Showing papers in "Social Science Journal in 1987"
TL;DR: This article examined the changing saliency of athletes' athletic, social, and especially academic roles based upon four years of participant observation with a major college basketball team, and their experiences with role conflict and socialization affirm previously proposed variables and suggest additional ones.
Abstract: Identity theorists have proposed several variables as influencing the salience of an individual's role. Based upon four years of participant observation with a major college basketball team, we examine the changing salience of athletes' athletic, social, and especially academic roles. Their experiences with role conflict and socialization affirm previously proposed variables and suggest additional ones.
157 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a public opinion survey of three California cities assessed the extent of public concern over risks associated with modern technologies and found that a substantial majority of respondents were concerned with each of ten areas with concern being more widespread among women and less widespread among the more educated.
Abstract: A public opinion survey of three California cities assessed the extent of public concern over risks associated with modern technologies. A substantial majority of respondents were concerned with each of ten areas, with concern being more widespread among women and less widespread among the more educated. Respondents relied heavily on television news and newspapers for information and varied in rating the reliability of different information sources, with university scientists being the most highly regarded. Decisions on public safety regarding these risks were influenced mainly by federal and state officials, the news media, and business. People believed that they were largely ignored in the process. Despite this feeling, political participation rates were not associated with the extent of concern over the dangers of technological risk. Low participation and high regard for authority raise the issue of the role of the expert in society.
66 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the consequences of affirmative action on behalf of women in one previously male-dominated public sector occupation (police service) were investigated, and the results observed indicate that little if any effect upon police agency performance can be attributed to differing levels of female police officers.
Abstract: This article investigates rival predictions about the consequences of affirmative action on behalf of women in one previously male-dominated public sector occupation—police service. While some predict that the enhanced use of women police officers will diminish the quality of public services, others argue precisely the opposite point of view. It is suggested here that such predictions have much more to do with the political and ideological perspectives of advocates and opponents of affirmative action than with empirical observation. It is suggested further that this question of the impact upon the quality of public service of enhanced utilization of women is much deserving of careful empirical study. Such an analysis is presented here, and the results observed indicate that little if any effect upon police agency performance can be attributed to differing levels of female police officers.
60 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors interviewed 160 residents in eight scattered-site public housing projects in Charlotte, North Carolina and found that the neighborhood characteristics creating the greatest dissatisfaction and the greatest differences between the individual scattered site projects were access to public transportation, shopping and jobs.
Abstract: In the 1950s and 1960s public housing was built in big central projects. Since 1976 it has been dispersed. The change to smaller projects scattered throughout a city has raised questions about the satisfaction of the residents who have been separated from former neighborhoods of friends, relatives, and often jobs. This study interviewed 160 residents in eight scattered-site public housing projects in Charlotte, North Carolina. Despite relocation, the occupants clearly were satisfied. Their satisfaction was related to an improvement over previous residence, the quality of the dwelling unit, feeling at home in the neighborhood, shortness of time in residence, and overall satisfaction with life. Characteristics of the neighborhood in which residents expressed a high level of satisfaction were the size of the project, access to schools, and presence of “good” people. The neighborhood characteristics creating the greatest dissatisfaction and the greatest differences between the individual scattered-site projects were access to public transportation, shopping and jobs.
33 citations
TL;DR: The Habits of the heart: Individualism and commitment in American life as mentioned in this paper is a well-known topic in American social science research, and it has been studied extensively in the literature.
Abstract: (1987). Habits of the heart: Individualism and commitment in American life. The Social Science Journal: Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 229-231.
31 citations
TL;DR: The authors empirically examined the voter roll-off in 1,864 retention elections for major trial court judges for the period 1964-1984 and found that the mean rolloff for these elections was 36.2%.
Abstract: Because of the absence of powerful traditional voting cues and the unusual nature and format of uncontested judicial retention elections, a large number of voters deliberately fail to cost ballots in retention elections. Filling a void in the study of retention elections, this study empirically examines the voter roll-off in 1,864 retention elections for major trial court judges for the period 1964–1984. The mean roll-off for these elections was 36.2%. Voter roll-off was found to be positively related to district size and number of counties in a judicial district. These trial court retention elections exhibit mixed relationships for different types of elections. Although in presidential and nonpresidential elections there is clear surge and decline in voter turnout, there is no corresponding surge and decline in roll-off. However, close retention elections have less roll-off than nonclose elections.
25 citations
TL;DR: The authors proposed a theoretical explanation of why racial and ethnic stereotypes are so marketable in the wrestling industry, using insights from cultural anthropology, phenomenological sociology, and Marxist theory, the psychoanalytic tradition.
Abstract: Wrestling burst into the mainstream of television entertainment and sports in recent years A distinctive feature is the obstrusive use of racial and ethnic stereotypes Synthesizing insights from cultural anthropology, phenomenological sociology, and Marxist theory, the psychoanalytic tradition, this article proposes a theoretical explanation of why the stereotypes are so marketable
19 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a set of descriptive data regarding the participation of Chicano faculty in minority-oriented activities in academe is examined, and the role of sponsorship in this organizational logic is examined.
Abstract: By examining a set of descriptive data regarding the participation of Chicano faculty in minority-oriented activities in academe, a set of observations is constructed regarding the social relationship of Chicano faculty to academe. The central argument in this article is that Chicano faculty participate in minority-oriented service activities in response to an organizational logic that transforms their participation in minority-oriented activities into personal expectation. The role of sponsorship in this organizational logic is examined.
17 citations
14 citations
TL;DR: A massive literature exists for the history and culture of American Indians, but the quality of that literature is very uneven as mentioned in this paper, and at its best it compares well with the finest scholarship and most interesting reading to be found anywhere.
Abstract: A massive literature exists for the history and culture of American Indians, but the quality of that literature is very uneven. At its best it compares well with the finest scholarship and most interesting reading to be found anywhere. At its worst it may take the form of malicious fabrication…. One of the major purposes of the Newberry Library's Center for the History of the American Indian is to…put Indians properly back into the central role in their own history and into the history of the United States of America as well—as participants in, rather than obstacles to, the creation of American society and culture…
11 citations
TL;DR: This article showed that field research leads participant observers to develop emotional responses that on the one hand preserve the symbolic order of these encounters, but on the other hand disengage these observers from critical research activity.
Abstract: Field research leads participant observers to develop emotional responses that on the one hand preserve the symbolic order of these encounters, but on the other hand disengage these observers from critical research activity. Field research on a political campaigns in Boston and San Diego serve as examples.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used data from Japan to validate Sennett's opinion that industrialization and urbanization produce uniformly intense families regardless of their original forms, and they looked specifically at the community participation of wives of white-collar and professional men.
Abstract: Does industrialization and urbanization produce uniformly intense families regardless of their original forms? Richard Sennett suggests that they do not, and this article uses data from Japan to validate Sennett's opinion. It looks specifically at the community participation of wives of white-collar and professional men. More often than their husbands, these women act as brokers between the family and the society at large. These women are simultaneously subject to both traditional and modern norms of public participation. Further, in contrast to Scott Greer's distinction between “exclusive membership groups and inclusive spatial groups”, membership community appears to reinforce spatial identification for the Japanese housewife.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that serious barriers to arms control arise from economic and psychological forces, and that the nuclear arms race is a powerful phenomenon with political, technical, historical, economic, and psychological dimensions.
Abstract: The nuclear arms race is a powerful phenomenon with political, technical, historical, economic, and psychological dimensions. Most analyses concentrate on the political, technical, or historical dimensions to the neglect of the economic and psychological. This article seeks to correct this neglect, arguing that serious barriers to arms control arise from economic and psychological forces. Richard W. Mansbach critiques the article from the perspective of a political scientist. The authors rebut.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors address the problem of too many women in the US: "Too many women? The sex ratio question." The Social Science Journal: Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 98-100.
Abstract: (1987). Too many women? The sex ratio question. The Social Science Journal: Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 98-100.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss sexuality and its discontents: Meanings, myths, and modern sexualities, and present a survey of modern sexuality in the social sciences.
Abstract: (1987). Sexuality and its discontents: Meanings, myths, and modern sexualities. The Social Science Journal: Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 351-352.
TL;DR: While the downtown department store was a commercial phenomenon it was also a social force as discussed by the authors, and women shoppers used these stores to identify the public and secondary relationship orientations of urbanism.
Abstract: While the downtown department store was a commercial phenomenon it was also a social force. In particular, it reintegrated women into the downtown. Women shoppers used these stores to identify the public and secondary relationship orientations of urbanism.
TL;DR: In this paper, the simultaneous impact of industrial sector and gender on imputed wages with labor force incumbents in four detailed occupations was examined, showing wage discrimination exists against females in each of these occupations and in two sector-by-sector occupation comparisons.
Abstract: Women earn less than men. The reason may be due to either industrial segmentation or occupational segregation or both according to the current research. Researches focusing on one structure tend to neglect the other or to use an inadequate representation. This article examines the simultaneous impact of industrial sector and gender on imputed wages with labor force incumbents in four detailed occupations. These occupations are from a set identified as relatively internally homogeneous on measures of task performed from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles . Thus, within-occupational differences in work performed between males and females are minimized. The findings reinforce the importance of industrial sector for economic outcomes and demonstrate the value of an improved representation of occupation. The decomposition shows wage discrimination exists against females in each of these occupations, and in two sector-by-sector occupation comparisons, females should earn more than males.
TL;DR: In this paper, a sample of male household heads drawn from enumerator's books of the 1900 Federal Census reflected differing occupational structures according to the race, nativity, and residence of the incumbents.
Abstract: In this article we expand Gilmore's 1944 study of New Orleans by investigating the manner in which cultural and developmental factors affected competition for residential location. The analysis of ethnic and spatial variations in occupational structure underscores the utility of considering traditional and modern aspects of spatial differentiation within a single city. A sample of male household heads drawn from enumerator's books of the 1900 Federal Census reflected differing occupational structures according to the race, nativity, and residence of the incumbents. The residential patterns of employed male household heads generally supported the view that the emerging capitalistic economy was spatially segregated from the traditional craft-guild economy. Self-employed craftsmen predominated in the Creole city, while skilled wage-workers were overrepresented in the Anglo-American sector. Race and ethnicity combined with sector to affect the occupational structure. In the Creole sector, blacks maintained the traditional dominance of craft occupations. Entrepreneurial positions were opening up in the commercially expanding Anglo sector for some groups—notably the foreign-born—but not for blacks. Skills and cultural preferences of the immigrants were clearly evident in their overrepresentation in both the craft and entrepreneurial occupations. In the Creole sector, the foreign-born were more likely to take advantage of the availability of traditional craft occupations. The extent of modernization combined with cultural factors in creating and maintaining occupational niches.
TL;DR: SPSS, Biomed, and SAS are three statistical packages widely available to social scientists and although similar, each has different capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses.
Abstract: SPSS, Biomed, and SAS are three statistical packages widely available to social scientists. Although similar, each has different capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Beside their use on mainframe computers, each is available for personal computers.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the impact of higher education policy and family background on occupational prestige and found that educational attainment has a significant effect on the relative importance of educational attainment in determining occupational prestige.
Abstract: This article examines the impact of higher education policy and family background on occupational prestige. It argues that changes in higher education policy have had a significant effect on the relative importance of educational attainment in determining occupational prestige, and that family background continues to have a significant effect on educational attainment and occupational prestige. The sample for this study is drawn from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The sample consists of white male household heads who were between 18 and 64 years of age in 1972. The sample was subdivided into three cohorts by age and each cohort was selected to correspond to a distinct era of higher educational policy. This study uses the following periods of higher education policy: (1) The era preceding World War II, (2) the era after World War II, essentially the period of the G.I. Bill, and (3) the era following passage of the National Defense Education Act. The results from this study indicate that educational attainment does have a smaller effect on occupational prestige for the youngest cohort. This result suggests that education per se is relatively less important when a larger share of the labor force has acquired greater years of schooling. Our results also show that family background factors tend to affect occupational prestige via educational attainment. Thus, educational attainment tends to be a significant transmission mechanism relating family background and occupational status. Therefore, the results of this study indicate that family background variables have important effects on labor-market success.
TL;DR: Simmel's critique of historical realism constitutes the foundation of his sociological theories as mentioned in this paper, and he arrives at a multidimensional theory of action and rationality through his epistemological critique of history realism.
Abstract: Simmel's critique of historical realism constitutes the foundation of his sociological theories. Confronting the crisis of European thought at the turn of the century, Simmel extends the Kantian critique to the realm of history and society, and advocates a sociological relativism that rejects both historical materialism and historical idealism. Consequently, he arrives at a multidimensional theory of action and rationality through his epistemological critique of historical realism. This epistemological construction of multidimensionality differentiates Simmel from the functionalist attempt to base multidimensionality on the analysis of the problem of order. Advocating an epistemological definition of unity and reality, and rejecting the theory of historical empiricism, Simmel radically negates the possibility of structural-historical laws and construction of any universal history.
TL;DR: In this paper, the Amana Colonies, a religious group in the United States that converted to a free enterprise system in 1932, was analyzed. And the authors found that the Amanites' bookkeeping methods severely handicapped the ability of the leadership to make economically rational decisions.
Abstract: Nineteenth-century Europe produced numerous religious communal societies, some of which emigrated to the United States. One, the Amana Colonies, survived in its communal form until 1932, at which time it switched to a free enterprise system. Financial information relating to the society's 59 businesses is used to analyze its conversion. The study finds that the society's bookkeeping methods severely handicapped the ability of the leadership to make economically rational decisions. In a time of major macroeconomic stress (the Farm Depression and the Great Depression), the tide of financial losses exhausted the society's resources. The economic activities of the Amanites are compared with those of two viable contemporary groups: the Hutterites and the Israeli kibbutzim.
TL;DR: One version of multiple-criteria decision making using a microcomputer offers many advantages over techniques commonly used in the social sciences such as regression; this article introduces one version—Policy/Goal Percentaging.
Abstract: Multiple-criteria decision making using a microcomputer offers many advantages over techniques commonly used in the social sciences such as regression. For optimizing it is preferable to payoff matrices; decision trees; optimum level, indifference, and functional curves. In addition, the technique is good for prediction and for explanation. This article introduces one version—Policy/Goal Percentaging.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated geographic characteristics of range, threshold, and exceptional functions in these towns during boom and bust periods, and compared this with retail characteristics of local recreation-retirement and agricultural towns.
Abstract: The energy boom in northwestern Colorado impacted local towns, which in turn affected the retail stores. This article investigates geographic characteristics of range, threshold, and exceptional functions in these towns during boom and bust periods, and compares this with retail characteristics of local recreation-retirement and agricultural towns.
TL;DR: In this paper, a study of 382 demonstrations in the former Soviet Union showed that protest militancy is positively correlated with regime concessions under a wide variety of geographic, protest-group, and target characteristics.
Abstract: Recent studies of political protest suggest that militant tactics tend to produce greater concessions for aggrieved groups in hegemonies than in polyarchies. In hegemonic systems (such as the Soviet Union), political protest seems to be a two-player, regime-dissident power struggle in which the dissidents' best hope for success lies in overcoming regime force with their own force—disruption and damage. Protest militancy in hegemonies may work even better when militant tactics are combined with other protester power resources and when regime power resources are avoided. A study of 382 demonstrations in the Soviet Union confirms these propositions. Militancy does prove positively correlated with regime concessions under a wide variety of geographic, protest-group, and target characteristics. Yet protest militancy is even more effective under conditions of relative regime weakness and protester strength. The study concludes with some implications for the stability of hegemonic regimes.