Showing papers in "International Journal of Comparative Sociology in 2004"

Comparing Social Groups: Wald Statistics for Testing Equality among Multiple Logit Models

Abstract: Social scientists often study the differential effects of explanatory variables among multiple social groups such as race, ethnic group, and nation.This paper examines the Wald test for testing equality of logit coefficients from models of multiple social groups. I propose a Wald statistic that can perform some joint tests of group comparisons that the usual likelihood ratio test cannot. Two examples apply the Wald statistic for testing various hypotheses, and show that the Wald test is flexible and straightforward for making comparisons across social groups, and that the proposed Wald test may find wide applications in the social sciences.

Systems of Educational Specialization and Labor Market Outcomes in Norway, Australia, and The Netherlands

Abstract: To account for differences between systems of education in highly educated societies, I argue that the impact of academic discipline (field of study) on labor market outcomes should be central. Three modifications of earlier typologies are needed to account for cross-national differences in the transparency of skills provided by educational specialization. We should observe: (1) the system of tertiary vocational programs; (2) whether a system has a bachelor’s-master’s structure; and (3) whether students choose minor and major subjects in college. Our analysis of Norway, Australia, and the Netherlands shows that these modifications seem useful. In the Netherlands, the impact of fields of study on wages and occupational status is much higher than in the other countries. The relatively high value of Australian qualifications compared to the Norwegian may be explained by the welfare state regulations of both countries, but this explanation is a tentative one. In Australia, eligibility to social benefits depends much more on previous work experience than in Norway, making fields of study a better indicator of labor market commitment.

A Comparative Study of Lebanese and Palestinian Perceptions of Suicide Bombings: The Role of Militant Islam and Socio-Economic Status

Abstract: In the present study I compare public views regarding suicide bombings using data from two surveys of Palestinian refugees living in southern Lebanon (N = 342) and Lebanese Muslims (N = 553) administered during the summers of 2002 and 2003 respectively. The data reveal that approval of suicide operations is more pronounced among Lebanese than Palestinians. These findings hold even after controlling for individual socio-economic and demographic characteristics. For both populations, support for suicide attacks is more evident among women than men. Among Lebanese, support for suicide attacks is also a function of low income and among Palestinians, a function of residence in camps. For both samples, the most important determinant of support for suicide attacks is attachment to political Islam. The greater the commitment to political Islam the more likely respondents are to endorse suicide activities. It should be noted however, that the impact of political Islam is more evident among Palestinians than Lebanese.

Cross-Culture Comparison of Tax Morale and Tax Compliance: Evidence from Costa Rica and Switzerland

Abstract: This paper analyzes the effects of internal and external social norms on tax morale and tax compliance behavior. Field data and data derived from laboratory experiments are used to examine tax morale and tax compliance behavior in Costa Rica and Switzerland. The results indicate that internal and external social norms have a significant effect on tax morale and tax compliance.

Beyond Ethnicity: The Global Comparative Analysis of Ethnic Conflict

Abstract: Conflicts that are reported as being between ethnic groups are often described as “ethnic conflicts.” The implication is that such conflicts belong to a general type of ethnic conflict with certain repeated and predictable features. This type of conflict is seen as being motivated by ethnic sentiments, as being grounded in deeply set hatreds, and as being virtually inescapable. By applying the epithet “ethnic,” it is as if the conflict were already explained. However, there are many reasons to be suspicious of these implications. Ethnic groups presently embroiled in fierce conflict may have been, at a previous point in time, peacefully co-existent. Frequently, the very lines of ethnic difference become blurred through intermarriage and cultural change. Therefore, in order to understand conflict described as “ethnic” we need to uncover the reasons why (in a given conflict situation) there is heightened awareness of ethnic difference. Then we need to explain what I have termed “the conditions of ethnicity,”...

What’s It Worth to You? The Questionable Value of Instrumentalist Approaches to Ethnic Identification:

Abstract: The assertion that material interests underlie ethnic identification is central to instrumentalist approaches to ethnicity. However, recent approaches—circumstantialism and constructivism—refine in...

Language Policy and Ethnic Tensions in Quebec and Latvia

Abstract: Introduction Concern for the French language in Quebec in the 1960s and 1970s and the Latvian language in the then Soviet Union in the late 1980s and in the new Latvian state in the 1990s were ignited by some of the same demographic and assimilative forces in the two societies. Both Quebec and Latvia had lost their independence to larger powers. The birth rate and population declined abruptly in the two subnations. Schools in English (in Quebec) and Russian (in Latvia) attracted most immigrants. The elites were disproportionately drawn from outside the majority ethnic groups. To counter these trends, language policies were drafted, restricting access to English and Russian languages in schools, respectively, on commercial signs and in legislative bodies, and municipal, public and para-public administration. Looking for a model to change these conditions, Latvia based a significant part of its language law on the Quebec Charter of the French Language. The reasons for this were twofold. First were the similarities in the language situation. French in Quebec as well as Latvian in the former Soviet Union were "regional majority languages ... languages of populations who, though a majority in their historic territory (where they may nevertheless be experiencing some form of assimilation) are minorities at the national level" (Maurais quoted in Druviete 2002: 1). (1) The second, more pragmatic reason was that there were very few examples of linguistic legislation available behind the Iron Curtain. The French text of Bill 22 and Bill 101, the Charter of the French Language, were available in Latvia in 1988 and translated into Latvian. The goal of language policy was similar in Quebec and Latvia. The major aim of the two language policies was to prevent language shift and to change the hierarchy in public life (Druviete 2002, 2003). Quebecois and Latvians worry about being minorities in their own territories. Particularly since the 1960s, the French in Quebec have held antithetical feelings of fear and confidence--the fear of being weakened or of slowly disappearing as a distinct people and the confidence that it can perform as well or better on its own. To these feelings is added the feeling of rejection. These contradictory feelings have shaped language policy in Quebec (Dion 1992: 78). Latvians also fear minoritization in their own country. Deportation has come to constitute a central feature of Latvian identity. The feeling of being victims is also a part of Latvian national identity (Broks, Tabuns and Tabuna 2001). There are, however, major differences between the two societies, including the proportion of the titular or regional group, citizenship status, and the ways the language laws were implemented. Although we will discuss the repercussion of these differences in molding language policy and ethnic tensions, the major emphasis of this paper is on the similar factors leading to the adoption of a language policy favoring the "regional territorial language," an analysis of the language laws, and the ways the language laws became vulnerable to outside constitutional and political bodies. The first section traces the factors that led to the adoption of the Charter of the French Language in Quebec in 1977 and the Latvian State Language Law (LLL) in 1999. The second part of the article examines the similarities and differences between the 1977 version of Bill 101 and the 1999 LLL. The third section analyzes tensions related to the sign laws and access to English and Russian language schools. Finally, we will evaluate the ability of the laws to reverse the future of French in Quebec and the Latvian language in Latvia. Threatened Language Status in Quebec and Latvia Conditions Leading to the Adoption of Bill 22 and Bill 101 in Quebec The late 1960s saw an upsurge of Quebecois nationalism and an attempt to maintain and extend the use of the French language as a symbol of the new nationalism (McWhinney 1979). …

Why Independence? The Instrumental and Ideological Dimensions of Nationalism

Abstract: This article explores the distinction between an instrumentalist nationalism employed as a resource to combat relative deprivation and an ideological nationalism that resolves the anomic impact of social disruption by constructing politics as a simplistic moral confrontation between the virtuous "Us" and the demonized "Other." This distinction is related to the examination of how radicalized ethnic majority nationalisms and radicalized ethnic minority nationalisms might be buffered by civic nationalisms, or by the resilience of patrimonial networks. These conceptualizations of nationalism illuminate, and are at the same time illuminated by, one contemporary dispute, that of Achenese secessionism in Indonesia.

The Impact of National Identity on Conflict Behavior: Comparative Analysis of Two Ethnic Minorities in Crimea:

Abstract: This paper examines the process of national identity formation among ethnic minorities in the Crimea—specifically, the moderation effects of national identity building on interrelations between conflict indicators and readiness for conflict or compromise for two ethnic minorities in Crimea. Based on a survey in the Crimea, results show that national identity moderates the effects of ethnic identity, ethnocentrism, economic deprivation, and majority/minority position on individual and group conflict behavior and such effects differ between two ethnic groups, namely Russians and Crimean Tatars. For both groups the strongest moderation effect was found for ethnocentrism and ethnic identity.

Work Relations Between Immigrants and Old-Timers in an Israeli Organization: Social Interactions and Inter-Group Attitudes:

Abstract: Although immigrant workers have become an integral part of most organizations in immigrant-receiving countries, there is surprisingly little research on cross-cultural work relations, especially in the professional/white-collar sector. In Israel, where former Soviet immigrants comprise over 20 percent of the Jewish population, the presence of Russian-speaking workers and professionals is dense in almost every workplace.The current qualitative study is focused on everyday work relations and inter-group attitudes between long-time Israeli residents and recent Russian-speaking immigrants in the context of a medical organization. Twenty-five interviews with the veteran and new immigrant workers (conducted in Hebrew and in Russian) indicate that these groups diligently guard their social borders and separate identities, and share similar critical opinions on each other’s work ethic and competence. Conflicts arise around the issues of educational and work status gaps, relations with supervisors, and language us...

“Parity of Esteem”: A Conceptual Framework for Assessing Peace Processes, with a South African Case Study:

Abstract: In the first part of this article a conceptual framework for assessing the durability of negotiated peace settlements is developed. The framework elaborates on approaches that hold that dealing with issues of relative group status is central to the effectiveness of negotiated settlements. The dynamics of post-settlement competition, the negotiated rules that shape such competition, and the impact of competitive outcomes on inter-group status, whether adverse or positive, is explored. It is argued that peace settlements with rules that shape competition in such a way that both parity of outcomes and parity of esteem can be achieved will be more durable. Parity of esteem is achieved to the extent that competitive rules inhibit stakeholders from drawing invidious comparisons from competitive outcomes. The second part of the article comprises a case study of South Africa. A descriptive analysis is made of a particular set of rules that emanate from the 1993/96 negotiated settlement. The competitive arena is t...

Empire, Race, and Ethnicity:

Abstract: The year 2005 will mark sixty years since the end of the Second World War. During that time, social scientists have tried to conceptualize the world in terms of race and ethnic relations. Old imper...

Change scores, composites and reliability issues in cross-national development research

Abstract: While a number of researchers of world development examine social change using composite measures as indicators, there is a relative paucity of research on the reliability of these change score composites over time. We construct two development composites based simply on factor analysis, one economic and one social, and then perform reliability analysis on these two development composites at two discrete points in time (i.e. 1970 and 1985) and their change over the 15-year period defined by their beginning and ending points. Despite evidence of reliable beginning and ending points, change in composites over time yield markedly different patterns of reliability. We conclude that if composite indicators of development are used in cross-national research to assess change, the reliabilities of their change should be addressed directly in addition to the reliabilities of their beginning and ending points. The risk of not doing so is faulty inferences with respect to theory.

Transfers Matter Most: How Changes in Transfer Systems of Canada and the United States Explain the Divergence in Household Poverty Levels from 1974-1994:

Abstract: From 1974 to 1994, Canada and the United States experienced quite substantial divergences in relative household poverty rates and inequality levels from similar starting points.Although several scholars have attempted to explain Canadian and U.S. differences in poverty and inequality levels at one point in time, none have satisfactorily explained the causes of these divergent trends. Utilizing high quality, comparable data from the Luxembourg Income Survey, my analysis of the household poverty rates demonstrates that differences in the policies and reforms of the two country’s transfer systems explains the divergence relative household poverty rates. The data also seriously cast doubt on other potential market, cultural, or tax system explanations. Further, by selectively removing the income from each specific category and then specific type of transfer income and recalculating the household poverty rate, my “sensitivity-type” analysis clearly demonstrates the predominant explanatory power for differences...

Medicalization in Nepal: A Study of the Influence of Westernization on Defining Deviant and Illness Behavior in a Developing Country

Abstract: With the modernization of developing societies, scholars, academics, and activists are concerned about the effects of Westernization and how people in these societies see the world and develop a sense of meaning in light of the rapid and often broad-sweeping social and cultural changes. As nonindustrial societies adopt the artifacts and systems characteristic of Western cultures, concerns have been raised regarding their impact on the consciousness, perceptions, and ideologies of people in these societies. In this regard, it is important to consider how the introduction of Western technologies, taste expressions (e.g., music), and social organizations (e.g., bureaucratic organization) influence people's consciousness, and their sense of themselves. Modernization is framed, typically, in terms of the increasing rationalization of traditional cultures. Whereas traditional cultures generally orient meaning through religion, myth, and traditional value-based knowledge, Western cultures are more likely to require knowledge to be justified in terms of principles, procedures, and outcomes within the context of bureaucratic organization, scientific logic, and goal-based achievement. Social systems and behavior in developing countries are often transformed by the application of rational designs that are introduced by Western-oriented agencies. As a society follows a rationalized model for development, there is a general tendency for all institutions, and most areas of life, to be affected. One important issue of Western rationalization concerns the possible changes to the process of serf-definition, defining one's self from the perspective of the traditional culture in which one was born versus a perspective influenced by Western ideas and values. Although there is considerable variation, the non-Western notion of sense of self is generally rooted in a higher degree of embeddedness of the self in society. The self is oriented toward others, and maintaining harmonious social ties is usually more important than individual success (Nisbett 2003). In non-Western cultures such as Nepal, the individual is not perceived to be a unitary free agent, as in the West. Instead, the definition of self is more a function of social context. One concern of Westernization is the implication of a change in emphasis on the self as defined by its relationship to others, to one that separates individuals from their social contexts and stresses a definitive and unique self-hood (Peltzer 2002). Individuals in Western culture are far more likely to be understood as having self-directed and "rational choice" governance over their behavior than in non-Western cultures. Deviant behavior, consequently, is more likely in the West than elsewhere to be explained in reductionist and often medical terms, for instance, as some fault within the individual actor. How this process may develop in Westernizing societies is the focus of this study. Medicalization and Culture Defining deviant behavior in reductionist and medical language is believed to be a product of rationality-based Western cultures that are industrialized (or post-industrial), bureaucratic, generally secularized, and rooted in individualism, and is rare in non-Western, pre-industrial cultures (Conrad 1992). Medicalization refers to the process by which non-medical conditions become defined and treated as medical problems, usually in terms of illnesses and disorders (Conrad 1992). In short, medicalization is the process that awards jurisdiction of behavioral and social problems to the medical institution. Using a medical rubric to frame social and behavior problems has a number of important implications and has been of concern to social scientists for many years. The main criticism of the medicalization process relevant to this study centers on the ways in which the medical model decontexualizes social problems and individual behavior (Waitzkin 1993). Classifying behavior and social conditions as an expression of illness is criticized as overly reductionistic and removes the social environment from having any influence on the condition. …

Introduction: Comparative Perspectives on Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflicts:

Abstract: Twenty years ago I had the privilege of being the guest editor for a special issue of The international Journal of Comparative Sociology, devoted to 'The Global Crisis: Sociological Analyses and Responses' (1984, Volume 25, Nos. 1-2). In retrospect, although the East-West confrontation is no longer present, several global problems noted in the issue are still very much with us, foremost among these being, in a different form perhaps, North-South relations. Thus, I noted at the time: The global crisis reflects a crisis in the hegemony of the formal and substantive aspects of the post war "pax americana" [America's] paramount remedy to social ills seems to be a myopic but massive military response, in Central America as in the Middle East as in Southeast Asia. (Tiryakian 1984: 125-27) On the whole, there is much in that issue that remains relevant for a macroscopic view of our situation in this still formative period of the new century. However, two decades later, there are new observations to be made, new themes that have been raised that should be analyzed on a comparative basis, and new multidisciplinary approaches to be proposed. Our world of advanced modernity is prone to serious risks; risks that often are unforeseen consequences of purposive action in one sector which trigger negative reaction in another sector. The risks are environmental (Beck 1999), economic (such as the rogue trader in distant Singapore whose speculative trading brought the collapse in 1995 of an old British banking institution, Baring Bank), and political. Regarding the political risks, for example, twenty years ago American foreign policy found it expedient to arm Hussein's Iraq in its war against Iran and to provide training to the Taliban in Afghanistan in their struggle against Soviet dominance. Both turned out to be very bad investments for the United States. Twenty years ago the concept of "globalization" was not current, but despite the then too facile polarization of the world into two superpowers--the "Free world" and the "Soviet world"--there was growing recognition of increasing interdependence and, consequently, of the growing vulnerability (risk) of the world to events in one region having significant ramifications elsewhere. The initial hardline of the Reagan administration toward the "evil empire" and the deployment of missiles in Germany increased the threat of a global conflict across national and even regional borders. And them almost miraculously for a secular age, new leadership in the Soviet world seeking to reform outdated economic structures instead led unwittingly to the astonishing implosion of a total societal system that had been seen at the beginning of the decade as a monolith of hierarchical power. The "global crisis" had passed, at least in part. But crisis reemerged in the decade of the 1990s, in several forms. AIDS, unknown at the start of the 1980s, has become one of the great scourges of human medical history and is still raging in sub-Sahara Africa. It has attracted, of course, enormous attention and vast resources have been spent in seeking remedies, vaccines, and informed scientific knowledge to neutralize the virus. Another sort of virus, which may have been dormant in premodern times, seems to have come out of the night soil in many parts of the world with a vengeance in the last century. Although it has many strains, the virus in question is manifest in severe protracted conflicts and violence between racial and ethnic groups that traditionally live or have lived within a given territory, even in situations where the two groups were not strictly exogamous. The most virulent form of the virus took the form of genocide, with the most notorious examples being the genocide of Armenians in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire and the genocide of Jews in the dying days of the Third Reich. Although the world's democracies could join the chorus of those demanding "'never again! …

State Reaction to Globalization, a Class Centered Analysis: The Case of Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract: This paper seeks to compare the reactions of two states to the process of globalization: (1) Barbados and (2) Trinidad and Tobago. The major contention is that state reaction to the process of glob...

French Canadian Family Relationships in Penetanguishene: A Study of 1990 and a Comparative Update for 2003

Abstract: This study seeks to compare the changing nature of family and its importance for human society. Research completed in 1992 and updated for 2003 explores the ways in which French Canadian families in Penetanguishene have adapted to the changing material conditions in the larger North American culture and to their community. The study examines: husband/wife relationships, parents and children, and extended relatives, and finds that although the French Canadian families in Penetanguishene remain fairly intact and functional until 1990, the dramatic changes over the last decade have impacted significantly upon life in this community leading to the emergence of a new family form which scholars of the family would classify as “situational.”

The Relationship between Background Variables and Sex-Typing of Gender Roles and Children’s Chores: The Israeli Case

Abstract: The article examines the relationship between sex-typing of adult gender roles and children’s chores in Israeli society. Adult gender roles were examined from a general perspective, while children’s chores were examined in five distinctive areas - domestic chores, help with siblings, self-care, outside, and technical chores. The research sample consisted of 238 married and unmarried participants (81 men and 157 women). Specifically, sex-typing of adult gender roles and children’s chores was examined in relation to three sets of background variables: (1) personal background variables (age, religiosity, and ethnicity); (2) education and employment variables (level of education, extent of job position, and earning patterns); and (3) family variables (marital status, length of marriage, number of children, and age of children). The women tended to have less sex-typed attitudes than the men did with regard to children’s chores. However, no differences were found between the genders with regard to sex-typing of...

The Impact of National Identity on Conflict Behavior: Comparative Analysis of Two Ethnic Minorities in Crimea

Abstract: (2005) The impact of national identity on conflict behavior: Comparative analysis of two ethnic minorities in Crimea. In E. A. Tiryakian (Ed.), Ethnicity, ethnic conflicts, peace processes: