Suchergebnisse

SOCIAL CONFLICTS ARE THE MOTOR OF THE POLITICAL PROCESS & POINT TO A DESIRE OR STRUGGLE FOR SOCIAL CHANGES. THESE CHANGES ARE SUBSEQUENTLY REALIZED IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS, & THE RESULTS LAID DOWN IN THE LAW. DISPROPORTIONAL POSITIONAL CHANGES OF ACTORS WITHIN A SOCIAL SYSTEM BRING ABOUT CONFLICTS. POSITIONS ARE TIED TO VALUE DISTRIBUTIONS, THUS DISPROPORTIONAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF VALUES LEAD TO CONFLICTS. A SECOND APPROACH MAY BE FOLLOWED, VIZ, THE UTILITY-THEORETICAL OR THE SATISFACTION-THEORETICAL APPROACH. THIS APPROACH DEALS WITH AN ANALYSIS OF UTILITY-FUNCTIONS OF ACTORS, CONFLICT BEING DEFINED AS A POSITION ON THE SATISFACTION-SCALE. 2 FIGURES. MODIFIED HA.

Does prevention make secure? The present article examines whether prevention is really as innocent as it seems, and if security will definitely increase with it against the background of Dutch society and politics. The article discusses the safety risks of prevention, its utility and the exact requirements regarding both utility and safety. The central thesis is that the risks of preventive strategies employed by the Dutch government, are systematically underrated. Discussed are: 1) the tendency for security is fundamental, but safety is not the highest value; 2) not all means to establish safety are legitimate; 3) employed means can be a source of unsafety themselves. A cases examination in included on the hidden dangers of prevention. References. O. van Zijl

The concept "level of SE development" plays an important role in the study of comparative politics, but little attention has been paid to its operationalization & measurement accuracy. The use of the concept in the cross-national literature is reviewed, & an attempt is made to provide a meaningful definition through the construction of an index via confirmative factor analysis of select indicators. An evaluation of the index's validity & utility in cross-national research is provided. 2 Tables, 1 Figure, 2 Appendixes, 26 References. Modified HA

The value of qualitative strategies for practice-oriented research
The value of qualitative strategies for practice-oriented research
Mainstream methodology for quantitative and experimental research can't come up to many demands of practice-oriented research. Qualitative research strategies often offer very good opportunities as to the accessibility of the object of practice-oriented research and to the utility of its results. However, what are needed is a fully practice-oriented researcher, as well as a further development of the methodology of qualitative causal research, of phenomenological oriented qualitative research strategies, and of qualitative research as a whole.

An investigation of the impact of individual demographic variables on the decision to vote in the Netherlands. A logit specification is presented that explains the probability that an individual will vote, which is derived from the assumption that an individual will maximize utility in a situation of choosing between two alternatives. Comparing results from five separate election years reveals that analysis based on only one year depends strongly on the year chosen. Thus, pooled data from these five years is analyzed & compared to results from similar studies. It is concluded that higher income, education, subjective social category, age, & f of church attendance all positively influence voting behavior; being a member of a trade union or a public bureaucrat also makes voting more likely. 3 Tables, 12 References. Modified HA

Rational-choice theory is the economic study of nonmarket decision making. The methodology of rational-choice is that of economics: methodological individualism, rationality, & Pareto efficiency. Rational-choice theory is a generic title for four different decision-making theories: collective action, public choice, social choice, & game theory. The distinction between these decision-making theories is the result of the development of the concept of rationality in classical & neoclassical economic theory. For nonmarket decisions (in contrast to market decisions), the economic criterion of Pareto efficiency is not attainable if individuals are behaving as rational utility maximizers. This is one of the main problems for rational-choice theory, described by the prisoner's dilemma game. Several solutions of this dilemma have been suggested, but none can be accepted as conclusive. It is asserted here that the methodological point of departure of rational-choice theory prohibits a solution for the dilemma, because the crux of the economic approach consists in the realization that it is impossible to attain the Pareto optimal. 3 Figures, 1 Schema, 48 References. Modified HA