Suchergebnisse

Changes in societal narcissism are measured through analysis of the subject matter of nonfiction best sellers. Several content categories were identified as indicative of narcissism, & the Dewey Decimal Classification number was used to sort the 10 best-selling nonfiction works for each of the years 1950-1979 into narcissistic & non-narcissistic groups. As hypothesized, popular reading preferences indicated an increase in societal narcissism over the 30-year period. 2 Tables, 53 References. Modified HA.

Books are a key to the dissemination of knowledge in all societies, & publishing is a key element of the book production process. This is particularly important in Third World nations, where other elements of mass communications are not so well developed as in the industrialized countries. Developing countries face special problems with regard to book publishing which make the effective production & distribution of books difficult. Among these problems are the colonial heritage (including the use of a European language at the top levels of many societies), the orientation & motivation of intellectuals, the economics of the book trade (which is faced with a small audience for advanced books & with a lack of facilities), & the continuing 'neocolonial' role of the industrialized nations (including 'foreign aid' programs & other influences). Scholarly publishing--the production & distribution of scientific & educational books--is particularly difficult in Third World nations. While it is likely that the Third World will continue to be dependent on the industrialized nations in matters of intellectual life, the strengthening of the book publishing enterprise can assist in the process of independence & development. AA.

The 2nd of 5 reviews of Leo Grebler, Joan W. Moore, & Ralph C. Guzmann, THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE (see SA 0410/F6970). The book is called 'a self-consciously designed classic.' Despite its Calvinist thoroughness, however, a pernicious & baneful quality is noted in the book. 'It forms part of a literary & scholarly tradition which purporting to be about a people, instead turns out to be about the authors.' The real tragedy of the book is the evidence it provides of the indifference to Mexican-Amer's as a living people. While the book falls at transcending the ethnocentric barrier, however, it still occasions a host of important questions of which perhaps the most important one is that of Chicano nat'lism. This issue must be confronted critically & rationally. The concepts of la raza & chicanismo are not reverse racism; they represent the struggle for identity. (See also SA 0410/F6959, 0410/ F6962, 0410/F6969, 0410/F6982.) M. Maxfield.

The 4th of 5 reviews of Leo Grebler, Joan W. Moore, & Ralph C. Guzmann, THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE (see SA 0410/F6970). Since the book is felt to be a 'benchmark,' it is compared with other, previous benchmarks on the subject, & found to come out favorably. Its strength lies in the extent of its res; it does not purport to add to theory building & methodology. The empirical data presented in the book are briefly discussed on a general level, with particular focus on the study of ethnic perceptions & relations, assimilation, & intermarriage. The study of the role of religion in MexicanAmer life also merits special attention. Taken as a whole, the book 'is an excellent compendium of information,' though it is not always up-to-date. It contains the largest, most complete & most inclusive Bibliog on the subject in print. It will serve well as the raw material for future res. (See also SA 0410/ F6959, 0410/F6966, 0410/F6969 & 0410/F6982.) M. Maxfield.

The 3rd of 5 reviews of Leo Grebler, Joan W. Moore, & Ralph C. Guzmann, THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE (see SA 0410/F6970). The book is found to be DGthe single most important book ever to attempt to understand the existential experience of the Mexican-Amer people., But it shows a lack of pre-1900 historical perspective & its consequences which makes the post-1900 statistical analyses presented in the Vol shallow & seriously affects the entire content of the book. This is illustrated by a summary of each of the book's 6 parts. There is a mechanical comparison of data rather than an indepth interpretation of a unique psycho-history & experience. While the Vol shows technical expertise, its value is marred by its ommissions. Because it may be used extensively in Mexican-Amer studies programs, it can do much damage. It must be seen as a useful res & pedagogical tool, but extensive historical, soc-psychol'al & other disciplinary work is still needed to fill in the interpretative dimension. (See SA 0410/ F6962, 0410/F6966, 0410/F6969, 0410/F6982.) M. Maxfield.

BOOK PUBLISHING IN ANGLOPHONE MIDDLE AFRICA MUST BE INTERPRETED AGAINST A BACKGROUND OF ILLITERACY, AN EMPHASIS ON ACHIEVEMENT READING, & OTHER SOCIAL & INFRASTRUCTURAL ELEMENTS. INTERNATIONAL MARKET FORCES ACTING THROUGH METROPOLITAN PUBLISHERS DETERMINE GENERAL & NONFICTION PUBLISHING, WHEREAS THE MAJOR MARKET GOVERNING AFRICAN CREATIVE WRITING IS FOUND IN AFRICAN SCHOOLS & U'S. THE ACTIONS OF BRITISH PUBLISHING MULTINATIONALS ONLY DIVERGE SLIGHTLY FROM THE PATTERN OF MULTINATIONAL ACTION IN LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING IS DOMINATED BY THESE MULTINATIONALS WHO THROUGH LOCALIZATION & BECAUSE OF BARRIERS TO AFRICAN EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING HAVE GENERALLY RETAINED THEIR POSITION. STATE PUBLISHING HAS NOT YET PROVED VERY SUCCESSFUL. ONLY LIMITED GOVERNMENT ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN TO ADJUST THE BALANCE IN FAVOR OF INDIGENOUS PUBLISHING BECAUSE A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP EXISTS BETWEEN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM, MULTINATIONAL PUBLISHERS, BUREAUCRATS, & TRANSNATIONALISM. 2 TABLES. MODIFIED HA.

The 1st of 5 reviews of Leo Grebler, Joan W. Moore, & Ralph C. Guzmann, THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE (see SA 0410/F6970). In this introductory discussion, some of the characteristics of this book & the soc sci'fic literature on Mexican Amer's & the changing Chicano community in particular are considered. It is felt that the book reports an unprecedented amount of information & marks a turning point in the amount of soc sci'fic attention given to that minority. However, there is an imbalance, inasmuch as most articles are by Anglos, & very few are by Mexican-Amer's themselves. While this imbalance is being rectified very slowly, it can be expected that most of the soc sci'fic literature on this minority in the near future will still be published by Anglos. In the 1950's, 12.4% of papers on Mexican-Amer's were by authors with a Spanish surname, in the 1960's, the % was 21.2%. Not all authors with a Spanish surname are of course Chicanos. More Chicanos should be recruited into the soc sci's. Until this occurs there is likely to be a continuation & perhaps an intensification of the recently appearing tension between some Chicano activists & Anglo soc sci'ts who study Chicanos. This may inhibit additional res, & may make it difficult to assess the intrinsic worth of a book such as THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE. The efforts of foundations to promote the enrollment of Chicanos in soc sci graduate programs should be intensified. (See also SA 0410/F6959, 0410/F6962, 0410/F6966 & 0410/ F6982.) M. Maxfield.

The 5th & last of 5 reviews of Leo Grebler, Joan W. Moore, & Ralph C. Guzmann, THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE (see SA 0410/F6970). It is noted that 'the work fills a longstanding need for a broadly based, empirical investigation of the Mexican-Amer' & demonstrates that many of the stereotypes held are false. However, the assimilative perspective of the authors is rejected. The affect of the emerging ethnic identity upon the assimilative potential must be taken into consideration. This point cannot be dismissed by declaring it merely ideological. Data or 'facts' do not speak for themselves; they must be interpreted. The authors' frameworkwhich focuses on assimilative potential-sets the contours for the interpretation. The same data viewed from diff perspectives will have diff implications for policy-making. The implications of each perspective must be considered. 1 Table. (See SA 0410/F6959, 0410/F6962, 0410/F6966, 0410/F6969.) M. Maxfield.

A review of Edward Banfield's THE UNHEAVENLY CITY (see SA 1218/E6394), which argues that it is an important book, containing much that is right & much that is wrong, & that it should be sensitively read & severely evaluated. Banfield contends that measured by materially mensurable things the Amer city has been getting better all the time, & that the present hullabaloo is a consequence of the 'revolution of rising expectations.' Banfield's analytic model lacks a role for the pol'al process. For him the real problems of the US are not nat'l or Ur, but problems of the Lc in the inner city & inner suburbs. Banfield's definition of SC is a cultural one, which he attempts to keep separate from income, educ, & occup. He constructs 4 ideal types, ranging from lower through working & middle to upper, keyed on the idea of future-orientation. The book as a whole is an attack on the basic assumptions of what K. Mannheim calls the 'Liberal humanitarian ideology.' M. Duke.

An analysis of Edward Banfield's, THE UNHEAVENLY CITY (see SA 1218/E6394), which attacked the secular religion of UMc Amer's, ie, those people strongly oriented to the future & to the world outside themselves, who willingly assume guilt for soc troubles they perceive, esp the existence of poverty & racial inequality. They seek to expiate their own guilt feelings by ill-considered acts which are valued not as remedies for problems but as redeeming acts of commitment. The secular religion leads to the acceptance of false indications that problems such as poverty & racial inequality are getting worse & reaching crisis proportions, but the most serious excess is to blithely assert that we can do anything we want to in the soc realm, & to deny that sometimes all we can do is deal with a few intermediate causal factors. Banfield calls for 'moral realism,' which means taking account of the consequences of how one formulates problems, determines causes, & selects remedies for them. Banfield is criticized for overemphasizing the constraint on policy choices which arises out of the existence of a Lc, ie, a group of people who are radically presentoriented & who are psychol'ly unable but his basic point, that policy choices must be constrained to the real world, & the programs he suggests, must be seriously considered. M. Duke.