Jeffrey C. Jacob

Mindfulness and quasi-religious meaning systems : An empirical exploration within the context of ecological sustainability and deep ecology

Contextualizing the back-to-the-land experience with mindfulness, a variant of meditative phenomena, within deep ecologys contention that humankind requires a fundamental shift in consciousness in order to insure ecological sustainability, this study compares and contrasts those variables that explain variance in mindfulness, operationalized as a quasi-religious indicator, with those that explain variance in church attendance, a measure of formal religious behavior. Drawing on a national sample for a mailed questionnaire survey of back-to-the-landers, the study found that the predictor variables for mindfulness share little overlap with those that explain variance for church attendance. The exception is spiritual mindedness, itself a quasi-religious measure, which has a statistically significant relationship with both mindfulness and church attendance. The data suggest, then, that the religious and the quasi-religious are relatively independent spheres of human behavior and sentiment. It would appear, consequently, at least in terms of the back-to-the-land sample and the assumptions of deep ecology, that the adherents of organized religion are not as likely to be disposed towards ecologically sustainable frames of mind as those who center their spirituality on quasi-religious practices such as mindfulness.

Racial, ethnic and religious social distance in Surinam: An exploration of the ‘strategic alliance hypothesis’ in a Caribbean community

Abstract The poly‐ethnic Caribbean can be seen as a laboratory for the study of the evolution of inter‐ and intra‐ethnic relationships. Using the Caribbean experience as context, the present study begins by focusing on the dynamics of Muslim‐Hindu relations in Surinam and then extends its analysis to South Asian‐Creole relations. Building on the work of van der Burg and van der Veer (1986), the study develops and examines a ‘strategic alliance hypothesis’: that Hindus and Muslims have avoided overt conflict in their Surinamese homeland in order to advance their common interests against the countrys other major ethnic groups, and, by extension, South Asians have joined multi‐ethnic coalitions to advance these same interests. To explore these strategic alliance hypotheses, 376 secondary‐school students in western Surinam were administered a modified Bogardus (1925) social distance scale in order to measure the degree of reciprocal tolerance that the samples respondents expressed towards Surinams prominen...

Values, Performance and Subjective Well-Being in the Sustainability Movement: An Elaboration of Multiple Discrepancies Theory

Building on multiple discrepancies theory (MDT) as developed by Michalos (1985, 1991), the present study seeks to extend the application of MDT by operationalizing multiple discrepancies or “gaps” between values and performance for a representative group from the sustainability movement (back-to-the-landers), and then comparing the ability of the operationalized discrepancies, in competition with a series of demographic and process variables, to explain variance in a set of subjective well-being (SWB) measures. In the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and zero-order correlation equations, the value-performance discrepancies demonstrate consistent statistically significant relationships with the SWB measures. In the multiple regression models, however, the gap variables are not as prominent as other process variables, although they do add variance to SWB, validating the general utility of MDT. It appears, though, that there are other dimensions, many of them specific to the back-to-the-land way of life, that can compensate for the discrepancies between values and performance.

Quality of life in an alternative lifestyle: The smallholding movement

While the notion of alternative lifestyle usually evokes the stereotype of groups or individuals who live on the margin of the socially acceptable, the focus of this study, the smallholding movement, is a description and analysis of individuals whose alternative lifestyle is grounded in traditional values through the return to semi-subsistence agriculture on small parcels of land. The analysis operationalizes five quality of life (QoL) indicators and then through zero-order correlations and step-wise regression, attempts to predict the correlates of QoL. Prominent in the study are six value scales that are intended to capture the central concerns of the smallholding movement. The value scales, however, were relatively weak predictors of general QoL, while the actual lived experience of smallholding (community approval, employment of alternative technology) were relatively good predictors. In reference to specific satisfaction with smallholding as a way of life, however, values did become relatively good predictors of QoL. Notable by their absence as predictors of either general or specific QoL were urban based status factors such as education, occupation, and income, even though the small-holders themselves possess relatively high educational and income levels, and are employed in professional and technical occupations.

Theories of Social and Educational Inequality: from dichotomy to typology

Abstract Explanations for social and educational inequality generally revolve around the theoretical poles of a conflict theory/structural‐functional dichotomy. This paper attempts to move beyond the dichotomy through the construction of a typology. The development of the typology is a two‐step process: (1) the elaboration of an additional stratification theory, and (2) the breaking of each of the three comprehensive positions into socialisation/social selection components. These two steps produce six sub‐theories, and when matched against each other on a matrix nine comprehensive theories of social and educational inequality are generated, a gain of seven additional comprehensive theories over the original conflict/structural‐functional dichotomy. In building the typology considerable attention is given to elaborating a comprehensive theoretical alternative, called here the Human Dilemma theories, with constituent sub‐theories, Democratic Dilemma and Social Dilemma. After the construction of the typology...

Alternative technology and quality of life: An exploratory survey of British Columbia smallholders

During the last decade there has occurred a significant demographic shift in North American society as rural areas become repopulated by urban-to-rural migration. Part of this migratory flow is the smallholding movement, families and individuals practicing near subsistence agriculture on small parcels of land. Central to the ideology of smallholding are the notions of simple living and technological self-reliance through the use of alternative technology (solar water heaters, windmills, greenhouses, etc.). In order to gain insight into the actual practice of smallholding, interviews with a small population of smallholders in southeastern British Columbia and southern Alberta were conducted. The data from the interviews are presented in terms of the correlations of a selected number of quality of life indicators with technical skill, technological use, attitudinal and demographic/structural factors. In general, commitment to the ideals of the smallholding movement were found to be positively correlated with quality of life and use of alternative technology, indicating that the smallholders may be a group where ideological commitment has a more consistent positive correlation with behavior and sentiments than have structural or material factors.