Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: Resource dependent community studies have incrementally expanded definitions of “dependence” from economic dependence on the extraction and processing of timber products (using forest dependence as an example); to non-timber forest products or forest-based tourism; to cultural dependence on forests for community identity.

Even these nascent expansions adhere to “negative” definitions of dependency, where dependence is antithetic to “independence”, and indicates vulnerability to broad social and economic change. Communities that are more dependent are less sustainable, less diverse and less resilient.

There exists a more positive class of synonyms for dependence--faith, trust, hope, and confidence—that have been largely ignored in the study of resource dependence. We explore the implications of these definitions: can community “trust” in a resource foster community capacity? Context matters. We seek a framework that can be used in multiple settings. The potential for creating a higher-order conceptual model that spans multiple scales is also discussed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The paper offers a theoretical understanding of Israeli Settlement activity in the Occupied Territories in light of the centrality of the issue in the current conflict as well as any effort to achieve peace. By using a path dependent lens, the paper analyzes how the settlement project was launched, nurtured, and promoted by various Israeli governments since the late 1960's. The paper explores the expansion of the settlements despite the international and domestic costs incurred by various Israeli governments. The paper is based in part on original research, and concludes that three path dependent processes lay at the heart of the exponential increase in the number of settlements - from a handful in 1968 to over 220,000 in 2002. In all three processes, the analysis points to institutional and cultural factors (that assumed new modes over time) as a significant cause in settlement expansion. While the paper accepts the traditional ideological and strategic explanations for settlement activity, it offers a more intricate view by exploring path dependent and institutional mechanisms for the increase in the number of settlements. Dismantling Israeli settlements is going to be a key issue in any future peace negotiations, and might serve as a model in other conflicts. It I therefore important that we develop a clear conceptual understanding of how they came to be in the first place. In the last part, the paper highlights the theoretical implications of the settlements' case for path dependency. More specifically, the paper explores the various roles that path dependency plays in inhibiting opposition to certain policies.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: New media have outpaced the development of theory. Media Systems Dependency (MSD) is no exception, and one of its major concepts (dependency) needs to be re-evaluated so that the theory can continue to develop. Dependency is reconceptualized as individuals' dependency to the point of addiction, which is defined as the extent to which individuals exhibit psychophysiological reactions indicative of negative emotion when faced with the prospect of terminating their media use. Imagery generation tasks are employed to gauge psychophysiological responses to imagined media withdrawal. It is expected that individuals who use certain media more heavily, will exhibit increased negative emotional responses as indicated by heart rate, skin conductance, and facial EMG measures.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The dependency ratio is a statistic that has been used extensively by demographers, economists and policy analysts to portray the impact of population aging. It has also been widely used as evidence for the argument that an aged population will cause both economic crisis and intergenerational warfare for developed nations. Few critiques of its value as a reliable indicator of future trends, however, have been conducted. In this analysis, the appropriateness of such projections about the future of the economy in developed nations, and the burden of caring for an aging population, are considered. A deconstruction of the components of the dependency ratio suggests that its assumptions about the relationship between people, age and productive labor, raises important doubts about the likelihood that forecasts of crisis will be correct.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The welfare state literature has an increasing focus on the gender-neutrality of family policies that relieve dependence on the market. Yet as Orloff (1993) argues, if wives face hurdles to the market that their husbands do not, a gender neutrality focus is premature, because policies that seem to help women actually hinder full market access. For example, Morgan and Zippel (2003) argue that increasingly generous leave policies in Europe mask a desire to keep women out of the workforce. Bambra (2004) creates a gender-neutral de-familiasation index, but this and other analyses of family policy focus on parental leave and childcare. These help mothers and fathers, but none relieves women of the dependence on marriage. A complete analysis of family policy requires a focus on policies outside the traditional welfare state sphere. The paper incorporates dependence on marriage into the analysis of family policies in Canada and the United States through an examination of abortion and domestic violence. These policies either remove or create dependence on marriage and thus allow for a complete picture of equality in modern welfare states.