Ideology in three voices: an adapted methodology for the study of political ideology

Abstract

Theology in four voices represents a fitting methodological model for the study of political ideology, given the similarities between religions and ideologies as belief systems with ineliminable, fundamental beliefs. The formal theological voice is dropped from consideration on the grounds that, while the involvement of academic theologians in the theology of ordinary believers is entirely appropriate, political theorists ought not to be involved in seeking to change or refine the ideologies which they research. The normative voice – which we refer to as the established voice – consists of texts which carry authority within a particular ideology, such as The Communist Manifesto in Marxism, or J.S. Mill’s On Liberty in liberalism; the espoused voice represents that which adherents of an ideology explain about what they believe; the operant voice consists of the political action taken by the adherents. While there are potential disadvantages to this method, there are also potential advantages. Firstly, it enables a fuller understanding of an ideology, especially when tensions arise between the three voices. Secondly, it allows the researcher to enter at any one of three points into a circle leading from pre-understanding to understanding. Thirdly and finally, the model presents opportunities to combine different methodological approaches into ideological research.     

Emotion Regulation Difficulties, Youth–Adult Relationships, and Suicide Attempts Among High School Students in Underserved Communities

To develop and refine interventions to prevent youth suicide, knowledge is needed about specific processes that reduce risk at a population level. Using a cross-sectional design, the present study tested hypotheses regarding associations between self-reported suicide attempts, emotion regulation difficulties, and positive youth–adult relationships among 7,978 high-school students (48.6 % male, 49.9 % female) in 30 high schools from predominantly rural, low-income communities. 683 students (8.6 %) reported a past-year suicide attempt. Emotion regulation difficulties and a lack of trusted adults at home and school were associated with increased risk for making a past-year suicide attempt, above and beyond the effects of depressive symptoms and demographic factors. The association between emotion regulation difficulties and suicide attempts was modestly lower among students who perceived themselves as having higher levels of trusted adults in the family, consistent with a protective effect. Having a trusted adult in the community (outside of school and family) was associated with fewer suicide attempts in models that controlled only for demographic covariates, but not when taking symptoms of depression into account. These findings point to adolescent emotion regulation and relationships with trusted adults as complementary targets for suicide prevention that merit further intervention studies. Reaching these targets in a broad population of adolescents will require new delivery systems and “option rich” (OR) intervention designs.     

‘A Great Politicianess’: Ann Jebb,Rational Dissent and politics in late eighteenth‐century Britain 1

This article discusses the life of Ann Jebb (1735–1812) in light of recent scholarship on gender and politics in late eighteenth‐century Britain. Wife of the Unitarian political activist John Jebb, Ann was one of the most respected women among ‘enlightened’ Rational Dissenters. In the 1770s at Cambridge, and afterwards in London, she held ‘tea parties’ for reformers, and wrote pamphlets and newspaper articles supporting religious, educational and political reform. Her case sheds light on the activities and status of women in reform circles during the ‘age of cultural revolution’, and further complicates the separate spheres model of gender in the late eighteenth century.     

Morality and the law teacher

Teaching law to business students commonly raises two teaching issues: the tension between what business students require and what law tutors are conditioned to provide, and that business students struggle with the legal problem-solving exercises provided in their assessments. These apparently unrelated needs of business students share common skills: identifying issues, organising and analysing facts, and decision-making. A seemingly unrelated discipline is the science of proof, which was developed in 1913 by John Henry Wigmore.

Wigmore addressed the science with his chart method of analysing facts. He presented a visual method of identifying issues, organising and analysing facts accordingly, and consequential decision-making. These skills can provide genuine benefits for business law students. The key is to adapt the Wigmore model for these needs.

The aim of this paper is to explain the Wigmore chart method, derive the essence of the necessary thought processes, and adapt the chart method to suit the needs of business law students, providing basic skills that will enhance work-related decision-making and academic legal problem-solving.     

Relationship Trajectories and Psychological Well-Being Among Sexual Minority Youth

Dating in adolescence plays an integral part in the development of sexual and social identities. This process is particularly salient for sexual minority youth who face additional obstacles to their identity formation due to their marginalized status. We investigated the influence of participating in a same-sex relationship (SSR) or an opposite-sex relationship (OSR) on sexual minority youths’ psychological well-being (i.e., symptoms of depression, anxiety and internalized homophobia, and self-esteem) in an ethnically-diverse sample of 350 youth (55% male) between the ages of 15–19 years, recruited from three GLBT drop-in centers in the New York City area. Using longitudinal data, we examined youths’ SSR and OSR over time. Multivariate regression analyses suggest that involvement in a SSR was positively associated with changes in self-esteem in males, and negatively correlated with changes in internalized homophobia in females. We discuss the implications for positive development in sexual minority adolescent populations.     

Reinventing Amtrak: The politics of survival

This article argues that Amtrak's design as a “quasi-public, for-profit” corporation was seriously flawed from its beginnings. The corporation was isolated from America's private railroads, and isolated from trust-funding financial mechanisms that supported highways, airports, and mass transit. It depended on powerful Democratic congressional patrons and labor union support for protection from Republican executive budget cuts. But these allies pushed Amtrak into running far more costly service than was good for its bottom line. The corporation was already engaged in an internal reorganization designed to bring it closer to its customers, when the Republican victory in the 1994 congressional election launched an external effort to reorient and restructure Amtrak. There are three possible outcomes of the two-sided reinvention process: status quo and continued slow decline; partnership based on new relationships between Amtrak, federal and state governments, and the private sector; and privatization which might still require substantial public expenditures for some time. Synchronizing the opportunities created by both the internal and the external reinvention efforts is the key to whether Amtrak can emerge as a viable and valuable provider of rail transportation in the 21st century.     

BNFL National Stakeholder Dialogue: a case study in public affairs

This case study explores the very early days of the British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) National Stakeholder Dialogue. The dialogue is arguably the most intensive, consistent and difficult engagement with stakeholders ever undertaken by a UK company. It involves a wide range of individuals and organisations interested in or concerned about nuclear issues and aims to inform BNFL's decision‐making process around the improvement of their environmental performance in the context of their overall development. The process is designed and convened by The Environment Council, an independent third party with expertise in stake‐holder dialogue. The aim of this paper is to examine how the dialogue came about, why stakeholder dialogue was used as a process, some of the problems encountered by the process and the link that can exist between public affairs and stakeholder dialogue. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications