Showing papers in "Social Forces in 1982"

The Social Context of Commemoration: A Study in Collective Memory

Abstract: Using as data the events and persons commemorated in the United States Capitol, this inquiry demonstrates how the significance of historical events changes from one generation to the next according to a changing infrastructure of societal problems and needs. Before the Civil War, two historical periods, colonization and revolution, produced the only events and heroes on whose commemoration a deeply divided Congress could agree. Once the unity of the nation was brought about by force of arms, the pattern of commemoration changed. Belated recognition was given to the events and heroes of the postrevolutionary period and to outstanding regional, as opposed to national, figures. The commemoration of office incumbency was superimposed on that of extraordinary military and political achievement, thus celebrating the stable institutional structures into which the charisma of the nation's founders finally became routinized. These and other changes in the Capitol's commemorative symbolism reflect the Civil War's solution to the antebellum problems of integration and pattern maintenance. The bearing of these findings on different theories of collective memory is discussed.

Fear of Crime as a Social Fact

Abstract: Fear of crime has emerged as a significant issue. Much research has investigated the extent and distribution of fear across such social statuses as age, sex, class, and race. Our research takes a different direction: it treats fear as a social fact which varies across sites and situations-fear between cities and the structural characteristics of cities which influence it, such as crime rates, the proportion of crime which is interracial, racial composition (percent nonwhite and segregation), and population size. Using data from the National Crime Survey (NCS) and various other sources, we regress fear of crime on these structural characteristics for 26 cities. For whites the analysis suggests that fear is affected by property crime rates and the proportion of crime which is interracial, and that racial composition indirectly affects fear by strongly influencing the proportion of crime which is interracial. For nonwhites the analysis suggests that fear is also affected by racial composition, but not by crime rates or the proportion of crime which is interracial. The paper explores the meaning of these findings for a structural theory of the fear of crime. Over the last fifteen years fear of crime has emerged as an important research topic. Surveys-Harris, Gallop, National Opinion Research Center (NORC), and the National Crime Survey (NCS)-report that a very high percentage of the U.S. population fear criminal victimization (Baumer; Boggs; Braungart et al.; Clemente and Kleiman; Garofalo, a, b; Goldsmith and Tomas; Hartnagel; Shotland) and that this percentage may have increased substantially since the mid 1960s (Erskine). Some studies suggest that fear of crime may not be proportionate to the objective chances of being victimized. For example, since the 1960s fear of crime seems to have increased considerably faster than the crime rate (Garofalo); people fear personal more than property crime, although property crime rates are much *We would like to thank Mitchell Chamlin, William Baccaglini, James Garofalo, and Glenna Spitze for their helpful suggestions and comments on drafts of this paper. 01982 The University of North Carolina Press. 0037-7732/82/030760-70$01. 10

Marital Status and Depression: The Importance of Coping Resources

Abstract: in this paper we advance a heretofore underdeveloped interpretation of the commonly observed association between marital status and depression: that married people have comparatively low depression rates because they are, for several reasons, emotionally less damaged by stressful experiences than are nonmarried people. Most previous research has argued that marriage is associated with low rates of depression because it shields the individual from exposure to stress. However, our analysis shows quite clearly that more is involved. Studying a sample of role strains, we show that the emotional impact of these are less damaging than they are for the nonmarried. Analysis reveals that several different social and intrapsychic resources are implicated in this comparatively low emotional responsiveness.

Societal Development, Social Equality, and Homicide: A Cross-National Test of a Durkheimian Model

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to formulate and test a Durkheimian model of societal development and homicide. Relying heavily on Anthony Giddens' recent reinterpretation of the Division of Labor, we argue that development has no overall effect on the societal homicide rate primarily because the egalitarian changes accompanying development make for new forms of social solidarity. Our theory leads us to predict that there will be no significant zeroorder relationship between development and homicide, a positive partial effect of measures of moral individualism on homicide, and a negative partial effect of a measure of equality on homicide. The results of a cross-sectional analysis for a sample of 50 nations provide partial support for the theory. In a series of works spanning roughly the past decade, Anthony Giddens (a, b, c) has challenged the orthodox interpretation of Durkheim's social theory. This interpretation, developed most fully by Parsons and Nisbet, stresses the conservative nature of Durkheim's thought. Durkheim is depicted as an order theorist. His main concern, according to this view, is to propose a solution to the Hobbessian problem of order, a solution which emphasizes the need for a strong consensus to prevent the degeneration of society into the war of each against all. Social change, the argument continues, potentially threatens the strength of the extremely fragile societal consensus. Durkheim is thus seen as being highly suspicious of social change and fearful of its consequences. Giddens argues forcefully against this conservative interpretation of Durkheim's thought and proceeds to draw out the implications for political sociology of a revised reading of Durkheim. These implications, however, are not confined to political sociology per se. It is our position that Gid

Headship and Household Composition Among Blacks, Hispanics, and Other Whites

Abstract: Differences in the prevalance of extended living arrangements are examined among black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white female-headed and husbandlwife households to evaluate the relative merit of the cultural equivalent and cultural variant explanations of extended structure. Results based on logit analyses indicate that the greater prevalence of extended household structure among Hispanics and blacks is related both to cultural circumstances that lead to extended family structure, and the attempt of households to cope with economic hardship. For each of three measures of extended structure, female headship-frequently associated with economic disadvantage-is significantly related to a higher incidence of extended structure. This may also indicate a greater incentive to find surrogate replacements for absent spouses. Persisting differentials among minority households compared to non-Hispanic whites suggest that the cultural variant explanation of extended household structure deserves closer scrutiny to distinguish clearly processual components from structural components in the analysis of family organization among racial and ethnic groups. One of the most dramatic changes in the composition of family households since the mid-sixties is the pronounced increase in the number of families headed by single women. By 1979, 17 percent of all families with children were headed by women, compared to 10 percent in 1970 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, b). This increase, coupled with the precarious economic situation of such households, has attracted the interest of social scientists and policy analysts. Recent social science research has sought to identify and

Population Heterogeneity and the Sociogenesis of Homicide

Abstract: It has frequently been suggested that a high degree of social heterogeneity is conducive to a high rate of crime. This paper explores that hypothesis by providing an explicit statistical test of the relationship between a society's homicide rate and various measures of the ethnic, linguistic, religious, and economic heterogeneity of that society's population, using nationstates as units of observation. The results lend support to the theory that the interaction within a society of heterogeneous cultural groups tends to increase the rate of homicide. The empirical analysis controls for the effect on homicide rates of the age structure of the population, per capita GNP, urbanization, and population density; the results suggest that the first two of these factors are also important in explaining variations in homicide rates. Rates of crime, particularly rates of violent crime, vary enormously among nations. In the popular mind such varying rates of crime are commonly attributed to relative differences in the heterogeneity of population.1 Informal arguments to this effect have also been advanced by several researchers. For example, in comparing Japan's low crime rate to that of the United States, Bayley suggested that the substantial cultural homogeneity of the Japanese population has helped to establish a moral consensus in Japanese society, which in turn has enhanced the effectiveness of both formal and informal authority. Likewise Porterfield (b), commenting on crime in Finland, emphasized the considerable ethnic diversity of the nation's population. He concluded that, because of the stress that it creates, "this heterogeneity may well account for the fact that the nation as a whole has a higher than average rate of both suicide and homicide" (173).

Job Satisfaction and Age: A Test of Two Views

Abstract: Previous impressionistic treatments of the sources of worker satisfaction have identified a stable, positive relationship between job satisfaction and age. But the current wisdom about this relationship remains largely at the level of zero-order associations and post-hoc explanations. Examining a national probability sample of 1,455 American workers drawn from the 1973 Quality of Employment Survey this research tests tzwo explanations commonly found in this literature: (1) that the relationship between age and satisfaction is the result of generational differences in education and value systems (i.e., a cohort explanation) and (2) that this relationship is simply a function of older workers having moved into better jobs across their careers (i.e., a life cycle explanation). Analyses of covariance suggest that neither explanation is adequate, leaving the question of what accounts for higher levels of satisfaction of older workers unresolved. Explanations for these findings and suggestions for further research are offered. Although there have been many studies of job satisfaction in recent years, findings have often been contradictory (Bockman), or marred by methodological problems (Kalleberg, a), and theoretical weaknesses. In this research we investigate the relationship between job satisfaction and age, one of the least explored theoretical issues in this literature. While detailed analyses of age and job satisfaction are scarce, incidental references are common. These range from the anecdotal observa

Further Evidence on Education and Job Satisfaction

Abstract: Regression analysis of data from recent U.S. national surveys was used to estimate, for white men and women separately, the total effect of amount of education on job satisfaction and the effect net of extrinsic rewards (money, prestige, authority, and autonomy). We reasoned that education which does not lead to extrinsic rewards would lead to dissatisfaction with work by producing unfulfilled expectations and aspirations, and thus we hypothesized that the estimated effect of education on job satisfaction net of extrinsic rewards would be negative. The hypothesis was not supported for women and was only weakly supported for men, and thus the findings of this study do not suggest that any increase in overeducated workers will have a major negative impact on job satisfaction., The indicated total effect of education is positive for both sexes but is considerably stronger for women than for men.

The Influence of Socioeconomic Bonds and Satisfaction on Interstate Migration

Abstract: This study applies to interstate migration the notion that dissatisfaction with residence or community presages movement. The other side of the coin, the view that disposition to move is inhibited by satisfaction with job and place of residence, and by social bonds, is tested using data from a panel study in Rhode Island for the period 1969-79. Results of a multivariate analysis show that noneconomic factors influence decisions to move. Strong social bonds inhibit migration, but employment (except for two-job families) did not. Measures of satisfaction with community and job failed to reveal the expected strong relationship. The effects of three background variables, age, sexmarital status, and place of birth were mediated by level of satisfaction and social bonds. But duration of residence and education of household head had significant direct effects on migration. Possible reasons for these findings are explored.

The Effect of Arrests on Crime: A Multivariate Panel Analysis

Abstract: We estimate multiwave panel models for the effect of clearance rates and a vector of socioeconomic control variables on index crimes, using a sample of 98 U.S. cities for the years 1964-70. No consistent evidence of a substantial effect is found. The effect of police practices on rates of law violation is a matter that has a practical bearing on crime prevention strategies. It can also enhance our understanding of the contributions made by formal methods of social control to conformity. Despite the importance of these concerns, surprisingly little is known about the effects of criminal justice institutions on crime rates. Indeed, only in recent years have researchers begun to study the degree to which crime can be reduced by marginal changes in police employment, expenditure, patrolling strategies, or efficiency in solving crimes. I Statistical investigations of the relationship between aggregated rates of crimes known to the police and various indicators of police activity have employed various analytic strategies. Some researchers have analyzed cross-sectional data (Brown; Geerken and Gove; Sjoquist; Wilson and Boland, a, b); others have analyzed time series (Cloninger and Sartorius; Phillips and Votey) or panel data (Greenberg et al., a; Logan). The present analysis has been designed to meet methodological criticism of this body of research. Critics of research dealing with the effect of law enforcement on

Postdoctoral Training in Bioscience: Allocation and Outcomes

Abstract: The careers of 557 biochemists are studied in order to answer the following questions: Who gets postdoctoral training and why? How does such training affect subsequent employment opportunities? Does postdoctoral training increase later research productivity? Results show that predoctoral research productivity has no effect on who gets postdoctoral training or where one gets it. Getting postdoctoral training does not seem to affect one's chances of getting a prestigious job, but where the training occurred has a major impact on the prestige of subsequent jobs. In contrast, having had postdoctoral training seems to result in substantial increases in later citation rates, but where the training occurred makes little difference in citation rates. The modest effect of postdoctoral training on publication rates disappears when employment sector is held constant.

From Student to Nurse: A Longitudinal Study of Socialization.

Abstract: List of tables Prologue Part I. Professional Socialisation: theory and research problems: 1. Professional socialisation: perspectives and issues 2. Professions and professional education 3. Dimensions of professional socialisation 4. Studying directional change: study design Part II. The School's Program and Development of Socialisation Processes: 5. Social and cultural backgrounds of student nurses 6. Orientations of entering freshman students toward nursing and nursing education 7. The collegiate movement and nursing service 8. Professional ideology versus bureaucratic training roles 9. Acquisition of occupational orientations in a bureaucratic context 10. Development of personal relatedness to the occupation 11. Synthesis and differentiation of socialisation processes Part III. Individual Influence Sources and Socialisation Processes: 12. Lateral relations and socialisation 13. Students' relations to the program, faculty and hospital and their socialisation Part IV. Implications: basic patterns of socialisation: 14. Some reconsiderations of occupational socialisation Epilogue Appendices A-C References Index.

Work, jobs, and occupations : a critical review of the Dictionary of occupational titles

Abstract: Various editions of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles have served as the Employment Service's basic tool for matching workers and jobs. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles has also played an important role in establishing skill and training requirements and developing Employment Service testing batteries for specific occupations. However, the role of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles has been called into question as a result of planned changes in the operation of the Employment Service. A plan to automate the operations of Employment Service offices using a descriptive system of occupational keywords rather than occupational titles has led to a claim that a dictionary of occupational titles and the occupational research program that produces it are outmoded. Since the automated keyword system does not rely explicitly on defined occupational titles, it is claimed that the new system would reduce costs by eliminating the need for a research program to supply the occupational definitions. In light of these considerations, the present volume evaluates the future need for the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.

Trends in Reported Happiness Within Demographically Defined Subgroups, 1957–78

Abstract: Surveys conducted between 1957 and 1978 indicate a decline in reported levels of happiness from the 1950s to the early 1970s, followed by a gradual rebound. The pattern is different for certain subgroups of the population. Those in the bottom quartile in family income showed little decline in happiness during the initial period and a steeper rise during the 1970s. A similar pattern was observed for those age 65 and older. Further analysis of the differences among age groups suggests that cohort effects dominate true age effects, and that the period effect observed prior to the 1970s was greater among young people than among older people. These patterns are interpreted as evidence of a possible shift away from materialistic values during the 1960s. The magnitude of the trend, however, is very small. Interest in the subjective quality of life has emerged in recent years in reaction to exclusive dependence on objective and especially economic indicators of well-being (cf. Campbell and Converse). If we wish to compare the quality of life of different groups, or trends over time, it is not enough, so it is argued, to compare income in dollars or health in sick days or safety in terms of victimization rates. We must also find out how individuals perceive their environment and how they feel about it if the comparisons are to be truly meaningful, since people differ in what is important to them and what they feel constitutes a better or worse condition. A counter-argument is that individuals may be so adaptable to a wide range 'This research was supported by Grant #BNS76-82529 from the National Science Foundation. I gratefully acknowledge comments on a draft of this paper by Frank Andrews, Regula Herzog, Tom Smith, Norval Glenn, and an anonymous referee. Some of the data utilized in this article were made available by the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research. Additional data were kindly made available by Angus Campbell and Philip Converse, and by Joseph Veroff, Elizabeth Douvan, and Richard Kulka. The data were originally collected by the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan and by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Neither the original sources nor collectors of the data nor the ICPSR bear any responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here. t 1982 The University of North Carolina Press. 0037-7732/82/030826-42$01.70

Compliance Under Threat of Severe Punishment

Abstract: This study examines the role-related conditions which generate a target's compliance with a source when threatened with genuine, severe punishment. Given the ethical restrictions of laboratory experimentation, cases of robbery are used as a data base. Compliance is affected by the source's capacity to punish, intent as to the use of force, and the target's capacity to oppose and ability to comply with the source's command. If the source is perceived as capable of inflicting threatened punishment and as making punishment contingent on opposition, and if the target perceives self as incapable of effective opposition and able to comply, the target will comply. Some implications of this research are discussed.