Idealtypen und das Ziel der Soziologie

Michael Schmid’s criticism of Max Weber’s methodology is both the background and touchstone for a rational reconstruction of Webers doctrine of the idealtypes. In my view, idealtypes are non-falsifiable, idealised theoretical models of a non-statement type of view. This recent approach in the philosophy of science distinguishes between theoretical models on the one hand and theoretical hypotheses on the other. I argue that only the application of these models attains the character of hypotheses. In Weber we find a three step conception of explanation, which encompasses social rules and idealtypes on both the micro and the macro level. The ultimate aim of Weber’s sociology is a macro-socially induced formulation of social species (Arten). They allow a categorisation of the social rules, which are explained through types of action and by means of idealtypes on the macro-level, which serve the function of a theoretical unification. For Weber, macrophenomena allow for a species-realistic interpretation. This realism of social species states an ontological order of empirical reality. Objective truth then means the correct registration of the taxonomical order of social reality and the classification of historical phenomena in this taxonomical order. Weber is an ontological individualist, but, contrary to dominant opinion, a methodological holist.     

Merging content analysis and the policy sciences: A system to discern policy-specific trends from news media reports

In this article we set out to bridge a surprising methodological gap between two time-honored research traditions – news media content analysis and the policy sciences analytic framework. Lasswell, a recognized pioneer of both the method and the framework, discussed the mutual benefits of each decades ago. But few researchers, if any, have formally linked the two. To that end, in this article we (1) make the case for using news media content analysis to inform research studies using the policy sciences analytic framework; (2) introduce an original content analysis categorical system for that purpose; (3) demonstrate that system with a study of 90 national news articles about the stratospheric ozone hole; and (4) compare our system to others used to examine news content. We report that our system, used by human coders, is well geared to describing and mapping trends in the social process surrounding the development of the Montreal Protocol ozone treaty during the intelligence gathering and promotion phases encompassed by our data sample. We argue that other content analysis systems fall short – in structure and purpose – of meeting the promise ours holds to the policy scientist.     

Consumer beliefs and health plan performance: it's not whether you are in an HMO but whether you think you are

Surveys that rate how persons enrolled in HMOs and other types of health coverage feel about their health care are used to bolster claims that HMOs provide inferior quality care, providing justification for patient protection legislation. This research illustrates that the conventional wisdom regarding inferior care in HMOs may color how people assess their health care in surveys, resulting in survey findings biased toward showing HMOs provide inferior care and reinforcing existing stereotypes. Using merged data from the Community Tracking Study Household and Insurance Followback surveys, we identify privately insured persons who correctly and incorrectly know what kind of health plan they are covered by. Nearly a quarter misidentified their type of health coverage. Differences between responses by HMO and non-HMO enrollees to questions covering satisfaction with health care and physician choice, the quality of the last physician's visit, and patient trust in their physician shrink or disappear when we control for beliefs about what type of plan they are covered by. Results suggest that researchers and policy makers should be cautious about using consumer surveys to assess the relative quality of care provided under different types of health insurance.     

Independence and the creative potential of gifted and exceptionally gifted boys

A 16-item questionnaire concerning independence and three divergent thinking tests were administered to three groups of preadolescent boys and their mothers as part of an ongoing longitudinal investigation of exceptional giftedness. The subjects included one group of exceptionally gifted boys with IQs in excess of 150 (n=28), a second group of exceptionally gifted boys selected for their math-science abilities (also well within the 99th percentile;n=26), and a control group of gifted boys (n=37), with a mean IQ of 133). The three groups were compared with one another in terms of (a) their own independence ratings, (b) their mothers' independence ratings, (c) correlations of boys' and mothers' independence ratings, and (d) correlations of independence ratings with IQ and scores from the divergent thinking tests. Results indicated significant differences among the three groups of mothers, and significant differences between the two exceptionally gifted groups and the control group. In addition, mothers' and subjects' independence scores were moderately correlated with IQ and divergent thinking test scores. These results are discussed and placed in the context of the longitudinal project of which they are a part.This research was supported by a grant to Dr. Albert by the Arthur D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation.Preliminary results from this investigation were presented at the meeting of the Hawaii Psychological Association in Honolulu, Hawaii, November 1985.Received Ph.D. from Boston University His research interests include long-term family involvement in giftedness and achievement of eminence.Received Ph.D. from the Claremont Graduate School His current interests include the psychometrics and family background of creativity and exceptionality.     

International representations of Balkan wars: a socio-anthropological approach in international relations perspective

This article introduces the socio-anthropological concept of international representations to examine the relationship between a civilizational rhetoric, the West European and the international politics of otherization and containment of Southeast Europe, and an essentialist and timeless bias in international relations theory, including both radical and constructivist trends. We first explore the different narrative perspectives on the Balkan wars from the beginning to the end of the twentieth century. Their subsequent problematization is aimed at challenging the way they have constructed commonplace and time-worn representations, which international society shares with different consequences in international affairs. This is a limited conception since international representations as a socio-anthropological concept are always socially, culturally and politically constructed, contested and negotiated. They do not neutrally refer to a reality in the world; they create a reality of their own. Moreover, this limited conception ignores the fact that how, by whom and in whose interest international representations are constructed is itself a form of power in international relations. Therefore, the way international representations are constructed can be problematized as an example of political and ideological projects that operate in the West as well as in the Southeast European countries that are the object of Western foreign policy.     

Key Risk Factors for Relapse and Rearrest Among Substance Use Treatment Patients Involved in the Criminal Justice System

Substance use treatment programs for criminal justice populations have great potential for crime reduction, if they can effectively manage patients’ risk for relapse and rearrest. The current study used data drawn from the Comprehensive Assessment and Treatment Outcome Research (CATOR) system, a national registry of substance use treatment programs, which collected patient outcome data at 6- and 12-month intervals following discharge from treatment. The primary objective was to examine sets of factors that may compromise relapse and rearrest outcomes among patients who were court mandated to participate in treatment. Findings demonstrated that patients’ clinical severity of substance use was associated with relapse, which also significantly increased the probability of post-treatment arrest. Adolescent risk behaviors represented another set of risk factors, particularly among patients who experienced the most severe pattern of relapse and arrest outcomes. Additionally, demographic risk factors, including age, marital status (i.e., single or unmarried relative to married), employment (i.e., being unemployed compared to employed), and lower educational attainment were consistently linked to higher probabilities of relapse and rearrest. Treatment programs for criminal justice populations should consider incorporating appropriate clinical risk assessment measures, behavioral risk assessments, and appropriate employment interventions into standard treatment programming in an effort to improve outcomes.     

The God Squad and the Origins of Transplantation Ethics and Policy

The era of replacing human organs and their functions began with chronic dialysis and renal transplantation in the 1960s. These significant medical advances brought unprecedented problems. Among these, the selection of patients for a scarce resource was most troubling. In Seattle, where dialysis originated, a "God Committee" selected which patients would live and die. The debates over such a committee stimulated the origins of bioethics.     

Disproportionate minority contact in the Dutch juvenile justice system

To examine whether disproportionate minority contact (DMC) exists in the Netherlands, the representation of minority youth was determined for all stages of the juvenile justice system. Using native Dutch youth as a reference group, the odds ratios (OR) to be registered and arrested as suspect, for alternative punishment and for incarceration, were calculated for the minority youth. In all stages of the juvenile justice system, the ORs for minority youths were considerably higher, except for alternative punishment, having lower ORs. This indicates that DMC exists in the Netherlands. DMC should be politicized and programs should be developed to eliminate this inequality.