive effect of the average achievement level of classes and ability groups on individual achievements of students has attracted much attention. This article presents a rational-choice theoretical model that (1) explains this compositional effect, (2) explains the differential effect of ability grouping on the achievements of low-and high-achieving students, and (3) predicts that the compositional effect is larger for low-achieving than for high-achieving students. By introducing new assumptions the model can be used to produce new hypotheses. This is illustrated by a derivation of hypotheses about the effects of different disciplinary climates on schools. It is concluded that a rational choice model can provide explanatory mechanisms currently lacking in research on compositional effects.
Patterns of Causal Analysis in Tocqueville's Democracy in America
Authors: ELSTER JON
Published: March 2007

Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America was written to persuade his French compatriots that their fears of American-style democracy were ungrounded. In pursuing this end, Tocqueville used a number of models of political psychology and social causality. His marshaling of models of causal mechanisms to persuade his readers is analyzed, the claim being that such an analysis is the primary reason for reading Democracy in America today.
The Origins of Democracy in England
Authors: KISER EDGAR , BARZEL YORAM
Published: March 2007

This article uses a rational choice model of the origins of democracy to analyze the political history of medieval England from the Norman conquest to the Hundred Years War. Why did a country just taken over by a ruler more autocratic than his predecessors develop a political system increasingly dominated by the rule of law and protodemocratic institutions? The authors argue that protodemocratic institutions such as the Magna Carta, Parliament, and an independent judiciary evolved as unintended consequences of the self-interested wealth-maximizing behavior of rulers and some of their subjects. The evolution of contractual relations between rulers and nobles, towns, and Jewish financiers is shown to be consistent with the theory. The article concludes with a discussion of why the rule of law was more secure and protodemocratic institutions were stronger and more enduring in England than in Continental monarchies.
Rational Choice and the Limits of Theoretical Generality
Authors: RULE JAMES B.
Published: March 2007

Claims that rational choice analysis represents a general theory of social processes raise questions not only about rational choice but about the very idea of theoretical generality. Logically, a truly general theory ought to offer analytical means to all legitimate ends of social inquiry. This article holds, however, that no theory based on any single genre of social processes (rational calculation included) can serve the full range of descriptive or explanatory purposes properly addressed by sociologists. Rational choice thinking, like other claimants to the status of theoretical generality, misleads when its proponents doggedly insist on posing accounts invoking rational calculation to explain outcomes where other social processes are actually crucial. Acknowledgment of this fact can be expected to lead to the qualifications and amendments identified by Smelser as “theoretical degeneration.”
The Divisions of Labor by Gender
Authors: BELLER ANDREA H.
Published: March 2007

This commentary on the articles by Julie Brines and Robert Fiorentine focuses on the human capital aspects of their treatment of the gender divisions of labor. Although Brines's article presents some interesting empirical work, it does not appear to be an accurate representation of Becker's theory on the gender division of labor between the home and the market. Fiorentine succeeds in clearly summarizing and contrasting economic and sociological theories on the gender division of labor across occupations, but he shows a clear bias favoring theories based on women's own choices.
When is it Rational to be Magnanimous in Victory?
Authors: BRAMS STEVEN J. , MOR BEN D.
Published: March 2007

There are two contending schools of thought on how a victor should treat a defeated party after a war or other major dispute. Whereas magnanimity might quell the desire of the defeated party for revenge, it might also be instrumental in the defeated party's resurrection. Similarly, the defeated party might face the conflicting choices of whether to cooperate or not cooperate with the victor. These interdependent choices are modeled by a generic 2 × 2 “magnanimity game” (MG), which subsumes 12 different specific games that might arise in the aftermath of a war. Rational choices in MG are based on two-sided analysis, in which players can think ahead several moves and take account of each other's preferences. Cycling may or may not be permitted; if it is, which player possesses “moving power” can be critical to the outcome. The analysis is illustrated by historical examples from 19th- and 20th-century wars.
Is it Really the thought that Counts?
Authors: SOLOW JOHN L.
Published: March 2007

As a social institution, the exchange of goods as gifts is difficult to reconcile with the theory of rational choice. A gift of money allows the recipient to choose the goods to consume according to his own preferences, thereby presumably providing the maximum satisfaction per dollar given. The article shows that when individuals' utilities depend on others' consumption of particular goods, gifts of goods can be preferable to gifts of money. It shows further, by an example, that gift giving can be a Pareto-superior equilibrium of noncooperative individual behavior.
Markets, Norms, and Peasant Rebellions
Authors: CAMPOS JOSE EDGARDO L. , ROOT HILTON L.
Published: March 2007

In this article, we present a set of theoretical speculations about peasant norms that differ from those of earlier theorists: (1) Premarket peasant norms, that is, reciprocity, are a product of incentive-guided and self-interested behavior. For example, in the premarket environment, extended kinship obligations served as social insurance. (2) The evolution of markets can be beneficial for peasants. Peasants did not necessarily have to be coerced into abandoning premarket norms. Specialization led to the possibility of accumulating savings, which could substitute for the premarket institutions. (3) Peasant violence or rebellion is rarely a reaction to the emergence of markets per se, nor is it due to innate cultural predilections. Rather, peasant violence is often a response to the monopoly of control by elites over the surpluses created by markets. These claims are theoretically substantiated by simple applications of models of noncooperative games and illustrated with various sketches of examples from Western European (mainly French) economic history. The claims are contrasted with more traditional views on the impact of markets on peasant norms. The conclusive settlement of substantive issues in the study of peasant politics is not our goal; rather, we hope to clarify the arguments by directing attention to the assumptions upon which empirical results are derived.
Persistent Cyclical Consumption
Authors: WIRL FRANZ , FEICHTINGER GUSTAV
Published: March 2007

This article reconsiders a model of Becker and Murphy on rational addiction. Inter alia, they show that a psychological property of consumption (addiction or habits) can induce complex and, in particular, cyclical behavior (binges). The purpose of this article is to prove that economic reasons (the difference between individual discounting and market rates of interest) can explain rational cycles too.
DYNAMICS OF THE RELIGIOUS ECONOMY
Authors: Montgomery James D.
Published: March 2007

This paper develops a dynamic model of the religious economy. In the model, individuals with higher incomes prefer less strict denominations. If individuals remain within their parents' denominations, intergenerational social mobility may alter denominational class composition, inducing change in denominational strictness. New denominations then form in the market niches abandoned by older denominations. I characterize the dynamics of the model through a series of examples. In one case, the model generates the pattern of denominational secularization and sect formation observed in the American religious economy; the rise and fall of particular denominations is consistent with stability of the religious economy as a whole. However, the model may generate other dynamic patterns in which denominational strictness levels are stationary or denominations become desecularized through time. Two `religious capital' parameters, characterizing the strength of denominational loyalty and its relationship to denominational strictness, play key roles in determining which pattern emerges.
EXTERNAL CONTROL MAY DESTROY THE COMMONS
Authors: Ostmann Axel
Published: March 2007

In commons situations, what one user takes affect the other users' opportunities. Game-theoretical analysis predicts an overuse of the resource for a large and relevant class of these situations. Past empirical research however appears to show that individuals in a commons situation often establish institutions more or less adequate to handling the problem. This paper reports on an experimental investigation of how (costly and partial) monitoring and sanctioning of offenders affects the incentive structure and the behavior of commoners. The central finding is that even though controls and sanctions shift the Nash-equilibrium to a more favourable outcome, subjects tend not to reach the level of welfare of this equilibrium in practice. This suggests that the potential increase of efficiency by means of monitoring and inspection has to be judged very carefully; policy recommendations based on the assumption that adequate inspection and sanctions will force people to behave better are highly questionable.
The Structure of Health and Illness in a Brazilian Favela
Authors: Kraatz Elizabeth Santas
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to describe the understanding of health and illness within the culture of women living in a favela ( urban slum) in southeastern Brazil. The methodology described by Spradley structured the study. Interviews were conducted with 10 informants, and multiple interviews were conducted with the key informant. Analysis yielded a taxonomic structure for the domains of health and illness. Six components play a part in both health and illness: cleanliness, nutrition, doctor visits, herbal remedies (tomar cha), sympathetic magic, and spirituality. Attention to the six components is believed to be necessary in maintaining health. The indigenous components of health can be integrated into health teaching to enhance correspondence between nursing care and the worldview of favela residents.
The Bridging Approach: Effective Strategies for Teaching Ethnically Diverse Nursing Students
Authors: Yoder Marian K.
Published: March 2007

This article describes one of the five patterns of teaching, the bridging pattern, which was identified by the author in a previous qualitative study that investigated the processes by which nurse educators teach ethnically diverse nursing students. An overview of the original study is presented, followed by a discussion of the findings regarding the bridging pattern. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews with 26 nurse educators and 17 nurses representing three population groups: Asian Americans, African Americans, and Mexican Americans. In the bridging pattern, educators encourage students to maintain their ethnic identity, and teaching-learning strategies are modified to meet the cultural needs of students. The conditions, actions and consequences involved in the bridging approach to teaching are described and examples that emerged from the data are presented as illustrations. Examination of the actions of the bridging faculty may assist educators to analyze their own approach to teaching ethnically diverse students.
Living in Two Worlds: A Lakota Transcultural Nursing Experience
Authors: Hobus Ruth M.
Published: March 2007

Nursing is an applied discipline. Its major concern is with the improvement of nursing care. We deal, today, with the idea that improved nursing care can be given through heightened cultural sensitivity. The author relates a case study in which she was challenged to provide the roles of nurse-collaborator and nurse-educator to a Native American family in a reservation setting, in South Dakota. The rewards proved beyond expectation.
Community Baby Shower as a Transcultural Nursing Intervention
Authors: Duffy Sonia A. , Bonino Kara , Gallup Linda , Pontseele Renee
Published: March 2007

A community assessment was conducted by nursing students to determine the educational needs of Native American women whose infants were at risk for infant mortality. As a result, a culturally based community baby shower was provided for the women and their infants which incorporated health education. Games, prizes, and lunch were provided for the mothers upon completion of educational newborn care, immunizations, and infant safety learning activities. The intervention project based upon maintaining a Native American cultural theme was used with cake, favors, prizes, invitations, and advertisements. In addition, a recognized Native American spiritual leader was invited to begin the shower with a traditional blessing. Multiple community resources such as businesses, stores (including drug), churches, hospitals, a local nursing home, and several private individuals also contributed time, money, and baby care items for the shower. From the advertising, many women expressed interest in attending the baby shower than could be accommodated. Press releases provided exposure for the school of nursing, contributors, participants, and many members of the Native American community. A pre-and post-test survey indicated that by the end of the baby shower, all 10 key native American women participants were able to demonstrate the use of the information taught by the nursing students. The baby shower enhanced the Native American mothers' self confidence and provided them with culturally sensitive care. The welcoming atmosphere created by the students for the Native Americans was also important to the success of the project.
The Lived Experience of Native Americans with Diabetes within a Transcultural Nursing Perspective
Authors: Parker Judy Goforth
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study was to advance transcultural nursing knowledge based on the lived experiences of Native Americans with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). The phenomenological qualitative research method was used to discover Native Americans lived experiences. Data was gathered in rural Oklahoma through non-structured interviews and clinical observations of Native Americans with NIDDM. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed for themes and patterns of similar statements among informants. Six major thematic categories were identified: reactions to NIDDM, responses to loss of health, identification with others, fear associated with the disease process, peace related to the diagnosis of NIDDM, and grieving associated with the diagnosis of NIDDM. The informants' experiences were reconstructed into transformed meanings that characterized the life world of Native Americans with NIDDM.
TRANSCULTURAL NURSING: Transforming the Curriculum
Authors: Andrews Margaret
Published: March 2007

More than three decades have passed since Leininger established the field of transcultural nursing as a research based specialty which is recognized around the world as an essential and formal area of study and practice. When the importance of culture to nursing was first articulated by Leininger in the early 1950s, knowledge and awareness of these cultural influences were largely unknown and unrecognized in nursing education. The typical 1950s nursing curricula were soundly rooted in biophysical medical content, technical skills, tasks, and practices with no mention of cultural influences. Few nursing faculty had formal academic preparation in the social sciences, and Leininger was the first professional nurse with doctoral preparation in anthropology (Leininger, 1970, 1978, 1981b, 1984a, 1984b, 1989a, 1990b, 1991).