bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Official Policies and Covert Programs: The U.S. State Department, the CIA, and the Tibetan Resistance
Authors: Knaus John Kenneth
Published: September 2003

The U.S. government's involvement in Tibetan affairs began over a half-century ago with a series of commitments—both overt and covert—to support the Tibetans in their resistance to the Chinese occupation of their country. The motivation for undertaking these commitments and the scorecard on their fulfillment are mixed. When the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency abandoned any further efforts in Tibet in the mid-1970s, the Congress and private organizations took over the sponsorship of the Tibetan cause, helping to generate a worldwide movement. With this support and under the direction of Tibet's charismatic leader, the Dalai Lama, the status of Tibet became an internationally recognized human-rights issue and thereby survived the Cold War in which it was spawned.
Rethinking Cold War Universities: Some Recent Histories
Authors: Engerman David
Published: September 2003

Detailed research in archives and other primary sources has added a great deal to our understanding of American universities during the Cold War. Recent studies of the “Cold War University” describe the sometimes contradictory ambitions surrounding these institutions: faculty members seeking an escape from the classroom through external funding, administrators hoping to enhance their university's prestige and balance sheet, and government agencies promoting cutting-edge research with practical (usually military) applications. By examining four recent books on the topic, this article asks whether these impulses created a genuinely new institution—a “Cold War University”—or merely built on existing trends.
Adapting International Relations Theory to the End of the Cold War
Authors: Hopmann Terrence
Published: September 2003

The end of the Cold War posed a formidable challenge for theorists of international relations. Almost all of the theoretical approaches that were in vogue in the 1980s were unable to account for the sudden end of the bipolar Cold War system. These approaches could explain incremental change in international politics, but they fell woefully short when confronted by revolutionary developments of the sort that occurred in 1989–1991. Leading scholars in the field of international relations in recent years have sought to adapt earlier theories and devise new ones to help explain drastic changes in the international system. The books under review show that improvements and useful innovations have occurred but that the field still has a long way to go before it can fully cope with abrupt, radical change.
SABBATICAL, JUBILEE, AND THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON
Authors: Casperson Lee
Published: September 2003

There is continuing interest in clarifying chronological methods and establishing accurate dates for Israel during the period of the monarchy. It is possible to infer a tentative seven-year sabbatical sequence for this period by extrapolating backward from well-established data of later periods. However, the signicance, phase, and even the existence of the more long range forty-nine year jubilee sequence has remained in doubt. It is suggested here that the sabbatical calendar together with considerations of the timing of temple construction and repair projects in Israel may provide evidence for the early awareness and use of the jubilee calendar.
LEGAL INNOVATION IN DEUTERONOMY XXI 18-20
Authors: Fleishman Joseph
Published: September 2003

It is proposed in this paper that the law in Deut. xxi 18-21 constitutes a legal inno-vation in its denition of the "wayward and deant" child who should be put to death because of denial of his parents' authority. The protasis (v. 18) presents the custom-ary law regarding the denition of the disobedient male child and, in essence, is sim-ilar to the law of Exod. xxi 17. The first part of the apodosis (vv. 19-20), on the other hand, redenes it. In the innovation, only the son who disobeys his father and mother and refuses to cease his gluttony and drinking is the disobedient son who should be put to death by stoning.
OF FOXES AND VINEYARDS: GREEK PERSPECTIVES ON THE SONG OF SONGS
Authors: Hagedorn Anselm
Published: September 2003

The article aims at utilising some further Greek parallels for an interpretation of the Song of Songs. Cant. ii 15 serves as starting point for the enterprise. Next to the fairly well known and often discussed parallels from Sappho and Theocritus, for the .rst time evidence from Greek vases and from the Anthologia Palatina is discussed. Rather than postulating any literary inuences between Greek texts and the Song of Songs we regard the study as an investigation into the (Eastern) Mediterranean cultural milieu to which the biblical and Greek texts belong. However, if Song of Songs can indeed be dated to the Hellenistic period, such inuences and possible dependencies seem not impossible.
PSALM CX IN THE LIGHT OF ASSYRIAN PROPHECIES
Authors: Hilber John
Published: September 2003

Neo-Assyrian prophetic oracles oer comparable stylistic and form-critical features to Psalm cx which bear on the questions of the nature, form, setting and date of the psalm. On the basis of these similarities, Psalm cx should be classied as cultic enthrone-ment prophecy with compositional unity dating to the monarchic period.
MEANING AND STRUCTURE OF HOSEA X 1-8
Authors: Van Leeuwen Cornelis
Published: September 2003

Hos. x 1-8 is generally seen as an accumulation of dierent prophecies composed without any coherence. A few scholars have pointed to the inclusio constituted by the key-word mizbehôt in vv. 1-2 and 8. The other verses show, however, a similar relationship. So Israel’s prosperity (v. 1a) corresponds with the despair in v. 8b, and the indictment of the kings (vv. 3-4) with their condemnation (v. 7). The calf statue is central: its derision (v. 5) and its being carried away (v. 6). So our pericope offers an example of concentric symmetry (scheme on the preceding page). This construction can help us to solve exegetical questions. So the king of v. 7 cannot be an image of the calf (vv. 5-6): in the light of the corresponding vv. 3-4, the king of v. 7 can only be the real king of Israel.
THE MIQNEH OF 1 SAMUEL XXIII 51
Authors: Mastin
Published: September 2003

This article re-examines two diculties raised by 1 Sam. xxiii 5: why are Philistine miqneh present at a battle, and why is David said to drive them obefore he defeats the Philistines. H.W. Hertzberg's view that the unusual order in which events are recorded re ects a successful attack made by David early in the encounter on the Philistines who were guarding the beasts of burden is defended as more satisfactory than other hypotheses which have been advanced, although the miqneh should not be equated with beasts of burden. Theories which attempt to explain the presence of miqneh with the Philistine raiders are discussed, and it is argued that the miqneh are best understood as animals seized by the Philistines during the raid, together, probably, with some beasts of burden.
DIE PROPHETEN UND DER KARNEVAL: MARZEACH – MAIOUMAS – MAIMUNA
Authors: Schorch Stefan
Published: September 2003

Trotz zahlreicher sowie zeitlich und geographisch weit gestreuter Belege in der Umwelt der Hebräischen Bibel ist die Bedeutung des Wortes "Marzeach" noch immer unsicher. Neue Erkenntnisse versprechen jedoch rabbinische Quellen und die Madaba-Karte durch die Gleichsetzung von "Marzeach" mit "Maioumas", einem in hellenisti-scher und byzantinischer Zeit im gesamten Mittelmeerraum verbreiteten Fest. Da dieses Fest als "Maimuna"-Fest unter den marokkanischen Juden bis heute kontinuierlich fort-lebt, läßt sich aus ethnologischen Quellen auf den Charakter des Festes schließen: Wie das Maimuna waren demnach auch Maioumas und Marzeach "karnevalistisch" im Sinne des Literaturwissenschaftlers M. Bachtin und mithin nicht Teil der oziellen, sondern der Volkskultur. In diesem karnevalistischen Rahmen erfuhren beide Feste und die mit ihrer Durchführung betrauten Vereine verschiedene historische Konkretisierungen. Aufgrund der Einbettung in die Volkskultur können die nachweislichen Berührungen mit Thematiken wie Liebe, Fruchtbarkeit, Tod etc. dabei nicht als Belege für einen oziellen Toten- oder Fruchtbarkeitskult angesehen werden.
LEARNING METHODS IN ANCIENT ISRAEL
Authors: Shupak Nili
Published: September 2003

In the absence of actual evidence on the existence of schools and relevant literature in ancient Israel, the present study attempts to reconstruct the learning methods and stages in light of the terminology applied to study and its accompanying images in the Bible (focused on wisdom literature). The analysis of these terminology and images indicates dierent teaching methods: listening, obedience, understanding, practice, learning lessons, and searching. These methods are complementary and reect various stages in the process of acquiring knowledge, from the first passive stage to the last more active and creative stage. In addition, it shows that the ancient Hebrew educators perceived knowledge first and foremost as traditional material, to be passed down from generation to generation.
Causality, Morality, and Radicalism: A Sociological Examination of the Work of George Brown and his Colleagues
Authors: Williams Gareth
Published: September 2003

The article commences with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the `sociology of sociology' enterprise. It is argued that a careful use of the approach can be illuminating in so far as it relates perceived internal contradiction in a given work to the wider intellectual milieux. The first section deals with the way in which some writers have depicted the strains between individuals and their worlds. I then go on to examine the way in which George Brown and his co-workers have chosen to explain the relationship between the `social structure' and the aetiology of depression in women. There then follow two sections dealing with the ambivalent relationship between two strands in Brown's work - the impulse of `romanticism' and the constraint of `classicism'. This ambivalence it is argued, derives from his assumptions regarding the nature of man and scientific method. The paper concludes with an examination of the way in which an adherence to a `scientific' methodology negates the `romantic', political implications he claims for his work. I do not offer any alternative research strategies, but simply point out that a more self-consciously `political' theory is required with a lesser dependence on clinical classification, if we are to understand the social nature of mental illnesses such as depression in the hope of finding socio-political remedies.
Notes on Patriarcy, Professionalization and the Semi-Professions
Authors: Hearn Jeff
Published: September 2003

This article is an attempt to demonstrate the interrelationship of patriarchy and professionalization, with particular reference to the semi-professions. The introductory and second sections review the state of the sociology of professions and the neglect of a number of issues concerned with gender. The third section sets out a theoretical framework drawing on and clarifying patriarchy, reproduction, capitalism and their relationships. The next section considers professionalization as essentially a patriarchal process through which reproduction and emotionality are controlled by men. The fifth section focuses on the semi-professions and the way they may be transformed in their professionalization with increasing control by men. The concluding section considers a number of general theoretical issues.
Indeterminacy in Occupational Recruitment: The Case of Prison Assistant Governors
Authors: Waddington P. A.
Published: September 2003

The view that indeterminate factors affecting occupational recruitment can be ignored in sociological analysis is challenged by the case of the assistant governor in the Prison Service, an occupation in which such factors appear to play a significant part in the recruitment process. Not only do many recruits make spontaneous decisions to apply for the post, without any previous knowledge of the occupation, owing to its social obscurity, but selection is also problematic as a result of the ambiguity and controversy that has historically surrounded the role. Consequently, recruits were decidedly heterogeneous in many social, demographic and attitudinal respects.
Sociology and Leisure: A Question of Root or Branch
Authors: Parry N. , Coalter F.
Published: September 2003

The paper explores some of the main strands in the development of the sociology of leisure. The nineteenth century founding fathers, with their synoptic theoretical approaches, found space for leisure, although not labelled as such, as an integral part of their work. Veblen introduced the concept of leisure into sociology, but was himself committed to values of efficiency from which standpoint he criticized the drone-like character of the leisure class. His views were more consonant with industrial sociology which emerged as a strong well-funded sub-discipline dedicated to humanize the labour process while also maximizing productivity. It was from among industrial sociologists seeking a fuller explanation of work-place behaviour by looking beyond the factory that a sociology of leisure was developed. It emerged as a satellite to the sociology of work. The sociology of leisure was dominated, in the post-Second World War period, on the one hand by post-industrialism, and on the other hand by data collection, often on a psychologistic and individualistic basis. The reaction has been to return to more synoptic approaches, often combining elements of marxism, culturalism, history and literary criticism. These approaches have also redressed the balance against the notion that leisure is always a symbol of freedom and progress by re-introducing notions of constraint and social control. In conclusion, it is pointed out that leisure, deriving from the latin `licere', properly incorporates both of these meanings, and therefore raises in another form a fundamental problem of sociology itself. The problem concerns the balance between the individual and the social and between freedom and constraint. In this sense, leisure should be treated as an important and integral part of sociology, and not peripheral.
Industrial Relations: A Critique of Empiricism
Authors: Marsden Richard
Published: September 2003

Recent years have seen a proliferation of industrial relations courses yet the status of the subject is still far from clear. Concern has been expressed about its lack of theoretical development and that having eschewed theory for empiricism it appears to be helpless in the face of practical problems. The reformism of the `Oxford School' reached an impasse in the 1970s both practically and theoretically. In the face of this impasse the void was filled by a more radical approach based upon an alternative economic analysis. Whilst there appears to have been a temporary lull in the hostilities the pluralist and Marxist approaches still vie for supremacy. This paper attempts to examine the object of industrial relations by submitting it to a critique. I argue that it is trapped theoretically within the confines of empiricism. During the course of the critique I discover that industrial relations is not the study of industrial relations; it is the study of objectified ideologies or rules. Given a definition of law I suggest that the academic distinction between industrial relations and the sociology of law should be re-examined.
Bravermania and Beyond: Recent Theories of the Labour Process
Authors: Littler Craig R. , Salaman Graeme
Published: September 2003

Braverman and his followers have been useful and influential in reviving a sociology of work. However as well as stimulating debate, the Braverman model has also created impediments to further analysis. This paper discusses some of these limitations and argues that, in part, they result from a particular reading of Marx which neglects crucial Marxian categories. In part, they result from weaknesses and ambiguities in Marxian theory. The second part of the paper focuses on the concept of control, and makes a plea for a revival of interest in the pre-Braverman sociology of the workplace. It is suggested that such work conjoined with that of recent theorists provides a more adequate basis for a theory of capitalist labour processes.
How the `Alternative Route' By-Passed Cambridge
Authors: Raffe David
Published: September 2003

In a recent issue of Sociology, Blackburn, Prandy and Stewart (1980) have offered a critique of my paper (Raffe 1979) on part-time education and the concept of the `alternative route'. My analysis used data from the Nuffield mobility study; their critique is supported with data from the General sample, which is used in a recent book by the same three authors (Social Stratification and Occupations: Stewart et al. 1980) for further analyses of part-time education and careers. They state that their critique is directed at my conceptualization rather than at my data. However, some of their criticisms are obscure, intelligible only to one who has read their book; more seriously, their critique rests upon several misrepresentations of my own argument. 1 In replying to their critique, therefore, I find it hard to avoid recapitulating the argument of my earlier paper. Below I discuss four points of disagreement, but first a few comments on the General sample are required.
Deviancy Theory and Industrial Praxis: A Study of Discipline and Social Control in an Industrial Setting
Authors: Edwards P. K. , Scullion Hugh
Published: September 2003

Several approaches within the sociology of deviance stress the role of agents of control in the definition of behaviour as socially significant forms of rule-breaking. Yet studies of the operation of social control are rare. The paper takes up the attempt by Ditton, in Contrology, to develop a theory of crime in terms of the actions of controllers. It is suggested that Ditton's account gives insufficient attention to the constraints on controllers and in particular to the ability of subordinate groups to counter the exercise of control. Using case study material from several factories, relating to the control strategies of management and to one instance of an attempt to impose managerial definitions of discipline, a different account is developed. This stresses that the form taken by industrial discipline will depend on more general patterns of control over the labour process, with discipline being the product of distinct managerial interests and of workers' counter-strategies. It is suggested that this provides the basis for a realist, as distinct from an idealist or interactionist, interpretation of discipline and control.
The Behavioural Theory of Evolution and the Weber Thesis
Authors: Langton John
Published: September 2003

Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is probably the most famous, controversial, and frequently misinterpreted work produced by a social scientist in this century. By demonstrating that this seminal work is predicated on a more or less explicit version of the behavioural theory of sociocultural evolution, this article should accomplish two major goals. First, it should shed new light on the Weber thesis itself and on the kinds of data required to test it. Second, it should clarify the principal propositions of the behavioural theory of evolution and give some indication of their paradigmatic utility.
Control in the Medical Consultation: Organizing Talk in a Situation where Co-Participants have Differential Competence
Authors: Hughes David
Published: September 2003

Medical sociologists who suggest that some form of interactional control can be seen to operate in medical consultations frequently relate `control' to the doctor's use of strategies which resist challenges to his professional authority and prevent patients from increasing their influence on decisions affecting treatment and disposal. This paper argues that much of the interactional `work' discernable in the encounter is concerned less with the management of conflict than with accomplishing the production of orderly and topically relevant sequences of talk in a situation in which one co-participant has only limited competence in relating talk to a body of specialist knowledge.
Structure and Persuasion: The Case of Advertising
Authors: Leymore Varda
Published: September 2003

The paper examines the problem of persuasion from a structuralist perspective. Since advertising is a highly competitive system of communication, which draws heavily on mechanisms of persuasion, it is ideally suited both to test and illustrate the case that structuralism makes.

Following a certain procedure, any viable system of advertising campaigns can be decoded into a binary structure of an archetypal nature. Moreover, all the binary structures thus obtained, are themselves inter-related to form a first and tentative approximation of the grand structure of all advertising. This is the structure of the structures.

It has been shown before, that structures can only be decoded from a complete system of communication. Similarly, it has been maintained, that the existence of the structures is essential to the understanding of the message. Since advertising is a sequential phenomenon, it follows that a campaign's power of persuasion is determined by the facility of the code. The more economical, clear and precise the structural definition, the higher is the level of effective communication.

Second, at any point in time, the underlying structure of a competitive product field is determined by all the campaigns which are active in its sphere. But in mature fields the controlling archetype has already been established in the course of the history of the product field. A new campaign merely represents it in a new guise. In this sense the archetype precedes any new manifestation of it. Therefore, the effectivity of each new campaign is determined by its fidelity to the positive pole of the binary pair which constitutes its underlying structure.

Finally, the power of persuasion is influenced by the nature of the archetype itself. In each product group, the rank order of effectivity can be established on the basis of empirical examination.
Racial Politics and Nationalism: The Case of South Africa
Authors: Brewer John D.
Published: September 2003

This paper addresses itself to the politics of race as a sub-field of the sociology of race relations. It offers a conceptual framework for use in the sub-field by formulating a new concept called `racial politics' and reformulating the concept of nationalism to link it with racial politics as defined. This is done with a view to casting light on certain theoretical and historical issues in the study of South African race relations, including (1) the importance of identifying different patterns of interaction between race and politics; (2) the identification of the conflict in South Africa as not simply a racial conflict; (3) seeing the use of racial categories for political mobilization by subordinate racial groups in South Africa as the result of the imposition of racial distinctions rather than from characteristics inherent in race itself; (4) recognizing that race and nationalist politics are connected but not identical; and (5) realizing that nationalisms based on race can in fact be racially inclusive.
Variation and Flexibility: Key Characteristics of Female Labour
Authors: Yeandle Susan
Published: September 2003

The article draws on empirical data to demonstrate that, within the confines of traditionally `female' jobs, women's experience of employment tends to be varied, both as regards type and organization of employment. The flexible approach which this experience indicates is confirmed by further data collected during personal interviews. Explanations for the characteristics are considered, as are their likely effects. The respondents' employment behaviour is interpreted as demonstrating both a commitment to participation in the labour force, and the importance which women place upon their family lives.
Power, Interests and the Outcomes of Struggles
Authors: Hindess Barry
Published: September 2003

This paper criticizes the ways in which `power', `interests', and related notions are used in the analysis of social relations. Two broad approaches to power analysis are considered. The first involves `capacity-outcome' conceptions in which power is defined in terms of the capacity of an agent to secure particular outcomes. The second involves more general usages in which power is supposed to be effective not only as regards the outcomes of particular struggles, but also in the determination of the conditions of struggle themselves by the systematic exclusion or suppression of certain interests. I argue that both approaches operate to foreclose serious analysis of the constitution of arenas of struggle and the forces active in them by means of gross oversimplification of the conditions in which struggles take place.
Piecework and Industrial Accidents: Two Contemporary Case Studies
Authors: Wrench John , Lee Gloria
Published: September 2003

Traditional trade union opposition to piecework has been based on the claim that piecework stimulates unsafe working practices and contributes to industrial accidents. Despite this widespread common sense assumption it has been difficult to demonstrate a link between piecework and accidents by statistical analysis. This paper reviews some of the evidence on the subject and describes a new source of insight into the problem through an examination of the daily accident distribution in two Birmingham firms. It is suggested that pieceworkers will be more motivated to take risks towards the end of the week, on days preceding pay day. They will also be less likely to report trivial injuries.
Max Weber, Capitalism and the Religion of India
Authors: Gellner David
Published: September 2003

This paper examines Max Weber's `The Religion of India' and places it in the wider context of his work. It tries to show in detail how Weber's study of India formed part of the comparative analysis of world civilizations which was the natural result of his interest in the causal antecedents of the rise of industrial capitalism in the West. With this background correctly understood, it is possible to appreciate why Weber approached Indian religion in the way that he did, and to avoid some common mistakes. Weber is summarized on the most important aspects of Indian religion and a brief attempt is made to state how valid his remarks still are.
`Conservatism, Dogmatism, and Authoritarianism in British Police Officers': A Comment
Authors: Waddington P. A. J.
Published: September 2003

In their article, `Conservatism, Dogmatism and Authoritarianism in British Police Officers', Colman and Gorman interpret their own data in a selective and distorting fashion, so as to give a false and damaging impression of police officers' attitudes, especially towards ethnic minorities. Their explanation for these `findings' are also unsatisfactory: being based upon a weak notion of socialization, and ignoring more obvious alternative explanations. The result is to, wrongly, imply a reductionist explanation for the current crisis in police-community relations.
Sources of Diversity in Internal Labour Markets
Authors: Loveridge Ray
Published: September 2003

This paper sets out to examine the assumption made by radical economists that internal labour markets formed by large scale corporate employers provide a source of labour market dichotomization between `core' and `peripheral' employment. It criticizes the assumption that internal labour markets can be treated as a culturally neutral phenomenon emerging from the demands of technical rationality. Since, by definition, the boundaries of internal labour markets are institutionally defined, their forms and rationales display a cross-national diversity which indicates a difference in employer strategies and employee responses to the historical course of technological innovation. In particular it suggests that the struggle for task control over the mode of production represented in the creation of new occupations has, in the Anglo Saxon culture, been more likely to take place at the point of production, whereas in France it has been expressed in overtly class terms and in modern Germany in the bureaucratic control systems adopted by a corporate pluralistic state.
A Price to Pay? Professionalism and Work Organization in Britain and West Germany
Authors: Child John , Fores Michael , Glover Ian , Lawrence Peter
Published: September 2003

There tends to be more extensive occupational specialization outside the core production area in British manufacturing companies than in German ones. This appears to be associated with the emphasis in Britain on professionalism in industry, a concept which is largely absent in Germany. The British approach is seen to have unfavourable consequences for the status of production and of manufacturing industry in general, with quite likely depressing effects on its performance. The origins of the contrast between Britain and Germany are explored by reference to the development of post-school vocational education in the two countries, and this leads to the conclusion that strategic choices about contemporary work organization were in effect made at a societal level a century ago. The analysis indicates that industrial policy cannot be confined to changes within the industrial sector alone.
Images of Class in Modern Society: Structure, Sentiment and Social Location
Authors: Graetz Brian R.
Published: September 2003

While the sociological importance of popular class imagery has gained considerable attention in recent years, much empirical research continues to interpret class identifications and conceptions of class structure as evidence of fundamental class perspectives. This paper challenges the underlying assumptions of this position by directly examining popular sentiments about class and inequality. The results show that neither nominal class affiliations, nor conceptions of class structure, encompass ideologically homogeneous perspectives. Working and, especially, middle class identifications embrace diverse class sentiments, and these discrepancies within class affiliations are reinforced by differences in political preferences. Similarly, conceptions of a dichotomous class structure are not inevitably associated with particular class sentiments any more so than are conceptions of society as a graded hierarchy. In modern societies, where many traditional, ascriptive class barriers, distinctions and privileges have been eroded, class assumes a more fluid and indefinite meaning in social consciousness, diluting the links between class affiliations, conceptions of social structure, and class sentiments proper. In essence, class sentiments cannot be taken for granted, and require systematic investigation in their own right.
Accounting for Action: Defending the Common Sense Heresy
Authors: Wallis Roy , Bruce Steve
Published: September 2003

Contemporary sociology embodies a number of different resolutions to the problem of how actors' accounts of their actions are to be treated. Some structuralist and functionalist approaches, such as the Marxist, for example, discount actors' accounts as merely epiphenomenal, generated to make sense of actions people are led to perform on quite different grounds. Some variants of ethnomethodology, on the other hand, construe actors' accounts as all we can ever really know about the social world. We seek to show the weaknesses of these approaches and advance a set of arguments for the centrality of accounts in sociology, and for the validity of their use in our attempts to understand social action.

The main thrust of our position is that accounts are hypothetical and susceptible to evaluation in ways which are at least as good as, even if they are as not radically superior to, those of commonsense. The issue of the status of actors' accounts has major ramifications for theory and method in sociology, and in the defence of our hereitcal common-sense approach, we seek to outline its major implications for the conduct of the sociological enterprise.
Legitimation Deficit, Public Opinion and the Welfare State
Authors: Taylor-Gooby Peter
Published: September 2003

This paper considers the relevance of data from a recent survey to the thesis that the welfare state is currently running the risk of a crisis of political legitimacy. Two traditions in the discussion of legitimation issues are outlined, focusing respectively on the role of ideology and of the maximization of individual values in the production of dissenting opinions about state policy. The analysis of survey data indicates that there is no evidence for the view that attitudes to welfare provision add up to a consistent disaffection with policy. Perceptions of self-interest emerge as the best predictors of preferences, and these appear closely related to location in a typical family life-style.
The Role of Contradictions in Modern Theories of Social Stratification
Authors: Holmwood J. M. , Stewart A.
Published: September 2003

This paper traces the contours of current, practical explanatory problems in stratification theory showing the similarity of issues in apparently diverse approaches, both Marxist and non-Marxist. There are two related purposes. The first is to show the specific nature of the current crisis, locating particular explanatory failures. The second is to illustrate the more general issue of the way in which the central epistemology of self-conscious social science derives from and describes failures in social scientific practice. This is well illustrated in the response to current problems.

Both purposes are served by laying bare the procedures by which attempts are made to convert the contradictions inherent in explanatory failures into contradictory features of social experience which could be explained by consistent theories. Contradiction is thus, apparently, removed from its role in specifying the need for theoretical development, to encapsulating the processes by which current social arrangements are reproduced. However, we show that despite initial plausibility such attempts merely displace explanatory contradictions rather than solve them. The attempts are justified by an explicit or implicit action frame of reference which, though it is central to abstract discussions of the nature of social science, is invoked in practical social science only in circumstances of explanatory failure in an unproductive attempt to insulate the theories from the consequences of their failure. Productive social science is the resolution of contradictions in the transformation of theoretical objects and relationships.
The General Household Survey as a Source for Secondary Analysis
Authors: Gilbert G. Nigel , Dale Angela , Arber Sara
Published: September 2003

In contrast to the importance placed on secondary analysis by researchers in other disciplines, British sociologists have long neglected the rich data available from large scale government surveys, perhaps because of technical obstacles. This report describes work to make the General Household Survey (GHS) data more easily accessible for sociological analysis, summarizes the contents and structure of the GHS and reviews the arrangements which have been made to allow researchers access to it.
The General Principles of Sociability: Developing Sahlins' Theory of `Primitive Exchange'
Authors: Widegren Örjan
Published: September 2003

A new formal theory of social exchange is presented, which attempts to overcome the hedonistic and economistic bias of Homans' (1961) and Blau's (1964) approaches. In their analyses, principles of social exchange are essentially illustrations from social life of elementary economic principles. This paper argues that although the rational choice assumption - characteristic of economics - is useful in analysing social relationships, there is a distinct quality to social exchange which distinguishes it from economic exchange. The theory is based on the idea that this quality, which Sahlins (1965) calls `degree of sociability', has to do with a concern for the wellbeing of the other party to the relationship as an end in itself. The usefulness of the theory is illustrated by showing how some of Sahlins' empirical ganeralizations about `primitive exchange' can be seen as special cases of more general principles which are theorems of the formal theory. An additional result of this analysis is the discovery of certain conceptual ambiguities in some of Sahlins' formulations, which in the light of the theory are then restated in a more precise fashion.
The Extent of Contraceptive Use and the Social Paradigm of Modern Demography
Authors: Sloan Douglas G.
Published: September 2003

For many years demographers have cited their estimates of contraceptive use as an incontrovertible refutation of biological or biosocial theories of the Western fertility declines. Besides ignoring the many biological reasons for family limitation, however, this argument ignores the several procedures demographers have built into their contraceptive surveys to increase the proportion of respondents who can be classed as users. The biases engendered by these procedures may well be regarded as ad hoc and surreptitious strategems designed to reconcile the social `paradigm' with the near replacement fertility of most Western countries in the 1930s.
Women and Class Analysis: In Defence of the Conventional View
Authors: Goldthorpe John H.
Published: September 2003

Over recent years a series of articles has appeared, the aim of which has been to demonstrate an unjustifiable neglect of women in social stratification theory and research and, in turn, to level charges of `intellectual sexism' against sociologists active in this area. The central concern of the present paper is to address certain of the major substantive issues which are raised in this literature, and to argue that they have not so far been adequately treated from either a theoretical or an empirical standpoint. In Part I of the paper, an attempt is made to distinguish between two lines of theoretical argument on the position of the family within the system of social stratification which, in recent critiques, appear to have been unduly conflated. These are the arguments of (i) structural-functionalists of mainly American provenance, and (ii) mainly European exponents of class analysis. In Part II, empirical data are then presented, by reference to which the stance adopted by the latter can be illuminated and, moreover, substantially supported. In Part III, an attempt is made to show, on the basis of the foregoing, that certain conceptual and methodological developments that have been proposed in order to adapt class analysis to the increased labour market participation of women, and especially of married women, entail serious difficulties.
Women in Socialist Society with Special Reference to the German Democratic Republic
Authors: Lane Christel
Published: September 2003

This article analyses data on aspects of gender relations in the German Democratic Republic and relates its findings to the debate on socialism within feminist writing. It points to the many aspects of gender relations in which the GDR has made greater advances towards sexual equality than the advanced Western capitalist societies. Variations in the attained level of women's emancipation between state socialist societies are discussed, and comparisons with the USSR are made to underline them. It is suggested that the advances made by the GDR are due primarily to its socialist social and economic system but also to such factors as its relatively high level of social and economic development, its severe labour shortage, and its peculiarly German labour tradition. The article concludes that the capabilities of state socialist society to advance towards sexual equality have to be taken more seriously by feminist theorists than has hitherto been the case.
`The New Marxism of Collective Action: A Critical Analysis'
Authors: Lash Scott , Urry John
Published: September 2003

This paper argues there is a new theoretical current in Western sociology - `game-theoretic Marxism'. It situates the current in what seems to be a more general paradigm shift from the mid-1970s, that is, from a focus on structure to an emphasis on agency. In this context we consider the debate between the new theory's foremost proponent Jon Elster and G. A. Cohen, advocate of functional explanation. It is shown, then, how this new theory of collective action draws on Mancur Olson's formulations of the mid-1960s, after which its central tenets are developed in a discussion of two significant variants of it. Finally, the shortcomings of game-theoretic Marxism are analysed and an alternative notion of explanation by collective agency is proposed: one that centres upon the `causal powers' of social classes and breaks with both Cohen's functionalism and Elster's intentional explanation. This alternative version (1) can account for non-intentional causation and (2) considers social classes (and other collective actors) as possessed with organizational and cultural resources. It is argued that this alternative version is more fruitful for the understanding of social processes and that it contributes to the attempts to supersede the strict dichotomy of structure versus agency.
Forms of Ownership and Control: Decision-Making within a Financial Institution
Authors: Schuller Tom , Hyman Jeff
Published: September 2003

Recent literature suggests that control of corporations has shifted from individual capitalists to financial institutions. The article, based on original research, examines the relationship between ownership and control in relation to one set of financial institutions, namely pension funds.

Focusing particularly on the role of employee representatives on trustee boards of pension schemes, the authors first suggest that the notion of ownership is even less clearcut in the case of pension funds than it is for public corporations. Recognition of pensions as deferred pay implies that the funds should belong to the scheme members, but ownership rights are severely circumscribed. Turning to the control issue, the authors report first on the recent increase in employee representation; they look at the content of decision-making, focusing specifically on three areas: investment, information and the selection of professional staff; and then examine the structure of decision-making, looking both at institutional features (e.g. the relation between participation and collective bargaining) and financial practices. They conclude by stressing the diversity of types of influence exercised, suggesting the presence of complex and multiple relationships between ownership and control.
Women and Class Analysis: A Reply to John Goldthorpe
Authors: Stanworth Michelle
Published: September 2003

In `Women and Class Analysis' ( Sociology, November 1983), John Goldthorpe defends the conventional practice of making general claims about class from research focused mainly or exclusively on male `heads' of households. The concern of this paper is to show that the submerging of women's class position with that of their husbands is not justified, and that it closes off some of the most intriguing issues in class analysis. Goldthorpe points to substantial similarity in the types of employment undertaken by husbands and their wives; a re-analysis of his argument and evidence shows that the same data can actually be used to demonstrate a remarkable dissimilarity in the types of employment in which spouses are engaged - even greater dissimilarity than theorists of `cross-class' marriages have claimed. It is argued that the conventional approach advocated by Goldthorpe both obscures the extent to which the class experience of wives differs from that of husbands, and ignores the extent to which the inequalities that divide women and men are themselves the outcome of the operation of the class system.
Going Private: Ceremonial Forms in a Private Oncology Clinic
Authors: Silverman David
Published: September 2003

Following Strong's (1979) model of the `ceremonial order' of the clinic, London oncology consultations drawn from the private sector and the National Health Service (NHS) are compared. Using both qualitative and quantitative measures, it is shown that private consultations offer more `personalized' consultations than are found in the NHS. Furthermore, private patients are more inclined to orchestrate their own care and to exhibit control of territory and agenda. The clinical and social gains and losses of these private consultations are examined and the issue of whether they provide a model for NHS care is assessed.
Capitalist Farming and the Farm Family: A Case Study
Authors: Marsden Terry
Published: September 2003

Family relations and market relations have usually been perceived of as structurally distinct. By analysing a case study of capitalist farmers in lowland Britain, the author attempts to expose the interrelationships between family processes on the one hand and the growth of capitalist farming on the other. The tendency to interpret the growth of modern farming in strictly economically `rational' terms has avoided an examination of the farm family as a central institution. A discussion of family household processes, the organization of farm businesses and the existence of `independent' and `collective' ethics goes some way in explaining the development of large scale farming enterprises and the maintenance of a smaller farm business sector. It is argued that an examination of such social processes are crucial for the future understanding of dominant capitalist groups in the rural environment.
The Perception of Inequality in Poland 1956-1980
Authors: Koralewicz-Zębik Jadwiga
Published: September 2003

Changes in the perception of inequalities in Poland over the last twenty years are used to shed light upon the psychological substratum of the events in that country in August 1980. The analysis is based on the results of the various empirical studies carried out in Poland during that period. They show that while the value of the abolition of inequalities was acquiring an increasing importance in the eyes of public opinion, people observed around them a growing dimension of inequalities. But greatest frustration was due to a decomposition of the system of meritocratic justice, accepted by the majority of the Poles, combined with the expansion of other, unaccepted, criteria for rewards. Thus the growth of increasing inequalities was accompanied by a total withdrawal of the legitimization of inequalities.
The Explanatory Utility of Major Sociological Theories Developed in Poland 1970-1980
Authors: Misztal Bronislaw , Misztal Barbara A.
Published: September 2003

This paper deals with the sociological theories that developed in Poland during the height of societal expectations for better life and a brighter future. However, the decade of 1970-80 already contained seeds of crisis. The mainstream sociological theories that are analysed here neglected many of the alarming features of the socialist society already to be seen. Instead, the proponents of those theories actively supported the political enterprise of the existing power élite. As a result, those major sociological theories have little explanatory utility, since they are not an adequate tool of cognition for the actual existing socialist society. The non-mainstream approaches, on the other hand, although being far more critical, did not bear features of sociological theory either.