Religious Parties, Religious Political Identity, and the Cold Shoulder of Liberal Democratic Thought

Elements of the relation between religion and politics are standard themes in political theory: toleration and free exercise rights; the parameters of separation of church and state; arguments for and against constraints imposed on religious discourse by philosophic norms of public reason. But religious parties and partisanship are no part of political theory, despite contemporary interest in value pluralism and in liberal democratic theory's capacity to address multicultural, religious, and ethnic group claims. This essay argues that religious parties are missing elements in discussions of identity politics. They play an important role not just in expressing but also in constructing and mobilizing religious political identity. Political activity linked to parties is a principal way of bringing diffuse, politically unorganized groups, whose leaders are self-appointed and not regularly accountable for the way they represent co-religionists in political life, into the democratic mainstream. With political organization and especially partisanship, the fact of pluralism is made concrete for democratic purposes.     

明代初期道德生活的政治导向

明代道德生活的偏执性,在中国历史上极其特殊的。追根溯源,是明代初期政治生活的特殊性所引发的。分封、废相、厂卫、教化、粮长等制度的改革与创设,不同程度地将社会道德生活引入了无以复加的偏执境地。     

TRAINING STUDENTS WITH PROFOUND OR MULTIPLE HANDICAPS TO MAKE REQUESTS VIA MICROSWITCHES

In a series of three experiments, we evaluated the use of microswitches as a means for students with profound, multiple handicaps to demonstrate preferences between toys and to make requests for specific activities. In Experiment 1, 5 students learned to demonstrate toy preferences by using microswitches to activate battery-operated toys. Experiment 2 was conducted to evaluate the students' preferences for social attention. Microswitches were used to activate prerecorded messages that signaled the classroom teacher to attend to the students. In Experiment 3, the students used the switches and prerecorded messages to make specific requests of educational staff in school and community settings. Results of these experiments, evaluated within multiple baseline, alternating treatments, and simultaneous treatments designs, indicated that these students could request specific activities. Results are discussed with respect to the continued use of microswitches and to program development.     

Behavioral stereotypy and the generalized matching equation

The development of behavioral stereotypy is a common result of exposure to both response-dependent and response-independent reinforcement procedures. The generalized matching equation and two dynamic versions of that equation, which take into account the time differential between reinforcements and their effect on behavior, predict this outcome of many procedures involving reinforcement. Following from the assumption that distinct response topographies, distinct response sequences, or orientations to distinct stimuli can be treated in the equations as distinct classes of behavior, the equations predict that-at least for matching and undermatching-the behavior class that is most biased relative to other behavior classes of the same type will tend to predominate to the exclusion or near exclusion of those behavior classes.     

The Reaction of the Youth in Israel to the Assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin

The assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a political assassin caused shock, disbelief, and deep grief to the Israeli people. Particularly prominent was the reaction of the youth, who gathered in large crowds, at the site of the murder and in other places, and engaged in various mourning behaviors of a ritual nature. This drew the attention of the media in Israel and around the world. A study of approximately 700 teenagers conducted after the assassination examined their emotional reactions, participation in ritualistic mourning activities, and assessments of the reasons for feeling shocked. In all areas, differences were found as a function of gender, and attitudes toward Rabin's peace policy. An attempt was made to explain the youth's behavior in terms of the formation of groups and group identity.     

Celebrity and Political Psychology: Remembering Lennon

This article is a contribution toward the task of constructing a distinctive political psychology and social theory of celebrity. The article begins by noting some recent approaches to the analysis of mass communications in political theory, and moves to consider what these theories mean for the conceptual analysis of celebrity. A substantive example of the political construction of celebrity is given in a case study of the ex-Beatle, John Lennon—specifically, the social drama surrounding his death in 1980. A number of issues, ranging from the denial of death in modernity to the multiplex modes of cultural remembering, are discussed as they relate to celebrity.     

THE VALIDATION OF PROCEDURES TO ASSESS PREVOCATIONAL TASK PREFERENCES IN RETARDED ADULTS

Three severely retarded young adults between the ages of 19 and 21 years participated in a prevocational training program, and worked regularly on six different tasks during the scheduled six-hour day. The study attempted to assess each subject's preferences for the six tasks: collating, stuffing, sorting, pulley assembly, flour-sifter assembly, and circuit-board stuffing. In Phase I, the procedure consisted of randomly pairing each task with all other tasks in a two-choice situation that required the subjects to select one task from each pair combination to work for a seven-minute period. The selection procedure consisted of presenting two representative task objects on a tray and requesting the subject to pick up one object and place it on the work table. The object selected represented the task worked for that period. The 15 possible pair combinations were presented randomly every two days for a period of 34 days to determine the preferences. During the validation phase (Phase II), each subject's least- and most-preferred tasks were paired separately with moderately-preferred tasks. As expected, these manipulations confirmed the baseline data, as choices for the moderately-preferred tasks decreased when consistently paired with the preferred tasks and increased when consistently paired with the least-preferred tasks.     

The Effects of Investments in theSocial Capital of Youth on Political and Civic Behavior in Young Adulthood: A Longitudinal Analysis

This paper uses the National Education Longitudinal Study to examine whether early investments in the social capital of young people produce greater political involvement and civic virtue in young adulthood. Parental involvement in a young person's life, youth religious involvement, and voluntary association participation were some of the forms of social capital hypothesized to influence adult political behavior. Structural equations modeling was used to trace the effects of the presence of social capital as early as the 8th grade year in shaping young adult political and civic behavior. The analysis shows that early extensive connections to others, close familial relationships, religious participation, and participation in extracurricular activities in one's youth are significant predictors of greater political and civic involvement in young adulthood.     

An outcomes model of medical decision making

In the traditional fix-it model of medical decision making, the identified problem is typically characterized by a diagnosis that indicates a deviation from normalcy. When a medical problem is multifaceted and the available interventions are only partially effective, a broader vision of the health care endeavor is needed. What matters to the patient, and what should matter to the practitioner, is the patient's future possibilities. More specifically, what is important is the character of the alternative futures that the patient could have and choosing among them so as to achieve the best future possible, with the ranking of outcomes determined by the patient's preferences. This paper describes the fix-it model, presents and defends the outcomes-based model, and demonstrates that the latter is useful in developing normative conceptions of informed consent and decision making and in establishing a basis for societal involvement in the decision making process. Finally, several shortcomings of the model will be acknowledged.     

ESCHATOLOGY IN THE POLITICAL THEORY OF MICHAEL WALZER

This essay examines the relevance of eschatological themes to the political theory of Michael Walzer. A distinctive eschatological hope is identified, which functions as a guide to thought throughout Walzer's writings, even though he seldom expresses it (and sometimes denies it). This analysis of Walzer's work demonstrates that eschatology is relevant to the contemporary discussion of justice, and conversely, that contemporary political theory can be a guide for the construction and evaluation of theological doctrines of eschatology. Any eschatology that enters into political debate in a modern, pluralistic society like the United States, however, must have at least one important characteristic: it must be informed by a profound sense of limitation.