Graduate Journal of Social Science

Articles

• Rethinking the Study of Gender and Mental Health

  Chien-Juh Gu

  • Abstract

    Gender differences in mental health status and their social determinants have drawn considerable attention in the sociology of mental health. This paper synthesizes empirical findings concerning this subject, and discusses gaps remaining in the literature. More efforts are recommended in regards to attentive examinations of (1) dynamic social contexts, (2) dissimilarities among groups in different social locations, and (3) individuals’ interpretations of their distress experiences. In other words, I argue that a study of gender and mental health should not limit its investigation to gender comparison, but extend its exploration to the complexity of social and emotional lives. To achieve this goal, I propose a diamond-shaped model that highlights both structural (social and cultural) and individual (biomedical and psychological) aspects of mental health. This model suggests that sociologists focus on intersectional diversity (such as gender, class, and ethnicity), the cultural meanings of individuals’ social and emotional lives shaped by their standpoints, the interplay of these structural factors, and its impact on psychological well-being.

    Keywords

    gender, mental health, social context, social location, culture, feminist perspective

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  • pp. 1–26

• Global Policy Outcomes: The Role of NGOs

  Jonathan Stilwell and Nwabufo Okeke Uzodike

  • Abstract

    Globalization may be seen to affect international relations in a number of ways. More efficient government and business links can be seen as providing a means to negotiating high levels of political and industrial cooperation, while expanding civil political consciousness may be seen to affect the nature of government approaches toward such cooperation. The paper explores the role played by environmental Non Government Organisations (NGOs) in international policy processes. It is argued that certain such NGOs have had influence over international policy outcomes through a number of their activities, but notably through tapping into, and contributing to, the political demeanor of first world polities. Results of such activities may have mixed costs and benefits for society at large. Despite this, we suggest that NGO forms of politics serve important functions by opening political spaces that may otherwise remain closed, particularly in the environmental arena. Just as many of the negative environmental effects of globalization are common to all humanity, so too are some of the political benefits. We suggest that as a result of this dynamic, NGO forms of politics traverse North/South lines.

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  • pp. 27–48

• Can we understand the role of NGOs in environmental politics without questioning the nature of the changes they propose and the scales they work at?

  Denis Chartier; translated by Emilia G. Sanabria

  • No abstract available.
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  • pp. 49–60

• Testing for the occurrence of Shill-bidding (in internet auctions)

  Vladimir Hlasny

  • Abstract

    After the emergence of Internet auction sites, both anecdotal evidence and the conviction of a number of shill-bidders document that the problem of shill-bidding in real-world auctions does exist. This finding is consistent with the economic theory of auctions, because sellers do have a motivation to shill-bid. Shill-bidding is harmful because it redistributes surplus in auctions, worsens the information asymmetry between the seller and the bidders, and raises the possibility of a winner’s curse and of ex post inefficiency. This paper reviews four econometric procedures testing for the presence of latent shillbidding, based on the arrival or return rate of bids, the revenue comparisons, the relation between the minimum bid and the secret reserve, and the behavior of bidders and sellers in relation to events outside of the auction of interest. The paper also discusses competing procedures suggested in the literature that identify ‘blatantly irrational’ bidding under various behavioral assumptions.

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  • pp. 61–81

• Towards New Visions of Doctoral Research: Experiences from an Innovative Research Training Programme

  Jacob D Vakkayil

  • Abstract

    Doctoral research in applied disciplines such as management can be examined from a variety of standpoints. This paper looks at doctoral research in the context of restrictive and liberating forces that act on it. The implications of these forces are discussed from the perspectives of the doctoral scholars and designers of doctoral programmes. The usefulness of forming new visions of doctoral research to meet these challenges is examined. It is argued that innovative and flexible designs of research education can aid doctoral scholars in making their work more effective.

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  • pp. 82–101

Book Reviews

• Metadecisions: rehabilitating epistemology by John P. van Gigch

  Marcel Scheele

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  • pp. 102–107

• Making Sense of Science: Understanding the Social Study of Science by Steven Yearley

  Yew-Jin Lee

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  • pp. 108–112

• So What's a Boy? Addressing Issues of Masculinity and Schooling by Wayne Martino and Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli

  Wouter-Jan Oosten

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  • pp. 113–121

• Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open systems by W. Richard Scott

  Dennis de Kool

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  • pp. 122–124

• Looking for knowledge productivity edited by Teun van Aken and Tom M. van Engers

  Sue-Yen Tjong Tjin Tai

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  • pp. 125–129