Leaving the mainstream behind? Uncovering subjective understandings of economics instructors' roles

In the wake of the economic crisis, a number of student organizations and researchers highlighted the lack of pluralism and heterodox approaches in economics curricula. The relevance of pluralism becomes clear once set within the implications of a given scientific discourse on reality (e.g. economics and policy making). This study explores the role of instructors in co-constructing the pluralism discourse and debates, while recognizing the role of institutional obstacles to change within the discipline. An empirical field study is conducted with lecturers in introductory economics courses at the WU Vienna University of Economics and Business where they place themselves within the pluralism discourse via a Q-study - a mixed method employed for studying subjectivity in socially contested topics. In Q, a set of statements undergo a sorting procedure on a relative ranking scale, followed by factor-rendering. Four voices are identified: Moderate Pluralist, Mainstreamers, Responsible Pluralists, and Applied Pluralists. The implications of their ideas are discussed from the viewpoint of discursive institutionalism, stressing the role of ideas and discourse in institutional change. Although a discursive readiness for changes towards more pluralism is claimed, strategies for overcoming the difficulties on the institutional level need to be developed

An Examination of Contemporary Christian Music Success Within Mainstream Rock and Country Billboard Charts

Ranging from inspirational songs void of theological language to worship music imbued with overt religious messages, Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) has a long history of being ill-defined. Due to the genre’s flexible nature, many Christian artists over the years have used vague imagery and secular lyrical content to find favor among mainstream outlets. This study examined the most recent ten-year period of CCM to determine its ability to cross over into the mainstream music scene, while also assessing the impact of its lyrical content and genre on the probability of reaching such mainstream success. For the years 2008-2018, Billboard data were collected for every Christian song on the Hot 100, Hot Rock Songs, or Hot Country Songs in order to detect any noticeable trend regarding the rise or fall of CCM; each song then was coded for theological language. No obvious trend emerged regarding the mainstream success of CCM as a whole, but the genre of Rock was found to possess the greatest degree of mainstream success. Rock also, however, was shown to have a very low tolerance for theological language, contrasted with the high tolerance of Country. As such, it is reasonable to question whether Mainstream Christian Rock is even really Christian at all.

Can the Capability Approach be Evaluated within the Frame of Mainstream Economics? A Methodological Analysis

The aim of this article is to examine the capability approach of Amartya Sen and mainstream economic theory in terms of their epistemological, methodological and philosophical/cultural aspects. The reason for undertaking this analysis is the belief that Sen’s capability approach, contrary to some economists’ claim, is uncongenial to mainstream economic views on epistemology and methodology (not on ontologically). However, while some social scientists regard that Sen, on the whole, is a mainstream economist, his own approach strongly criticizes both the theory and practice of mainstream economics.Amartya Sen, Mainstream economics, Methodological individualism.

Democracy and Feminism

Although feminist legal theory has had an important impact on most areas of legal doctrine and theory over the last two decades, its contribution to the debate over constitutional interpretation has been comparatively small. In this Article, Professor Higgins explores reasons for the limited dialogue between mainstream constitutional theory and feminist theory concerning questions of democracy, constitutionalism, and judicial review. She argues that mainstream constitutional theory tends to take for granted the capacity of the individual to make choices, leaving the social construction of those choices largely unexamined. In contrast, feminist legal theory\u27s emphasis on the importance of constraints on women\u27s choices has led to a neglect of questions of citizenship and sovereignty within a democratic system. By comparing mainstream constitutional theory and feminist theory, Professor Higgins highlights the existing limitations of both. She argues both that mainstream constitutional theory must take into account feminist arguments concerning constraints on individual choice and that feminist theory must take seriously the mainstream debate over democratic legitimacy. Integrating these distinct concerns, she suggests a framework for constitutional interpretation that reflects a feminist conception of citizenship under conditions of inequality

Beyond Gotcha: Blogs as a Space for Debate

The mainstream media and critics of Web 2.0’s "cult of the amateur" often suggest that blogs and citizen journalism will never replace their mainstream counterparts because they "don’t break stories". Notwithstanding the fundamental furphy – who ever said anything about "replacing" the MSM anyway? – there is some truth in this. It goes without saying that most bloggers don’t have the resources, pulling power or proximity to the pollies to do much original political reporting: this is something that most sensible public affairs bloggers concede. (Though how often the mainstream media really break stories – as against exploiting deliberate, calculated ‘leaks’ from party spinsters – is a separate question.

Examining the Association Between Traditional and Mainstream Medicine and the Prevalence of Arthritis in the Urban Indigenous Population Living in Toronto

Background: In the Indigenous community, the prevalence of arthritis is 1.3 to 1.6 times higher than their non-Indigenous counterparts. Moreover, minimal population health information on urban Indigenous peoples is available. Objective: To explore the relationship between the use of traditional and mainstream medicine and the prevalence of arthritis in the Indigenous population living in Toronto. Methods: The Our Health Counts Toronto study surveyed 918 self-identified Indigenous adults using Respondent-Driven Sampling. Survey logistic regression and generalized linear mixed models were used to investigate the multivariable relationships between medication use and arthritis, including adjustments for known confounders. Results: Compared to using neither types of medicine, use of both mainstream and traditional medicines (OR: 8.69, 95% CI: 4.06-18.59), mainstream medicine use only (6.08 2.41-15.36) and traditional medicine use only (3.86 2.63-5.67) are associated with arthritis. Conclusion: Indigenous community members with arthritis are likely to use both traditional and mainstream medicine to manage this condition