A Marxian Review of Gerontological Literature

A major concern for the sociology of aging and social gerontology is the lack of theoretical rigor. In particular, Birren and Bengtson (1988) describe all of social gerontology as data-rich but theory-poor. In an effort to deal with the lack of theory, this essay reviews the general social gerontology literature from a Marxian perspective. The findings suggest that the Marxian framework can illuminate aspects of social gerontology hitherto left unexamined in both the academic and applied arenas

Happiness through leisure

Happiness is important to individuals. If one were to make a judgment based on the vast amount of self-help books available in any bookstore, the conclusion would have to be that happiness is a very important aspect of people’s lives. Whether such books actually provide any solutions to increase happiness is doubtful (Bergsma, 2008). Nevertheless, many are clearly interested in happiness

The neuroscience of body memory: From the self through the space to the others.

Abstract Our experience of the body is not direct; rather, it is mediated by perceptual information, influenced by internal information, and recalibrated through stored implicit and explicit body representation (body memory). This paper presents an overview of the current investigations related to body memory by bringing together recent studies from neuropsychology, neuroscience, and evolutionary and cognitive psychology. To do so, in the paper, I explore the origin of representations of human body to elucidate their developmental process and, in particular, their relationship with more explicit concepts of self. First, it is suggested that our bodily experience is constructed from early development through the continuous integration of sensory and cultural data from six different representations of the body, i.e., the Sentient Body (Minimal Selfhood), the Spatial Body (Self Location), the Active Body (Agency), the Personal Body (Whole Body Ownership – Me); the Objectified Body (Objectified Self – Mine), and the Social Body (Body Satisfaction – Ideal Me). Then, it is suggested that these six representations can be combined in a coherent supramodal representation, i.e. the "body matrix", through a predictive, multisensory processing activated by central, top–down, attentional processes. From an evolutionary perspective, the main goal of the body matrix is to allow the self to protect and extend its boundaries at both the homeostatic and psychological levels. From one perspective, the self extends its boundaries (peripersonal space) through the enactment and recognition of motor schemas. From another perspective, the body matrix, by defining the boundaries of the body, also defines where the self is present, i.e., in the body that is processed by the body matrix as the most likely to be its one, and in the space surrounding it. In the paper I also introduce and discuss the concept of "embodied medicine": the use of advanced technology for altering the body matrix with the goal of improving our health and well-being

The Legitimacy of Inequality: Integrating the Perspectives of System Justification and Social Judgment : The Legitimacy of Inequality

To explain the legitimation of inequality among the members of a social system, we blend system justification theory and the theory of social judgment. We identify adaptation and replacement as two major mechanisms of inequality legitimation and examine their influence in the unique setting of a natural experiment, the reunification of socialist East Germany and capitalist West Germany. We show that the new members of a society in which inequality is broadly endorsed and perceived as enduring will adapt to this perception and come to view inequality as acceptable. This process of adaptation reflects the subtle but powerful influence of collective legitimacy on an individual's tacit approval of inequality. Inequality also becomes legitimate as older cohorts are replaced by younger cohorts; however, this effect is weaker than the effect of adaptation. We contribute to the literature by demonstrating that developing and testing a theory of how inequality becomes legitimized can provide new insights into the ideational antecedents of inequality

Further Notes on the Evolution of Corporate Control and Institutional Investors: A Response to Niemonen

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The Empirical Side of the Power Elite Debate: An Assessment and Critique of Recent Research

From the earliest writings in social science there have been lively debates over the extent to which societies are dominated by elites. Recently, empirical data have been considered for elite backgrounds, elite interlock, elite unity, and elite influence on public policy, but interpretation of the data continue to be problematic. The findings are often confusing and conflicting mainly because of differing methodologies, definitions and indicators of elite status. Focusing on the four areas of quantitative research listed, we compare the findings in an attempt to explain some of the conflicts. When possible, we have prepared summaries of the consistent findings, which tend to show, with respect to these issues, greater support for elite theories as opposed to pluralist theory. Finally we discuss some of the major questions in the debate that current research is unable to answer, and outline future research needs

Corporate Linkage and Control of the Corporate Economy: New Evidence and a Reinterpretation

This paper begins with a brief critical review of the major perspectives in the debate concerning ownership and control of major corporations. After examination of a new source of data compiled by a Senate committee (pertaining especially to the expansion of stock control by institutional investors and, most importantly, by major commercial banks), we argue that none of these perspectives is strongly supported. In concluding we tentatively outline a perspective wliicli seems to provide a better “fit” to the data. We argue that the dominant force in the overall capitalist economy is now an “intercorporate complex” of major corporations, with banks in a central coordinating position (though short of “control”) and an inner group of the “corporate class” providing the human linkage. This form of control is what we call “intercorporate control,” based upon the impersonal interests of major, interrelated corporate bureaucracies