bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Nature and Family Correlates of Preadolescents' Perceptions of their Sibling Relationships
Authors: Stocker Clare M. , McHale Susan M.
Published: March 2007

Preadolescents' perceptions of their sibling relationships and links between sibling and parent-child relationships were examined in 103 families. In home interviews, mothers, fathers and both first- and second-born children rated their family relationships, and, in a series of seven daily telephone interviews, first-borns reported on how much time they spent in dyadic activities with each parent. Both first-borns' and second-borns' behavior toward their siblings was characterized by three dimensions: affection, rivalry and hostility. No mean differences emerged between first- and second-borns' ratings of their own behavior in their sibling relationships. Siblings' ratings of affection were positively correlated, but their ratings of rivalry and hostility were unrelated. Children whose relationships with fathers were characterized by high levels of warmth reported exhibiting less hostility and rivalry and more affection toward their siblings. Maternal warmth was negatively related to sibling rivalry and hostility. Children who spent more time in dyadic activities with their fathers and perceived more warmth in the father-child relationship had the most positive and least negative sibling relationships.
Interpersonal Reactions to Dysphoria: The Role of Relationship with Partner and Perceptions of Rejection
Authors: Segrin Chris
Published: March 2007

Coyne's interactional perspective on depression states that depressed people induce a negative mood in others and thus elicit rejection from them. Research relevant to these hypotheses has been criticized for heavy reliance on interactions between depressed persons and strangers for gathering data. A second shortcoming of this research is that relatively little is known about depressed persons' perceptions of the rejection that they supposedly elicit from others. To address these two issues a study was conducted in which 74 non-dysphoric and 67 dysphoric subjects engaged in an 8-minute conversation with either a friend or stranger. Partners' mood and rejection of the dysphoric or non-dysphoric subject were assessed. In addition, subjects reported their perceptions of how much they felt their partner rejected them. Relationship with the partner (friend/stranger) had an impact on both the negative mood induction and rejection of subjects following conversation. In addition, all subjects, dysphoric or not, appeared relatively accurate in their perceptions of rejection from their partner, although dysphoric subjects exhibited a slight tendency to feel more rejected than non-dysphoric subjects. Implications for re-evaluating past research and conducting future research on the interactional theory are discussed.
Love Ways and Relationship Quality in Heterosexual Relationships
Authors: Hecht Michael L. , Marston Peter J. , Larkey Linda Kathryn
Published: March 2007

This study reports the creation of the Love Ways Inventory and an investigation of the relationship between the subjective experience of romantic love and relationship quality. Based on the results of two previous studies, items were written to measure the various ways people experience love. Factor analyses resulted in five factors: intuitive love, secure love, traditional romantic love, committed love and companionate love. These `love ways' were then correlated with relational quality in two separate samples leading to three general findings. First, individuals experiencing committed love have higher quality relationships. Second, couples jointly experiencing high levels of companionate love have higher quality relationships. Third, couples experiencing similar levels of secure love and/or companionate love have higher quality relationships.
Loneliness and the Evaluation of Relational Events
Authors: Duck Steve , Pond Kris , Leatham Geoff
Published: March 2007

If loneliness inclines people to a general hostility towards others and to a disparaging style about social interaction, then the style should appear in studies of lonely people interacting with their friends, as well as observing other persons they do not know. We conducted a study with 4 features: it compared (a) lonely and non-lonely persons' evaluation of (b) their own and other people's conversations with friends, using (c) both free evaluation and videotape-prompted evaluation (d) both immediately after the interaction and 6 weeks later. Lonely persons did not consistently evaluate their or others' conversations negatively, though they tended to rate communication quality lower. They did, however, draw negative global conclusions about their own relationships, especially after reviewing a videotape of their own interaction 6 weeks later. We conjecture that lonely people are negative about interactions when they focus on their own communicative performance, and that they also have characteristic ways of evaluating and generalizing from their own interactions that feed into general patterns of dissatisfaction with their own social performance in relationships as a whole.
Gender Differences in Job Stress, Tedium and Social Support in the Workplace
Authors: Geller Pamela A. , Hobfoll Stevan E.
Published: March 2007

The amount of tedium, job stress, and home and work social support, were compared for men and women employed by four northeast Ohio employers. The differential effects of each source of support (i.e. supervisor, co-worker and partner) on tedium and job stress were also assessed. A sample of 116 individuals (61 males and 55 females), participated. Women and men reported similar amounts of job stress and similar amounts of work support. As predicted, women reported the experience of more tedium than men, and men reported the receipt of more household assistance than women. Also as predicted, workplace support was found to be more effective for men than for women. The data revealed that for men, household assistance was related to lower tedium, but for women, household assistance was related to greater tedium. The differential influence of home and work support for men and women was discussed.
Social Support, Relationship Problems and the Psychological Functioning of Young African-American Mothers
Authors: Rhodes Jean E. , Ebert Lori , Meyers Adena B.
Published: March 2007

Although extended social networks are considered to be an extremely important resource in the African-American community, the potentially negative aspects of these networks have not been systematically examined. The influence of the helpful and problematic aspects of young African-American mothers' social relationships was assessed in this study. Problems in relationships were negatively related to the psychological functioning of the young women. These results were evidenced with overall support and within various subgroups of providers. In addition, significant interactions between relationship problems and economic strain were found. Whereas past theory and research have emphasized the stress-buffering effects of social support, these findings point to the stress-potentiating effects of relationship problems for young African-American mothers.
The Part is Not the Whole: Weaving Diversity into the Study of Relationships
Authors: Wood Julia T.
Published: March 2007

Future research should include a fuller range of relationships than have been studied to date. Investigating diverse relationships would increase understanding of specific human associations and would advance development and testing of broad theories of relationships.
Fear of Intimacy Scale: Validation and Extension with Adolescents
Authors: Sherman Michelle D. , Thelen Mark H.
Published: March 2007

This study was designed to validate the Fear-of-Intimacy Scale (FIS) (Descutner & Thelen, 1991) with an adolescent population, with reference to both the measure's original target, a dating partner (FIS-D) and a new target of the closest same-sex friend (FIS-F). High-school sophomores (158 males and 167 females) completed questionnaires pertaining to their relationships. Strong psychometric properties of both the FIS-D and FIS-F were evidenced in this study, and construct validity was supported by associations with related constructs (e.g. loneliness) and self-report items. Notable sex differences emerged, in that males reported higher fear of intimacy in their same-sex friendships, while females indicated higher fear of intimacy in their dating relationships.
Patterns of Relational Control and Nonverbal Affect in Clinic and Nonclinic Couples
Authors: Escudero Valentin , Rogers L. Edna , Gutierrez Emilio
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this study is to analyze, separately and in combination, the patterns of relational control and nonverbal affect in clinic-distressed and nonclinic-nondistressed couples' interaction. The results indicated a low to moderate relation-ship between control and affect; however, each dimension conveyed nonredundant interactional information. Clinic couples displayed more domineeringness, more affect negativity, and a stronger association between one-up control and negative affect than nonclinic couples. Lower levels of neutral affect reciprocity and one-down/one-across (J1-) transitory control interacts were also salient characteristics in differentiating clinic from nonclinic couples' interaction. Further, the combined control-affect analysis indicated a higher proportion of escalating competitive symmetry with negative affect for clinic couples. For nonclinic couples, competitive symmetry with negative affect was counterbalanced by competitive symmetry with neutral affect and diverse transitory patterns with neutral or positive affect. Implications of these results are discussed.
Lessons from the Study of Bidirectional Effects
Authors: Dunn Judy
Published: March 2007

Three kinds of achievement evident in the contributions to this issue are discussed. First, the systematic evidence for significant bidirectional effects in parent-child relationships is considered and some key principles are highlighted. Second, the information on the nature of parent-child relationships, as in the studies of discipline and play, is considered. Third, challenges and questions raised by, but not necessarily answered in, the articles are considered, with a focus on four topics: the processes implicated in bidirectional influence, the issue of how different levels of analysis illuminate but also constrain the kinds of conclusion that can be drawn, the issue of how developmental change affects patterns of influence within parent-child relationships, and the issue of our biases in interpreting patterns of influence within parent-child relationships.
Differential Accounts of Closeness in Older Adult Sibling Relationships
Authors: Folwell Annette L. , Chung Leeva C. , Nussbaum Jon F. , Bethea Lisa Sparks , Grant Jo Anna
Published: March 2007

Research into the older adult sibling relationship has only recently recognized and attempted to account for differential feelings of closeness between siblings throughout their lives. Sixty-one participants, aged fifty-four and older with at least two siblings, were interviewed concerning the degree of closeness they felt towards their siblings. Participants in this investigation were able to differentiate levels of closeness felt toward their siblings and account for these differences. Family systems theory serves as a guide for these accounts.
Adult Attachment Styles and Aggressive Behavior within Dating Relationships
Authors: Bookwala Jamila , Zdaniuk Bozena
Published: March 2007

Recent developments in the application of attachment theory to the study of adult relationships are used to explain the occurrence of aggression in dating relationships. We compared individuals who reported being engaged in reciprocally aggressive dating relationships with individuals who reported being in non-aggressive relationships on measures of attachment patterns and interpersonal problems. To examine the robustness of the attachment-aggression relationship, we also statistically controlled for the effects of interpersonal problems. Using a sample of 85 undergraduate students, we found that, after controlling for relationship satisfaction and length of relationship, those involved in reciprocally aggressive relationships scored higher on the preoccupied and fearful-avoidant attachment styles and reported experiencing more interpersonal problems than did individuals involved in non-aggressive dating relationships. When we controlled for interpersonal problems, however, only the relationship between preoccupied attachment and aggression was observed. Although sex differences were found for attachment style scores and interpersonal problems, no significant sex x type of relationship (non-aggressive vs reciprocally aggressive) effects were observed. The results are discussed in the context of recent findings on attachment, conflict and aggression and recommendations for future research are offered.
Power and Problem Appraisal: Perceptual Foundations of the Chilling Effect in Dating Relationships
Authors: Solomon Denise Haunani , Samp Jennifer Anne
Published: March 2007

Previous research indicating that a dating partner's power exerts a chilling effect on confrontation has highlighted the role of anticipated negative consequences in decisions to withhold complaints. We suggested that a second reason for avoiding confrontation, perceiving problems to be trivial, is also promoted by attributing power to dating partners. We investigated the extent to which perceptions of a partner's power influenced the appraised severity of hypothetical problem scenarios and the likelihood that individuals would avoid confrontation in those situations. Results indicated that attributing either dependence or punitive power to dating partners corresponded with less severe appraisals of problems and plans to avoid confrontation. Contrary to our expectations, problem severity appraisals did not mediate associations between perceptions of a partner's power and plans to avoid confrontation. The discussion highlights the implications of these results for investigations of power in dating relationships and research on relationship maintenance.
When Birds of Different Feathers Flock Together: A Preliminary Comparison of Intra-Ethnic and Inter-Ethnic Dating Relationships
Authors: Shibazaki Kozue , Brennan Kelly A.
Published: March 2007

In light of an increasing ethnic diversity in the US, we sought to investigate how and whether cultural variables impact the quality of dating relationships by comparing couples from either the same or a different ethnic group. In a small sample of young dating couples, we examined motives for initiating their relationships, relationship satisfaction, self-esteem, and various structural variables, including degree of prejudice. Results revealed that same-ethnic and inter-ethnic couple members entered relationships for similar reasons, and reported similar levels of relationship satisfaction. Those in interethnic relationships were somewhat lower in self-esteem than those in same-ethnic relationships. Relative to persons dating within their ethnic group, those dating outside their ethnic group reported less identification with members of their own ethnicity, greater availability of potential dating partners outside their ethnic group, less societal approval of their current relationships, and greater preference for contact with people outside their ethnic group.
Ain't Love Grand! A Prototype Analysis of the Concept of Romantic Love
Authors: Regan Pamela C. , Kocan Elizabeth R. , Whitlock Teresa
Published: March 2007

We conducted a prototype analysis to explore men's and women's cognitions (knowledge and beliefs) about the nature of romantic love. In study 1 (compilation of prototypic features), participants listed the features of romantic love in a free response format. The most commonly generated characteristics were trust, sexual attraction/desire and acceptance/tolerance. In study 2 (centrality ratings), participants provided centrality ratings for the study 1 features. As before, central features included trust, honesty and sexual attraction/desire; peripheral features included submission/obedience, deception/lies and depression. In study 3 (memory tasks), participants read statements that used an equal mix of central and peripheral features to describe a relationship between two individuals, engaged in an interference task, and were asked to recognize and recall the original statements. As expected, participants falsely recognized and incorrectly recalled a greater number of central than peripheral features. Correlational analyses revealed that the number of times a feature was incorrectly recognized was positively associated with both its frequency and its centrality. These results support the hypothesis that the concept of romantic love is prototypically organized (i.e. has an internal structure), and that sexual desire is one of the central features of this concept.
Attachment Memories, Models and Information Processing
Authors: Miller Judi Beinstein , Noirot Melinda
Published: March 2007

Working models of attachment are considered key mediators of responses to attachment-related events, but relatively little research examines their directive influence. In this study we investigated the dynamics of working models by means of a memory paradigm. Participants were tested for attachment orientation and several weeks later read an attachmentrelated story, performed an attachment-unrelated task, and took a cued-recall test about the story. They were additionally primed by the writing of supportive or rejecting friendship experiences either before reading the story or afterwards. Results provided evidence for two types of information processing effects, attachment-schematic information processing and attachment-related constraints on information processing capacity. Secure attachment was associated with better recall of positive story events when participants were primed by rejecting memories before the story. Fearful attachment was associated with better recall of negative story events, when participants were primed by either rejecting or supportive memories before the story. Fearful attachment was associated with impaired performance on the attachment-unrelated task, when participants were primed by rejecting memories prior to executing the task.
The Role of Projection and Empathic Accuracy in Dyadic Perception between Older Twins
Authors: Neyer Franz J. , Banse Rainer , Asendorpf Jens B.
Published: March 2007

Dyadic perception between 108 older identical and same-sex fraternal twin pairs was examined using three different tasks: (i) an emotional sensitivity task, (ii) a Q-Sort rating of emotion-eliciting situations, and (iii) an assessment of each other's personality traits. Idiographic analyses related judgements of self and co-twin within and between twins. Projection approached the reliability of the judgements and was significantly higher than both empathic accuracy and actual similarity, suggesting that the process of dyadic perception was mainly shaped by projection. Significant correlations between empathic accuracy and projection were caused by the similarity of the twins in self-judgements. Empathic accuracy was much weaker once projection was controlled, indicating that twins had used valid projection to improve accuracy. Similarity-controlled projection was still high and reflected the fact that the twins overestimated their similarity to a large extent. Contrary to expectation but consistent across the three tasks, identical and fraternal twins differed neither in levels of actual similarity, empathic accuracy and projection, nor in similarity-controlled empathic accuracy and projection.
The Relevance of Weberian Ethics for Contemporary Journalism
Authors: Kepplinger Hans Mathias , Knirsch Kerstin
Published: March 2007

Max Weber's distinction between expedient and value rationality and an ethic of responsibility and of ultimate ends is regarded as a theoretical tool to analyse the relationship between the mass media and politics in democracies. Weber considers journalists as an example of the combination of value-based rationality and adherence to an ethic of ultimate ends. In contrast, he considers politicians as an example of the combination of expedient action and ethics of responsibility. Intending to test one part of Weber's theory - his assumptions about journalists - the authors examined two aspects of journalistic predispositions - general views on journalistic rules of conduct and specific judgements on behaviour in concrete situations. In an experimental design six groups of newspaper editors were confronted with different options. Their reactions indicate that journalists generally and in concrete situations make value-based decisions when deciding whether to print a story or not. In contrast, journalists generally claim to adhere to an ethic of responsibility although they base their arguments on an ethic of ultimate ends in concrete situations. The consequences of this contradiction are discussed.
European Television-Viewer Types: A Six-Nation Classification by Programme Interests
Authors: Espe Hartmut , Seiwert Margarete
Published: March 2007

This article presents an empirically-based typology of television viewers in six European countries: Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy, Luxembourg and West Germany. As part of the Eurobarometer 15 of spring 1981, surveys provided information on the television programme interests and viewing behaviours of representative sample members in those countries. Factor and cluster analyses produced five to six cross-nationally similar types of viewers per country, who differed significantly in the amount of time they spent viewing, as well as in sociodemographic, psychological and political characteristics. The results are discussed in the context of the literatures of both media uses and gratifications and the heavy-viewer syndrome, as well as in relation to current developments in European television provision.
Newspaper Adaptation to a Changing Social Environment: A Case Study of Organizational Drift as a Response to Resource Dependence
Authors: Engwall Lars
Published: March 2007

This article is based on a longitudinal study of a Swedish Social Democratic newspaper and examines its `organizational drift' over time in response to changing patterns of resource dependence. The early goals of the newspaper as a means of political communication were subsequently overtaken by such criteria as economic performance and journalistic professionalism. This, in turn, had implications for the organizational and reward structures of the company.
Audience Reactions to Televised Political Programs: An Experimental Study of the 1990 German National Election
Authors: Kaid Lynda Lee , Holtz-Bacha Christina
Published: March 2007

This paper reports the results of an experiment conducted during the December 1990 German national election. The design involved exposure of subjects in western (Hannover and Munich) and eastern (Leipzig) Germany to the television spots of the two major German national parties (the CDU and SPD) and pre-test/post-test measures of responses to party leaders as a result of spot viewing. Results indicated that viewing the television spots created a more favourable image for Lafontaine among viewers in eastern Germany, but no change was apparent for Kohl among eastern or western subjects. The study also found strong relationships between emotions elicited by viewing the television spots and the images of the two political party candidates.
Agenda-Setting in an Historical Perspective:
Authors: Wilke Jürgen
Published: March 2007

Agenda-setting has been a topic of study in the field of communications research for two decades. What is absent so far is an attempt to make the concept of agenda-setting useful in an historical context as well or an attempt to describe the historical dimension of the agenda-setting function of the mass media. This paper analyses a process of agenda-setting which took place more than 200 years ago. The historical event to which this concept is applied is the coverage of the American Revolution in the German press. Beginning in 1773, reports on the dispute between Britain and its colonies in America proliferated, and for several years this became the main topic reported by the Hamburg-based newspaper which is analysed here. The process of agenda-setting is first described by quantity and kind of coverage. It is then considered as a result of the course of events. On the other hand, the coverage, as far as possible given the historical context, can be considered as the cause of an effect. Four variables are determined to have influenced this effect: medium, topic, audience and political system. The great differences between the political system of Germany and that of Britain or the then emerging United States of America were the reason why the coverage in the German newspaper caused only an `agenda of the media', but had no influence on the agenda of public policy.
The Impact of Key Events on the Presentation of Reality
Authors: Kepplinger Hans Mathias , Habermeier Johanna
Published: March 2007

Based on the theoretical distinction between genuine, mediated and staged events, the causes and consequences of waves of news coverage are analysed. It is assumed that key events change the criteria for the selection of news and stimulate new activities which in turn get covered by the media. It is further assumed that, as a consequence, the news coverage creates the false impression of an increasing number of genuine events — occurrences which by definition cannot be influenced by media coverage — even if their actual number remains unchanged. This is due to the fact that the media report more often on past events, give new events more coverage and make both appear very similar to the key event. The theoretical assumptions are analysed with respect to coverage on AIDS, earthquakes and truck accidents before and after three key events.
From Codes of Ethics to Public Cultural Truth
Authors: White Robert A.
Published: March 2007

In the face of rising criticism of the limitations of the `professional media ethics' approach to media ethics and media morality, this article explores a broader societal approach based on the norm of justice in the public construction of cultural truth. A central conclusion is that a variety of media-related social actors are simultaneously involved in the continued formulation and reformulation of the public cultural truth. The moral level of the system and of each social actor (including media professionals) depends on the level of dialogue among actors and mutual recognition of moral claims of all of the actors. The article attempts to illustrate a methodology for recognition of the moral claims of major social actors involved in media performance.
Arts Programming on Public Television
Authors: d'Haenens Leen
Published: March 2007

In this study, three arts programmes were analysed, each with an individual format and specific function: (1) the arts diary which announces the cultural events in Belgium during the coming week; (2) the arts magazine which focuses on two or three works of art with topical connections; (3) the arts documentary which sheds light on an artistic movement or an artist, while under no pressure to be topical. A deliberate sample of 50 art-loving television viewers were surveyed. This sample, although not representative of the Flemish population, undoubtedly provides the greatest opportunity to analyse both the cognitive and emotional reactions of a potential viewing audience. This study is an example of an integrated programme and viewer survey, where both quantitative and qualitative methods are employed. The relevant characteristics of a programme, in terms of form and content, are presented to a selected group of viewers and, where necessary, alternative formats and contents are formulated. This survey was also intended to play a supportive role within the overall programme strategy of the public broadcaster. The questions asked of the viewing audience were in every case determined in consultation with the programme-makers: mostly questions of the viewer's appreciation (evaluation) of programme formats, but also regarding the transfer of knowledge and information achieved by the content of the programme. In addition to a series of questions on their prior knowledge and their knowledge (before and after the viewing session, respectively), those questioned also had to answer a set of evaluation questions. The participants were questioned both individually (by means of in-depth interviews) and in groups (in panel discussions).
Pluralism and Media Concentration in Europe
Authors: Kaitatzi-Whitlock Sophia
Published: March 2007

Sustained efforts to place the issue of audiovisual regulation, notably the safeguarding of pluralism and pluriform freedom of information, on the European Community (EC) agenda and to produce a policy acceptable to the general interest, have not come to fruition. Pluralism and diversely sourced media are on the decline, whereas concentration of media ownership and consolidation are increasing. The current lack of correspondences between the scope of audiovisual activity and the scope of its regulation create wider problems of legitimacy in the European Union (EU). Civil, economic and national interests are jeopardized by the EC's effective non-policy-making on this crucial issue. `Minimum harmonization', the Cassis de Dijon principle and the Single Market framework combine to prevent the protection of content pluralism through media regulation. A way out of this policy paralysis seems unlikely, given the present inadequate and weak policy and institutional structures of the intergovernmental policy actor, for behind the non-policy option stand powerful economic and national forces.
The Rabin Myth and the Press
Authors: Peri Yoram
Published: March 2007

During the week following the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin in November 1996, the Israeli media were confronted with a liminal situation created by the unprecedented political violence. Among the problems that emerged were potential social disintegration and anomie. One of the major factors in re-establishing social integration was the reconstruction of Rabin's biography by the media as the collective biography, so that it represented the collective identity of Israeli society. A content analysis of the Rabin myth created during this event shows the practices used by the hegemonic interpretative communities to reinvent society, and the ramifications of excluding the voices of others from the process of national deliberation on the media.
SOCIOLOGY AND THE NEW SOCIAL THINKING
Authors: Osipov Gennady V.
Published: March 2007

This article represents an attempt to develop a many-sided analysis of factors generating crisis development in social fields and stagnation in the economy, of measures which could initiate positive changes in Soviet society and of the main tasks of sociology as a science in conditions of restructuring.

The author emphasises that the transition of Soviet society from one qualitative state to another (a state of higher order), and that the optimisation of the functioning of its economic systems is transformed from an ideal into reality only on the basis of an all-round account being taken of the real potential of the human factor through expanding the sphere of operation of the individuality factor. If this does not happen, the process of dysfunctional disturbances in the systems becomes irreversible, and stagnant and negative phenomena become social facts.

From the author's point of view, the task of the sociology of restructuring consists in revealing concrete mechanisms for the coordination of system qualities (those existing, being improved or newly created) and the individual social and psychological qualities of personalities, revealing mechanisms contributing to the optimal combination of objective and subjective, general and individual factors for the social and economic development of the country.
THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS OF COMPARATIVE SURVEY RESEARCH: WHY THE WHEEL OF CROSS-CULTURAL METHODOLOGY KEEPS ON BEING REINVENTED
Authors: Scheuch Erwin K.
Published: March 2007

Reviewing the earlier literature on methodological issues in comparative research, the paper argues that `in terms of methodology in abstracto and on issues of research technology, most of all that needed to be said has already been published'. Yet the actual research falls short of this available knowledge. Famous publications based on comparative research are really promulgators of research artefacts.

Three goals are being emphasised: (a) to counteract the tendency to reinvent the methodological wheel; (b) to help with ex post interpretations of data from cross-national research; (c) to use the difficulties and pay-offs in comparisons for substantive insights.

Thus, `Galton's problem' - treating countries as independent cases - forces an evaluation of the pervasiveness of diffusion vs. cultural/national identity. The low stability of many measures requires rethinking the meaning of one-point measurements. Comparative surveys are by implication cross-level research. Therefore, the use of country names as explanans requires theoretical notions about the nation as context for actors and institutions.
EXTERNAL INFLUENCES ON SOCIOLOGY
Authors: Smelser Neil J.
Published: March 2007

Acknowledging that sociology's intellectual development is shaped by both autonomous and external influences, the author specifies the impact emanating from cultural, social, scientific and political sources. The main illustrations are from American sociology, but some comparative references are supplied.
AGENCY AND REVOLUTION
Authors: Sztompka Piotr
Published: March 2007

The societal myth of revolution and the sociological theory of revolution flourished in the nineteenth century - together with the idea of progress and reason - as cornerstones of the era of triumphant modernity. The myth was seriously challenged by the tragic experience of revolutions in the twentieth century; they never produced what they promised, and often replaced reason with irrational violence, and progress with crisis. With some inevitable time-lag, the theories of revolution were revised too. They abandoned developmentalist assumptions (of fatalism, finalism, utopianism, linearity), and focussed on the role of human agency (especially social movements) in bringing about revolutions; and on contingent, variable contribution of revolutions to social change (alternative scenarios of the future). New, agential theories of revolutions attempt to incorporate insights and hypotheses from a plurality of earlier theories. For this effort not to degenerate into eclecticism, it must be controlled by a more general, integrating conceptual framework. The author elaborates a model of `social becoming', which is then applied to the phenomenon of revolution, and engenders a set of hypotheses combining wisdom from traditional `volcanic' approaches with recent emphases on `resource mobilisation' and `political opportunities'. The proposed theoretical sketch promises to overcome the opposition of totalities and individualities, holistic and individualistic approaches, macro and micro foci, as well as static and dynamic biases.
MODELS OF ILLNESS AND THE THEORY OF SOCIETY: PARSONS' CONTRIBUTION TO THE EARLY HISTORY OF MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY
Authors: Gerhardt Uta
Published: March 2007

Parsons' medical sociology has recently been recognised for its importance to his theory of society. But the double focus of his explanations of illness is not yet widely understood. It comprises a capacity model based on economic thinking, and a deviancy model based on psychoanalytic thought.

In the 1930s and 1940s Parsons undertook to understand medical practice in order to focus on liberal democracy in modern society. He used medical practice as an example and also as a metaphor to demonstrate the mechanisms of liberal democracy as against those of capitalism, socialism and the then contemporary fascism.

By considering this background, the link between models of illness and the theory of society, established in The Social System, ought to have been recognised by Parsons' critics who then might not have charged him with advocating a non-democratic solution to the problem of how social order is possible. By recommending the recognition of the double focus of Parsons' illness explanation, and its viability for his theory of action systems, it is argued that Parsons was criticised too readily in the 1960s and that his humanist standpoint can be recovered by focussing on his early contribution to medical sociology.
The Practice of Sport as Political Expression?
Authors: de Léséleuc Eric , Gleyse Jacques , Marcellini Anne
Published: March 2007

A number of sporting activities are qualified today as `fun' or `Californian'. In contrast to the so-called `classical' sports, their practitioners value the game, the pleasure of being together, the humour and the shared emotions. These elements are indicative of their distancing themselves from the `serious' aspects of competitive sports, even as their activities are classified as futile, undemanding, marginal or even socially immature. This study, based on the ethnography of a small community of climbers who appropriated a cliff in the south of France, demonstrates that far from being futile, this activity is a theatre of social concerns which surpasses the practice of sport itself. In fact, if, on the one hand, conviviality, sharing and the play dimension of rock climbing unite some players in a community of belonging, on the other hand, the use of symbolic violence and the process of normalizing behaviour lead to the exclusion of `others' (those who do not `play the game of the place'). These phenomena are interrogated here because they demonstrate how, within the context of a sport, tensions occur between (free and equal) individuals and a community of belonging, thereby challenging contemporary ways of `living together'.
PROBLEMS OF GENERALISATION IN CROSS-NATIONAL STUDIES OF ORGANISATIONS
Authors: Heidenreich Martin
Published: March 2007

This article addresses the issue of how to generalise the results of case studies, which are the main instrument of most cross-national studies on organisations. Drawing on his own studies and those of others, the author reconstructs three ways of dealing with this problem: an `experimental' procedure resting on the classical approach of comparing `matched' pairs; a `holistic', usually interpretive procedure based on the `cultural' or `systemic' reconstruction of social totalities and patterns of interdependence; and, lastly, an ideal-type procedure that is grounded in the construction of society-plant constellations that can stimulate an inductive-exploratory way of developing and verifying more general statements. The third procedure is partially illustrated by a Franco-German study previously conducted by the author.
ART AT RISK IN THE HANDS OF THE MUSEUM: FROM THE MUSEUM TO THE PRIVATE COLLECTION?
Authors: Gucht Daniel Vander
Published: March 2007

The academy and the museum were once in an organic interdependent relation as legitimate institutions of artistic production and consecration of their work, generating an academic art against which Impressionism led a symbolic revolution. Modern art has been able to succeed because state protection has been withdrawn from the academy, because of the opening of the Salon des réfusés and the progressive establishment of the modern art market. Today modern art has found its place in the history of art and entered the museum, which is flourishing more than ever, but in the process has undergone a redefinition of its traditional functions. The threats which menace the museum are mainly its loss of independence in its aesthetic judgement with regard to the art market - which has in a way replaced the academy as the museum partner in the modern art world - and the competition with richly endowed private collections displayed in a museum framework for the day-to-day writing of the history of art. This new situation implies the risk of the museum changing into a cultural amusement park, and for contemporary art to become museum art guaranteed by the art market.
CHINESE SOCIOLOGY: SINICISATION AND GLOBALISATION
Authors: Gransow Bettina
Published: March 2007

The way in which the transfer of Western sociology to China took shape raised not only the question `What can sociology do for China?' but also the reverse question `What can China do for sociology?'. The article poses the thesis that the striving of Chinese sociologists towards a sinicisation of sociology led to a learning process about Western sociology's cultural and civilisational ties. It describes the conditions of Chinese sociology on the basis of exogenic modernisation and within the extreme realms of different cultures, and outlines a discussion on the sinicisation and globalisation of sociology among Chinese sociologists in Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States of America and the People's Republic of China during the 1980s.
CRIME AND MASCULINITIES IN AUSTRALIA, GERMANY AND JAPAN
Authors: Kersten Joachim
Published: March 2007

Perpetrators of offences that fit into stereotypical images of `stranger-danger' appear to be at the basis of crime debates, regardless of evidence indicating that most reported and (with some likelihood) most unreported attacks, occur between people who know each other. Such images of strange and evil men in the public mind and at the basis of traditional concepts of crime prevention concern aspects of masculinities. Attempts at gender-specific theories of crime rarely inform criminological or victimological debates. In this explorative discussion of the link between crime and masculinities, the most threatening images of `evil' masculinities are interpreted as constructs symbolising the antithesis (`other') of legitimate masculinities in patriarchal societies. Accordingly, the question is investigated whether rising concern about `evil men' in some cultures (or during periods of cultural change) can be linked to a crisis of hegemonic masculinity in the mainstream culture. To explore this assumption, the article compares current crime problems in the area of interpersonal violent sexual offences in a `low-crime' country (Japan), a `medium-crime' country (Germany) and a `high-crime' country (Australia). The visible differences in the three countries are interpreted in a paradigm of crime as an indicator of a crisis of hegemonic masculinity.
WHY IS IT SO HARD TO CHANGE THE WORLD?
Authors: Peters Bernhard
Published: March 2007

At the centre of modern social thought there is a well-known theoretical puzzle. The social world is constructed by ongoing social activities, and if not continuously reproduced by our ongoing practices, it would immediately cease to exist. How come, then, that we nevertheless experience this universe of ongoing practices and practical results as some external opaque reality, even as such an unbending force? A typological distinction between several forms of social externality might help to resolve the puzzle: we are ruled, governed, controlled, constrained (as well as helped along) by the material results of past activities; by the symbolic products of our imaginations and activities; by rules and procedures; by other people with authority and power; and finally, by anonymous social mechanisms.
THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS ON ENVIRONMENT-RELATED LITIGATION
Authors: Fuks Mario
Published: March 2007

This paper intends to distinguish between, on the one hand, emerging ideas, values and representations and, on the other, the actual circumstances in which they are applied by society. For this purpose, the juridical field is a privileged place for investigation, being at the same time the locus of norms and conflicts. In particular, our attention focuses on environment-related litigation in Rio de Janeiro. The distance between legal discourse and my analysis of lawsuits pertaining to the environment in Rio de Janeiro is a result of the tension between the universal character of the environmental perspective, as embodied in Brazilian legislation, and the lack of social mobilisation, combined with the complexity of kinds of actors and interests involved in juridical practices concerning environmental protection. It is suggested that this tension be understood in the light of the dynamics of social relations in the urban context of Rio de Janeiro.
Unfulfilled Systemic Functions of Social Mobility I: a Theoretical Scheme
Authors: Wesolowski Wlodzimierz , Mach Bogdan W.
Published: March 2007

Contrary to the views of some Marxists, we are firmly convinced that social mobility is not a 'bourgeois problematic'. We believe that, given certain preconditions, mobility processes may contribute significantly to the effective functioning of a socialist socio-economic system. In this respect they have great potential but the effective utilization of that potential is problematic.
Economic Culture in Post-Industrial Society: Orientation Toward Growth, Work and Technology
Authors: Yuchtman-Yaar Ephraim
Published: March 2007

This paper reports the results of a cross-national research study examining the argument that the values and attitudes generated by post-industrial society tend to be incongruent with the imperatives of industrialism. The empirical findings suggest that the 'economic culture' of the Western public, as indicated by attitudes toward economic growth and technological change, as well as by work-values and commitment, is generally supportive of the logic of industrialism. However, there also exists evidence for significant inter- and intra-societal differences which reflect the mediation of various contextual effects on the outcomes of industrialisation.
Sociology, Modernity and the Globalization of Environmental Change
Authors: Wilenius Markku
Published: March 2007

One of the issues in recent sociological debate on the assessment of global environmental change (GEC) has been the question how to determine the relevant domain of sociological enquiry. In this article I try to provide an insight into this question by looking at some of the conditions which enable us to identify the formation and acceleration of GEC as a phenomenon that is deeply rooted in the social and political development of modernity. In discussing the social origins of GEC, I identify four distinct forces of GEC, each of them amplified by the process of globalization. Next I present an analysis of climate change as an example of a GEC process, in which I show that, although the forces of modernization seem to be helpless in the face of a process of such magnitude, we still tend to rely on them to provide solutions to the problems they are responsible for generating.
Race, Media and Civil Society
Authors: Jacobs Ronald N.
Published: March 2007

This article examines current theoretical debates about the public sphere by looking through the prism of race and the media. The history of the black public sphere in the United States illustrates why the publicity strategies of marginalized groups cannot concentrate solely on `mainstream' media and dominant publics, but must also include active participation in, and cultivation of, alternative public spheres. Historically, the black press has served three important functions: providing a forum for debate and self-improvement; monitoring the mainstream press; and increasing black visibility in white civil society. Because a tolerant and inclusive civil society is most likely when there is a differentiated and diverse set of communications media, the current crisis of the black press is a crisis for American civil society. Those in the `mainstream' media have a responsibility to respond to this crisis by recognizing the importance of alternative publics and increasing their engagement with the African-American press.
Science and social
Authors: von Weizsäcker Carl F.
Published: March 2007

Scientists cannot take a neutral position regarding the way progress evolves. The environment, social justice and international order are the key factors for constructing peace.